Tyrrells Cheddar Cheese and Chive Crisps, 150g

Mature cheddar and chive is a sharper, more savoury take on cheese and onion, and Tyrrells puts it on a hand cooked crisp. This is the 150g sharing bag, which the label suggests serves five. The full product name on the pack is mature cheddar cheese and chive seasoned potato crisps.

The ingredients

According to the published pack listing, the crisps are made from potatoes, sunflower oil, lactose (milk), onion powder, mature cheddar cheese powder (milk), yeast extract, salt, sugar, dried chives, garlic powder and a colour, paprika extract. The only colour is paprika extract, from peppers.

Real mature cheddar

The cheese in the seasoning is mature cheddar, dried to a powder. Mature cheddar is aged for longer than mild, which gives it a sharper, deeper flavour, and that sharpness is what separates this crisp from a milder cheese and onion. Lactose, the natural sugar in milk, carries the powder and adds a gentle sweetness.

Chives and onion

Dried chives, the mildest member of the onion family, give a fresh, green note, while onion powder and garlic give the savoury depth. Onion powder sits ahead of the cheese on the list, so the allium side leads, with the cheese close behind.

Hand cooked

The pack describes these as hand cooked English crisps. Hand cooking means frying the slices in batches, so the oil temperature drops when each batch goes in and recovers as it cooks. That gives a harder, more uneven crunch, with some slices curled and folded, than a crisp fried continuously on a conveyor.

Red Tractor potatoes

The label says the potatoes are Red Tractor certified. Red Tractor is the British farm and food assurance scheme, which checks standards on the farm, and the label says the crisps are made in England.

Numbers per serving

The label gives 152 kcal (632 kJ), 8.3g of fat, 0.8g of saturates, 15.9g of carbohydrate, 1.1g of sugars, 2g of fibre, 2.3g of protein and 0.39g of salt for each 30g serving. That is about 8% of an average adult's daily energy reference intake and 7% of the salt. Per 100g it is 505 kcal (2106 kJ), 27.8g of fat, 2.6g of saturates, 52.9g of carbohydrate, 3.6g of sugars, 6.5g of fibre, 7.5g of protein and 1.3g of salt.

Reading the front of the pack

On the UK front of pack scale, per 100g, fat at 27.8g is red, as it is for fried crisps generally. Saturates at 2.6g are amber. Sugars at 3.6g are green. Salt at 1.3g is amber, in the upper part of its band.

Allergens and diet

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

What the brand leaves out

The pack says Tyrrells never uses artificial ingredients such as artificial flavours, colours or MSG. The colour here is paprika extract. Yeast extract, which is on the list, is naturally rich in glutamates, which is worth knowing for anyone who avoids glutamates altogether.

The pack

The front of the yellow bag uses a black and white vintage photograph, like the other Tyrrells packs we stock: three women in hats, the one in the middle holding a whole round cheese. Under the name it reads hand cooked English crisps and est. Herefordshire, England.

Who it suits

A cheese crisp with no heat suits a mixed table, and with a vegetarian statement and a gluten free claim it covers several diets at once, though not anyone avoiding milk.

Serving the bag

Cheddar and chive suits a cheeseboard, a ploughman's lunch or a party bowl. Serve it with apple slices, pickled onions or a pale ale, or beside a jacket potato with soured cream and chives to echo the flavour.

In the kitchen

Crushed, the crisps make a cheesy, herby crumb for the top of a fish pie, a cauliflower cheese or a macaroni cheese. Add the crumb in the last few minutes of baking so it browns without burning.

Storage and packaging

The pack advises a cool, dry place and, once opened, an airtight container. The bag is packaged in a protective atmosphere, which keeps oxygen away from the oil until you open it. The published recycling guidance says the whole packaging can be recycled with carrier bags at large supermarkets and should not go in home recycling.

Other Tyrrells flavours

In the same 150g bag we stock Tyrrells Lightly Sea Salted, Sea Salt and Black Pepper, Sea Salt and Cider Vinegar, Smoked Paprika, Sweet Chilli and Red Pepper and Roasted Chicken and Sage. Lightly Sea Salted has half the salt of this bag, at 0.65g per 100g.

Other 150g packs of Tyrrells 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.