Walkers Jed's Sizzling Steak Fajita

Product name: Walkers Jed’s Sizzling Steak Fajita
Purchase details: £0.99 for a multipack of six bags (Home Bargains)
Calories: 132 per 25g bag
Country of origin: UK

This bag of Walkers Jed’s Sizzling Steak Fajita was the final flavour I tried from the Do Us A Flavour selection 2 multipack that I got on a Spotted On Star Buys promotion. As one of the varieties I’d really wanted to try prior to purchase, I couldn’t wait to see if I found it to be as good as Emma G's Chip Shop Chicken Curry.

The packet’s colour scheme matched its contents better than some of its competitors, with the brown and green reminding me of steak and peppers. The crisps were visibly tinted brown, too, by the powdered Scottish Aberdeen angus beef that was used in conjunction with smoke flavouring in an attempt to achieve the desired taste.

Bizarrely, the crisps actually smelt like vegetables! There was a tiny hint of meat too but, if I’m honest, I wasn’t really convinced or impressed by the aroma – it just didn’t seem to quite work in this format. However, I love fajitas (although I don’t eat them as often as I’d like!) so I still wanted to see how the taste compared...and they were actually pretty authentic! I could pick up aspects of both steak and peppers in the flavouring, and there was a very slight ‘kick’ in the mix too. It was just a shame that the sour cream and shedloads of cheese – which I think are essential for good fajitas – weren’t flavours that were included in the overall experience. Furthermore, I sometimes felt that the peppers were simply masking the taste of standard roast beef crisps. However, I was impressed by the juicy aspect of the meat which I thought was quite unique in this type of product.

Texturally, there was no change from Walkers’ usual high standards, so I was left feeling that this was a nice enough packet of crisps...just not sensational.

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 5.5/10
Taste: 7/10
Texture: 8/10
Overall score: 7/10

Walkers Emma G's Chip Shop Chicken Curry

Product name: Walkers Emma G’s Chip Shop Chicken Curry
Purchase details: £0.99 for a multipack of six bags (Home Bargains)
Calories: 132 per 25g bag
Country of origin: UK

I’ve now moved on to selection 2 from the Walkers Do Us A Flavour contest and I was pleased to find this multipack on a Spotted On Star Buys promotion.

I really couldn’t anticipate how I’d feel about Emma G’s Chip Shop Chicken Curry crisps. I’ve never liked chicken flavoured crisps, but the curry sounded nice, although I never get curry sauce from the chippy so I wasn’t even sure if the real thing was good!

The crisps came in an orange bag but I was more interested in the colour of the crisps which were noticeably yellower than most. Amongst the ingredients were curry powder, cumin and red pepper powder, and there was a definite curry powder aroma mixed with a more standard salty crisp smell.

Despite containing free range chicken from Devon, the emphasis was definitely on the curry in terms of taste, too. The crisps were flavourful but the curry itself was mild, and I actually thought they tasted a lot like coronation chicken, with an added lightly salted element. Despite this, I couldn’t specifically taste poultry as a separate feature, but I was more than happy about that as it meant I had finally found a chicken flavoured crisp that I liked!

Texturally, the crisps were as normal, so these were a great all-rounder. I don’t know how the flavour would compare to real chicken curry from a chip shop but, as far as I’m concerned, these were a surprise hit which I’d be sad to see taken off the market.

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 7.5/10
Taste: 8/10
Texture: 8/10
Overall score: 7.75/10

Walkers Emma C's Cheesy Beans On Toast

Product name: Walkers Emma C’s Cheesy Beans On Toast
Purchase details: £1.00 for a multipack of six bags (Poundland)
Calories: 132 per 25g bag
Country of origin: UK

 

Time for my next review from selection 1 of Walkers’ Do Us A Flavour range – Emma C’s Cheesy Beans On Toast was a version I really wanted to try and, if I’m honest, the only reason I bothered with this particular multipack. As a fan of beans on toast who occasionally adds the luxury of cheese, I thought this concept sounded so unique for crisps, and I really wanted to find out what they were like.

The shade of blue used for the bag was a really nice one, and the crisps themselves looked no different from Sarah's Hot Dog With Tomato Ketchup.

On this occasion, the pre-selected ingredient used was cheddar from Somerset (in powder form) and this delivered a standard but delicious cheesy crisp scent. Even better was the cheddar flavour that was on offer – this surprised me because I’d expected a generic cheese taste but not such a specific creamy cheddar one. This was also followed by an element of baked beans which I was also impressed by, with the tomato sauce being realistically mellow and not as tangy as the kind used to replicate the ketchup in Sarah's Hot Dog With Tomato Ketchup. The emphasis was definitely on the cheese, though, which was fine by me.

These crisps were also slightly salty and, at times, tasted quite plain. However, the usual great texture and generally satisfying flavour combined to create another delicious Walkers product. On the whole, I’d probably opt for normal cheese or cheese and onion flavoured options ahead of this baked bean one in future, but I still really enjoyed this interesting twist.

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 7.5/10
Taste: 7.5/10
Texture: 8/10
Overall score: 7.63/10

Walkers Sarah's Hot Dog With Tomato Ketchup

Product name: Walkers Sarah’s Hot Dog With Tomato Ketchup
Purchase details: £1.00 for a multipack of six bags (Poundland)
Calories: 131 per 25g bag
Country of origin: UK

I’m very late to the party with these Walkers crisps from the Do Us A Flavour range. For those who don’t know, the company’s been running a competition where members of the public could create their own concoctions that had to incorporate one of a variety of pre-selected ingredients. Six finalists were chosen, their creations were put on sale, and the general public have been able to vote for the winner since then.

I’ve never bothered with these kinds of things before but a couple of the flavours did catch my eye so I decided to be economical and buy the variety packs, even though that meant I’d have to sample the ones I didn’t like the sound of as well! With only two weeks left to go until voting closes, I thought it was about time I tried them out, starting with ‘selection 1’.

I could have taken or left this bag of Sarah’s Hot Dog With Tomato Ketchup. I like ketchup (and I’m sure I tried the crisp form years ago), and I like ‘proper’ sausages, but I don’t like frankfurters, so it was always going to be down to the balance for me.

The red wrapper could easily have been mistaken for Ready Salted but, instead, it represented the key ingredient of Vale of Evesham tomatoes which were present in extract form. The crisps looked no different from most and were quite thin and transparent in places. Their golden and slightly greasy appearance looked strangely appealing!

Having not long finished my bag of Extra Crunchy: Sticky BBQ rib, I found the scent on offer here was very similar. Its flavour, though, was very different. The initial flavour was of sweet tomato ketchup, but a frankfurter flavour was tagged onto the end of this, despite the crisps being vegetarian! I can’t deny that I’d been sceptical about the chances of these crisps actually tasting like hot dogs but they genuinely did taste of both ketchup and sausage...it was just a shame that the latter was the l kind that I don’t enjoy.

As expected, the snack was nice and crispy, and I did like the tang of the ketchup despite the artificial-tasting meat. I also found that, if I ate them quickly, the sausage aspect was less noticeable anyway. Maybe I should try the Walkers Tomato Ketchup again!

In the meantime, I need to get through my remaining Do Us A Flavour varieties, and I’m looking forward to seeing if the others are as realistic.

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 6/10
Texture: 8/10
Overall score: 7.13/10