Walkers Ready Salted Crisps, 6 x 25g

Six bags of the plainest crisp Walkers makes: this multipack of Walkers Ready Salted holds six 25g bags, 150g in total, each one a sealed single serving. For lunchboxes, for children who do not like strong flavours, and for anyone who wants a crisp that tastes of potato, it is the everyday buy.

The ingredients in full

According to the published pack listing, each bag contains potatoes, sunflower and rapeseed oils in varying proportions, salt, and antioxidants (rosemary extract, ascorbic acid, a tocopherol rich extract and citric acid). That is the complete list. The pack says the potatoes are 100% Great British potatoes, and it states no added MSG and no artificial colours.

One bag at a time

The label gives the following for each 25g bag: 130 kcal, 7.8g of fat, 0.6g of saturates, 13g of carbohydrate, 0.1g of sugars, 1.1g of fibre, 1.6g of protein and 0.3g of salt. That is about 7% of an average adult's daily energy reference intake and 5% 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.

The bag is the portion. A multipack takes the judgement out of how much to serve, and the bags you do not open stay sealed and fresh.

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, especially for a child with an allergy.

Less salt, or salt on your terms

The salt, 1.2g per 100g, is the same across the Walkers Ready Salted sizes we stock. If you want less, two relatives in our range are worth knowing. Walkers Lightly Salted gives 0.15g of salt per 25g bag on its label, half the figure here. And Walkers Salt and Shake comes with the salt in a separate sachet in each bag, so you decide how much goes on, or none at all.

Reading the colours on the front

On the UK front of pack scale, the per 100g figures put fat in the red band, because 31g is far above the 17.5g threshold, as it is for fried crisps in general. Saturates at 2.3g sit in the amber band between 1.5g and 5g. Sugars at 0.4g are green, under the 5g line. Salt at 1.2g is amber, inside the 0.3g to 1.5g band. Per bag, the label's figures work out at about 11% of an adult's daily fat reference intake and 5% of the salt.

A crisp for the careful lunchbox

Four ingredients make ready salted the easiest crisp to check against a list of things a child cannot or will not eat. No allergens are highlighted in the ingredients, though the allergy advice does list cereals containing gluten, milk, mustard and soya as may contain, so it is not a crisp for a child who must avoid those traces.

How the crisps are made

Thin slices are cut from washed potatoes, rinsed of loose surface starch, and fried in the sunflower and rapeseed blend until nearly all the water has cooked out. Salt goes on while the slices are warm. Because nothing else is added, the snap and the golden colour of each crisp come straight from the potato and the frying.

Six bags, and the boxes it shares

Six bags cover a school or working week with one to spare. Ready salted is also in every size of the Walkers Classic Variety box, with two bags in the six bag box, four in the fourteen and five in the twenty, and the Walkers Ready Salted and Cheese and Onion box holds seven bags of each. For more bags of this flavour alone there is a fourteen bag box, and for one person a 45g bag.

In the lunchbox and the kitchen

A plain crisp suits a lunchbox because it goes with every sandwich filling. Keep the bag in a dry compartment, away from fruit and yoghurt pots, and it will still be crisp at lunchtime. In the kitchen, a bag crushed in its packet makes a quick coating for chicken or fish, or a crunchy layer on top of a baked dish, adding texture without adding a competing flavour.

The published listing asks you to dispose of the packet responsibly and points to the Walkers recycling page for how to recycle it.

Storage

The pack advises a cool, dry place. Keep the bags in the outer pack until needed and finish each bag once it is opened.

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.