Walkers Quavers Red Leicester Cheese Snacks, 6 x 16g

Quavers Red Leicester is a newer take on the light, curly Walkers potato snack, with a Red Leicester cheese flavour in place of the classic cheese. This multipack holds six 16g bags, 96g in all. The full product name on the pack is Red Leicester 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 Red Leicester cheese flavour (whey permeate powder from milk, salt, flavourings containing milk, glucose syrup, sugar, potassium chloride, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, cheese powder from milk, citric acid and paprika extract), rice flour, soya flour, salt, yeast powder, a flavour enhancer (monosodium glutamate), onion powder (malt flour from barley), black pepper, wheat flour (fortified with calcium, iron, niacin and thiamin), annatto norbixin for colour and spice extract.

Red Leicester

Red Leicester is a British hard cheese coloured orange with annatto, and annatto norbixin is on this list too, giving the snack its deeper orange. The cheese flavour comes from whey permeate, flavourings containing milk and cheese powder.

How it differs from the classic

Against classic Quavers Cheese, the Red Leicester seasoning adds glucose syrup and sugar for a rounder, sweeter note, black pepper twice for a peppery finish, and citric acid in place of lactic acid for the tang. The flavour enhancer is monosodium glutamate alone.

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.

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 2.6g 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.

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 2.1g of salt per 100g.

Glucose syrup and sugar

Glucose syrup and sugar give the seasoning a rounded sweetness, yet sugars are only 2.9g per 100g and 0.5g in a bag, green on the front of pack scale.

Black pepper

Black pepper appears in the seasoning and again in the base, with a spice extract, giving a gentle peppery warmth at the finish. There is no chilli.

MSG

The flavour enhancer is monosodium glutamate, and yeast powder adds more savoury depth, so these are not for anyone who avoids MSG.

Numbers for one bag

The pack gives 84 kcal (351 kJ), 4.8g of fat, 0.4g of saturates, 9.6g of carbohydrate, 0.5g of sugars, 0.4g of fibre, 0.4g of protein and 0.33g 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 the label gives 525 kcal, 30g of fat, 2.6g of saturates, 60g of carbohydrate, 2.9g of sugars, 2.6g of fibre, 2.4g of protein and 2.1g of salt.

Reading the front of the pack

On the UK front of pack scale, per 100g, fat at 30g is red. Saturates at 2.6g are amber. Sugars at 2.9g are green. Salt at 2.1g is red. The small 16g bag keeps each portion to 84 kcal, the figure on the front of the pack.

Allergens and diet

The published ingredients highlight milk, in the whey permeate, flavourings 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, 84 kcal. Six bags cover a school week with one to spare.

The pack

The orange outer bag carries a new flash, the Walkers logo over the green Quavers name in a white cloud, Red Leicester in red beside a block of cheese, an 84 kcal per pack roundel and a 6 pack label.

Who it suits

A peppery, slightly sweeter cheese curl suits anyone who likes Quavers and wants a change, and a small bag suits a lunchbox. It is not suitable for anyone avoiding gluten, milk, soya or MSG.

Serving ideas

A bag goes with a ham salad sandwich, a ploughman's lunch or a cup of tomato soup.

In the kitchen

Crushed, the curls make a fine, peppery cheese crumb for the top of a macaroni cheese or a cauliflower cheese.

Storage and packaging

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

Other Quavers

For the classic cheese flavour, we stock Quavers Cheese in six, twelve and twenty bag multipacks and a 34g grab bag.

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.