Walkers Monster Munch Pickled Onion Snacks, 6 x 20g

Monster Munch are the Walkers baked corn snacks shaped like monster claws, and Pickled Onion is the sharp, tangy one of the two classic flavours. This multipack holds six 20g bags, 120g in all, and the pack says each bag is one serving. The full product name on the pack is pickled onion flavour baked corn snacks, and the pack names Walkers Snack Foods Ltd as the maker.

The ingredients

According to the published pack listing, the snacks are made from maize, rapeseed oil and a pickled onion seasoning of flavourings, whey permeate (from milk), onion powder, sugar, flavour enhancers (monosodium glutamate and disodium 5'-ribonucleotide), salt, potassium chloride, garlic powder, hydrolysed soya protein, citric acid and spices.

Pickled onion without vinegar

There is no vinegar and no vinegar powder on the list. The sharp, pickled tang comes from the flavourings, which lead the seasoning, and citric acid, with onion powder and garlic behind.

Onion and garlic

Onion powder is the only onion on the list, and garlic powder rounds it out, the two giving the savoury, allium base under the tang.

Whey permeate

Whey permeate, a milk ingredient left when the protein is taken out of whey, softens the sharpness and is the reason milk is highlighted.

MSG and soya

The flavour enhancers are monosodium glutamate and disodium 5'-ribonucleotide, and hydrolysed soya protein adds more savoury depth, so these are not for anyone who avoids MSG or soya.

Claws

Each piece is a monster's claw, with a hole to poke through, and the claws are scattered across the front of the pack around a grinning monster.

Baked, not fried

The pack says the snacks are baked, not fried. Corn snacks like these start as a maize meal that is cooked under pressure and pushed through a shaped opening, where it puffs as it meets the air, and the rapeseed oil and seasoning go on after. Baked does not mean without fat: the label gives 25g of fat per 100g.

Potassium chloride and the salt figure

Potassium chloride sits in the seasoning beside salt. It tastes salty but contains no sodium, and the salt figure on a UK label is worked out from sodium. The label gives 1.55g of salt per 100g and 0.31g for each bag.

Numbers for one bag

The pack gives 98 kcal (412 kJ), 5g of fat, 0.4g of saturates, 12g of carbohydrate, 0.6g of sugars, 0.3g of fibre, 1.2g of protein and 0.31g of salt for each 20g bag, which it puts at 5% of an average adult's daily energy reference intake, 7% of the fat and 5% of the salt. Per 100g it is 492 kcal (2061 kJ), 25g of fat, 2.1g of saturates, 60g of carbohydrate, 3g of sugars, 1.7g of fibre, 6g of protein and 1.55g of salt.

Reading the front of the pack

On the UK front of pack scale, per 100g, fat at 25g is red. Saturates at 2.1g are amber. Sugars at 3g are green. Salt at 1.55g is red, just over the 1.5g line. The small 20g bag keeps each portion to 98 kcal, the figure on the front of the pack.

Allergens and diet

The published ingredients highlight milk, in the whey permeate, and soya, in the hydrolysed soya protein. The allergy advice says the snacks may contain celery, cereals containing gluten and mustard. The pack says they are suitable for vegetarians; they are not vegan, because of the milk, and there is no gluten free claim. Recipes and factory arrangements change, so check the allergy advice on the pack you receive.

What the pack leaves out

The pack says there are no artificial colours or preservatives. There is no colour on the list at all.

Six small bags

At 20g, each bag is a small portion, 98 kcal. Six bags cover a school week with one to spare.

The pack

The purple outer bag carries the Walkers logo, the green and red Monster Munch name over a grinning monster with a red nose, a 98 kcal per pack roundel, a less plastic flash and a band for six bags of Pickled Onion.

Who it suits

A sharp, tangy corn snack in a small bag suits a lunchbox and anyone who likes pickled onions with a crunchy, airy bite. It is not suitable for anyone avoiding milk, soya or MSG.

Serving ideas

A bag goes with a cheese sandwich or a ploughman's lunch, where the tang cuts through the cheese. For a party, tip a few bags into a bowl with Monster Munch Roast Beef.

In the kitchen

Crushed, a couple of bags make a tangy crumb for the top of a macaroni cheese.

Storage and packaging

The pack advises a cool, dry place.

Other Monster Munch

The same recipe comes in a 40g grab bag, and Pickled Onion is one of the three flavours in the twelve bag Monster Munch Variety pack. In the same six bag format there is Monster Munch Roast Beef.

Sizes of Walkers Monster Munch Pickled Onion Snacks we stock

Figures as published on each pack's label.

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