Nik Naks are a knobbly corn snack. As far as I can tell, this is just a posh way of saying "unusual shaped crisp". They come in several flavours, each as artificial as one another, but this review is about the Rib 'n' saucy flavour, because that's what I had with my lunch.

For those of you who have never seen a Nik Nak, the pack does tell it like it is when it describes them as "Knobbly, freaky sticks of corn": the fried corn sticks are a yellowy-orange colour and they vary between about 1cm-3cm in length and 0.5cm to 1cm in cross-section and they are, indeed, exceedingly knobbly. The texture of the sticks is fairly solid and both crisp and crunchy; they aren't puffed corn, so they don't just melt in your mouth, but they aren't brittle like potato crisps, so they don't break into sharp pieces that get stuck between your teeth; nor are they so hard that you break a tooth whilst eating them.

The portion size of a bag of Nik Naks is 30g - this is quite a bit smaller than many snacks on the market, but means that you will eat fewer calories overall. I found the size of the bag about right for a mid-morning snack.

In terms of flavour, it tasted generically savoury to me (thanks to the umami-giving monosodium glutamate), whilst also being both sweet and salty at the same time - I certainly couldn't have identified that it was supposed to taste of ribs and sauce! Perhaps a better guide would be that I found it a pleasant but extremely artificial taste but that I didn't think that it was any more synthetic-tasting than most other crisps or savoury snacks.

The packet was a lurid purple colour with a clashing graffiti-like logo on the front - presumably designed to appeal to children. There was also a prominent label to appeal to the adults who would be doing the paying that proudly stated that the product contained "50% less saturated fat", then in smaller writing on the back of the packet it added "than in 2005" - cunning marketing for something that isn't ever going to be a health product.

In terms of nutritional, according to the packet, each 30g bag contains 169kcal, 0.2g of sodium and a hefty 11.5g of fat (of which 2.5g is saturated fat), so they are still a treat food, in spite of the "50% less saturated fat" logo.

As you may expect from the description, the ingredients of this snack are maize, two different types of vegetable oil and a long list of flavourings that make up the rib 'n' saucy flavour. The ingredients did contain a surprise though - it only has one "contains" allergen - wheat (although beware if you have bad allergies because it does say that it is processed on the same line as products that contain gluten, egg, soya, milk and mustard). There is also a big logo stating it is suitable for vegetarians, but as far as I can tell from the ingredients, this Rib 'n' saucy flavour is actually vegan!

In conclusion, if you want to keep your body a temple, look elsewhere. If you want a tasty vegetarian snack to keep you going until lunchtime and you like excessively synthetic flavouring then try a bag of these.

(Cross-posted to ciao)