Pringles Hot Kickin' Sour Cream Crisps, 160g

Pringles Hot Kickin' Sour Cream takes a cool flavour, sour cream and onion, and adds heat. This is the 160g tube from the hot Pringles range, filled with the same stackable, saddle shaped crisps as the classic tubes. The full product name on the pack is Sour Cream Flavour Savoury Snack.

Formed from a dough

According to the published pack listing, the crisps are made from dehydrated potatoes, sunflower oil, wheat flour, corn flour, rice flour, a sour cream seasoning, maltodextrin, an emulsifier (E471) and a colour, annatto norbixin. Pringles are not slices of potato. The dehydrated potato and flours are made into a dough that is pressed into the same curved shape every time, which is why each crisp stacks neatly on the next and why the tube can be so tightly packed.

The seasoning

The sour cream seasoning lists flavourings (containing milk and chilli extract), onion powder, flavour enhancers (monosodium glutamate, disodium guanylate and disodium inosinate), dextrose, modified maize starch, wheat starch, salt, sugar, sour cream powder, sweet whey powder, sunflower oil, citric and lactic acids, glucose syrup and milk proteins.

Three things build the flavour. Sour cream powder, sweet whey and milk proteins give the cool, creamy base, and lactic acid, the acid that sours cream, sharpens it into a proper sour cream tang. Onion powder, high on the list, gives the onion half of a sour cream and onion dip. And the chilli extract inside the flavourings brings the kick that the name promises, sitting under the cream rather than on top of it.

Three flavour enhancers

Monosodium glutamate, disodium guanylate and disodium inosinate are listed together. Glutamate gives savoury depth, and guanylate and inosinate each strengthen it, so the trio makes a light dusting taste full. It is a common combination in savoury snacks and stock cubes, and it is named openly on this label.

Cream and heat together

Sour cream is what people often reach for to calm chilli, because fat and dairy protein carry away capsaicin, the compound behind chilli heat. Putting the two in one seasoning gives a flavour that warms and cools at the same time: the heat builds, the dairy softens it, and the tang keeps it lively. That makes it a gentler route into hot crisps than a plain chilli flavour.

Numbers per serving

The label gives, per 30g serving, 157 kcal (656 kJ), 9g of fat, 0.9g of saturates, 17g of carbohydrate, 0.7g of sugars, 1.2g of fibre, 1.9g of protein and 0.18g of salt. That serving is about 8% of an average adult's daily energy reference intake and 3% of the salt. Per 100g it is 523 kcal, 30g of fat, 3g of saturates, 55g of carbohydrate, 2.2g of sugars, 3.9g of fibre, 6.4g of protein and 0.61g of salt.

Reading the front of the pack

On the UK front of pack scale, fat at 30g per 100g is red, above 17.5g. Saturates at 3g are amber. Sugars at 2.2g are green. Salt at 0.61g is amber, in the lower part of its band; this is one of the lower salt Pringles in our range.

Allergens and diet

The published ingredients highlight cereals containing gluten, from the wheat flour and wheat starch, and milk, from the flavourings, sour cream powder, whey and milk proteins. The allergy advice says the crisps may contain soya. The pack says they are suitable for vegetarians. They are not vegan, because of the milk, and not suitable for anyone avoiding gluten. Recipes and factory arrangements change, so check the allergy advice on the pack you receive.

The tube

A tube protects its contents better than a bag, because nothing presses on the crisps. The label says the tube is packaged in a protective atmosphere, which keeps oxygen away from the oil until it is opened. Once opened, press the lid back on firmly between servings. The published listing gives the origin as produce of the EU and names Kellogg's on the pack.

Serving the tube

The hot Pringles suit a film or games night. Tip a stack into a bowl, or pass the tube round. A cool dip is still welcome: a chive dip or a bowl of guacamole balances the kick, and a cold drink helps too. For guests who want no heat at all, put a tube of Pringles Sour Cream and Onion or Original alongside.

In the kitchen

Crushed, these crisps make a creamy, warm crumb for the top of a potato bake or a cauliflower cheese. A few whole crisps on a bowl of chilli con carne add crunch and echo the soured cream people often spoon on top. Add them just before serving so they keep their snap.

Wheat starch as well as wheat flour

This tube lists wheat twice: wheat flour in the dough, as in most Pringles, and wheat starch in the seasoning, where it helps carry the powder. For anyone avoiding gluten both matter, and the published ingredients highlight cereals containing gluten accordingly.

The hot Pringles range

In the same 160g tube we also stock Pringles Hot Smokin' BBQ Ribs. For the milder version of this flavour, Pringles Sour Cream and Onion comes in a 165g tube.

Storage

Store the tube in a cool, dry place, with the lid on firmly once opened.

Other 160g packs of Pringles 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.