Snack #169- Lay’s India’s Magic Masala Flavour World Cup Potato Chips

Lay’s India’s Magic Masala Flavour World Cup Potato Chips

These Lay’s came from the local Indian specialty store and were manufactured during the World Cup as a special flavor.  They are definitely very well flavored and do mimic the dry heat and spice of many Indian dishes.  They have some weird ingredients on the list like dry mango powder but overall they taste slightly sweet but mostly dry and spicy.  The chip itself is a light and crispy ruffle chip and is a good vehicle for the flavors added.  They aren’t as spicy as a lot of Indian snacks or Indian food in general but definitely tasty!

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 6/10

Bottom Line: Indian spices packed onto a potato chip.

Buy them here: Lays India's Magic Masala Potato Chips 70gram

Snack # 168 - Tostitos Hint of Jalapeño

Maybe I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up for a snack that only promised a "hint" of jalapeño, but given the knock-you-over-the-head lime flavor in the "hint" of lime chips, I feel like I reason to expect something pretty spicy. These, unfortunately, were not spicy at all. However, they were pretty tasty. They brought a little of the lime punch that I find overwhelming in the Hint of Lime flavor plus some nice onion flavor and a vague sense of heat every now and again. I'm sure these would be a great vehicle for a salsa or guacamole that was packing some real heat.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 1/10

Bottom Line: hint of jalapeño, kick of lime

Buy them here: Tostitos with a Hint of Jalapeño Tortilla Chips
Or get them in scoops! Tostitos Scoops Hint of Jalapeno Tortilla Chips

Snack #167 - Michael Season's Kettle Cooked Jalapeño Potato Chips

 

First of all, the bag was VERY full, something that I feel merits comment given how disappointing the moment immediately after opening a bag of chips and peering into the vast emptiness can be.  That said, onto the chip, which was very crunchy - perhaps even crunchier than your average kettle chip. My problem is that these chips, like so many "jalapeño" flavored chips, tasted like a sour cream and onion chip. Seriously, I know I've said this many times, but since when are those two flavors the same? A spicy sour cream and onion chip is a spicy sour cream and onion chip, not a jalapeño chip, and that's just the way it is. And these chips didn't even pack enough punch to warrant calling them sour cream and onion and jalapeño chips. The heat might have built a little as I kept eating, but not enough to make it worth it.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: .5/10

Bottom Line: a very full bag full of very ok chips 

Snack #166 - Sun Chips Jalapeño Jack

A new flavor from Sun Chips: Jalapeño Jack. They describe the chip as "just the right balance of tongue-tingling jalapeño with the creamy smooth taste of Monterey Jack Cheese" and get it about 50% right. Maybe it's just me, but I imagine most of you spicy chips fans will agree, a little more "tongue-tingling" would have really improved these chips. You're first hit with a rather subtle cheese flavor - subtle even though the flavor reminded me a lot of the cheese powder of white cheddar mac and cheese. Then, a few chips in you get the "tingle," but it never really gets beyond that, no matter how many chips you eat.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 1/10

Bottom Line: tasty and tingly

Buy them here: Sun Chips Jalapeno Jack, 10.5 oz (Pack of 3)

Snack #165- Hot Mate Assorted Rice Crackers

Hot Mate Assorted Rice Crackers

These rice crackers are a spicy take on the standard mix comprising ridged and smooth rice crackers, seaweed covered rice crackers, and wasabi peas.  Surprisingly, the spiciest snack in the bunch is the seaweed coated rice cracker; either something in the seaweed or underneath is has a strong kick of horseradish.  The wasabi peas are understandably also pretty sharp in horseradish seasoning.  The rest of the rice crackers have some spicy chili seasoning which coats the tongue but isn’t particularly burny in the rest of the mouth.  Overall these snacks are crunchy, salty, and tasty though the spice quotient could be higher.  They are definitely the winner out of our haul from the Asian variety store and certainly worth snacking on.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 5/10 (averaged across all snacks in the mix)

Bottom Line: Moderately spicy but very tasty rice cracker mix.

Buy them here:

Shirakiku - Hot Mate Assorted Rice Crackers 16 Oz.

Snack #164- Calbee Hot & Spicy Potato Chips

Calbee Hot & Spicy Potato Chips

We were wary after tasting the last Asian snack and when we first tried this snack one of the raters got a very soggy, mushy potato chip and we almost threw in the towel right there.  But the rest of the bag seems to be light and moderately crispy though I think the heavy amount of seasoning definitely soaked into the chips and killed some of the original crunch over time.  The flavoring mix tasted a lot like a pretty standard barbeque seasoning but was really muddled with the number of spices added to the mix and the addition of soy sauce on top of everything.  Seasoned with curry powder, paprika, cayenne, black pepper, nutmeg, and soy sauce?  It was overkill and didn’t create a delicious chip.  It also did not create a spicy chip- these were just basically a poorly conceived Asian twist on a barbeque chip. 

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 1/10

Bottom Line: Boring barbeque flavors.

Buy them here: 

Calbee Potato Chips Hot & Spicy, 2.8-Ounce Units (Pack of 12)

Snack #163- Orion Ball Hot Flavored

Orion Ball Hot Flavored

We almost couldn’t eat these because the bag smells so much like fish when opened.  The ingredients include sliced cuttlefish and shrimp so we were expecting some fishy notes but the smell almost prevented us from even trying them.  We did each manage to try one ball but that was enough.  They don’t taste overtly fishy upon chewing; instead you get a mushy, sweet peanut flavor with an actual peanut in the center.  Then as you are chewing the peanut the spice flavors and fish flavors come through.  The fish flavor isn’t rancid but it isn’t particularly pleasant either though I know many Asian cultures enjoy fish flavored snacks.  Our American palates just don’t seem to appreciate a dried fish snack in the same way though so we were not big fans of this snack.  Also in my opinion the salty fish flavor and the sweet peanut flavor clashed.  The spice flavor was pretty tame and got lost in all the other flavors but was a pretty standard hot sauce flavor and not very spicy.  Overall the squishiness of the snack and the overdone mix of flavors made this snack pretty gross.

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

Bottom Line: Squishy peanut ball with real fish added!