Crisps (Potato Chips & Similar Snacks)

[Stormkhan]

Look at how much sugar there is in 'savoury' sauces such as BBQ, Brown or Ketchup.
I no longer take sugar in my hot drinks, though I might rarely have a hot chocolate especially in cold weather like today. I've massively reduced my sugar intake, though. Yup - you can deffo taste the difference. Pull yourself together, Steven, and make your own!
I also reduced my salt intake. I rarely use it in cooking but when I do, a little really makes a taste difference. More so if I have a takeaway. Eat-in restaurants doesn't seem so bad.

 

[Steven]

Pull yourself together, Steven, and make your own!

I can't even make my bed without an instruction manual, mate.

 

[Aydee_Aitchdee]

Most savoury snacks that are ostensibly savoury - crisps, Mini-Cheddars etc often have more sugar than salt in them, it's usually a few places forward on the list of ingredients.

You're not kidding! I did Keto for a few years and was well educated on all the different sugars companies put in foods and it was eye opening. Just ridiculous.

 

[Aydee_Aitchdee]

We've several products similar to those you describe, some still around and some not. Wotsits, Monster Munch, Cheese Puffs etc.

Heh, had to look 'em up (I love browsing food options in other countries. Don't tell anyone but I loved Eat Well for Less just because I'm nosy and wanted to see what UK supermarkets have ) I have a friend that makes chicken nuggets and uses flaming hot Cheetos as the breading.

Cheesies are life.

 

[Frideswide]

I have a friend that makes chicken nuggets and uses flaming hot Cheetos as the breading.

Can you arrange an introduction? Asking for a friend...

 

[Benzie]

Was talking to a nurse at a social event. She said they were treating a chap for a sprain (or similar). He was young and super fit doing gym, running and all sorts. Routine check showed his blood pressure was sky high. Staff were baffled until they discovered he was addicted to crisps, eating eight or more packets a day. He stopped eating them and his blood pressure fell to normal. Shows the adverse effect of salt in large doses.

 

[Ogdred Weary]

You're not kidding! I did Keto for a few years and was well educated on all the different sugars companies put in foods and it was eye opening. Just ridiculous.

I think it's considerably worse in the US, you guys often have corn syrup too, which has a higher sweetness level than "normal" sugar. I dare say the UK is worse than many places, I once heard two friends discussing how sweet they found pre-made UK pasta sauces, they were from France and Hungary respectively.

 

[AgProv]

Way back in the 70's and early 80's, I remember prawn cocktail crisps tasting so good, they were almost addictive.
I don't know what happened, but in the mid-80's all prawn cocktail crisps changed their flavour (and for some reason, I lost my addiction to them).
It's possible that government regulations had forced manufacturers to change or remove a key ingredient that made them so tasty and addictive.
Anybody else notice this or have this same experience?

I got this with pot noodles. The flavour I absolutely loved was Chicken and Mushroom - the rest, you can take or leave.

This was fine up until maybe the 2000's. Then something happened to the recipe. All of a sudden C&M pot noodle tasted flat, bland, like nearly tasteless pap with a vague hint of packet chicken soup. The noodles themselves suddenly tasted more "greasy", for want of a better word, with a sickly chemical edge. (I suspect it's changed again since)

Asking around, it turned out that as a gesture to health and safety or whatever, the salt and MSG content of a Pot Noodle had been reduced from "insane" to merely "take care". That little sachet of soy sauce also looked as if it had been seriously watered down, too. Hence, the death of flavour.

Well, this is like when they tried to reduce salt consumption in fish and chip shops in Scotland by using dispensers that only allowed so much to leave the sprinkler. People just brought their own salt-shakers to the chippy, or else took the limiting top off the dispenser and shook it straight from the bottle with no brake there. (All Scottish law actually said was that the dispenser should be there at the point of distribution. It didn't say people had to use it.)

With Pot Noodles, the word got out: "add your own salt. Use your own soy sauce. And that all-important MSG can be bought at Asian or Chinese food stores as a pure white crystalline powder - just add a sprinkling and it will restore your C&M Pot Noodle, as bad as old".

I have to say... it does, too.

 

[Steven]

the salt and MSG content of a Pot Noodle had been reduced from "insane" to merely "take care".

 

[Mythopoeika]

I got this with pot noodles. The flavour I absolutely loved was Chicken and Mushroom - the rest, you can take or leave.

This was fine up until maybe the 2000's. Then something happened to the recipe. all of a sudden C&M pot noodle tasted flat, bland, like nearly tasteless pap with a vague hint of packet chicken soup. The noodles themselves suddenly tasted more "greasy", for want of a better word, with a sickly chemical edge. (I suspect it's changed again since)

Asking around, it turned out that as a gesture to health and safety or whatever, the salt and MSG content of a Pot Noodle had been reduced from "insane" to merely "take care". The little sachet of soy sauce also looked as if it had been seriously watered down, too. Hence, the death of flavour.

