Pringles Prawn Cocktail Crisps, 165g

Prawn cocktail flavour borrows the sweet, pink sauce of the old starter rather than the prawns, and Pringles Prawn Cocktail puts it on the stackable Pringles crisp. This is the 165g tube, which the label suggests serves five to six. The full product name on the pack is Prawn Cocktail Flavour Savoury Snack.

The crisp

According to the published pack listing, the crisps are made from dehydrated potatoes, sunflower oil, corn flour, wheat flour, a prawn cocktail seasoning, rice flour, maltodextrin, an emulsifier (E471), rapeseed oil and a colour, annatto norbixin. The potato and flour dough is pressed into the Pringles saddle, giving every crisp the same shape and snap.

The seasoning

The prawn cocktail seasoning lists sugar, flavourings, an acidity regulator (E262), spices, tomato powder, citric acid, sunflower oil, dextrose, barley malt vinegar, skimmed milk powder, salt, yeast extract, a flavour enhancer (disodium 5'-ribonucleotides), inulin, glucose syrup, milk proteins and paprika extract for colour.

It reads like the sauce. Sugar, dextrose and glucose syrup give the sweetness of a ketchup based dressing. Tomato powder brings the tomato, and skimmed milk powder and milk proteins bring the creamy side that mayonnaise gives the real thing. The tang comes from three places: E262, the sodium acetates, salts of the acid in vinegar; citric acid; and barley malt vinegar itself. The spices add a little warmth and the flavourings carry the seafood note.

What is not on the list

No seafood of any kind is listed, which is why the published listing can mark the crisps as suitable for vegetarians. No monosodium glutamate is listed either; the only flavour enhancer is disodium 5'-ribonucleotides. And unlike some prawn cocktail crisps, this seasoning lists no sweetener: the sweetness comes from sugar, dextrose and glucose syrup.

Inulin

Inulin is a plant fibre found in foods such as chicory root and onions. In a seasoning it adds body and a faintly sweet taste, and it contributes to the fibre figure on the label.

The lowest salt Pringles we stock

Per 100g the label gives 0.55g of salt, the lowest figure among the Pringles in our range. The full per 100g panel reads 517 kcal (2157 kJ), 30g of fat, 2.7g of saturates, 54g of carbohydrate, 2.5g of sugars, 4.8g of fibre, 5.3g of protein and 0.55g of salt. On the UK front of pack scale fat is red, saturates amber, sugars green and salt amber, towards the bottom of its band.

Allergens and diet

The published ingredients highlight cereals containing gluten, from the wheat flour in the dough and the barley malt vinegar in the seasoning, and milk, from the skimmed milk powder and milk proteins. The allergy advice says the crisps may contain soya. The published listing marks them as suitable for vegetarians and as halal. They are not vegan, because of the milk, and not suitable for anyone avoiding gluten. No crustacean ingredient is listed. Recipes and factory arrangements change, so check the allergy advice on the pack you receive.

The tube

The label says the tube is packaged in a protective atmosphere, which keeps oxygen away from the oil. Press the lid on firmly after opening. The pack names Kellogg's, at MediaCityUK in Salford, as the distributor.

Serving the tube

Prawn cocktail suits a retro party table: a platter of prawn and lettuce cups, a plate of sandwiches, cheese and pineapple sticks and a tube of these crisps. A stack also makes a good side for a salmon or tuna sandwich, where the sweet tang does the job of a dressing.

In the kitchen

Crushed, the crisps make a sweet, tangy crumb over a prawn cocktail itself, or over a fish pie before it goes in the oven. Because they are all the same shape, whole crisps also work as small canapé bases for a spoon of prawns in Marie Rose sauce.

A 30g handful in context

The label gives nutrition per 100g and suggests five to six servings in the tube. Pour a handful into a bowl rather than eating from the tube if you are keeping count; at 0.55g of salt per 100g, this is the tube to choose if salt is what you are watching.

Who it suits

It suits a retro party, a picnic and anyone who likes a sweet and tangy crisp without heat. It is marked suitable for vegetarians and halal on the published listing. It does not suit anyone avoiding gluten, because of the wheat and barley, or milk.

Other Pringles flavours

In the same 165g tube we stock Pringles Original, Sour Cream and Onion, Cheese and Onion, Salt and Vinegar, Paprika, Smokey Bacon and Texas BBQ Sauce. Sour Cream and Onion and Original sit close on salt, at 0.62g per 100g on their labels.

Storage

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

Other 165g 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.