I have a packet of crisps with my lnch most days (creature of habit) and my preferred flavour is S&V. We usually buy Walkers for consistency but of late I've noticed that the flavour of Salt and Vinegar seems to have changed and not at all subtly. The did go through a phase of "very Salt and Vinegar" but since they seem to have come to an end, they've not reverted to the old recipe. It almost tastes a bit balsamic but I can't really put my finger on it.
It's not a rogue batch as this is over a few weeks and several different multipacks, so a good range of production and they're all consistent. I'm not sure I like it.
Just wondering if anyone else has noticed it?
Or is it just me?
G
I have no idea, but in the interests of research I'm going to go and buy some and put it to the taste test
IMHO the benchmark for salt and vinegaryness is...
Drop them.
Giant Wotsits - game changer.
I remember Worcester Sause crisps as a youngster. All modern ones are a wash out until I found Seabrooks Lea and Perrin flavour - they are good !
Seabrooks crisps for the flavour win all day.
Walkers Salt & Vinegar – has the flavour changed or is it me?
It's all an irrelevance - whilst the SALT and VINEGAR bags are green, what the contents taste like is neither here or there.
If you want a proper face-gurningly strong flavour, then it has to be...
I know they aren't crisps, but, boy, are they good. Sometimes I actually think 'Can I bear the taste today'? and choose not to open a packet!
@binners not sure I've ever tried the Seabrooks - my favourite is the McCoys but they're so big they're a treat only.
@dyna-ti - you don't get enough in a normal bag of Wotsits - how few do you get in GIANT Wotsits? Also they're cheesy not S&V. Good, but not ideal.
Will everyone stop suggesting other S&V options please! I've had to resort to Cheese & Onion this morning as I only have 3 S&V for the week so I'm rationing myself and it's frustrating. ;o)
@a11y - couldn't agree with you more about those S&V Co-op crisps. They're absolutely top notch! They only do them in big bags though and we all know that once you open a pack, you're finishing them!
@binners not sure I’ve ever tried the Seabrooks – my favourite is the McCoys but they’re so big they’re a treat only.
@Speeder - I find the Seabrooks a happy medium as they're crinkle cut but nowhere near as substantial as the McCoys (which I also love)
Anyway I thought S&V Discos were the ultimate mouth stripper of all time.
Yup, had the co=op ones from Fort William, they were tangy !
I know what you mean about the balsamic thing.
I was going to suggest covid when I saw the thread title.
Why do people get so hung up on the colour of the bag anyway - it's even an FAQ on the Walkers website and they say:
Why did you switch the colours of Salt & Vinegar and Cheese & Onion flavour Walkers Crisps?
ANSWER:
We’re often asked this! Our Salt & Vinegar and Cheese & Onion flavour crisps packs have always been the colours they are today. Contrary to popular belief, we’ve never swapped the colours around, not even temporarily. We’ve no plans to change these designs, as they’re signature to our brand.
it’s even an FAQ on the Walkers website and they say:
Correct - they have always been wrong.
In what world were the flavours of cheese or the flavour of onion reminiscent of the colour blue?
They only do them in big bags though and we all know that once you open a pack, you’re finishing them!
@binners you say that, but I've only just noticed the packet size in that image I posted above: 40g. I've NEVER seen them in anything other than the big 150g bag. Small bags would be dangerous/brilliant/dangerously-brilliant.
Co-op is a 2min wander from my front door and all too easy to buy and demolish a big bag of these in a single sitting.
Just wondering if anyone else has noticed it?
In a world of coincidences, I just had my first bag of Walkers S&V in a long time and they just didn't taste right.
We normally have cheap Aldi own ones because with 3 children we would need another mortgage to go branded with crisps! Found these Walkers ones at the back of a drawer, still in date. But just didn't taste like S&V should. Almost tasted like they were off.
Anyone play Citadel on the school BBC computers? The keys were handily colour coded to match crisp flavours.
In a similar vein of flavours changing, has anyone else noticed the change in full-fat Pepsi? As of March they replaced a chunk of sugar with sweeteners (Acesulfame K, Sucralose). Not a fan of the sweetner taste so it's strictly Coca-Cola for me now.
No, you are all wrong. Amazingly, the best, most moreish, most delicious, shouldn't-really-be-thinking-about-them-before-lunch S&V crisps are from Switzerland.
Gawd, I think this is the only thing I actually miss about living there!
I completely stopped selling walkers about 3 years ago, when the dedicated production to supermarkets during COVID.
Benchmark crisps are now (yes they do salt & vinegar):
Anyway I thought S&V Discos were the ultimate mouth stripper of all time.