Well, this is like when they tried to reduce salt consumption in fish and chip shops in Scotland by using dispensers that only allowed so much to leave the sprinkler. People just brought their own salt-shakers to the chippy, or else took the limiting top off the dispenser and shook it straight from the bottle with no brake there. (All Scottish law actually said was that the dispenser should be there at the point of distribution. It didn't say people had to use it.)

With Pot Noodles, the word got out: "add your own salt. Use your own soy sauce. And that all-important MSG can be bought at Asian or Chinese food stores as a pure white powder - just add a sprinkling and it will restore your C&M Pot Noodle, as bad as old".

I have to say... it does, too.

I add Worcester sauce to all pot noodles.
My favourites at the moment are called 'Soba'. Probably because they're 'So bad' for you.

 

[Aydee_Aitchdee]

I think it's considerably worse in the US, you guys often have corn syrup too, which has a higher sweetness level than "normal" sugar. I dare say the UK is worse than many places, I once heard two friends discussing how sweet they found pre-made UK pasta sauces, they were from France and Hungary respectively.

Yes, food standards over here are much worse than pretty much anywhere else, high fructose corn syrup is in practically everything. I've avoided it for years but there's many other hidden sugars that I had to educate myself about when I started Keto. A lot of "sugar free" products contain maltodextrin, which has a higher glycemic index than actual table sugar and as such, isn't any better. Arrgh!

 

[Floyd]

Was talking to a nurse at a social event. She said they were treating a chap for a sprain (or similar). He was young and super fit doing gym, running and all sorts. Routine check showed his blood pressure was sky high. Staff were baffled until they discovered he was addicted to crisps, eating eight or more packets a day. He stopped eating them and his blood pressure fell to normal. Shows the adverse effect of salt in large doses.

I think it all depends on the person.

I eat tons/litres of *salt, oil, wine, cheese etc and I had a blood pressure test the other week which was 'perfect' apparently.

(And some other things that I'm consistantly told are 'bad for me' but don't want a lecture from @escargot so I won't mention them).

 

[Steven]

I don't like salt. Don't know if that makes me strange or not.

 

[escargot]

I think it all depends on the person.

I eat tons/litres of *salt, oil, wine, cheese etc and I had a blood pressure test the other week which was 'perfect' apparently.

(And some other things that I'm consistantly told are 'bad for me' but don't want a lecture from @escargot so I won't mention them).

Eat what you like. Knock yourself out. Poison yourself.
No snails though.

 

[Floyd]

I don't like salt. Don't know if that makes me strange or not.

From the age of around 15-16 I wouldn't eat salt, butter, crisps, cake, biscuits, chocolate, chips(fries) etc for years.
I ate tons of fruit and didn't drink alcohol too much then either.

I suffered quite badly from acne at that time and we were constantly lectured back then how all these things were a purveying factor in said facial festers.

Did it make any difference? Did it hell.

 

[Floyd]

Eat what you like. Knock yourself out. Poison yourself.
No snails though.

If I could get 'em I would.

 

[Benzie]

I eat tons/litres of oil, wine, cheese etc

Aren't they mostly good for you? As an omnivore I eat most things, but I do try and go a bit easy on the highly processed stuff.

 

[Steven]

From the age of around 15-16 I wouldn't eat salt, butter, crisps, cake, biscuits, chocolate, chips(fries) etc for years.
I ate tons of fruit and didn't drink alcohol too much then either.

I suffered quite badly from acne at that time and we were constantly lectured back then how all these things were a purveying factor in said facial festers.

Did it make any difference? Did it hell.

That's curious, mate - changing my daily diet has altered things much for the better.

 

[AgProv]

I remember Walkers started to make an impact towards the end of the 1970's. It might have been aggressive marketing, but they soon pushed the competitor, Smiths, to the margins of the market, which annoyed a lot of people. Not just the blue-green thing, but because, frankly, Walkers were nowhere near as good as Smiths in terms of flavour. I heard it said a typical Walkers crisp would have a single grain of salt on it, sitting crying in the wilderness because it was all on its own and had nobody to talk to. This was probably an exaggeration... but Walkers, back then, lacked a certain something, possibly taste. Smiths were intensely tasty - still are. Walkers just had a suggestion of taste, like homeopathic cheese and onion. (They have improved since).

 

[Steven]

Alternatively, Walkers' cheapskatery understated flavours suit a delicate flower like me; someone who faints at the sight of a blood orange, and has the vapours at the mere suggestion of macho aromas.

 

[Aydee_Aitchdee]

I think it all depends on the person.

I eat tons/litres of *salt, oil, wine, cheese etc and I had a blood pressure test the other week which was 'perfect' apparently.

(And some other things that I'm consistently told are 'bad for me' but don't want a lecture from @escargot so I won't mention them).

Most people don't get enough magnesium and potassium in their diets (very easy to do, especially if you eat a lot of processed/convenience food as a lot of people do. Not judging, I was one of them...and still am once in awhile....and I take supplements) and I've learned that if your magnesium and potassium and sodium are more or less in balance, your blood pressure normalizes. So if your BP is normal, you've got a good balance going. Keep it up!

