McCoy's Yellow Mustard Crisps, 6 x 25g

McCoy's Yellow Mustard is named after the bright, mild mustard squeezed onto hot dogs, and it puts that tangy flavour onto a thick ridge cut crisp. This multipack holds six 25g bags, 150g in total. The current pack is marked as a limited edition, so it may not be on sale for long.

A mustard crisp without mustard

The most interesting thing on this label is what is missing. According to the published pack listing, the crisps are made from potatoes, sunflower oil and a yellow mustard flavour seasoning, and the seasoning lists sugar, natural flavouring, citric acid, yeast extract, salt, dried garlic, dried onion, potassium chloride, dried horseradish, paprika extract for colour and dried rosemary. Mustard seed, mustard flour and mustard itself do not appear.

The flavour is built instead. Citric acid, third on the list, gives the sharp tang of a yellow mustard. Dried horseradish, a root in the same plant family as mustard, supplies the nose tingling pungency that mustard is known for. Natural flavouring rounds out the mustard character, garlic and onion add savoury depth, and the paprika extract gives the seasoning its colour.

Allergens: read this part

Mustard is one of the 14 major allergens in the UK. It is not an ingredient here, but the allergy advice on the published listing says the crisps may contain cereals containing gluten, milk, mustard and soya. So someone with a mustard allergy should treat this crisp as they would any product with a may contain warning for mustard, and read the pack in hand. No allergens are highlighted in the ingredients. The pack says the crisps 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.

Numbers for one bag

The label gives 132 kcal (550 kJ), 7.8g of fat, 0.7g of saturates, 14g of carbohydrate, 0.9g of sugars, 1g of fibre, 1.6g of protein and 0.12g of salt for each 25g bag. That is about 7% of an average adult's daily energy reference intake and 2% of the salt. Per 100g it is 527 kcal, 31g of fat, 2.6g of saturates, 3.6g of sugars and 0.47g of salt. On the UK front of pack scale fat is high, saturates and salt are medium and sugars are low.

The salt figure, 0.47g per 100g, is the lowest among the McCoy's crisps we stock, level with McCoy's Hot Kick Ketchup. Potassium chloride on the list takes on part of the salty taste without adding sodium.

Reading the colours

On the UK front of pack scale, the per 100g figures put fat in the red band at 31g, as fried crisps generally are. Saturates at 2.6g are amber. Sugars at 3.6g are green, the highest sugar figure of the two limited editions but still under 5g. Salt at 0.47g is amber, close to the 0.3g boundary with green.

Why ridges help a tangy seasoning

McCoy's crisps are cut with a corrugated blade into thick, ridged slices. The grooves hold more of the seasoning powder than a flat crisp, so a sharp flavour like this one comes through strongly, and the thicker slice gives a firm crunch that suits a bold flavour.

How the crisps are made

Washed potatoes are sliced with the ridged blade, rinsed and fried in sunflower oil until the water has cooked out of the thicker slices. The seasoning is tumbled onto the warm crisps, and the pack says the bags are packaged in a protective atmosphere, which keeps oxygen away from the oil.

What to eat it with

Yellow mustard belongs on a hot dog, a burger or a salt beef sandwich, and the crisps suit the same food. They also work with a ham sandwich, where mustard would normally go, and with a strong cheese, where the tang and horseradish heat cut through the richness. A cold lager or a crisp cider is a good drink alongside.

A limited edition

The current pack is marked limited edition, as is McCoy's Hot Kick Ketchup in the same six bag format. If you like it, buy it while it is listed. For McCoy's flavours in the regular range, we stock Cheddar and Onion, Flame Grilled Steak, Salt and Malt Vinegar and Thai Sweet Chicken in six bag multipacks.

The packets

The published listing says the whole packaging can be recycled with bags at large supermarkets and should not go in home recycling.

Storage

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

Other 6 x 25g packs of McCoy's we stock

Figures as published on each pack's label.

The published listing names KP Snacks as the maker; the country of origin is not stated on the published listing, so check the current pack. The tasting notes on this page are our own editorial assessment against the current pack format and the brand's published description.