I really want some disco's now
I know I've mentioned this in the past, but if you've ever got an afternoon free and you're bored and peckish, can I recommend doing a World Cup of Crisps. This genius idea was the brainchild of my mate Spencey.
Everyone selects their favourite crisps for them to qualify, then off you go to Tesco to stock up. The names go into a hat and are pulled out, FA Cup draw style, to compete in play offs against each other, then through to quarters, semi's, then final.
Points are awarded for flavour, texture and crisp butty potential, but feel free to add your own criteria. The playoff style can result in some brutal 'group of death' ties while other lesser flavours get an easy ride (like England at the last World Cup).
As crisps are by their nature quite dry, plenty of liquid refreshment is needed as an accompaniment
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Anyway I thought S&V Discos were the ultimate mouth stripper of all time.
My mouth hurts just thinking about Discos. But in a good way.
Disco's are bloody great, but another honourable mention for extreme sat'n'vinegeryness also goes to
great shout on Discos and Chipsticks - I do love a strong S&V. Honourable mention goes out to Pringles on that front - not that they're crisps - more pure evil in a tin.
chipsticks are the absolute best!.
the only good thing about having kids is you get to buy them for the kids parties. i buy myself extra as you NEVER get leftovers.
i had some walkers s&v yesterday and i can definalty taste the balsamic so its not just the OP just tastes a bit chemical really. I`m a McCoys S&V man myself usually but had to go walkers as no McCoys were available within arms reach.
Yep, missus won't eat Walker S&V any more, after bring her favorite for years. I pick up the Seabrook one's for her, when Aldi have them on offer, though have recently started buying her McCoys, after having some at the pub for the first time in years & enjoying them. Those co-op ones are something else, in a good way, you can feel you lips chapping as you eat them.
Thankfully the god of crips, Walker's Bacon remain the same.
I'm just tucking into a crisp butty with S&V McCoys 😀
binners
I’m just tucking into a crisp butty with S&V McCoys 😀
#whyIoughta ;o)
Now then, as a bit of a fan of the S&V crisp I have recently come to the opinion that the big bags of Aldi’s own brand pack a large amount of wallop for the £1.10 (or whatever it is) that they cost.
I feel that the McCoy tries a bit too hard and just a bit too thick for my liking. Also, they have a higher ratio of green and/or hairy bits than any other brand out there.
Seabrooke’s are too greasy.
Chipsticks stick to the roof of your mouth.
Discos are made from alien technology that I don’t fully understand.
Kettlechips have priced themselves out of the market. As have Tesco’s Finest.
Seabrooks Lea and Perrin flavour – they are good !
Fun vegenematarian fact: Seabrooks L&P crisps are veggie friendly even though the sauce isn't.
I really want some disco’s now
See... I like a robust-flavoured S&V crisp and Discos are right up there, but you get about four crisps in the bag.
chipsticks are the absolute best!.
The absolute bests are no longer made.
Exhibit 1: Marks & Spencers "Chiplets." The ones I remember from shopping with my grandad in the 80s would pull the roof of your mouth off, their current offerings are OK but a pale imitation.
Exhibit 2: Nibb-it Wheelz, onion and vinegar flavour. They tasted like pickled onion Space Raiders sprinkled in battery acid, they were magnificent. "I think my cheeks are actually touching each other."
would pull the roof of your mouth off
Tesco S&V Twirls will do this too. The antidote is red wine 🙂
Cougar
Exhibit 1: Marks & Spencers “Chiplets.” The ones I remember from shopping with my grandad in the 80s would pull the roof of your mouth off, their current offerings are OK but a pale imitation.
These sound like another of my all time favourite crisp thought hey sure as hell weren't from anywhere as posh as M&S. They were tiny little chips about 3-4mm square and about 25mm long. It was pretty much a bag of bits and just as dellicious. I can't even remember what flavour they came in though I'm assuimg S&V - they came out of the dispenser at (the old) Tewkesbury swimming pool. no idea what they were called. Chiplets almost sounds right but not completely.
The Chiplets were essentially M&S's take on Chipsticks, only really strongly flavoured (and nominally larger IIRC).
They sell what I think you're describing at the shop round the corner, I'll pick up a bag next time I'm in.
it’s even an FAQ on the Walkers website and they say:
What the Walkers FAQ should say is
‘Nah, you’re thinking of Golden Wonder. They used to have the S&V/C&O colours the CORRECT way around’
@binners, I don't want to cause any panic, but your friend with the blue nail polish there has opened their Wheat Crunchies at the wrong end of the packet! 😳
You might want to warn them to go carefully for a while as it's terribly bad luck to do that obviously.