 

[Sgt Girth]

These are the crack cocaine of the crisp world (not that I’ve tried crack cocaine!) and I’ve been demolishing a packet a day at work…..and they’re in a proper big bag…….Soooooo good!

 

[XBergMann]

I remember Walkers started to make an impact towards the end of the 1970's. It might have been aggressive marketing, but they soon pushed the competitor, Smiths, to the margins of the market, which annoyed a lot of people. Not just the blue-green thing, but because, frankly, Walkers were nowhere near as good as Smiths in terms of flavour. I heard it said a typical Walkers crisp would have a single grain of salt on it, sitting crying in the wilderness because it was all on its own and had nobody to talk to. This was probably an exaggeration... but Walkers, back then, lacked a certain something, possibly taste. Smiths were intensely tasty - still are. Walkers just had a suggestion of taste, like homeopathic cheese and onion. (They have improved since).

I'm from down South originally and it was Walkers everywhere back in the 70s & 80s in our little village near Cambridge. Smiths hardly got a look in on the shelves of the local shops.

Walkers has always been my favourite especially the C&O number.

 

[Swifty]

These are the crack cocaine of the crisp world (not that I’ve tried crack cocaine!) and I’ve been demolishing a packet a day at work…..and they’re in a proper big bag…….Soooooo good!

View attachment 73034

Are they even better than pickled onion Monster Munch when you weigh everything up though?. I am tempted with the Chardonnay flavouring.

 

[Beresford]

I remember Walkers started to make an impact towards the end of the 1970's. It might have been aggressive marketing, but they soon pushed the competitor, Smiths, to the margins of the market, which annoyed a lot of people. Not just the blue-green thing, but because, frankly, Walkers were nowhere near as good as Smiths in terms of flavour. I heard it said a typical Walkers crisp would have a single grain of salt on it, sitting crying in the wilderness because it was all on its own and had nobody to talk to. This was probably an exaggeration... but Walkers, back then, lacked a certain something, possibly taste. Smiths were intensely tasty - still are. Walkers just had a suggestion of taste, like homeopathic cheese and onion. (They have improved since).

Walkers and Smiths have been part of the same stable since 1982. These days they are owned by PepsiCo, which at some point decided to concentrate on the Walkers brand.

I had never heard of Walkers until the 90s, probably when Gary Lineker starting appearing in the TV adverts. Up here the big brand was Golden Wonder, although their crisps aren't very good these days - thin and too greasy.

 

[Steven]

A Warning to the Curious

Monster Munch has some kind of bizarre mood-accelerant in them, maybe MSG or some such. I had a packet recently and went (even more) mad: set fire to my hair, cut my trousers into strips, sold my gran to buy more Monster Munch, did the ironing etc.

 

[Stormkhan]

I got this with pot noodles. The flavour I absolutely loved was Chicken and Mushroom - the rest, you can take or leave.

This was fine up until maybe the 2000's. Then something happened to the recipe. All of a sudden C&M pot noodle tasted flat, bland, like nearly tasteless pap with a vague hint of packet chicken soup. The noodles themselves suddenly tasted more "greasy", for want of a better word, with a sickly chemical edge. (I suspect it's changed again since)

Asking around, it turned out that as a gesture to health and safety or whatever, the salt and MSG content of a Pot Noodle had been reduced from "insane" to merely "take care". The little sachet of soy sauce also looked as if it had been seriously watered down, too. Hence, the death of flavour.

Well, this is like when they tried to reduce salt consumption in fish and chip shops in Scotland by using dispensers that only allowed so much to leave the sprinkler. People just brought their own salt-shakers to the chippy, or else took the limiting top off the dispenser and shook it straight from the bottle with no brake there. (All Scottish law actually said was that the dispenser should be there at the point of distribution. It didn't say people had to use it.)

With Pot Noodles, the word got out: "add your own salt. Use your own soy sauce. And that all-important MSG can be bought at Asian or Chinese food stores as a pure white crystalline powder - just add a sprinkling and it will restore your C&M Pot Noodle, as bad as old".

I have to say... it does, too.

This change in taste does reflect the change in recipe - nowt wrong with trying to make things more healthy. It also clearly shows the effect of all the additives used - if you are no longer 'addicted' to it then it shows how chemically addictive they were.
Of course, many addicts complain how replacements or alternatives 'just don't give the same kick' as their drug of choice, right down to alcohol-free beers and lagers.

We mustn't ignore, too, how people's tastes change as they get older.

 

[Mythopoeika]

These are the crack cocaine of the crisp world (not that I’ve tried crack cocaine!) and I’ve been demolishing a packet a day at work…..and they’re in a proper big bag…….Soooooo good!

View attachment 73034

I tried some of those recently and I can't say I liked the taste.

 

[Mythopoeika]

I had a packet recently and went (even more) mad: set fire to my hair, cut my trousers into strips, sold my gran to buy more Monster Munch, did the ironing etc.

Disturbing.

 

[Swifty]

I tried some of those recently and I can't say I liked the taste.

This is what me and Steven are saying. Monster Munch are peng innit Mytho.