Hula Hoops Variety Potato Rings, 12 x 24g

The twelve bag Hula Hoops Variety box puts four flavours of the potato rings in one pack: three bags each of BBQ beef, salt and vinegar, original and cheese and onion, 288g in all. Every bag is 24g and a single serving.

What is in the box

According to the published pack listing, the box holds 3 x BBQ Beef Flavour, 3 x Salt and Vinegar Flavour, 3 x Original and 3 x Cheese and Onion Flavour. Twelve bags cover a fortnight of weekday lunches with two to spare, or a family week.

The ring

Every bag holds the same potato ring: a dough of potato starch and dried potato, with rice and maize flour, cooked in sunflower oil. Only the seasoning changes, so the texture is the same light, even crunch in every bag.

Original

The original bags are the plain ones: potato starch and dried potato, sunflower oil, rice flour, maize flour, salt and potassium chloride. No allergens are highlighted in their ingredients, and they carry the least salt in the box.

Salt and vinegar

The salt and vinegar bags are seasoned with natural flavouring, salt, citric acid, rice flour, dextrose, maltodextrin, sugar and yeast extract, with potassium chloride. No vinegar is named; the tang comes from citric acid and the flavouring. No allergens are highlighted in their ingredients.

Cheese and onion

The cheese and onion bags are seasoned with dried onion, salt, yeast extract, sugar, dried cheese, citric acid and natural flavourings containing milk, with a touch of cayenne and black pepper extract. They contain milk.

BBQ beef

The BBQ beef bags are seasoned with salt, rice flour, yeast extract, sweet whey powder, dried onion, potassium chloride, sugar, natural flavouring, dried tomato and paprika extract. There is no beef on the list, and the bags contain milk, in the whey.

Cooked in sunflower oil

The pack says the rings are cooked with 100% sunflower oil, and every recipe in the box lists sunflower oil as the only oil. The labels give 2.2g to 2.3g of saturates per 100g across the four flavours.

Potassium chloride

Potassium chloride appears in every recipe. It tastes salty but contains no sodium, and the salt figure on a UK label is worked out from sodium, so it seasons the rings without adding to that figure.

Numbers bag by bag

The labels give 120 kcal for every 24g bag. Salt varies more: original 0.34g, cheese and onion 0.43g, salt and vinegar 0.48g and BBQ beef 0.53g a bag. Per 100g, salt runs from 1.4g for original to 2.2g for BBQ beef.

Reading the front of the pack

On the UK front of pack scale, per 100g, all four flavours are red for fat, at about 25g, amber for saturates and green for sugars. Salt is amber for original, at 1.4g, and red for the other three: cheese and onion at 1.8g, salt and vinegar at 2g and BBQ beef at 2.2g.

Allergy advice

The published ingredients highlight milk in the cheese and onion and BBQ beef bags. The allergy advice for the box says it may contain cereals containing gluten, and the single flavour packs of original and salt and vinegar say they may contain cereals containing gluten and milk. Read the panel on each bag before sharing. Recipes and factory arrangements change, so check the allergy advice on the pack you receive.

Diet

The pack says the rings are suitable for vegetarians, and none of the four lists meat. There is no vegan claim, and two of the four recipes contain milk. There is no gluten free claim.

What the pack leaves out

The pack says there are no artificial flavours or colours and no MSG; the only colour, in two of the flavours, is paprika extract. Yeast extract, which appears in three of the four recipes, is naturally rich in glutamates, which is worth knowing for anyone who avoids glutamates altogether.

Who the box suits

A four flavour box suits a family where tastes differ: plain for the youngest, cheese and onion for most, salt and vinegar for anyone who likes it sharp, and BBQ beef for a meaty flavour without meat.

Sharing fairly

Every bag in the box is the same 24g portion, so sharing out is easy and fair, whichever flavour each person picks.

Party bowls

For a party, tip each flavour into its own small bowl so guests can choose, and keep the original and salt and vinegar bowls apart from the two flavours that contain milk.

Serving ideas

Tip a mix of bags into bowls for a children's party, or hand them out with packed lunches through the week. Rings go with any sandwich filling.

Storage

The pack advises a cool, dry place. Keep the bags in the outer bag until needed, and finish each bag once opened.

Each flavour on its own

All four flavours are sold on their own in six bag packs, which we stock: Hula Hoops Original, Cheese and Onion, Salt and Vinegar and BBQ Beef. There is also a twelve bag pack of Hula Hoops Original, and the six bag Hula Hoops Variety box holds original, cheese and onion and salt and vinegar.

Sizes of Hula Hoops Variety Potato Rings 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.