Packet #107: Tayto Beef Stew

These limited edition Tayto are the talk of the town. Last week I reviewed Bacon & Cabbage and today I had three choices. Cook dinner, clean up the pile of clothes mounting up in my hallway or eat a pack of Tayto Beef Stew.

A wise UN worker and Crisp fan once told me that just before you cook dinner is a great time for a package of Crisps. With that in mind, I decided to bridge the dinner gap with this innovative bag. Just don't ask about the clothes...

Usually when I’m reviewing a Crisp, I take a good look at the packet and smell them first. Not this time. I ripped open the pack and took a big bite.

The first thing that hits you is the strong beef taste. And that’s alright by me because I like a beef Crips. Hula Hoops, McCoy’s, they’re all staples in my Crisping diet. So I’m delighted to try another flavour.

Do you know what though? Beef isn’t the only flavour going on here. There’s a slight sweet vegetabley tang to them. I think there could be a hint of onion and perhaps even tomato. I dunno exactly what it is, but I like it.

Right, I suppose now I should give them a smell. They smell like a straight up beef Crisp. Grand. Although I’d say they could be the kind of Crisp that lingers on your breath and on your person in general for a while after you eat them.

The consistency in this bag of Crisps is all over the place, flavourwise. Some are really punchy, while some seem to be looked over entirely by the flavour shaker. I’m the sort of person who likes a surprise really strong Crisp, so I don’t mind this at all. In fact, I welcome it. But if you prize uniformity of Crisp flavour, maybe this isn’t a packet for you.

Now for the question on everyone’s mind. Are Tayto Beef Stew better than Tayto Bacon & Cabbage?

In a word, yes.

Christine

Packet #106: Tayto Bacon & Cabbage

Oh Tayto. You are the unrivalled Crisp king in Ireland (no offence King). Your Crisps are legendary. Even British celebrities that I follow on Instagram sometimes talk about your products.

Some might wonder if you should bother trying to innovate. Your classic flavours are almost universally lauded. So stepping into a new Crisp ring is risky.

But does that risk pay off?

After a decisive Instagram Crisp off, where upwards of 20 Blog About Crisps fans voted, the public demanded that I review your new Bacon & Cabbage flavour.

Challege accepted.

I pop open the packet at an optimum time for Crisp eating. Twenty past 12 on a Friday. They are my pre-lunch amuse-bouche.

As I stick my snout into the foil wrapper for a sniff, I notice something unusual for a limited edition Crisp. There is not much of a scent.

Practically speaking, that’s a good sign. It always feels weird when you can smell a Crisp offer your fingertips hours after you eat it. But from a potential taste point of view, it has me worried.

The Crisps themselves have little flecks of green on them, much like a Sour Cream & Onion Crisp might sport.

They don’t look to be tiny flecks of cabbage though. That would be obviously quite strange, although I have to say I’d appreciate the authenticity.

They have the consistency of a regular Tayto C&O or S&V, which you would expect.

Taste-wise, these are a fine Crisp.They are salty and although not overpowering, they are flavoursome. I was expecting something reminiscent of a Smokey Bacon, but that’s not what I found.

The flavour is relatively delicate, but if you close your eyes and really focus on what’s developing on your palette, the salt does give way to a mild cabbage type flavour profile. But you have to REALLY concentrate. You wouldn’t pick them out in a blind tasting.

Full disclosure, I haven’t eaten a plate of Bacon & Cabbage in at least 15 years. So I’m not really in a place to fully judge if they are true to the dish.

They are, however, a nice Crisp.

Did I enjoy them? Yes. Would I eat a pack if they were given to me? Sure. Would I buy them again? Maybe.

If you’re into bacon, cabbage or novelty Crisps, you should probably give these a whirl.

Christine.

Packet #43 Jonnie Onion Rings

So it's the day after the first day of a festival and you're dying. There's a long day ahead of you, what do you do? Go to the shop and buy several packs of crisps of course! So on the way to the bus I stopped in and decided to put Jonnie and his Onion Rings to the test.


There is a lovely aroma as soon as you open the bag and I noticed a good helping of onion rings too. I got stuck in, not letting the strange orange colour put me off. The flavour is a delightful sweet fried onion that gets stronger with each munch, which turned out to be a good thing this particular morning. There was a good crunch from each ring and not too much sticking to the back of my teeth. Another positive that morning.

There are many onion ring style crisps on the market and Jonnie has his boys right up there with the best of them. Overall a very pleasant experience. One which carried me through the day with a skip in my step and a stink in my breath.

Deano.

Packet #40 - Monster Munch Flamin' Hot

Whoa whoa whoa, don't throw that! Watch my head please. I know we Irish love to have a good debate about what happened Monster Munch and why we now have Mighty Munch. Well I'm not going to go into that here, you'll have to attend our next seminar for that nugget (generally held when we're eating crisps).

On to the crisps. Flamin' Hot, they say. At first munch they're not bad. Obviously you don't expect crisps to blow your head off like you've been eating handfuls of habaneros. But after a couple more you start to get a delicious spicy after taste in your mouth. Not many crisps can give you that. It's a wonderful sensation that will keep you coming back for more. You get a lovely, stick to the roof of your mouth, chunky crunch from each crisp. The kind which makes people in the cinema turn around and look at you. Which just adds to the delight.


I was surprised by how much I liked these Monster Munch and quite happily taken in by the marketing campaign of new/OLD. But really I'm just glad Monster Munch have brought back the old monsters.

Deano.

Packet #39 Tayto Snaps

We get all sorts of requests to review crisps here in Crispland. So when I was out for a friends birthday it came as no surprise when he whipped out a pack of Snaps that his housemate wanted reviewed. Now some people might feel a bit of pressure when handed crisps and told they're delicious but we don't. We're well used to it at this stage and that's why we'll always give our honest opinion.

Tayto make some fine crisps and have recently introduced a range of crisps 100 calories and under. Snaps fall into this category and I don't think it does them any favour. They are competing in the pickled onion flavour market and it's always going to be hard to beat Meanies. They're not a bad crisp, they're grand. A good crunch you'd expect from Tayto but the flavour is weak compared to other pickled onion flavoured snacks.

A decent choice if you're looking for a low calorie option but if you want the full pickled onion treat there's bigger players in the market. Namely Meanies and Monster Munch.

Deano.