NEW! McCoys Chips: Chip Shop Curry Sauce (Home Bargains)

Crisps are something I go through phases with. Most of the time I'm not bothered by them but then I'll get a random craving and boom! I'm hooked again for a few months. When in a crisp loving phase there is one prerequisite: salt & vinegar reigns. However snack hunting extraordinaire @productsinstore posted a picture of McCoys new chip shop curry chip sauce flavoured 'chips' a few weeks ago on instagram and I was suitably intrigued. Curious, but I still waited a few weeks until they cropped up in Home bargains for £1.

The range of 'chips' crisps are also available in salt & vinegar and sea salted flavours, but for some reason it was the curry that really tickled my pickle. Of course they're not really chips, they are in fact crinkled crisps cut into rectangular shapes. The packet contained 6 individual 25g bags.

"Curry Sauce Flavour Reformed Potato Snack."

I feel sorry for the crisp manufacturers. They have far less options when it comes to innovation within their market, so I guess shaping them is one variation.

I like McCoys crinkle crisps, but they're quite clunky so I liked the 'chip' shape, and found them far easier to eat in a lecture theatre without making too much noise.

As for the flavour, McCoys never hold back, and these were every bit as punchy as their other crisps. There was one factor that you couldn't ignore though: they tasted exactly like Nik Naks. I mean they're indistinguishable. As someone who prefers potato to maize based snacks it meant that these ticked the box. It's the Nik Nak for potato lovers! The heat wasn't too strong either, although I was acutely aware of my stinky curry breath for hours after. The new shape might make them more socially acceptable to eat in public, but the flavour sure doesn't!

7/10

NEW! McCain Nacho Cheese Ridged Wedges (Iceland)

Wedges: one of my favourite ways to eat potatoes. Oddly enough, it's not McCain who claim the stop spot in my book though, it's actually Tesco's own. Although, it is close. Over the years McCain have released different varieties -garlic & herbs, roasted garlic, Carribean, & American BBQ to name just a few- but nothing as exciting as Nacho cheese! Especially when they're different shaped wedges too... ooh the ridges... fancy! The new flavour is only available at Iceland, comes in a 600g bag, and is currently only £1, bargain. 

The ridges, although not particularly deep, were present and evident in every wedge. Even more blatant however, was the overwhelming stench of fake cheese, so much so that I could've been forgiven for thinking I'd just opened a large bag of Doritos! I say stench, but to me it was aromatic, and instantly made my stomach start to grumble.

Fortunately the wedges only take 18 minutes to cook, filling the house nicely with a cheesy pong in that time. They were hot and crisp when they came out, just as I hoped they would be.

Whilst the flavour might not have been quite as potent as the smell, it was still strong enough, and the ridges meant that the coating stuck better than would have on traditional wedges. The thickness of the potatoes meant that the cheese didn't become to cloying, and also meant that there was a fluffy centre in each. Imagine if cheesy Doritos had babies with wedges and you'll have a good idea of what to expect from these new McCain bad-boys. If you haven't guessed already, I loved them! They're the best wedge to come from McCain yet.

9/10