Hula Hoops Smoky Bacon Potato Rings, 6 x 24g

Smoky bacon is a classic British crisp flavour, and the Hula Hoops version has no bacon in it: the smoke comes from a smoked sugar. This multipack holds six 24g bags of the potato rings, 144g in total. The full product name on the pack is smoky bacon flavour potato rings.

The ingredients

According to the published pack listing, the rings are made from potato (potato starch and dried potato), sunflower oil, rice flour, a smoky bacon flavour (dried yeast extract, smoked dextrose, rice flour, salt, dextrose, sugar, dried onion, potassium chloride, dried garlic, natural flavouring, citric acid and paprika extract for colour), maize flour, potassium chloride and salt.

Where the smoke comes from

Smoked dextrose is a simple sugar that has been exposed to wood smoke, and it carries the smoky, cured note of bacon in a dry powder. Yeast extract leads the flavour and gives the savoury, meaty depth; dextrose and sugar add the slight sweetness of cured bacon, and onion and garlic round it out.

Dextrose and sugar

Dextrose appears twice, plain and smoked, alongside a little sugar, but the label gives only 1.6g of sugars per 100g, because the seasoning is a small part of each ring.

Garlic and onion

Dried onion and dried garlic give a savoury, cooked depth under the smoke, the base of many barbecue rubs.

No bacon

No meat of any kind is listed, and the pack says the rings are suitable for vegetarians. The smoke and savour do the work that bacon would.

Potassium chloride and the salt figure

Potassium chloride appears twice, in the flavour and in the rings themselves. It tastes salty but contains no sodium, and the salt figure on a UK label is worked out from sodium. The label gives 1.5g of salt per 100g, the second lowest of the Hula Hoops six bag packs we stock, after Hula Hoops Original at 1.4g.

The ring

Hula Hoops are made from a dough of potato starch and dried potato, with rice and maize flour, which gives a light, even crunch rather than the brittle snap of a sliced crisp.

Rice and maize flour

Rice flour and maize flour sit beside the potato in the dough, and rice flour carries the seasoning too, helping give the rings their light, even texture.

The numbers

The label gives 495 kcal (2071 kJ), 24g of fat, 2.3g of saturates, 64g of carbohydrate, 1.6g of sugars, 2.4g of fibre, 3.4g of protein and 1.5g of salt per 100g. The published listing gives figures per 100g only; worked out for a 24g bag, that comes to 5.8g of fat and 0.36g of salt, about 6% of an average adult's daily reference intake for salt.

Reading the front of the pack

On the UK front of pack scale, per 100g, fat at 24g is red. Saturates at 2.3g are amber and sugars at 1.6g are green. Salt at 1.5g is amber, right at the top of its band.

Allergens and diet

No allergens from the UK list of 14 are highlighted in the published ingredients. The allergy advice says the rings may contain cereals containing gluten and milk. The pack says they are suitable for vegetarians; there is no vegan claim and no gluten free claim. Recipes and factory arrangements change, so check the allergy advice on the pack you receive.

What the pack leaves out

The pack says there are no artificial flavours or colours and no MSG; the colour is paprika extract. Yeast extract, which leads the flavour, is naturally rich in glutamates, which is worth knowing for anyone who avoids glutamates altogether.

Who it suits

A smoky, meaty flavour with no meat on the list suits vegetarians who miss a bacon crisp. Check the may contain advice for milk and gluten first.

Six bags or a variety box

For more than one flavour, the Hula Hoops Variety boxes mix original, cheese and onion, salt and vinegar and, in the twelve bag box, BBQ beef.

Six bags for the week

Six bags cover a working or school week with one to spare. A smoky, savoury ring suits a cheese sandwich, a tomato soup or an egg mayonnaise roll.

Serving ideas

Smoky bacon rings suit a party bowl or a picnic, and they go well with a cheese and tomato sandwich or a mug of soup.

In the kitchen

Crushed, the rings make a smoky crumb for the top of a macaroni cheese or a leek and potato bake, giving a bacon note to a meat free dish.

Storage and packaging

The pack advises a cool, dry place. The published recycling guidance says the whole packaging can be recycled with carrier bags at large supermarkets and should not go in home recycling.

Other Hula Hoops

In the same six bag format we stock Hula Hoops Original, Cheese and Onion, Salt and Vinegar and BBQ Beef, and the six and twelve bag Hula Hoops Variety boxes.

Other 6 x 24g packs of Hula Hoops we stock

Figures as published on each pack's label.

The published listing gives the United Kingdom as the country of origin. The tasting notes on this page are our own editorial assessment against the current pack format and the brand's published description.