Walkers Lea and Perrins Worcester Sauce Crisps, 6 x 25g

This multipack puts Walkers Lea and Perrins Worcester Sauce flavour into lunchbox portions: six 25g bags, 150g in total. The full product name on the pack is Worcester Sauce Flavour Potato Crisps. It is the dark, tangy member of the Walkers range, built to taste like the savoury sauce from Worcester without any of the fish that goes into the bottled version.

The seasoning in order

According to the published pack listing, the crisps are made from potatoes, sunflower and rapeseed oils in varying proportions, a Worcester sauce seasoning and antioxidants: rosemary extract, ascorbic acid, a tocopherol rich extract and citric acid. The pack says the potatoes are 100% Great British potatoes.

The seasoning lists flavourings, citric acid, sugar, potassium chloride, salt, fructose, spices, cocoa powder and paprika extract for colour. Flavourings come first and carry most of the character. Citric acid is second, which tells you that tang is the next most important note. Sugar and fructose, two different sugars, soften that tang. The spices give warmth and the small amount of cocoa powder a dark, roasted depth.

Two sugars and a little cocoa

Fructose is the sugar found in fruit and honey, and it tastes sweeter than ordinary sugar, so a little goes a long way. Using both gives a rounded sweetness that sits behind the sharp acid rather than in front of it; the label's 1.6g of sugars per 100g shows how small the amounts are. In a small amount, cocoa powder adds colour and depth rather than an obvious chocolate taste. It gives the seasoning the dark, slightly bitter edge that the bottled sauce gets from its long list of fermented and spiced ingredients.

Numbers for one bag

The label gives 127 kcal, 7.3g of fat, 0.5g of saturates, 13g of carbohydrate, 0.4g of sugars, 1.1g of fibre, 1.6g of protein and 0.17g of salt for a 25g bag. Per 100g that is 509 kcal, 29g of fat, 2.2g of saturates, 1.6g of sugars and 0.67g of salt. On the UK front of pack scale fat is high, saturates and salt are medium, and sugars are low. One bag is about 6% of an average adult's daily energy reference intake and 3% of the salt.

Allergens and diet

No allergens from the UK list of 14 are highlighted in the published ingredients, and no fish is listed. The allergy advice says the crisps may contain cereals containing gluten, milk, mustard and soya. The pack states they are suitable for vegetarians, with no added MSG or artificial colours. No vegan or gluten free claim is made, so we would not describe them as either. Recipes and factory arrangements change, so check the allergy advice on the pack you receive.

How the crisps are made

Washed potatoes are sliced thin, rinsed and fried in the sunflower and rapeseed blend until the water has cooked out and each slice snaps. The seasoning goes on while the crisps are warm, so the thin film of oil holds the powder in place.

The front of pack colours

On the UK scale, the per 100g figures give a red for fat, because 29g is over the 17.5g threshold; amber for saturates at 2.2g; green for sugars at 1.6g; and amber for salt at 0.67g, which sits closer to the bottom of the 0.3g to 1.5g band than the top. Per 25g bag, the salt is about 3% of an adult's daily reference intake.

Six bags for the week

Six 25g bags cover a working week of lunches with one to spare. Worcester sauce is a savoury, grown up flavour with a clear tang and no chilli heat, so it suits a cheese sandwich, a ham and mustard roll or a mug of soup. A bag crushed over a cauliflower cheese or a Welsh rarebit before it goes under the grill adds crunch and a flavour that belongs there, since Worcestershire sauce is a traditional ingredient in rarebit.

Why a tangy crisp suits cheese

Acid and fat balance each other. A rich cheese coats the mouth, and the citric acid in this seasoning cuts through that richness, which is the same reason pickle, chutney and a dash of Worcestershire sauce all turn up next to cheese. A bag of these beside a Cheddar sandwich works on the same principle.

The sauce pairing

Walkers Heinz Tomato Ketchup is the other sauce named flavour in the same six bag format, and the two make an easy comparison: one sweet and tomato led, the other dark and tangy. In the same six bag size we also stock Walkers Cheese and Onion, Salt and Vinegar, Prawn Cocktail, Roast Chicken, Smoky Bacon and BBQ Sauce. For a single serving, the same flavour comes in a 45g bag.

Keeping them fresh

The pack advises a cool, dry place. Keep the bags in the outer pack until needed and finish each bag once it is opened. In a lunchbox, a dry side pocket keeps the crisps away from fruit and drinks.

Sizes of Walkers Lea and Perrins Worcester Sauce Crisps we stock

Figures as published on each pack's label.

The published listing gives the United Kingdom as the country of origin and names Walkers Snack Foods Ltd 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.