Doritos BBQ Sweet Tang Tortilla Chips, 180g

BBQ Sweet Tang is a barbecue Doritos: corn tortilla chips with a seasoning that is sweet, tangy and smoky, like a barbecue glaze. This is the 180g sharing bag, marked new on the front, and the label counts six 30g servings. The full product name on the pack is BBQ Sweet Tang Flavour Corn Chips.

The ingredients

According to the published pack listing, the chips are made from corn (maize), rapeseed oil, a BBQ Sweet Tang flavour seasoning and antioxidants: rosemary extract, ascorbic acid, a tocopherol rich extract and citric acid. The seasoning lists dextrose, acids (sodium acetates, citric acid and malic acid), tomato, paprika and onion powders, hydrolysed vegetable protein, sugar, monosodium glutamate, potassium chloride, flavouring, garlic powder, salt, molasses powder, smoked maltodextrin, smoked sunflower oil and paprika extract for colour.

The sweet

Dextrose, a sugar made from starch, leads the seasoning, with sugar and molasses powder further down. Molasses gives the dark, treacle sweetness of a barbecue sauce.

The tang

Sodium acetates, the salts of the acid in vinegar, bring a vinegar tang, and citric and malic acid sharpen it. That sweet and sour balance is the barbecue sauce in the name.

The smoke

Smoked maltodextrin and smoked sunflower oil carry the smoky flavour. Paprika powder adds a sweet pepper warmth, and paprika extract gives the red colour.

Tomato, onion and garlic

Tomato powder is the base of any barbecue sauce, and onion and garlic powders give the seasoning a savoury body.

The savoury side

Hydrolysed vegetable protein, a savoury ingredient made by breaking down plant protein, and monosodium glutamate deepen the flavour, so the sweetness does not taste thin.

Potassium chloride

Potassium chloride sits in the seasoning beside the salt. It tastes salty but contains no sodium, and the salt figure on a UK label is worked out from sodium.

Corn and rapeseed oil

Corn (maize) is the first ingredient, cooked into triangles in rapeseed oil. The smoked sunflower oil is part of the seasoning, not the cooking oil.

Numbers for a serving

The label gives 144 kcal (602 kJ), 6.7g of fat, 0.6g of saturates, 18g of carbohydrate, 1.3g of sugars, 1.8g of fibre, 1.9g of protein and 0.26g of salt for each 30g serving. That is about 7% of an average adult's daily energy reference intake, 10% of the fat and 4% of the salt.

Numbers per 100g

Per 100g the label gives 479 kcal (2006 kJ), 22g of fat, 1.9g of saturates, 60g of carbohydrate, 4.3g of sugars, 5.8g of fibre, 6.4g of protein and 0.85g of salt.

Reading the front of the pack

On the UK front of pack scale, per 100g, fat at 22g is red, as it is for fried tortilla chips generally. Saturates at 1.9g are amber, sugars at 4.3g are green and salt at 0.85g is amber.

Salt

At 0.85g of salt per 100g, BBQ Sweet Tang is the second least salty Doritos we stock, after Sizzling Beef Taco at 0.8g.

Allergens and diet

No allergen is highlighted in the published ingredients. The allergy advice says the chips may contain milk, soya, wheat and other cereals containing gluten. The listing says they are suitable for vegetarians; no vegan or gluten free claim is made. Recipes and factory arrangements change, so check the allergy advice on the pack you receive.

A sharing bag

Six 30g servings make this a bag for a table: a film night, a barbecue or a bowl beside the drinks. The label advises finishing an opened bag within three days, so fold the top over tightly between sittings.

Why a corn chip

Corn gives a tortilla chip its sweet, toasted flavour and a denser, glassier crunch than a thin potato crisp, and the triangle is sturdy enough to scoop a dip or hold a topping.

At a barbecue

A bowl of BBQ Sweet Tang suits a real barbecue: next to burgers, grilled chicken or corn on the cob, the smoky seasoning matches the food.

Nachos

Spread the chips on a tray, top them with grated cheese and sliced spring onion, and grill until the cheese melts; the sweet smoky seasoning works like a barbecue sauce under the cheese.

Molasses

Molasses is the dark syrup left when sugar is refined from cane or beet. As a powder it adds a deep, slightly bitter sweetness, the flavour behind a sticky barbecue glaze.

The antioxidants

Rosemary extract, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), a tocopherol rich extract (vitamin E) and citric acid protect the oil in the chips from turning stale.

Who it suits

BBQ Sweet Tang suits anyone who likes a sweet, smoky barbecue flavour with no chilli heat. It is not the bag for anyone avoiding MSG, which is listed.

Other Doritos

We stock four other Doritos flavours in 180g sharing bags: Tangy Cheese, Cool Original, Chilli Heatwave and Sizzling Beef Taco, and Extra Flamin' Hot in a 163g bag.

Storage

The label advises a cool, dry place and finishing an opened bag within three days.

Other 180g packs of Doritos 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.