Pipers Wyke Cheddar and Onion Crisps, 150g

Pipers make sharing crisps with named ingredients, and this is their cheese and onion, with the cheese named on the front as Wyke cheddar. This is the 150g sharing bag. The pack names Pipers Crisps as the maker and carries the line est. by farmers.

The ingredients

According to the published pack listing, the crisps are made from potatoes, sunflower oil, onion powder, cheese powder (milk), sea salt, yeast extract powder, milk powder, sugar and paprika extract for colour. That is nine ingredients in all.

No flavourings

There is no flavouring on the list, natural or otherwise. The cheese taste comes from cheese powder and milk powder, the onion from onion powder, and yeast extract adds savoury depth, so what you taste is what is listed.

Onion first

Onion powder is the first seasoning ingredient, ahead of the cheese powder, so onion leads and cheese follows. A little sugar softens the onion, and sea salt sharpens both.

Wyke cheddar

The front of the pack names the cheese as Wyke cheddar, and the ingredients list gives it as cheese powder, from milk. Cheddar is an aged cheese, with a sharper, deeper flavour than a young, mild cheese.

Yeast extract

Yeast extract powder gives savoury depth behind the cheese. It is naturally rich in glutamates, worth knowing for anyone who avoids them altogether; there is no added MSG on the list.

Sunflower oil

The crisps are fried in sunflower oil, the only oil on the list. The label gives 3.5g of saturates per 100g, some of it from the cheese and milk powders.

Numbers per 100g

The label gives 533 kcal (2227 kJ), 31g of fat, 3.5g of saturates, 56g of carbohydrate, 1.5g of sugars, 3.3g of fibre, 6.2g of protein and 1.6g of salt per 100g. The listing gives no serving size, so the figures on this page are per 100g.

Reading the front of the pack

On the UK front of pack scale, per 100g, fat at 31g is red, as it is for fried crisps generally. Saturates at 3.5g are amber. Sugars at 1.5g are green. Salt at 1.6g is red, just over the 1.5g line.

Allergens and diet

The published ingredients highlight milk, in the cheese powder and the milk powder. The published listing gives no may contain advice. The pack says the crisps are suitable for vegetarians and carries a gluten free claim; they are not vegan, because of the milk. Recipes and factory arrangements change, so check the allergy advice on the pack you receive.

Gluten free

No gluten containing cereal is on the list, and the pack carries a gluten free claim, which makes these a cheese and onion crisp for a coeliac guest.

Salt across the range

At 1.6g of salt per 100g, Wyke Cheddar and Onion sits in the middle of the Pipers bags we stock: above Anglesey Sea Salt at 0.94g and Wild Thyme and Rosemary at 1.4g, below Trealy Farm Chorizo at 2g and Burrow Hill Cider Vinegar at 2.1g.

Crisps as they should taste

The back of the pack carries the line crisps as they should taste, and the brand describes its aim as bold flavour from named ingredients and good potatoes.

The pack

The yellow and white bag carries the Pipers trumpeter, a figure blowing a long horn, over the Pipers name, with Wyke in yellow above cheddar and onion crisps and the 150g weight.

The Pipers range

Pipers name the source of a key ingredient on each bag: Wyke cheddar, Atlas Mountains thyme, Trealy Farm chorizo, Burrow Hill cider vinegar and Anglesey sea salt. The five bags we stock share the same 150g format and are all fried in sunflower oil.

A sharing bag

At 150g, the bag is made for sharing. Tip a handful into a bowl rather than eating from the bag, and clip it shut between servings.

Who it suits

A cheese and onion crisp with a short, flavouring free list suits anyone who reads labels, and the gluten free claim suits a coeliac guest. It is not suitable for anyone avoiding milk.

Serving the bag

Serve it with a cheeseboard, a ploughman's lunch or a pork pie, and a pint of bitter or a dry cider. It makes an easy bowl for a gathering.

The crisp sandwich

Cheese and onion crisps in a ham or cheese sandwich are a British lunch classic, and a sturdy sharing crisp keeps its crunch in the bread.

In the kitchen

Crushed, the crisps make a cheesy, oniony crumb for the top of a macaroni cheese or a fish pie.

Storage

The pack advises a cool, dry place and eating the crisps within three days of opening. Clip the bag shut between servings.

Other Pipers flavours

In the same 150g bag we stock Pipers Anglesey Sea Salt, Burrow Hill Cider Vinegar and Sea Salt, Trealy Farm Chorizo and Atlas Mountains Wild Thyme and Rosemary.

Other 150g packs of Pipers 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.