Fritos Hoops – Jalapeno

Jalapeno is sort of the every man of spicy flavours it seems – if you want to create a flavour that’s got a bit of heat and have it appear to the biggest crowd, you go with jalapeno. How many other peppers get it’s own flavour without having to have something else thrown in? Like lime, and mango or something else sweet. Jalapeno can stand on it’s own and still draw in a crowd. It’s almost impressive, really.

This is one of the snacks that seemed like such an obvious and quick win when you see it, but it maybe doesn’t really occur to you before. As I get older, I also begin to understand that sometimes the simplest things in concept are sometimes the hardest to execute on. It’s the fancy, over complicated things that aren’t that hard to do sometimes.

These are basically the same texture of a classic Fritos corn chip – it’s crispy and crunchy, but doesn’t have the same snap as a ringolos or other potato based ring shaped snacks.It has a nice crisp, almost airy finish where it snaps and quickly turns into dust in your mouth. If there’s one thing Fritos corn chips are known for, it’s for being arid and dry like a dessert in your mouth. But hey, at least it’s part of the charm that some of us enjoy. Others simply tolerate it because of the flavour.

The flavour is a decently seasoned jalapeno, and isn’t super hot or spicy. The heat builds up after a few, but it never gets too spicy or out of hand to the point that I stop myself. Essentially what you would come to expect out of a jalapeno flavour that caters to the masses. For some reason when I have jalapeno flavoured anything, I usually get a slight sensation or taste of banana. I don’t know if it’s just me, but it’s kind of weird. Not that I mind, just thought I’d point that strange fact out. People who are diehard fans of Fritos know that their flavours are quite salty and on the high end when it comes to sodium. More so than Toronto Maple Leafs fans from what I hear. But these are actually a bit lighter on the sodium – at least in flavour. By no means are these bland though, just not quite as over the top salty, which is nice.

The overall verdict on this is I would get them again. If I want the classic Fritos corn chip texture but in a fun shape and a less salty package, I’d get this. Yes I am well aware that original is a flavour too, but that sometimes is also quite salty and I tend to prefer to eat more than just a salt mines worth of chips.