Walkers Prawn Cocktail Crisps, 45g

Prawn cocktail crisps take their name from the prawn cocktail starter: prawns in a pink sauce of mayonnaise and tomato ketchup. This 45g bag of Walkers Prawn Cocktail borrows the sauce rather than the prawns. The published ingredients list no seafood of any kind, and the pack says the crisps are suitable for vegetarians.

How the flavour is built

According to the published pack listing, the crisps are made from potatoes, sunflower and rapeseed oils in varying proportions, a prawn cocktail seasoning and antioxidants (rosemary extract, ascorbic acid, a tocopherol rich extract and citric acid).

The seasoning lists flavourings, sugar, acids (citric acid and potassium acetates), dextrose, potassium chloride, salt, yeast powder, onion powder, tomato powder, spice extract, paprika extract for colour, and the sweetener sucralose. Read in order, it describes a sweet and sharp flavour: sugar and dextrose for sweetness, two acids for tang, tomato and onion for the sauce, and flavourings for the seafood note.

Sugar and sweetener together

Prawn cocktail is the one flavour in the standard Walkers range we stock with a sweetener on its list. Sucralose is a high intensity sweetener, many times sweeter than sugar, so only a tiny amount is needed. When a food contains both sugar and a sweetener, UK labelling rules require the name to say so, which is why the full name on the Walkers prawn cocktail multipack reads with sugar and sweetener. That sweetness is part of what makes the flavour taste like a ketchup based sauce.

The acids, and why there is no vinegar

Potassium acetates are salts of acetic acid, the acid that makes vinegar sour, and together with citric acid they give the seasoning its sharp edge. A dry acid is how a powdered seasoning gets a vinegar like tang without any liquid. The same two acids appear in the Walkers salt and vinegar seasoning, where they do far more of the work.

What the 45g bag adds up to

The label gives per 100g figures of 509 kcal (2124 kJ), 29g of fat, 2.2g of saturates, 53g of carbohydrate, 2.2g of sugars, 4.5g of fibre, 5.9g of protein and 0.65g of salt. Worked out for the 45g bag, that is about 229 kcal, 13.1g of fat, 1g of saturates, 1g of sugars and 0.29g of salt. That is roughly 11% of an average adult's daily energy reference intake and 5% of the salt. On the UK front of pack scale, fat is high, saturates and salt are medium, and sugars are low.

Reading the front of pack colours

The UK front of pack scale colours each nutrient by its amount per 100g. Fat above 17.5g is high, and at 29g these crisps are high, as fried crisps almost always are. Saturates between 1.5g and 5g are medium, and 2.2g sits there. Sugars under 5g are low, so 2.2g is low even with sugar near the top of the seasoning. Salt between 0.3g and 1.5g is medium, and 0.65g sits at the lower end of that band, helped by the potassium chloride on the list.

Allergens and diet

No allergens from the UK list of 14 are highlighted in the published ingredients, and no crustacean ingredient is listed despite the name. The allergy advice says the crisps may contain cereals containing gluten, milk, 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 the pack you receive.

How the crisps are made

Under the seasoning is the standard thin Walkers slice: washed potatoes cut thin, rinsed of loose starch, and fried until nearly all the water has cooked away and the slice has set crisp. The seasoning is dusted on while the crisps are warm, so the thin film of oil holds it.

When to reach for this bag

A 45g bag suits a single lunch, a day out or a train journey. The sweet and sharp profile goes with a cheese and pickle sandwich, a ham salad roll, or a cold drink on a warm day. It is also a good flavour for anyone who finds salt and vinegar too sharp but wants more going on than ready salted. And because the pack says it is suitable for vegetarians, it gives a vegetarian the taste of a prawn cocktail without the prawns.

Other sizes and relatives

For portions, the Walkers Prawn Cocktail six bag multipack holds 25g bags, and prawn cocktail also appears in the fourteen and twenty bag Walkers Classic Variety boxes and in both Walkers Meaty Variety boxes. For a baked version there is Walkers Oven Baked Prawn Cocktail, and in the same 45g size we stock Walkers Cheese and Onion, Salt and Vinegar, Ready Salted, Roast Chicken and Worcester Sauce.

Keeping it crisp

The pack advises storing it in a cool, dry place. Once opened, finish the bag the same day, because damp air softens crisps quickly once the seal is broken.

Sizes of Walkers Prawn Cocktail Crisps we stock

Figures as published on each pack's label.

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