Duyvis – Bacon Cheddar Tiger Nuts

I’m pretty far out of my element right now. Not only am I dealing with a snack I’ve never tried or even heard of, I’m also dealing with a brand that is quite literally, foreign to me. The packaging says Duyvis has been around since 1806 and it’s a well established brand that specializes in nuts and nut based snacks. One of the things their famous for is Tijger Nootjes, or Tiger Nuts in English. I just want to take a moment and say that Tijger Nootjes is such a cooler name than Tiger Nuts. I mean, I also have no idea if I’m pronouncing it right when I say it in my head, but on paper it looks way more badass.

While this particular style of cracker peanuts as I refer to them, is foreign to me, the concept isn’t. Peanuts on their own are a great snack, but sometimes you want something a little extra. Seasoning the nuts alone may not be enough, but you throw in a small cracker or crunchy shell to the outside and you’ve got a fun and exciting snack that goes especially well with a nice cold drink.

Going into this completely blind, I have no idea what, if anything sets these apart from the cracker nuts that I’ve experienced before, largely from Asia which use a sort of rice cracker shell. Given that one of the top ingredients is rice flour, I have a general idea that this will be a slightly softer outer shell, rather than the harder, crunchier ones.

Visually, these come in all different sizes. Even the coating on them varies from each piece – some look like they caught a bit of coating, while others looked like they took a longer tumble in the machinery and came out a little angrier than the others.

The flavour is relatively mild, and not as strong or salty as I was expecting. Usually when I think of cracker nuts, I think of a snack that’s going to be super salty or dry that leaves my mouth parched without having a sip or two of a drink nearby. These may look dry, but they don’t leave my mouth feeling like a dessert or anything. The cracker itself has a mild coating of what tastes like sour cream and bacon, while the peanuts themselves have the most flavour. Once I get to the center of the nut, it’s flavour overtakes any of the coating, so the flavour of bacon and cheddar is quite fleeting. That’s kind of expected though, and is not unique to these over any type of cracker nuts.

The coating is typically not too thick on these nuts, and the cracker reminds me of eating breadcrumbs a little. They aren’t particularly crunchy, and most of the crunch comes from the peanut itself. The outer shell kind of melts away in the mouth if you leave it on your tongue. The texture of the coating reminds me of flaky, crumbly cracker balls that you get in those oriental snack mixes. The ones that come with rice crackers, peas, nuts, and more rice crackers.

I can’t seem to stop eating them, and I can’t tell if it’s just because peanuts as a snack or addictive or it’s the coating that makes them more addictive. Either way, I can see why these are popular and I would buy these again. I’d probably try some of the more locally popular flavours, but this was a good way to start off what could potentially be another rabbit hole.