McCoy's Salt & Malt Vinegar Crisps Review

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Nutrition

Bag
Calories
Fat
Saturated
Salt
Sugars
32g
167
9.8g
0.9g
0.8g
0.3g
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Verdict

Bag

The McCoy's flavour colour coding and golden topped bags provide a classically simple and effective design. However, the branding is just wording on a slope. If they are 'Man Crisps' the logo should be 'stamped' on the bag with a branding iron. In other words, a proper logo should be created, rather than words and graphics merging as if easily created on Photoshop. The additional wording that appears on these bags is overwhelming and unnecessary.
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Crunch

The Snap Test was a success - The Crisps snapped in half in both directions. The crunch was firm but muffled. The thickness of the Crisps and general lack of visible oil meant that there was minimal crunch for a Crisp. The munch was good, but there was nothing loud about it; a bit biscuity.

Texture

Although these were regular cut Crisps they were thicker than most Hand Cooked Crisps, which is a rarity, although they may have been reconstituted. Most of the Crisps were small, but whole. There was however a fair few broken Crisps. The Ripples were wide and evenly spaced. There was potato skin and browning around the edges of what were otherwise fairly yellow and seasoningless Crisps.
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Taste

The Nose Plunge Test revealed a really nice Malt Vinegar smell. It was mild so it didn't make eyes water, but it was like opening a bag of Chips from the fish shop. The Crisp Licka Test found a reasonably even coating of Salt & Vinegar. The key to the best Crisps is an even balance between a flavouring combo. Salt & Vinegar is an especially hard one to get right - vinegar often overwhelms salt in this pairing. In this case, there was a leaning towards vinegar, but the taste was so mild that it was barely distinguishable from the potato. A few had no noticeable seasoning at all.