Barbara’s – Cheez Puffs

Barbara’s is one of those brands that targets a somewhat less price conscious, more health aware consumer. Their products tend to be somewhat healthier or more natural version of commonly beloved food items. In the snack categories, they have a great selection of corn based snacks. It’s one of the brands that I found out about purely by chance, but ever since then find myself gravitating towards it over the more common, cheaper alternatives.

Not to be confused with the baked Cheez Puffs, these are more akin to the fried, crunchy goodness you get from Crunchy Cheetos. While I love me some airy, puffy and melt in your mouth cheese puffs, my heart will always prefer the crunchy, dense corn sticks. Not to shamelessly plug for Barbara’s, but if you like cheese puffs they got you covered on that end too. Spoiler alert – those are also pretty awesome.

I’ve had other Cheez Puffs from this brand, but they weren’t nearly as dense or crunchy. Don’t get me wrong, I love crunchy and dense, but I almost wonder if I got lucky (or unlucky depending on how you look at it) and my batch ended up getting fried for longer. The pieces look smaller but are also firmer and more tightly packed morsels of corn meal as a result. Incidentally also why I love the crunchy batter bits in fried foods as well.

The flavour is somewhat muted and mild, but in a natural way. You can taste the cheese, but it’s not a super aggressive or orange attack on the senses. It’s almost got a homemade feel to it. It’s got a decent flavour that compliments the texture, which honestly is the real star here. I can see how people who prefer stronger flavours or something more pungent would find these bland, but to me it’s just the right amount of cheese.

I’ve said this before but it’s worth repeating – when snacks market themselves as being healthier it’s all nice and fine and dandy, but what matters most to me is taste. These manage to deliver on that, so I can confidentially say that if money is not a concern (because these are premium priced in comparison) these are definitely worth it.

The question of whether I would get these again is a bit of a forgone conclusion given that this is something I’ve tried multiple times. I love these cheese puffs, and would recommend them to basically anyone and everyone. The only real question is what flavour I would prefer, this or the jalapeno cheddar one.