My gf is always doing it, and doesn't even notice or care about the possible implications, but I guess I just have to accept that about her and go on with life.
I'll tell you what else is a shadow of its former self.
Nice? Perhaps, but spicy they are not.
Also.
@kayak that's just your taste buds that have been dulled. Anyway the green NickNaks were always the best. ;o)
I’ve just popped in to Aldi and noticed these, which look like a new addition to their crisps line up. Obviously I’ve grabbed some and shall report back on the salt and vinegaryness
@kayak23 - I'd never open a packet upside down myself, but to be fair to Spencey we'd opened A LOT of crisp packets that afternoon
And while we're talking about Wheat Cruchies, whats happened to the Worcestor Sauce and Tomato Sauce flavours? Both top notch crisps! I can't find them anywhere!
I’ll tell you what else is a shadow of its former self.
Nik Naks were always grim. They had the consistency of a kitchen worktop and the scampi ones smelled like a Salford sex worker at the end of her shift.
And while we’re talking about Wheat Cruchies, whats happened to the Worcestor Sauce and Tomato Sauce flavours? Both top notch crisps! I can’t find them anywhere!
They were discontinued years ago. I share your grief.
Agreed on the downfall of Nik Naks, disagree with Cougar's summary of the snack.
Are these still a thing? Never see nowadays.
Lovely stuff.
@Cougar - Apparently Iceland do the multipacks. I think I may have to pop in. Still no Worcestor sauce but some Spicy Tomato. I've never tried cheese and onion Wheat Crunchies. What a time to be alive!
Another member of crisp royalty that I've not seen for ages, but are apparently still stocked in Tesco
These have already been mentioned by @fossy and are the absolute mutts nuts...
Squares are the daddy of SnV crisps - A box of Grab Bags is a MUST. A good pack of Pringles comes close, but the quality is far too variable.
Honourable mention for Scampi Fries.
Spar salt and vinegar used to bring us to tears as kids with the lip stingingly strong S&V flavour.
Iceland and B&M are the place to find retro snacks, judging by the stuff MrsMC brings home...
I've just had a look on the B&M website and they do these, which are super salt and vinegery. I used to work in Burtons biscuits warehouse during holidys from Uni. I used to eat a LOT of these.:)
It looks like I'm going to have to do a tour of various supermarkets to stock up with some old favourites
They’ve definitely changed the Walkers Salt and Vinegar crisps. Which is handy as I did have something of a weakness for them. I assume they removed the cocaine.
Unfortunately I’ve moved on to Square crisps so the spiral of addiction continues.
They only do them in big bags though
Not true @binners...my local convenience store (branded Eddy's) does standard pack sizes of those as well as the proper sized bags. The standard don't have enough to strip the top layer of skin off your tongue, the proper sized bags I need to decide if I'm prepared for the skin peeling issues to eat it all in 1 sitting.
They really are seriously good crisps.
Oh god. Do I need to know this information?
My shopping list so far, due to this thread...
1. Co-op for small bags of Co-op Irresistible Hand Cooked Sea Salt & Chardonnay Wine Vinegar Crisps
2. B&M for Fish and Chips (and Lea & Perrins Seabrook)
3. Iceland for Spicy Tomato Wheat Crunchies multipacks
4. Tesco for Worcestor Sauce French Fries
Any other additions I need to add to my list? I may do a tour tomorrow 😀
@binners we have had both B&M Fish and Chips + Aldi Chipsticks and can confirm they are both welcome in this conversation.
The GOAT however were the Phileas Fogg Bubble Crisps. I was devastated when having searched the shops with no luck I Googled down a rabbit hole to find that the brand had been mothballed and the factory tooled up to make another less delicious snack!
As for salt and vinegar, Pipers Cider Vinegar and Sea Salt are worth a mention however why you'd ever pick them over their Kirkby Malham Chorizo delights is beyond me?
Not all co-ops have them...this convenience store isn't a co-op but does sell co-op branded stuff.
Unfortunately I’ve moved on to Square crisps so the spiral of addiction continues.
Nothing unfortunate about your path to enlightenment
All crisps are opened from the bottom.
They look suspiciously similar to those Co-op ones, but ASDA 'posh' S&V are puckeringly good too.
ALDI nice-n-spicy knock off Nik-Naks are way better than the current version of the real thing. Again only in a big bag though which is just plain vindictive of them...
I’ve just had a look on the B&M website and they do these, which are super salt and vinegery. I used to work in Burtons biscuits warehouse during holidys from Uni. I used to eat a LOT of these.:)
They reissued Fish & Chips semi-recently, along with chip shop curry flavour and IIRC pickled onion. Seemed short-lived though.
