PopCorners – Sweet Chili

PopCorners have always been a bit of a weird thing for me. When I evaluate the value of a snack, I think about the snack itself, and the weight of what I am paying for. PopCorners occupy a weird space where I treat them half as a chip and half as popcorn. Let me explain – when I look at popcorn, I assume the weight will be light despite containing a lot of popcorn in the bag, given that it’s light and occupies more space. Chips tend to be heavier but also occupy less space. Then you have PopCorners which are light in the weight department, but also come in small bags. I know the reason for all this, but it feels like a strange disconnect I struggle with even now, seeing an expensive bag of chips when going by price per weight.

Having said that, I have come to grips that there’s more to it than just weight or arbitrary metrics, and ultimately I do enjoy the texture of PopCorners. I also have come to appreciate the flavour profile of sweet chili, so here we are.

These have an interesting texture in that they are very airy and light, but also compressed down to where it’s got a nice crunch and snap to it. It’s almost like if you took a handful of popcorn and compressed it down to a flat triangle. I do believe that Popcorners carved an interesting niche in the market and there’s nothing quite like it. It’s got that perfect balance between light and airy but also providing a decent crunch without being heavy. It really does feel like you are eating something healthier, whether it’s actually better or not is another issue. Because it’s not fried it isn’t nearly as crispy, but also not as heavy or guilty feeling.

The flavour is like a combination of kettle and savoury chili. It starts off sweet, and the savoury spicy chili comes in after. It’s not particularly hot or spicy, but has a low, persistent heat. Low and slow, as the meat lovers know. The combination of the savoury and sweet flavour, with the mild spice in the back give it a quality that makes it very addictive and will leave you coming back for more. So much so that very quickly, you will find the bag empty, as I did.

The biggest downside of these is that they are extremely addictive and you will find yourself with an empty bag very quickly. Apart from that I don’t have too many complaints and overall enjoyed this very much. It certainly makes me rethink my age old metrics.