Walkers Roast Chicken Crisps, 45g

Roast chicken is a flavour that works entirely by suggestion. There is no chicken in this bag. What there is, according to the published pack listing, is a seasoning that recreates the savoury, herby smell of a roast on a thin Walkers crisp. This is the 45g single bag, sized for one person at lunchtime.

How the flavour is built

The crisps are made from potatoes, sunflower and rapeseed oils in varying proportions, a roast chicken seasoning and antioxidants: rosemary extract, ascorbic acid, a tocopherol rich extract and citric acid.

The seasoning lists salt, dextrose, yeast powder, garlic powder, yeast extract, onion powder, flavourings, potassium chloride, dried sage, and paprika extract for colour. Each has a job. Yeast powder and yeast extract carry a deep savoury taste, the kind cooks call umami, which is what makes people think of meat and gravy. Garlic and onion powder give the smell of a roasting tin. Dried sage is the herb in a sage and onion stuffing. Put together, they read as roast chicken without any animal ingredient, which is why the pack can say the crisps are suitable for vegetarians.

Why yeast extract tastes savoury

Yeast extract is made by breaking down yeast cells and concentrating what is inside them into a paste or powder. It is naturally rich in glutamates, the same group of compounds that give aged cheese, ripe tomatoes and gravy their savoury depth. That is how a crisp can taste meaty with no meat in it, and it is also how a pack can say no added MSG while still tasting deeply savoury: the glutamate arrives with the yeast rather than being added on its own.

The numbers for one bag

The label gives 230 kcal, 13g of fat, 1.1g of saturates, 24g of carbohydrate, 0.6g of sugars, 1.8g of fibre, 3g of protein and 0.55g of salt for the 45g bag. That is about 12% of an average adult's daily energy reference intake and 9% of the salt. Per 100g it is 511 kcal, 29g of fat, 2.4g of saturates, 1.4g of sugars and 1.2g of salt, which is high for fat, medium for saturates and salt, and low for sugars on the UK front of pack scale.

Compare it with the Walkers Roast Chicken multipack we also stock. The six bag multipack uses a different seasoning, and its label gives 0.65g of salt per 100g, a little over half this bag's figure. The two look alike on a shelf; the labels are not the same.

Allergens and diet

The published ingredients do not highlight any of the 14 major allergens. The allergy advice says the crisps may contain celery, cereals containing gluten, milk, mustard and soya. The pack states they are suitable for vegetarians. No vegan claim is made, and given the may contain advice for milk 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.

How the crisp itself is made

Underneath the seasoning is the thin Walkers slice: potatoes washed and cut into thin slices, rinsed to take off loose starch, and fried until nearly all the water has gone and the slice has set into a brittle sheet. The savoury powder is tumbled on while the crisps are warm so that it sticks.

Sage, and the smell of a roast

Of everything on the list, dried sage does the most to make this taste like a Sunday dinner rather than a generic savoury crisp. Sage has partnered poultry in British cooking for a very long time, most familiarly in sage and onion stuffing, so the combination of sage, onion and a savoury base reads as roast chicken before you have thought about it. The paprika extract at the end of the list is there for colour, which is why the crisps look lightly golden rather than red.

A savoury choice for lunch

Roast chicken is the flavour for people who find cheese and onion too sweet and salt and vinegar too sharp. It is savoury and herby rather than tangy, which makes it a natural partner for a chicken or stuffing sandwich, and it goes well with a mug of tomato soup on a cold day. Because the pack says it is suitable for vegetarians, it also suits a vegetarian who misses the taste of a roast.

The 45g bag suits a single lunch or a day out. In the same size we also stock Walkers Cheese and Onion, Salt and Vinegar, Ready Salted, Prawn Cocktail and Worcester Sauce. For roast chicken in 25g bags, see the six bag multipack or the Walkers Meaty Variety boxes, and for a herbier take there is Walkers Sensations Roasted Chicken and Thyme in a 150g sharing bag.

Storing the bag

The pack advises storing it somewhere cool and dry. Once opened, a 45g bag is best finished the same day, because damp air softens crisps quickly once the seal is broken.

Sizes of Walkers Roast Chicken 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.