Pipers Crisps – Burrow Hill Cider Vinegar and Sea Salt

The canon is well established at this point that vinegar and I have a checkered past, to put it mildly. I can’t say that I’m a big fan, but I can put aside my differences with it when it matters, aka when there’s a quirky sounding flavour that draws my attention. I feel my issue with vinegar is more the smell than anything. As someone with a very sensitive smell, vinegar in any meaningful quantity tends to sting my nose and sometimes even eyes.

That isn’t to say all vinegar is born equal. There are certain styles of vinegar I find more bearable, but in general the white vinegar is the stuff of nightmares for me. It just so happens it’s also usually he vinegar that is paired with fried potatoes, whether they be chips or fries. Apple cider vinegar I find more bearable though, as it tends to have some of the sharpness rounded off with a bit of a slightly sweet tang. I say slight because much like alcohol, when it comes to vinegar it’s basically all I can taste.

Talk about a mouthful of a name. I will admit that the use of cider vinegar intrigued me, even though a big part of my brain tells me it’s just marketing talk and most people won’t be able to tell the difference from the usual vinegar. What can I say, I am a sucker for experiments on old classic flavour profiles.

The flavour is basically exactly what I expected, and is a typical salt and vinegar combo. I don’t know if the the marketing is affecting my brain, but I feel like it’s not as harsh of a vinegar flavour and has a slight sweetness to it. Not enough that I can’t compare it to basically any other salt and vinegar chip I’ve had.

Texture is akin to the generic Lays classic style – it’s very thin and airy and what you think of when you think generic mass market chip. It’s a popular style for a reason, but I feel like this would have been better served it had more of a harder, kettle style going for it. Either that or I just grew up on Ms. Vickie’s when eating salt and vinegar. As it stands it feels like a slightly inferior version of them in the texture department.

I don’t know if I would get these again. Not because they were bad, but they are basically just salt and vinegar chips and I could get something cheaper that tastes almost identical. And slightly better texture for my preference.