It's Crispmas! - I Know All News

With flavours including pigs in blankets, Christmas pud and Boxing Day curry… It’s Crispmas!

Retail expert Kantar, found sales of festive crisps surged by 31per cent in 2021
And this year, supermarkets have gone above and beyond with tons of flavours
Flavours include Bubbly And Serrano Chilli Potato Crisps and Turkey Feast

Ho, ho,ho — the Great Christmas-ification has begun! It’s time to stock up on yuletide jumpers, socks, tea towels, candles, sandwiches — and, not forgetting, the all-important, er, Christmas crisps.

According to retail expert Kantar, sales of festive crisps surged by 31per cent in 2021 and, this year, supermarkets have gone above and beyond with tons of flavours to choose from.

Every course is covered, too — from starters (Lobster Cocktail, Prosciutto & Truffle) to mains (Turkey Feast, Beef Wellington), and all the trimmings (Pigs In Blankets, Roast Potato, Boxing Day Curry, even Tesco’s controversial new Christmas Pudding Crisps).

Worth ditching your Christmas dinner for a full-on, slap up ‘Crisp-mas’ feast? We’ll let you decide…

Retail expert Kantar, found sales of festive crisps surged by 31per cent in 2021. And this year, supermarkets have gone above and beyond with tons of flavours

FOR STARTERS

Extra Special Prosciutto & Truffle Hand Cooked Crisps, £1.25 for 100g, Asda

Truffle is an acquired taste at the best of times, but this was quite overpowering and obliterated any taste of prosciutto. Despite this, these creamy snacks were incredibly moreish and out of all the products we tasted, it was the one we kept coming back to.

VERDICT: A bold-tasting crisp that stands out from the crowd. Perfect for foodies, but perhaps a little more challenging for more fussy eaters in the family.

Bubbly And Serrano Chilli Potato Crisps, Savoursmiths, £2.40 for 150g, Ocado

On first crunch, you get a champagne-pop of bubbles, which fizzes pleasantly in your mouth. Next you get a sharp — almost sweet — hit of salt and vinegar. You then finish with a kick of the serrano chilli. These crisps are luxurious, but as the priciest of our pick, they are not for everyday.

VERDICT: A posh potato crisp for special occasions — or for impressing curtain-twitching neighbours over Christmas drinks.

THE MAIN EVENT

Collection Turkey Feast Crisps, M&S, £2 for 150g

Classics such as turkey are always popular and, while most supermarkets offered up a version this year, it is M&S’s Turkey Feast that leads the pack, thanks to its savoury, umami flavours and hints of cranberry and herbs.

VERDICT: Delicious and bursting with yuletide cheer. For a double hit of turkey-ness, why not combine it with a M&S’s mega Turkey Feast Christmas sandwich (£3.25, five per cent of sales go to the charity Shelter).

Beef Wellington Crinkle Cut, 99p for 150g, Aldi

We expected these to be strong and meaty, but they were more subtle and sophisticated. Hints of buttery pastry came through first, followed quickly by a beefy tang and then a strong mushroomy aftertaste which didn’t linger long.

VERDICT: Perfectly pleasant, but if you’re after a hit of beefiness, you may be a tad disappointed.

ALL THE TRIMMINGS

The Best Pigs In Blankets Flavour, £1.09 for 125g, Morrisons

The best thing about Christmas dinner? Pigs in blankets, of course. While crisps come a close second, out of the brands we tested, many tasted like inside-out pigs in blankets — you got the sausage first and then the bacon.

After conducting a quick ‘pork-off ’, we deemed Morrisons top of the crop.

VERDICT: Morrisons got the order right — crispy bacon followed by nice sausagey undertones. The crinkle cut added more bite (the ridges mean you can load on more dip, too). Definitely one for our shopping list.

Irresistible Ultimate Roast Potato Crisps, £1.80 for 150g, Co-op

The emperor’s new clothes of crisps and simply ready-salted in disguise or a flavour sensation? These roast potato crisps, seasoned with Cornish sea salt, rosemary, black pepper and garlic, were the standout favourite in our testing.

VERDICT: While nothing could come between us and a hot crispy roastie (or two), we could easily eat a whole bag of these in one sitting. Heavenly with a gooey, baked camembert dip.

SOMETHING SWEET

Limited Edition Christmas Pudding Flavour crisps, £1.25 for 150g, Tesco Finest

Limited Edition Christmas Pudding Flavour crisps, £1.25 for 150g, Tesco F inest

Love it or hate it, it’s guaranteed to get the conversation going at even the most stilted drinks party. Sweet and salty at the same time, with notes of cinnamon and raisin running through, it is actually not as disgusting as it sounds. If you’re partial to fruitcake with a wedge of cheese, you’ll like this.

VERDICT: Novelty crisps are as festive as paper hats and bad cracker jokes, and this one certainly doesn’t disappoint.

AND THE DAY AFTER

Boxing Day Curry Crisps, Mackie’s, RRP £2.09 for 150g, britishcornershop.co.uk

Purists will sniff at these because they do not contain turkey so are, therefore, not a ‘proper Boxing Day curry’. We say that’s just semantics. A good, old-fashioned, chunky crisp that would go very well with a turkey sandwich in front of yet another rerun of Love Actually.

VERDICT: If you’re partial to a chip shop curry sauce (neon yellow, thick enough to stand a spoon in), or if you are old enough to remember Vesta packet curries from the 1970s, you’ll love these.

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