O'Donnells Crisps
Address: Seskin Farm, Kilsheelan, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, Ireland Phone: +353 052 613 9016 Website: www.odonnellscrisps.com Email: info@odonnellscrisps.com O'DonnellsSeskin Farm is situated in the valley between Sliabh na mBan and the river Suir, with the Comeragh mountains beyond to the south. It is within The Golden Vale – an area renowned for Rich Soil, Pasturage and Beauty.
The River Suir is navigable from Clonmel to Waterford. Seskin has been run as mixed farm through the years. It produced arable crops, root crops, fodder and pasture for livestock, bloodstock and sheep. In 1826, O’Donnells farmed 66 acres of potatoes, 63 acres of wheat, 14 acres of oats,with 165 acres of pasture, 4 acres of orchard and 1.2 acres of garden. This was a phenomenal amount of potatoes and arable land by any standard at that time. This continuity has descended to present day farming. With the loss of the sugar beet industry in Ireland, potatoes are again grown commercially on the farm. A further step forward has been taken by Ed O’Donnell to launch O’Donnell’s Crisps with the potatoes produced at Seskin Farm in 2010. |
O’Donnells of Tipperary Hand Cooked Sweet Chilli Crisps
There was no flavour to these crisps on initial munching. There was however a fairly mild but warm sweet chilli flavour as soon as they were consumed. And then, a reasonable after-burn. ‘Secret Chilli’ would have been a fun description. The only disappointment was that they were not quite sweet enough, even if there was a reasonable chilli flavouring. (14) O’Donnells of Tipperary Irish Sea Salt
A Nose Plunge Test revealed a less salty aroma than I expected. Not least because the flavour that followed hit the mark just about right. I am not the best at comparing flavour free crisps, which is what I generally consider sliced potatoes with just some salt added when I review them, but these were as good as this humble flavour can provide. (18 *) O’Donnells of Tipperary Hand Cooked Hickory Barbeque Crisps
There was a little hint of spice as an aftertaste to these crisps. There was also a small amount of hickory, but mostly, there was a reasonable barbecue flavouring. There was also something unique about them because this typically American flavouring is often sweet and sickly. After all, it should be. These, however, were a sort of grown-up version of a familiar flavouring and made a very good alternative to the regular taste-testing experience of this variety. (18) O’Donnells of Tipperary Irish Cider Vinegar & Sea Salt
Sometimes I can’t help but sneak in a lick of a crisp, and these were brilliantly salty with a welcome hint of vinegar. Salt and vinegar can often lack strong vinegar, but these presented me with a different challenge. There was a nice balance between salt and vinegar, but the fancy description proposed an obstacle – I did not recognise the vinegar as ‘Cider Vinegar.’ I have to mark them down a point because they tasted like very good salt and [malt] vinegar crisps. (15) |
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