Snack #147 - Corazonas Spicy Rio Habanero Potato Chips

Another in a long line of chips trying to make inroads into the "healthy food" market. I just don't get it. If I want to eat a bag of potato chips, I'm not expecting them to be a health food. And frankly, I usually assume that anything that isn't already healthy is going to taste pretty gross after it's subject to whatever weird industrial technique is used to make non-healthy food healthy.

Anyways, enough grandstanding, and onto the review... As you might have guessed, these "heart healthy" chips didn't do anything to dissuade me from my deeply held opinion on "healthy" chips. Habañeros are a SPICY chili pepper - one of the spiciest, in fact -  so I expected these to pack a punch. They did not. There was a little heat, but mostly I tasted garlic and onion, and sweet. "Sweet?" you say. Yes, these were disarmingly sweet, and after looking at the ingredients to find that sugar was the fourth ingredient, was nothing if not confused. I don't know how they figure that these deep fried chips help to lower your cholesterol, but I'm pretty sure adding sugar doesn't do it.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 2/10

Bottom Line: I'll take my chips greasy and my desserts sweet, thankyouverymuch.


Buy them here, should you want to...
Corazonas Potato Chips, Spicy Rio Habanero, 6-Ounce Packages (Pack of 6)

Snack #146 - Pop Corners Cheesy Jalapeño

These compressed rice cake looking chips are apparently "popped corn chips" of the Popchips variety (which I think is a popped potato chip). I'm still not entirely sure I understand this whole "popping" thing, but I think it's supposed to be healthier or something. Also, the popping here seems to have made a very crunchy chip, which I like. These reminded me of the white cheddar rice cakes I used to get really excited about as a little kid (I grew up in a healthy house...). They sort of taste like a vaguely less fake bag of cheesy popcorn, but after a few bite the jalapeño heat starts to come threw. Really though, the flavor is dominated by the fake cheese powder taste.  And even then, it's kind of bland.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 2/10

Bottom Line: eat a rice cake

Buy them here:
Medora Snacks PopCorners Cheesy Jalapeno, 12 pack, 5 oz bag

Snack #144- Pringles Extreme Torchin’ Tamale Artificially Flavored Potato Crisps

Pringles Extreme Torchin’ Tamale Artificially Flavored Potato Crisps

So this is a snack-sized bag of MINI Pringles. I don’t know why Pringles need to be any smaller than they were before but I suppose the traditional can isn’t always the most convenient form of packaging so now Pringles enthusiasts can have the option of pocket Pringles storage. Anyway, they are smaller but still the same shape (reconstituted dried potatoes are really very malleable, shockingly) but they are thicker than the original can-style, presumably because the can crisps are very fragile and wouldn’t stand up to being packaged in a bag. I will say that a thicker Pringle is not an advantage…the unpleasant flavor and texture of a potato snack that started as a powder is accentuated and they really don’t taste like any kind of freshly fried potato. The front says artificially flavored which is weird because there are actually a number of natural flavor ingredients listed. They do taste like hot peppers and salt but they are not particularly spicy. Really I just hate the taste of the thicker Pringles and I can’t really accurately review the spices. I think the flavor profile is pretty fitting for a tamale-flavored snack but the texture is gross.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 2.5/10

Bottom Line: Extra gross Pringles with some cayenne added.

Buy them here:

Pringles Extreme Torchin' Tamale Grab AND Go, 1.41-Ounce Packages (Pack of 8)

Snack #145- Vitarroz Plantain Chips Chili Jalapeño

Vitarroz Plantain Chips Chili Jalapeño

So Plaintains are like a starchy mix between a banana and a potato and therefore a nice alternative for frying into chips. They can be pretty crispy but do tend to do that thing where they gunk up in your teeth. They have to be cut a little on the thicker side so they are pretty dense. These chips are cut on the thinner side and do have a nice crunch. As for the flavor…I’m having a hard time discerning any chili jalapeño. It’s clear that there was an attempt at seasoning these but they are far from spicy and the flavor is really muted. I just looked at the back of these chips (purchased at Market Basket) and they are a product of Costa Rica. If you’ve read this blog with any consistency, you’ll be aware that every ‘spicy’ snack from Costa Rica is NOT spicy (or look in the archives and see the 20+ reviews to support that statement). So I am not surprised that even exported snacks fail to impress.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 0.5/10

Bottom Line: Faintly jalapeño flavored plantain chips.

Snack #143- Trader Joe-San Wasabi Peas

Trader Joe-San Wasabi Peas

Wasabi peas are pretty standard, and most of the brands taste pretty similar. The main variation is the level of spiciness of the wasabi. These are one of the less spicy wasabi peas I have tasted. They are nice because you can really taste the pea flavor before you get a little kick of wasabi burn at the end. But on the scale of wasabi pea heat they definitely rank pretty low. The heat dissipates quite quickly which is bad for a spice lover but good for someone who wants to rapidly eat many wasabi peas!

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 3/10

Bottom Line: Short-lived wasabi spice.

Snack #142- Majans Bhuja Cracker Mix

Majans Bhuja Cracker Mix

This cracker mix has those little Asian rice snacks as well as some d

ried noodles, peas, and beans. The package calls this mix a blend of “spicy snack nibbles” but I have to say these are NOT spicy AT ALL. They definitely have spices on them that are pretty yummy but they need to have more flavor and definitely more heat. The mix is crunchy and has nice textures with the crispy rice pieces and the smoother peanuts and chickpeas. It’s a nice mix but really needs more powerful spices.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 0.5/10

Bottom Line: Tasty Indian spice mix but not spicy.

Buy it here:

Majans Bhuja Cracker Mix: 7 OZ

Snack #141- New York Style Risotto Chips Spicy Marinara Flavor

New York Style Risotto Chips Spicy Marinara Flavor

Risotto chips are something new that I’ve never seen before- the latest craze following all the bagel chips and pita chips. These have the texture of thin SunChips but they taste a little more like rice and a little less like a typical corn chip. The seasoning is supposed to taste like “fresh tomato with a kick” but I have to say that they don’t really taste like much. They have a little tomato powder thrown on with a bit of salsa flavor. In fact, these taste way more like a burrito than like a plate of risotto and marinara. Too much pepper, bean, and paprika flavoring and not enough fresh tomato taste. But then again, I haven’t had too many spicy marinara sauces in my life so maybe they all taste like spicy salsa and I just don’t know it. In any case, I think these would be good for dipping in hummus or something but the spice, and overall flavor, is lacking.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 1.5/10

Bottom Line: Salsa flavored chips made out of rice…

Buy them here:

New York Style Risotto Chips, Spicy Marinara, 5 oz, (pack of 3)