Walkers Ready Salted Crisps, 150g

When there are dips on the table, the crisp underneath should taste of crisp and not much else. That is the job of this 150g sharing bag of Walkers Ready Salted. It is one sealed bag of thin, salted potato crisps, and the label divides it into five servings of 30g.

Four ingredients

According to the published pack listing, the crisps are made from potatoes, sunflower and rapeseed oils in varying proportions, salt, and antioxidants (rosemary extract, ascorbic acid, a tocopherol rich extract and citric acid). The pack says the potatoes are 100% Great British potatoes, and it states no added MSG or artificial colours.

With so little on the list, the potato and the oil are what you taste. The antioxidants matter more here than in a seasoned crisp, because there is no seasoning to hide any staleness in the oil. Rosemary extract and the tocopherol rich extract slow the reaction between oil and oxygen, and ascorbic and citric acid help them.

Why a plain crisp suits dips

A flavoured crisp brings its own seasoning to the bowl, and that seasoning has to agree with whatever it is dipped in. A plain crisp does not. Salsa, guacamole, houmous, a soured cream and chive dip, a cheese sauce or a spoonful of chutney all work with ready salted, because the crisp adds crunch and salt and leaves the flavour to the dip. The thin slice is also strong enough to scoop a soft dip if you pick the larger crisps and dip at an angle rather than straight down.

A sharing bag in numbers

Per 30g serving the label gives 156 kcal, 9.3g of fat, 0.7g of saturates, 16g of carbohydrate, 0.1g of sugars, 1.3g of fibre, 1.9g of protein and 0.36g of salt. That serving is about 8% of an average adult's daily energy reference intake and 6% of the salt. Per 100g it is 519 kcal, 31g of fat, 2.3g of saturates, 0.4g of sugars and 1.2g of salt. On the UK front of pack scale fat is high, saturates and salt are medium, and sugars are low.

Two things stand out. Sugars are very low at 0.4g per 100g, because nothing sweet is added. And the fat, 31g per 100g, is a little higher than the 29g of the seasoned Walkers sharing bags, because every gram here is potato, oil or salt rather than seasoning powder.

Allergens and diet

No allergens from the UK list of 14 are highlighted in the published ingredients. 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 claim is made, and with milk in the may contain advice we would not describe them as vegan; no gluten free claim is made. Recipes and factory arrangements change, so check the allergy advice on the pack you receive. Remember that the dips on the table carry their own allergens, so label them separately if guests have allergies.

How the crisps are made

Potatoes are washed and sliced thin, the slices are rinsed to wash away surface starch that would make them stick, and they are fried until almost all their water has boiled away. The starch sets into a thin, glassy sheet, which is why a good crisp snaps. Salt is scattered over the warm crisps so the film of oil holds it. That is the whole process for a plain crisp, which is why the colour and snap of a ready salted crisp tell you so much about the potato and the frying.

Serving the bag

Pour half the bag into a wide, shallow bowl and keep the rest clipped. Put the dips in their own bowls with spoons, so the crisps stay dry and the dips stay clean. For a children's party, ready salted is the safe middle ground: no heat, no sharp acid and no strong flavour to explain.

Crumbs at the bottom of the bag

The broken pieces left at the bottom of a sharing bag are worth saving. Tip them into a small jar, keep it closed, and use them within the three days the pack allows once opened: scattered over a salad, a bowl of tomato soup or a baked potato with soured cream, plain crumbs add crunch without adding a second flavour to the dish.

Other sizes

For portions, Walkers Ready Salted comes in six and fourteen bag multipacks of 25g bags, and there is a single 45g bag. Ready salted also appears in every size of the Walkers Classic Variety box, and the Walkers Ready Salted and Cheese and Onion box holds seven bags of each. For sharing bags of the other classics, we stock Walkers Cheese and Onion and Walkers Salt and Vinegar at 150g.

After opening

The pack advises storing it in a cool, dry place and eating it within three days of opening. A plain crisp shows staleness sooner than a seasoned one, so roll the top down tightly, clip it, and keep it away from the kettle and the cooker.

Sizes of Walkers Ready Salted 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.