Tyrrell's Proper Popcorn: Sticky toffee pudding

Product name: Tyrrell’s Proper Popcorn: Sticky toffee pudding
Purchase details: £1.00 for a 75g bag (tesco.com)
Calories: 96 per 19g serving (378 per bag)
Country of origin: England 

I’ve never had popcorn made by Tyrrell’s Crisps Ltd before but, when I saw this Sticky toffee pudding flavour, I was intrigued. I wasn’t sure how it would differ from standard toffee popcorn, and I was sure it wouldn’t taste as good as Cartmel Sticky Toffee Pudding, but I just had to make sure!

This Proper Popcorn (not sure what fake popcorn is?!) was ‘perfectly popped in England’ and came in a large orange bag which featured a background of popcorn on its upper half, along with a vintage black and white photograph. I confess I initially found this particular photo unattractive but, having read the back of the bag, I warmed to it – it was part of a caption game where consumers can submit their own ideas to Tyrrell’s, whilst they also provided their own (‘At 26, Ellie was starting to get a little tired of the choo-choo game.’). Furthermore, it was exactly the kind of quality packaging I like, providing plenty of information without the brand taking itself too seriously. It even suggested an alternative five-a-day which included ‘a nice, strong cuppa’ amongst other things. The only downside was that I wasn’t convinced the bag needed to be quite so big for just 75g worth of product – it certainly felt like there was a lot of air inside although, I guess, this did provide protection for the popcorn.

The popcorn was made from ‘wonderfully golden corn’ and contained no artificial ingredients. As for the flavour variety, Tyrrell’s described it as ‘the lip-smacking brilliance of England’s best-loved pud, without the indignity of having to loosen your belt afterwards’ – winner! In addition, it promised to be ‘as tempting as the real thing’.

The popcorn was more beige in colour than flavours I’ve tried before and had a grainy kind of coating that almost looked like cinnamon. It smelt deliciously strong – a bit like vanilla mixed with toffee doughnuts. I particularly loved how this scent lingered long after the bag had been finished.

I was pleased to find that the flavour was slightly different to normal toffee popcorn. For a start, it was a bit more buttery, but it also had a darker sweetness to it that combined with a slight saltiness. On the whole, I didn’t find it tasted exactly like sticky toffee pudding but, when allowing a piece to sit on your tongue, it came a lot closer to achieving its aim.

One thing I missed with this variety of popcorn was the glossy, crispy, caramelised pieces. This was because the flavour came purely from the powdery coating but, on the plus-side, it did make the product feel healthier. This difference in coating also produced a softer and more papery texture compared to more standard popcorn flavours, but I found the slightly bitty texture contributed to the sticky toffee pudding experience by making me think of very fine cake crumbs, and there was still a crispiness present too.

There is no denying that this Proper Popcorn: Sticky toffee pudding was incredibly moreish and enjoyable. It tasted even more sweet and flavourful towards the bottom of the bag too – presumably because some of the powder had settled down there. What a lovely change. 

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 8/10
Taste: 7.5/10
Texture: 7/10
Overall score: 7.5/10