Pringles Sour Cream and Onion Crisps, 165g

Sour cream and onion is a cool, tangy flavour, and on a Pringle it becomes one of the easiest crisps to share. This is Pringles Sour Cream and Onion in the 165g tube. The full product name on the pack is Sour Cream and Onion Flavour Savoury Snack.

The crisp

According to the published pack listing, the crisps are made from dehydrated potatoes, sunflower oil, wheat flour, corn flour, rice flour, a sour cream and onion seasoning, maltodextrin, an emulsifier (E471) and a colour, annatto norbixin. Like every Pringle, the crisps are formed from a potato and flour dough into the same saddle shape, so they stack in the tube and snap evenly.

The seasoning

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

How it tastes of sour cream

Sour cream owes its flavour to lactic acid, produced when cream is cultured. This seasoning uses real sour cream powder for the dairy base, sweet whey and milk proteins for extra creaminess, and three acids for the tang: lactic acid for the cultured cream note, citric acid for brightness and malic acid for a sharper, apple like edge. Onion powder brings the onion half of a sour cream and onion dip, and dextrose, sugar and glucose syrup powder soften the acids. The three flavour enhancers give savoury depth.

Oat fibre and starch

Two quieter ingredients sit in the seasoning. Oat fibre adds body to the powder and helps it cling, and modified maize starch does a similar job, carrying the flavourings evenly across the smooth face of each crisp. Oats are one reason the published ingredients highlight cereals containing gluten, alongside the wheat.

Numbers per serving

The label gives, per 30g serving, 157 kcal (655 kJ), 9g of fat, 0.9g of saturates, 17g of carbohydrate, 0.6g of sugars, 1.2g of fibre, 1.9g of protein and 0.19g 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, 2.1g of sugars, 3.9g of fibre, 6.2g of protein and 0.62g of salt.

Reading the front of the pack

On the UK front of pack scale, per 100g, fat at 30g is red and saturates at 3g amber. Sugars at 2.1g are green, and salt at 0.62g is amber, towards the bottom of the band and among the lowest salt figures in the Pringles range we stock.

The small tube is saltier

The 40g tube of the same flavour we stock uses a different seasoning order and adds salt to the crisp as well, and its label gives 1.2g of salt per 100g, nearly double this tube's 0.62g. For the lower salt version of sour cream and onion, the 165g tube is the one to buy.

Allergens and diet

The published ingredients highlight cereals containing gluten, from the wheat flour, wheat starch and oat fibre, and milk, from the flavourings, sour cream powder, whey 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. Recipes and factory arrangements change, so check the allergy advice on the pack you receive.

The tube and its recycling

The label says the tube is packaged in a protective atmosphere. The published recycling guidance says the lid and the tube can be recycled, and the seal should not be. The label points to the base for the best before date and names Kellogg Marketing and Sales Company (UK) Limited, at MediaCityUK in Salford, as the distributor.

Serving the tube

Sour cream and onion suits a party table because it has no heat and a gentle, creamy flavour that sits well beside almost anything else on the table, from a sandwich platter to a bowl of olives. Tip a stack into a bowl beside a salsa, a guacamole or a plate of sandwiches, or pass the tube round on a film night. It also goes well with a cold beer or a glass of lemonade.

In the kitchen

Crushed, these crisps make a creamy, oniony crumb for the top of a fish pie or a potato bake. Whole, they make neat canapé bases: a small spoon of soft cheese with chives on each echoes the flavour.

Other Pringles flavours

For the same flavour with a chilli kick, Pringles Hot Kickin' Sour Cream comes in a 160g tube. In the same 165g tube we stock Pringles Original, Cheese and Onion, Salt and Vinegar, Paprika, Smokey Bacon, Texas BBQ Sauce and Prawn Cocktail, and there is a 40g tube of this flavour.

Storage

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

Sizes of Pringles Sour Cream and Onion Crisps 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.