Walkers Classic Variety Crisps, 6 x 25g

The six bag Walkers Classic Variety box is the smallest way to buy a mix of the classic flavours. It holds two bags of Cheese and Onion, two of Ready Salted and two of Salt and Vinegar, six 25g bags and 150g of crisps altogether, each bag sealed on its own.

Three flavours, one crisp

According to the published pack listing, all three flavours start from the same thin Walkers crisp: potatoes, sunflower and rapeseed oils in varying proportions, and antioxidants (rosemary extract, ascorbic acid, a tocopherol rich extract and citric acid). The pack says the potatoes are 100% Great British potatoes, and it states no added MSG or artificial colours.

On top of that, ready salted adds only salt. Cheese and onion adds a seasoning led by dried onion, with salt, dried milk whey, lactose, sugar, a flavouring containing milk, cheese powder, dried yeast, citric and malic acids, whey protein, dried garlic and two colours from plants, annatto bixin and paprika extract. Salt and vinegar adds dry acids, potassium acetates and citric acid, with flavourings, potassium chloride, a little sugar, salt and yeast extract.

How this box differs from the bigger ones

The fourteen and twenty bag Classic Variety boxes add a fourth flavour, prawn cocktail, which contains the sweetener sucralose. This six bag box leaves it out, so there is no sweetener in any bag here. That makes it the simpler choice for a household that avoids sweeteners, and a straightforward box to hand round because the only allergen difference to explain is the milk in the cheese and onion.

The three nutrition panels

The box carries a panel for each flavour. Per 25g bag, cheese and onion gives 128 kcal, 7.4g of fat and 0.29g of salt; ready salted gives 130 kcal, 7.8g of fat and 0.3g of salt; salt and vinegar gives 127 kcal, 7.3g of fat and 0.16g of salt. Per 100g, cheese and onion and ready salted both carry 1.2g of salt, and salt and vinegar carries 0.64g, about half, because its seasoning leans on potassium chloride and potassium acetates, which do not count towards the salt figure. On the UK front of pack scale all three are high for fat, medium for saturates and salt, and low for sugars.

Allergens and diet

The cheese and onion seasoning contains milk, in the whey, lactose, flavouring, cheese powder and whey protein, and the listing highlights milk for the box because of those bags. The ready salted and salt and vinegar ingredients list no milk. The allergy advice for the box says the crisps may contain cereals containing gluten, mustard and soya. The pack states they are suitable for vegetarians. No vegan or gluten free claim is made. Recipes and factory arrangements change, so check the allergy advice on each bag you hand out, not only on the box.

How the crisps are made

Every bag holds the standard thin Walkers slice. Potatoes are washed and sliced thin, the slices are rinsed of surface starch, and they are fried in the sunflower and rapeseed blend until almost all their water has boiled away and the starch has set crisp. Salt, the cheese and onion powder or the salt and vinegar powder is then dusted over the warm crisps so the oil holds it.

Who the six bag box suits

Six bags cover a working or school week with one to spare, and two of each flavour means a small household can share without arguments. It is also a sensible way to find out which of the three classics a new member of the house prefers before committing to a single flavour box. For a picnic or a day trip, six small bags travel better than one sharing bag, and each stays crisp until it is opened.

A quick guide to the three

Ready salted is the plain one, with only salt on the slice, and the easiest to pair with any food. Cheese and onion is soft and savoury, onion first and dairy second. Salt and vinegar is the sharp one, and the acids make the mouth water. If someone does not know which they like, the order ready salted, then cheese and onion, then salt and vinegar goes from mildest to boldest.

Bigger boxes and single flavours

The fourteen bag Classic Variety box holds four cheese and onion, four ready salted, three salt and vinegar and three prawn cocktail; the twenty bag box holds five of each of those four. For single flavours, we stock Walkers Cheese and Onion, Ready Salted and Salt and Vinegar in six bag multipacks, and the Walkers Ready Salted and Cheese and Onion box holds seven bags of each.

Storage

The pack advises a cool, dry place. Keep the bags in the box until needed, and finish each bag once it is opened. If the box is going into a shared cupboard, sort the cheese and onion bags to one side so anyone avoiding milk can see at a glance which bags to leave.

Sizes of Walkers Classic Variety Crisps we stock

Figures as published on each pack's label.

The published listing gives the United Kingdom as the country of origin, and the pack names Walkers as the maker. The tasting notes on this page are our own editorial assessment against the current pack format and the brand's published description.