Tayto Titanic Corn Snacks

So we're getting closer to some Titanic centenary events here in Belfast and it seems that uncontent with releasing the stellar hand-cooked potato chips on us recently( http://fizzness.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/tayto-titanic.html ), Tayto have also released yet more Titanic themed snacks. This time it's a corn based snack which is aimed at a lower price point than those hand-cooked delights before

Now as it's a different snack and different price point etc it would be unfair to draw too many parallels here I guess. One is a prestige model and line and the other is more functional I guess, so it's probably best to consider it in relation to other snacks of it's ilk. That would be I guess Monster Munch or Transform-A-Snack.

These are in essence Salt and Vinegar Monster Munch but with a nautical slant. What's more they are very good as well. I'm not sure you need to hear much more than that really. They are tied into the titanic with some bits about the engineering of the ship and some facts. I know a lot of people feel really strongly about people profiting on what happened to the ship but , maybe this is just with me being a local, I still think there's a lot of pride hear about what was built and what it meant at the time. The Titanic is , this isn't meant in a bad way, almost the perfect story arc not in terms of the end result and the huge number of people that lost their lives but as a story it has almost everything and it resonates with people still to this day. Do I think a corn snack is a fitting tribute to the lives of those people? No of course not, but it's not meant to be I don't think it's to let people know that we as a City are still proud of what was built here.

I think they're a great snack and worth trying if you're over in Northern Ireland any point this year.  If you're only going to have 1 titanic themed snack it probably shouldn't be this one as the hand-cooked are exceptional and as odd as it seems feel like more of a prestige product.

Tayto Titanic

2012 marks the centenary of the Titanics fateful journey. Now here in Belfast we're very proud of the fact that we built what was at the time a sensational piece of engineering and  ship that's lived longer in the memory than most. This year is a big year in Belfast with the opening of the landmark new visitor centre being the centre-point of a big year planned for the local tourist board.

This has lead to local Crisp company Tayto launching a commemorative bag of hand cooked lightly salted crisps.

The bag itself is Titanic, I heard the groans I promise it's the only time I use that, weighing in at a whopping 150g. I love the design actually and it certainly makes it stand out from the crowd in your local store.

The crisps are luxurious. Hand-cooked will craft images of kettle chips to you and that's not far away except these don't have that sort of greasy sheen on them of other hand-cooked crisps also they aren't as rigid as some. Maybe it's just me but some hand-cooked kettle chip style crisps almost shatter on biting and you get these rock hard shards that then stab at the lining of your mouth. These aren't like that. They have a really reassuring bite and texture to them. You also can't taste any sort of fat or anything akin to that from them. Seasoning is spot on here too with large grains of what seems like Sea Salt but there's not too much of it. It doesn't dry your mouth out or dull your taste buds it's just enough to have you craving more and more and more of these crisps.

These crisps somehow manage to ooze prestige and luxury without trying too hard. Fantastic. Like the ill-fated ship they also went down a bit too easy. Urgh even I feel a bit repulsed by that joke.

BUY THESE

To find out more about what's planned in Northern Ireland this year visit the following link http://www.discovernorthernireland.com/

Tayto D'Lite Oriental Rib Flavour

Right so according to the Tayto website and the world wide web as a whole these do not exist.


They do exist though as I ate some. I was given them at the IFA office as a bribe I assume for going to watch Northern Ireland lose to Serbia, sometimes it feels like part of the reason for going is the free tayto.

As their existence is denied I do not have an official snap yet so I'll say it looks very like the cheese and onion packet shown below.

I'm a Vegetarian, I know right?, and am a bit weird about meat flavoured crisps. I know, it's silly as I'm not even a 'ethical' vegeterian but still I am a little strange about it so I was pleasantly suprised that the Oriental Rib Flavoured crisps were in fact suitable for vegetarians like myself. The flavour is inspired by the Asian barbecue rub that would be put on the ribs rather than trying to capture the ribs flavour themselves.

I guess this is because they think people might be a little confused by a crisp that was 'Asian Barbecue' flavour.

Right before we get onto the flavour its important to know these are a low calorie snack item so it's only fair that when we judge the taste we compare them to snacks around the same sort of range, the likes of snack-a-jacks/ pomme bears and things of that ilk.

The first thing about the taste that will hit you is aniseed. It's big and it's powerful and it's not going to be for everyone but it's a brilliant way to have the flavour of Chinese 5 Spice that's been cooked. After that there is a sweetness from the paprika and garlic flavourings.

Personally I like it and it's great to see a lower calorie snack that isn't scrimping on flavour. I have a feeling the aniseed might put a few people off but these are definitely worth a try