Supermarket own brand crisps beat Kettle and Pipers in blind taste test
A quality bag of crisps can genuinely elevate lunchtime and serve as an ideal snack. Numerous people adore salt and vinegar flavoured crisps as they undoubtedly deliver a powerful taste.
There's an abundance available too, from supermarket premium ranges to branded options such as Kettle, Piper and Tyrrells. In a blind tasting trial, an assortment of salt and vinegar crisps competed head to head to determine which would emerge victorious. Remarkably, supermarket own-label crisps all performed superior to the brands.
Consumer website Which? invited a panel of 72 crisp enthusiasts to sample 10 premium salt and vinegar crisps. They included Kettle, Pipers, Tyrrells, Aldi, Asda, Sainsbury's, Tesco, and more, and ranked them based on 50% flavour, 20% texture, 20% aroma and 10% appearance.
Following the sampling of all the crisps, two supermarket own-label salt and vinegar crisps emerged triumphant, reports the Mirror.
Asda and Co-op's offerings were declared champions. Asda Extra Special Sea Salt and Chardonnay Wine Vinegar Hand Cooked Crisps were proclaimed the best buy and excellent value, though they appear to have been discontinued.
At £1.34 for 150g, the crisps were characterised as possessing an ideal crunch, a golden hue, and a tangy vinegar punch. Numerous taste testers deemed the salt content and aroma to be spot on, awarding the crisps a 78% rating.
Finishing second was Co-op's Irresistible Hand Cooked Sea Salt and Chardonnay Wine Vinegar Crisps at 75%. It is priced at £1.70 for 150g and likewise earned a best buy accolade. The testers felt the crisps were spot on in terms of thickness and crispiness. Many remarked the salt level was just right and the vinegar had a good tang.
Some suggested the vinegar was a touch excessive, making these crisps ideal for those who favour a robust taste.
Next came Aldi Specially Selected Sea Salt and Chardonnay Vinegar Hand Cooked Crisps at 69%, followed by Morrisons The Best Hand Cooked Sea Salt and Suffolk Cider Vinegar Crisps at 67%.
The three branded crisps - Tyrrells, Kettle and Pipers - all dropped to the bottom of the rankings. Which? explained: "The three brands that market themselves as more premium or artisanal-style snacks ended up with the lowest scores overall - with Pipers crisps rated the least popular by our tasters."
Tyrrells disappointed as the crisps were characterised as "pale-looking and bland-tasting," whilst Kettle was also deemed "bland". At the foot of the list, Pipers failed to deliver the tasters' desired intensity of salt and vinegar.
Salt and vinegar crisps ranked- Asda Extra Special Sea Salt & Chardonnay Wine Vinegar Hand Cooked Crisps - 78%
- Co-op Irresistible Hand Cooked Sea Salt & Chardonnay Wine Vinegar Crisps - 75%
- Aldi Specially Selected Sea Salt & Chardonnay Vinegar Hand Cooked Crisps - 69%
- Morrisons The Best Hand Cooked Sea Salt & Suffolk Cider Vinegar Crisps - 67%
- M&S Hand Cooked Sea Salt & Balsamic Vinegar Crisps - 66%
- Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Sea Salt & Suffolk Cider Vinegar Hand Cooked Crisps - 65%
- Tesco Finest Sea Salt & Chardonnay Vinegar Hand Cooked Crisps - 64%
- Tyrrells Sea Salt & Cider Vinegar Crisps - 63%
- Kettle Sea Salt & Balsamic Vinegar of Modena Potato Chips - 60%
- Pipers Burrow Hill Cider Vinegar & Sea Salt Crisps - 57%