Bad Monkey – Nacho Cheese Popcorn
Every once in a while I get hit with a really bad hankering for popcorn. It’s one of those snacks that some people can convince themselves is not as damaging, and with even more mental gymnastics can convince themselves it’s healthy. I mean, sure if you eat plain popcorn, there’s a good chance you could consume less calories. But then you take into account all the extra popcorn you would eat to feel sated, or all the salty seasoning or butter to make it taste even better, and the picture isn’t as rosy. Kind of like how eating salad is a healthy option, but not quite as so once you throw in fancy dressings, cheese, croutons and the like.
If however, you are like me and just enjoy a nice light snack that is tasty and don’t care too much about calories or sodium or what have you, then maybe we will get along just fine. I am guilty of enjoying the super seasoned or salty popcorn, and I’m kind of expecting that from this product.
Bad Monkey is a relatively new competitor on the scene when it comes to gourmet popcorn. Being that it hails from a few provinces over in our little slice of the Frigid North, naturally I felt compelled to try it out. Plus, how could you say no to that adorable packaging?
While most of the labels on the package are no surprise like being vegan, no cholesterol, no trans fat and high in fiber, no dairy is kind of interesting given it’s a nacho cheese flavour. But I guess flavour science has come a long way.
These are really hard to put down. Like typical popcorn, it’s hard to have just a few, but these seem to be super addictive. I’d say it comes down to a combination of the flavour and the texture.
The texture is pretty similar to what you expect from most gourmet popcorn – it’s light and fluffy, but still come in nice big kernels. Something I found interesting about these is that they don’t seem to get as many kernel shells stuck between my teeth. It makes the whole experience much more pleasant when I’m not having to dislodge kernels or worry about hard pieces ruining the mouth feel. With some prepackaged popcorn, the way they get the seasoning to stick to the corn is some sort of cooking spray or oil coating. But if not done right it changes the way the popcorn tastes. That’s not an issue here, as the texture is just the right balance, and serves as a perfect vector for the flavour seasoning. These were pretty fresh, and don’t seem to be as obviously packaged popcorn, as some other brands who have a more Styrofoam or unnatural texture to them.
The flavour is where most pre-packaged popcorn have to excel in to stand out. The flavour is top notch – it’s got a strong cheese flavour but has a bit of sweetness to it in the after taste so it reminds me a of your typical nacho cheese flavoured chips. It’s not exactly a complex flavour, but if you like cheese, this is straight to it without any bells or whistles. There’s not heat or spiciness to it that would distract from the cheese flavour, which I can appreciate. This flavour knows what you want, and doesn’t give you any more, or any less. If you’re anything like me, when you think nacho cheese you usually think of a super orange and salty tortilla chip. That’s a good thing, by the way.
The only complaint I would have is that the seasoning is a bit uneven in certain spots, with some kernels turning out a lot more orange than the others. This is less of an issue for me personally, since I’m stuffing my face by the handful with these. Man these are hard to stop…
I’m not sure how common these are outside of Canada right now, but they are in many grocery stores, and you can even purchase boxes online. If you like popcorn, I would highly recommend giving these a try. I know I certainly will. You can look forward to more reviews in the future.
