Crisps

OK, let's get the lingo straight.  Fries in America are called Chips in England, so Chips in America are called Crisps in England....got it?  Can I just say it's hard for me to say the word crisps...oh well.  The interesting thing here is that you can't buy a big bag of crisps here to open up and pour into a bowl for a party.  A big bag of Crisps will have 12 little single serving size bags in it.  This is such a great way to help us regulate our consumption of really yummy but "bad for you" snack, though it's probably worse for the environment.  The only exception to this that I've found so far is Doritos and Pringles.  Doritos come in a medium size bag with just Doritos in it, no little bags. And Pringles come in tubes just like at home.

Let's talk about brands...does the brand logo on the Crisps on the left look familiar to you?  They're called Walkers, but the logo looks identical to Lays.  I've noticed that with several brands here...same logo, different name.  Walkers was a British Potato Crisp Company that arose during World War II, but it's now owned by Frito Lay.  The crisps are the same style as Lays, but the flavorings are very different.  It seems that almost every flavor of potato crisp has a vinegary taste to it.  The bag on the left side of the picture came with 4 kinds of crisps in it: Ready Salted, Cheese & Onion (which isn't really that cheesy), Salt & Vinegar, and Prawn Cocktail (also very vinegary). 

The bag in the middle of the picture, also a Walker product, contains 6 bags of "Sun Bites".  These are exactly like American "Sun Chips" with the exception of the seasoning.  I don't think that these ones have much of a vinegar taste, but they do come in a few different flavors.

Doritos are flavored differently as well.  There aren't as many varieties as in the States, and the basic Dorito appears to be the "Tangy Cheese" flavor which is a milder cheese taste than Doritos at home, less spicy.  I actually really like them, which makes it unfortunate that they're not individually portioned!

So far it looks like Pringles are exactly like American ones, same seasonings and everything...though probably less variety.

Well now you know a little about snack foods in England!