Walkers Quavers Cheese Snacks, 6 x 16g

Quavers are the light, curly potato snack from Walkers: a puffed curl of potato starch with a cheese coating that melts as you bite. This multipack holds six 16g bags, 96g in all, and the pack says each bag is one serving. The full product name on the pack is cheese flavour potato snack, and the pack names Walkers Snack Foods Ltd as the maker.

The ingredients

According to the published pack listing, the snacks are made from potato starch, sunflower oil, a cheese flavour (whey powder from milk, flavouring containing milk, flavour enhancers monosodium glutamate and disodium 5'-ribonucleotide, milk powder, cheese powder from milk, potassium chloride, garlic powder, lactic acid and paprika extract), rice flour, soya flour, salt, yeast, a further flavour enhancer (monosodium glutamate), onion powder (malt flour from barley), pepper, wheat flour (fortified with calcium, iron, niacin and thiamin) and annatto norbixin for colour.

Potato, but not a crisp

Quavers are made from potato starch, not sliced potato. The starch is blended with rice, soya and wheat flours, then puffed into the light, curled shape, which is why the pack calls them a light, curly potato snack.

Rice and soya flour

Rice flour and soya flour join the potato starch in the curl, and the soya flour is why soya is highlighted.

Sunflower oil

Sunflower oil is the only oil on the list, and the label gives 2.7g of saturates per 100g.

Melt in the mouth

A Quaver is mostly air. It crunches for a moment and then melts on the tongue, a very different bite from a crisp.

The cheese

Whey powder leads the cheese flavour, with milk powder, cheese powder and a milk flavouring, and lactic acid gives the tang of a mature cheese. Garlic powder and onion add savoury depth.

MSG

Monosodium glutamate appears twice on this list, in the cheese flavour and again after the yeast, with disodium 5'-ribonucleotide, so these are not for anyone who avoids MSG.

The colour

The orange colour comes from paprika extract and annatto norbixin, the colour that gives Red Leicester cheese its shade. The pack says there are no artificial colours or preservatives.

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, which is how Quavers can taste so salty at 2.14g of salt per 100g.

Salt

At 2.14g of salt per 100g, Quavers are among the saltiest snacks we stock, red on the front of pack scale. A 16g bag keeps it to 0.34g.

Numbers for one bag

The pack gives 86 kcal (359 kJ), 4.9g of fat, 0.4g of saturates, 9.9g of carbohydrate, 0.4g of sugars, 0.2g of fibre, 0.4g of protein and 0.34g of salt for each 16g bag. That is about 4% of an average adult's daily energy reference intake, 7% of the fat and 6% of the salt. Per 100g it is 536 kcal (2245 kJ), 30.8g of fat, 2.7g of saturates, 62.1g of carbohydrate, 2.7g of sugars, 1.2g of fibre, 2.5g of protein and 2.14g of salt.

Reading the front of the pack

On the UK front of pack scale, per 100g, fat at 30.8g is red. Saturates at 2.7g are amber. Sugars at 2.7g are green. Salt at 2.14g is red. The small 16g bag keeps each portion to 86 kcal, the figure on the front of the pack.

Allergens and diet

The published ingredients highlight milk, in the whey powder, flavouring, milk powder and cheese powder, soya, in the soya flour, barley, in the malt flour, and wheat, in the wheat flour. The allergy advice says the snacks may contain celery and mustard. The pack says they are suitable for vegetarians; they are not vegan, and they are not suitable for anyone avoiding gluten, milk or soya. Recipes and factory arrangements change, so check the allergy advice on the pack you receive.

Six bags

At 16g, each bag is a small portion, 86 kcal. Six bags cover a school week with one to spare; for a party, the same bags come in packs of twelve and twenty.

The pack

The yellow outer bag carries the Walkers logo over the green Quavers name in a white cloud, with cheese in red, an 86 kcal per pack roundel and a 6 pack label.

Who it suits

A light, melting cheese snack suits children's lunchboxes and anyone who likes a soft bite more than a hard crunch. It is not suitable for anyone avoiding gluten, milk, soya or MSG.

Serving ideas

A bag goes with a ham sandwich or a cup of tomato soup.

In the kitchen

Crushed, the curls make a fine, cheesy crumb for the top of a macaroni cheese or a coating for chicken strips.

Storage and packaging

The pack advises a cool, dry place, and says the snacks are best eaten straight after opening.

Other sizes and flavours

The same snack comes in twelve and twenty bag multipacks and a 34g grab bag. For a Red Leicester version in the same six bag format, there is Quavers Red Leicester.

Sizes of Walkers Quavers Cheese 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.