PopCorners – Spicy Cheddar

As a self professed spice wimp, I’ve mentioned many times that I don’t like much heat. I’ve heard a lot of people cite various examples on why spice is superior. That it enhances all the other flavours, or it unlocks something in our brain and causes it to release chemicals that give some people a high. All it usually does to me is make me regret my life choices in the moment, and try gasping for air in the hopes it cools me down.

But ok, spicy cheese seems like it could work well. After all, the cheese flavour should ideally balance out the heat, right? Plus, PopCorners is a big brand now, so there would be limits on how spicy things could actually get. I think I can handle this. Probably.

True to it’s name, it is indeed spicy but not all at once. It’s the insidious type of spicy that builds up over time and by the time you notice it, it’s too late and you can’t escape it. That being said it’s still not that bad once it’s at full power. The cheddar is distinctly cheesy and has a nice zesty dairy flavour to it. The spiciness seems to come from jalapeno, if the flavour is anything to go by. Jalapeno cheddar is a classic, so no surprises there. All in all, the spice isn’t strong enough that I am phased at all by these, and I very quickly and summarily demolished the bag. Hey, maybe they were on to something with the extra spice enhancing the flavour.

The texture is what takes the cake – it’s really something unique where it’s a hybrid of airy, crunchy and sometimes crispy too. There’s typically thinner pieces and thicker ones, where the thicker ones are more like rice cakes and more airy, while the thinner ones are more compressed and more crispy. It’ essentially what you imagine if you took a fist full of popcorn and pressed it down into a triangular chip. I suspect it’s not a particularly easy process, and contributes to why these are gram for gram more expensive than basically any other chip of the same size or format.

PopCorners continues to impress me, in everything other than the price. These feel to be more expensive, especially when you are used to looking at things at a price per unit perspective. But these are good, and enough so that I would have to try and override that part of my brain to enjoy these.