Discos Salt and Vinegar Crisps, 6 Pack

Discos are round, crisp discs from KP Snacks, made from a wheat and potato dough rather than a sliced potato, and Salt and Vinegar is the classic flavour. This six pack holds 25.5g bags, one serving each, and the front of the pack says six pack.

The ingredients

According to the published pack listing, the snacks are made from wheat starch, dried potato, sunflower oil, wheat flour (with calcium, niacin, iron, folic acid and thiamin), a salt and vinegar flavour (natural flavouring, rice flour, salt, potassium chloride, citric acid, malic acid, dried barley malt vinegar extract and dried yeast extract) and an emulsifier (mono and diglycerides of fatty acids).

A wheat snack, not a crisp

The first ingredient is wheat starch, with dried potato second, so a Disco is a formed snack made from a dough, not a slice of potato, and every disc is the same round shape and even thickness.

The emulsifier

Mono and diglycerides of fatty acids are an emulsifier that helps the starch, potato and oil dough hold together and set evenly, giving the discs their smooth, regular crunch.

Malt vinegar

The vinegar is dried barley malt vinegar extract, the brown vinegar of the chip shop, and it is why barley is a cereal containing gluten on this list. Citric and malic acid sharpen the tang, and natural flavouring leads the seasoning.

Yeast extract

Dried yeast extract gives savoury depth under the sharpness. It is naturally rich in glutamates, worth knowing for anyone who avoids them altogether; there is no MSG on the list.

Potassium chloride and the salt figure

Potassium chloride sits in the seasoning beside salt. It tastes salty but contains no sodium, and the salt figure on a UK label is worked out from sodium. The label gives 1.7g of salt per 100g and 0.43g for each bag.

Numbers for one bag

The label gives 133 kcal (556 kJ), 7.7g of fat, 1.4g of saturates, 15g of carbohydrate, 0.5g of sugars, 0.7g of fibre, 0.8g of protein and 0.43g of salt for each 25.5g bag. That is about 7% of an average adult's daily energy reference intake, 11% of the fat and 7% of the salt. Per 100g it is 522 kcal (2182 kJ), 30g of fat, 5.5g of saturates, 58g of carbohydrate, 0.5g of sugars, 2.6g of fibre, 3.3g of protein and 1.7g of salt.

Reading the front of the pack

On the UK front of pack scale, per 100g, fat at 30g is red. Saturates at 5.5g are red too, just over the 5g line. Sugars at 0.5g are green. Salt at 1.7g is red.

Allergens and diet

The published ingredients contain wheat, in the wheat starch and wheat flour, and barley, in the malt vinegar extract. The listing for this barcode carries no allergy advice and no diet statements, so read the pack for any may contain statement and for whether it is marked suitable for vegetarians. Recipes and factory arrangements change, so check the allergy advice on the pack you receive.

The same recipe as the bigger bags

The ingredients and the figures per 100g are the same as the Discos Salt and Vinegar 50g and 105g bags, and the 25.5g bag matches the salt and vinegar bags in the Discos Variety six pack.

Saturates

The label gives 5.5g of saturates per 100g, red on the front of pack scale, and 1.4g in a bag.

Rice flour and sunflower oil

Rice flour carries the seasoning so it spreads evenly over the discs, and sunflower oil is the only oil on the list.

A lunchbox bag

At 133 kcal, a 25.5g bag is about half the 261 kcal of the 50g grab bag. Discos are the same size and shape every time, which makes them a tidy lunchbox snack with few broken bits.

Fortified flour

UK wheat flour is fortified with calcium, iron, niacin and thiamin, and this list adds folic acid, which is why those five appear in brackets.

The crunch

A formed disc has a smooth, even crunch, lighter and more regular than a fried potato slice, and every one is the same shape.

Six bags

At 25.5g, each bag is one serving, 133 kcal. Six bags cover a school or working week with one to spare.

The pack

The blue outer bag carries the Discos name in a glitter ball, with rays of light behind it, a 6 pack label and salt and vinegar in yellow, with a few discs around the edge.

Who it suits

A sharp, even crunch in a small bag suits a lunchbox. It is not suitable for anyone avoiding gluten.

Serving ideas

A bag goes with a cheese sandwich, a sausage roll or a fish finger sandwich.

In the kitchen

Crushed, a couple of bags make a sharp, fine crumb for fish goujons.

Storage

Keep the bags somewhere cool and dry until you open them.

Other Discos

The same recipe comes in a 50g grab bag and a 105g sharing bag. For three flavours in one six pack, there is the Discos Variety pack.

Sizes of Discos Salt and Vinegar Crisps we stock

Figures as published on each pack's label.

The tasting notes on this page are our own editorial assessment against the current pack format and the brand's published description.