Walkers are undoubtedly great crisp producers and it all started way back in 1945 when a butcher named Henry Walker decided to start cooking slices of potato to sell because the meat supply was virtually non-existent, in 1954 he created his first flavoured crisps and Walkers cheese and onion were born, since then things have come on leaps and bounds and Walkers are one of the biggest crisps and snack producers in the world and they are constantly coming up with new ideas and new flavours.

One relatively new idea from Walkers is the Walkers Sensations Lime & Coriander Chutney Poppadoms. (Possibly the longest title for any packet of crisps ever). Well to say these are crisps is not technically correct because they are supposed to be poppadoms, which for anyone who does not know are Indian in origin and are usually served as an accompaniment to a meal, they are traditionally made from a dough mixture made up from rice flour, salt and peanut oil and they are about the size of an average dinner plate yet very, very thin.

Walkers do not exactly make their poppadoms to the traditional Indian recipe although they do include two of the main ingredients in rice flour and salt they also add many extras such as potato granules and gram flour, ingredients which sadly push up the carbohydrate count in these snacks. The flavouring is made up from Garlic, onion, coriander, cumin, red pepper and lime.

Whilst the texture of these snacks does not really resemble a true poppadom, they are fairly close and certainly very tasty. Probably the main reason these differ from real poppadoms is the fact that they are a bit thicker and somewhat crunchier but I feel this makes for a better crisp type snack and of course if they had tried to make them as thin as poppadoms all we would have got when we opened a packet was a bag full of crumbs because of how poppadoms break up.


THE PACKAGING

As with many crisp packets these days the bag is about twice the size it needs to be for the amount of crisps it actually holds. It is a very eye catching packet with its main colour being a deep purple and it`s secondary colour being an eye catching green. There are also pictures of the snack on the front so you know what you are getting before you actually open the bag. Walkers have done their best to give the packaging an exotic Indian appearance and I feel they have done quite well.

On the back of the packet you have the ingredients and nutritional info as you would expect, this information also includes the fact that these are suitable for vegetarians and coeliacs. Along with this there is also information on how to contact Walkers and also what to do if you are not satisfied with the product.


THE LOOK AND SMELL

These look a bit pale in colour compared to a normal Walkers crisp but then that is how they should look if they want to emulate poppadoms which themselves are very pale in colour. They do actually look like miniature poppadoms although as I mentioned earlier they are somewhat thicker.

The smell is very hard to describe, the first hit you get when you open the bag is one of a mixture of spices, once this has settled down a bit you get a more pleasing crisp type smell with just a hint of the coriander. Scent wise the lime is nowhere to be found but it does appear in the taste test.


THE TASTE AND TEXTURE

On placing the first couple of poppadoms in my mouth I was greeted with a slightly tongue nipping spicy taste but there was a clear undertone of lime to this taste, to be honest it was quite weird at first and I was a bit unsure whether or not I was going to enjoy these but as soon as the taste of the first ones subsided I could not wait for the next ones.

You quickly get over the original weirdness of the fruity lime taste coming through the spices and it begins to blend into one delicious overall taste that dances on the tongue and leaves your mouth watering between mouthfuls.

The texture is a sort of mixture between typical crisps and traditional poppadoms, there is a decent crunch but then they break up quickly into a very satisfying mouthful of tasty pieces. After eating a lot of these the spicy taste may be a bit much for some people but it is by no means overpowering and if you like a spicy treat then you will enjoy these.

WHERE TO GET THEM AND HOW MUCH THEY COST

These are not available everywhere, although most supermarkets will stock them they are much harder to find in local stores, well certainly not round my way they are not anyway. As far as I know they only come in 90g packets and they cost between £1.36 and £1.49 depending on where you shop. Tesco at £1.36 are usually the cheapest for these and that is where I now regularly buy mine.

NUTRITIONAL INFO (per pack)

Calories - 418 (16% of a man's daily allowance and 21% of a woman's)

Protein - 6.3g (10 % of a man's daily allowance and 12.6 % of a woman's)

Carbohydrate - 53g

Fat - 19.8g

Salt - 2.88g

OVERALL OPINION

My overall opinion of these crisps (poppadoms) is that they are a very tasty snack that can be enjoyed straight from the packet or as part of an Indian meal (perhaps as a starter with dips), they offer a delicious exotic Indian taste which those with a taste for spicy food will love but if you do not like curry flavouring or just cannot stomach spicy foods then these will not be for you.

I feel these are reasonably good value for money and they are different enough from other crisps type snacks to offer a real change. My worry with these would be the calorie count and fat content but even more worrying than that for me would be the amount of salt that appears in these. there is 48% of the recommended daily allowance of salt in one packet, you would think that there would be some way to bring this down without the taste suffering too much.

That aside though, these are crisps I would highly recommend to people and they are certainly crisps I will be buying time and time again. The bag is just the right size to share through a movie or watching TV and it is also just enough for two to have as a starter before and Indian meal.

For additional information, visit: www.Walkers.co.uk

Thanks for reading

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