Packet #86 Darling Spuds Sea Salt & Italian Balsamic Vinegar

We here in Crisp HQ have travelled far and wide in search of the finest crisps the world has to offer. We've even been to Leitrim. Well this latest packet comes all the way from the great Dublin area of Fairview via Chesham (I've no idea where that is either) with ingredients being brought in from exotic places such as Italy. I'm not sure if it's all the travelling or the way they make them but these crisps also happen to be gluten free, ideal for all you gluten haters out there.

 The crisps are of the hand cooked variety, I wonder if that's a skill you can learn on JobBridge? Cooking crisps with your hands. This particular cook must have magical hands because the crunch on these crisps is spectacular. They make such a crunch that everyone in close proximity can also hear and enjoy the delight. Flavour wise the trip to Italy paid off. They aren't as moorish as some S&V crisps, it is more of a subtle, welcoming, calming splash of flavour. Like a nice Italian giving you a hug.

 This is the third different flavour of Darling Spuds I have tried, all three have been delicious and worthy of a review, I just happened to eat this bag today. So keep your peepers peeped when you’re out and about and when you see them buy as many packets as you can because, you know, crisps are bleedin lovely.

 Deano

 

Packet #62 D.P. Connolly & Sons Farmhouse Cheese & Red Onion

It seems 2012 is the year of the crisp. We've so many brands and flavours to choose from you could nearly do a Come Dine With Me and just serve crisps. If only someone would release an ice cream flavoured crisp. We can only dream...

Anyway onto my most recent selection, D.P. Connolly & Sons Farmhouse Cheese & Red Onion. That's a bit of a mouthful so I'm just going to call them DP's from now on. They're hand cooked and they're Irish. A good start, just like Ireland had on Sunday against the French, which was the match I happened to munch through DP's to. I'd arrived to the pub from work, late, thirsty and hungry so a pint and crisps were the obvious choice. That's when I noticed DP's, a pack I hadn't seen around before. I had often noticed their fancy looking lemonades about town so figured it was worth the punt.

Packet #53 Tyrrell's Worcester Sauce & Sundried Tomato

It's Tuesday, it's lunch time you've managed to avoid being flooded but you're still freezing cold and starving. What to do? Buy a massive bag (150g) of crisps of course. That's the easy part. The hard part is choosing which crisps to buy. I've found myself going for the usual staples recently, King, Might Munch, Meanies. All fine choices but not very helpful when you're trying to review every crisp in the land. So I found myself in a fancy supermarket and became indecisively engrossed in the selection of crisps, that was until my eye caught the bright orange pack of Tyrrell's Worcester Sauce & Sundried Tomato. Decision made.

A massive bag means massive crisps. The majority here were in tact and provided a good mouthful. I even plucked out a bunch of crisps which were trapped together by one monster crisp.The crunch, the flavour, the sensation. Amazing. Tyrrell's have made the decision to leave the jackets on while they hand cook their crisps, this adds an extra bite to the crunchiness. The crunch is strong and firm leaving you with the option to eat the pack crisp by crisp if you so wish. This pack however is all about the flavour. The sweetness of the sundried tomatoes blends brilliantly with the sharpness of the Worcester sauce. The subtle hints of pepper and spice  draw you back in for more of the sweet tangy tomato.

Overall a delightful experience and a fine choice of snack for any time of the day. You can see at the end of the pack it says 'excellent with a chunk of cheddar.' I didn't try that but I was thinking how good it would be  as I devoured the bag. I'm really looking forward to trying some of their ten other flavours and three different types of vegetable crisps. Well done Tyrrell's, England's greatest export since John Aldridge.

Deano.