What are Pringles Scorchin’ Potato Crisps?
Why are so many foods on fire nowadays? How long until we reach the point where your snacks come with a teenage delinquent who flips a still-hot match into your mouth along with your potato chips?
Pringles Scorchin’ Potato Crisps are extra-hot and spicy, as you’d expect from the name, but even more than that, they have FLAVORS. There’s a Cheddar, a BBQ, and a Chili & Lime variety.
A few years ago, I wouldn’t have gone near anything with the word “Scorchin'” in the name, but I’ve been slowly wading into the spicy waters and not hating it. I tend to find foods that are just “spicy” to be a little boring, but spicy-AND-something I can get into. (For reference, I loved Sweet Heat Starburst & Skittles.) So, I appreciated Pringles bringing the flavors here.
How are they?
Unlike the Pringles Extra Hot Chili & Lime, which according to Tiffany’s review, quickly ping-ponged between the flavor and the heat, the Scorchin’ Pringles started out as primarily the flavor, then a very manageable heat snuck in and built exponentially with each subsequent crisp. By the third one, my mouth was crackling and I had to put them away. They weren’t the hottest food I’ve ever tried, but I didn’t have the urge to power through the whole stack like I normally would with Pringles. The flavors stuck it out, though – they didn’t hit the bricks once the fire came barging in. I liked that.
BBQ was your standard fare sweet/vinegar sauce, and it had the slowest burn. I was nearly done chewing by the time it hit, then hung around the longest.
Chili & Lime was similar to the lime flavor in the Pringles Extra Hot review – expectedly tangy and a little artificial. Here, its heat hit a bit faster than the BBQ.
The Cheddar flavor was my favorite of the three – I liked the mellowness of the cheese paired with the spice. The heat here took over the fastest of the three flavors.
Anything else you need to know?
Pringles has had some really fun artwork on their cans lately, but these, not so much. Pringles Man has steam coming out of his ears and the colors are nice and bright, but otherwise, meh.
Conclusion:
If you’re a hardcore, asbestos-throated fire-breather, these might be tame for you. If you like your spice mixed with other flavors, these will hit you right in the hot and sweet spot. Overall, worth a try, unless you hate the heat.
Purchased Price: $2.49 each
Size: 5.5 oz can
Purchased at: Walgreens
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (approx. 15 crisps) BBQ – 150 calories, 9 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 160 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of dietary fiber, 1 gram of total sugars, including less than 1 gram of added sugars, and 1 gram of protein. Chili & Lime – 150 calories, 9 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 180 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of dietary fiber, 1 gram of total sugars, including less than 1 gram of added sugars, and 1 gram of protein. Cheddar – 150 calories, 9 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 190 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of dietary fiber, 1 gram of total sugars, including less than 1 gram of added sugars, and 1 gram of protein.
I think the spice level was really good on the Chili Lime ones I got. It had a surprising amount of flavor given the fact that it had almost no seasoning on the chips (which is always the case when I buy Pringles, which is why I don’t buy them often).
That is a very good point – the level of flavor/heat didn’t correlate to the amount of color/seasoning on each chip. Don’t be fooled by appearances!
I must have gotten a bad/mild batch, as the Cheddar ones I had maybe got to the “somewhat spicy” level, not even flamin’ let alone scorchin. No difference whether I had one or two or a stack of 5: didn’t need a beverage, no flush or sweat. They aren’t bad, just not what I expected, and my tolerance for spicy foods is not that strong. I wasn’t expecting reaper or ghost pepper, but I’m not sure my ears turned even a little red.