Any other additions I need to add to my list? I may do a tour tomorrow
The only crisp you don't crunch, but melt in the mouth.
Fish 'n' Chips lost their true potency decades ago. For cracker based mouth-stripping it's these or nothing:
No mention of marmite yet? Very difficult to find these days
@kayak23 - who doesn’t love Skips? And that’s just reminded me of some ‘motivational’ illustrations I did a few years back when I was briefly, for an hour or so, reducing the calorie count of my crisps intake
The absolute bests are no longer made.
is that true of Chipsticks? A local bar seems to have no shortage of them now.
They also have cheesy wotsits (regular-sized), quavers, McCoy’s of various flavours, and scampi fries and bacon fries.
puckeringly good
Excellent descriptor for the potency of S&V crisps!
On the topic of Skips, Tesco's own brand prawn shells kick the arse of the original. Much more flavoury. That's another for your shopping list Binners.
Tesco’s own brand prawn shells
Also a marvellous accompaniment to red wine!! OK. I just like red wine. I admit it. And crisps. I like crisps. Crisps and wine. Ooh.. Cheese too 😬 I'll stop now. I'm hungry 😂
Just doing some research, first bag in sometime, they definitely taste a little sweeter
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In other disappointing snack news, I’m gutted that Walkers have stopped doing their wasabi flavoured Max Strong peanuts
The ultimate mouth destroyer are salt and vinegar snackajacks. They make your lips fall apart.
Why does that Skip look like a cat’s arsehole?
Some great crisps mentioned.
Frisps are also splendid, if they can be found.
I’ve been a serial sv eater for years. Tried them all and these are by far the strongest I’ve ever had !!!
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When I rang Walkers to complain about not being able to find their Max Strang Wasabi Crisps they told me that they didn't sell very well, so they had discontinued them. Every supermarket I went into at the timetold me that they'd sold out and to come back soon. If you can't find them, how are you going to buy them and make them good sellers. Can't find the Dutch made Wasabi ones that Morrisons used to sell now either. Can anyone help?
While we’re complaining about the unfathomable logic of crisp purveyors, who can explain one of the most mysterious and baffling issues modern society faces…
Why prawn cocktail? WHY?!
I’ve been a bit too busy today for my planned Retro Crisps Tour (t-shirts available soon) so I popped into Mozzers to grab some of my usual supplies to tide me over the weekend, and there it is emblazoned proudly on the multipack…
4 x prawn cocktail…
When was the decision taken that prawn cocktail was a staple in crisp world? What we’re the criteria? Who made the call? I can think of much more worthy candidates for multipack inclusion. And if you were a massive prawn cocktail fan, surely Skips are your default?
Absolutely inexplicable!
I was making my way through a pack of Crawford's s+v snacks a while ago and I found lump of the pure s+v flavouring. It's one of the greatest moments of my life. My wife loves it when I remind her every time I have something s+v flavoured... "Remember the day I find the solid lump of pure flavour?" The dark nights fly by.
Anyway, does anyone remember "thin Jim's?" They were like chipsticks, blue packet with a guy behind bars on the front. They were wince inducing.
here it is emblazoned proudly on the multipack…
Seriously though, who eats "plain" crisps. Ready salted is surely the rose wine of the crisp world. The only reason anyone chooses to buy them is because you've got people coming round, you don't know what they prefer so to be on the safe side you'll buy something that no-one particularly likes but will tolerate.
Not sure they'll last our week in the Lakes 😁
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The last time I had McCoy's S&V, my tongue was white for a couple of hours afterwards!
Like I'd doused it with 6% hydrogen peroxide.
It was a good pain though.
I think for calibrated consistency over the years, Scampi Fries FTW.
Your mistake is Walkers
Barely above a value supermarket crisp these days. I don't know if others have upped their offering, there is more choice at the top end or they're trying to squeeze production prices to compete against the cheaper volume part of the market/for supermarket price promo. Or maybe my tastes just changed. 😖
Pipers or a premium supermarket crisp are far superior as are others like Seabrook and even McCoys (although the cheese and onion has a very artificial taste imo).
Seabrook are very good indeed...I also really like Burt's Guinness crisps, but thankfully don't have a local supply of them as I could easily eat all the bags on a shelf in 1 sitting!
Slightly OT, but but I have a crisp foible which others seem to think is odd...
Picture the scene; you've gone to visit friends or family and they've kindly laid on a buffet of some sort. Part of the buffet involves a bowl of crisps. You ask the host, "What flavour are these?" and they say "Oh, I just poured a few different ones in together...".
This is clearly unacceptable - or so I thought...
Anyone else, or just me?