Walkers Sensations Thai Sweet Chilli Poppadoms, 82.5g

Sensations Poppadoms are small, crisp poppadoms from Walkers, made with potato, chickpea and rice flour, and Thai Sweet Chilli is the sweet, sticky, gently hot one. This is the 82.5g sharing bag, which the listing says holds two to three servings. The full product name on the pack is Thai sweet chilli flavour potato and gram flour snack, and the maker on the label is Walkers Snack Foods Ltd.

The ingredients

According to the printed pack, the poppadoms are made from sunflower oil, potato granules (17%), potato starch (17%), gram flour (14%), rice flour (14%), a Thai sweet chilli seasoning, rapeseed oil, salt and paprika powder. The seasoning contains sugar, soya sauce powder (wheat), fructose, flavouring, hydrolysed vegetable protein (soya), potassium chloride, salt, onion powder, dried chilli powder, garlic powder, dried parsley, dried tomato, citric acid, red bell pepper powder, paprika powder and paprika extract for colour.

Gram flour

Gram flour is flour milled from chickpeas, the flour of onion bhajis and pakoras, and one of the flours used for poppadoms. Here it makes up 14% of the recipe, with potato granules, potato starch and 14% rice flour, which the pack sums up as made with potato, chickpea and rice flour.

Light and crispy

The pack describes a light and crispy texture: each poppadom is a small, thin, curled disc that shatters rather than crunches, closer to a restaurant poppadom than a crisp.

The sweet chilli

Sugar and fructose, a fruit sugar, lead the seasoning, with dried chilli, garlic, onion, tomato and red bell pepper behind them, the flavours of a Thai sweet chilli dipping sauce. Citric acid gives the sharp edge.

Soya sauce and umami

Soya sauce powder and hydrolysed vegetable protein give a deep, savoury umami under the sweetness. Both are naturally rich in glutamates, worth knowing for anyone who avoids them altogether; the pack says there is no added MSG.

Potassium chloride and the salt figure

Potassium chloride sits in the seasoning beside the salt. It tastes salty but contains no sodium, and the salt figure on a UK label is worked out from sodium.

Salt

At 1.7g of salt per 100g and 0.52g in a 30g serving, this is the least salty of the three Sensations Poppadoms we stock, well under Mango and Red Chilli Chutney at 2.8g and Lime and Coriander Chutney at 3g, though still red on the front of pack scale.

Numbers per serving

The pack gives 151 kcal (630 kJ), 8.7g of fat, 0.7g of saturates, 16g of carbohydrate, 1.5g of sugars, 0.9g of fibre, 1.7g of protein and 0.52g of salt for a 30g serving, which it puts at 8% of an average adult's daily energy reference intake, 12% of the fat and 9% of the salt.

Numbers per 100g

Per 100g the pack gives 503 kcal (2101 kJ), 29g of fat, 2.3g of saturates, 53g of carbohydrate, 5g of sugars, 3.1g of fibre, 5.7g of protein and 1.7g of salt.

Reading the front of the pack

On the UK front of pack scale, per 100g, fat at 29g is red. Saturates at 2.3g are amber. Sugars at 5g are green, right on the line. Salt at 1.7g is red.

Fat

At 29g of fat per 100g, this has the most fat of the three Sensations Poppadoms we stock, against 25g in the two chutney flavours.

No added MSG

The pack says there is no added MSG and no artificial colours; the colour is paprika extract.

Allergens and diet

The printed ingredients highlight wheat, in the soya sauce powder, and soya, in the soya sauce powder and the hydrolysed vegetable protein. The allergy advice on the pack says the poppadoms may contain milk. The pack says they are suitable for vegetarians; there is no vegan statement, and they are not suitable for anyone avoiding gluten or soya. Recipes and factory arrangements change, so check the allergy advice on the pack you receive.

Two to three servings

The listing says the 82.5g bag holds two to three servings, and the pack gives its figures for a 30g serving. Tip a serving into a bowl rather than eating from the bag.

Once opened

The pack advises a cool, dry place and says to eat the poppadoms within 3 days of opening, so fold the bag down and clip it shut.

The pack

The purple bag carries the Walkers badge, the Sensations name, the words Thai sweet chilli in red, the word poppadoms in white, a burst of red chilli spice with whole chillies, a few poppadoms and the 82.5g weight.

Who it suits

A sweet chilli poppadom suits anyone who likes Thai sweet chilli sauce and a gentle heat. It is not suitable for anyone avoiding gluten or soya, and anyone avoiding milk should read the may contain advice.

Serving ideas

Serve the poppadoms with a Thai green curry, a bowl of prawn crackers and a cold beer, or with a sweet chilli dip.

In the kitchen

Crushed, the poppadoms make a sweet, spiced topping for a noodle salad or a bowl of Thai style soup.

Other Sensations Poppadoms

In the same 82.5g bag we stock Sensations Poppadoms Lime and Coriander Chutney and Mango and Red Chilli Chutney.

Other 82.5g packs of Sensations Poppadoms 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.