Cheetos Puffs - cheese flavour

Day three of my American week and I'm onto Cheetos Puffs. Another not new product (I'm not paying those import prices!) but new to me and I think, correct me if I'm wrong, one of the new to general sale in the UK Cheeto releases. 

There are lots of different types of Cheeto available, Puffs, crunchy and so on. I'd certainly heard of Cheetos before I actually bought a multipack - they're another regular feature of American shows and films. 

The Puffs are cheese flavoured corn puffs so basically an American Wotsit. 

I didn't bother with a picture once I'd opened the individual packet as they look just like slightly less orange Wotsits. 

Although they might have looked like a Wotsit and you could probably convince people they are to look at, once they'd tried one there would be no chance. Being American (although now EU rules might stop that) I expected strong, crazy, unnatural flavouring and smells but really all it was was a less cheesey Wotsit. 

I normally write notes when I know I'm going to review something and I usually have to sit and pick through and make sense of all the thoughts I've had while I'm eating but my one and only note for the Cheetos Puffs is "less cheesey Wotsits". 

You did get quite a few in the bag considering it's super light weight though so there's that. 

Rating 6/10 

Dairylea Dunkers cheesy bacon

I do like Dairylea, don't get me wrong I like a strong goats cheese or a nice halloumi but sometimes Dairylea is just what hits the spot. I'd seen the Cheesy Bacon flavour in a spread/dip sized tub but I didn't want to commit to buying one that size, it being disgusting and then feeling like I couldn't waste the rest so I went for the 4 pack of jumbo tubes with the dip. 

As far as I can see the bacon flavour is only available with the jumbo tubes and also available are Mighty Mature with Ritz and Fruity Pineapple with Ritz. I wasn't too happy the bacon only came with the jumbo tubes as its my least favourite choice after breadsticks and Ritz with the original flavour. 

The first thing I noticed when peeling the foil lid away is that the cheese is visibly different, it has a slightly more orange tinge to it rather than the paler yelllow. I could smell the bacon - it wasn't strong, the cheese was as strong if not stronger - but it was there. 

As usual there was a layer of the cheese across the top and following the rule I've had since I was a kid, that has to be licked off first so I had a taste of the bacon cheese without the tubes interfering. Alone, the only way I can really think to describe it, is it tastes like when you've been eating bacon bits or bacon rasher crisps, you've finished them but you still have the dull taste of bacon lingering on your tongue. The aftertaste even. Then with the familiar taste of Dairylea cheese mixed in too. It's strange. I have to admit I was wrong though, this is where Dairylea knew what they were doing. The jumbo tubes are the right choice, the slightly garlicky, herby flavours go so much better with this than a plain breadstick and make the dip a bit tastier. 

The cheese is for some reason not quite as thick as the original version so for the first time in my life I finished the tubes and cheese at the same time! There was something about this snack I found addictive and while it made a nice change from chocolate and biscuits but I wouldn't buy the tub of bacony cheese alone. The tubes improved the flavour, but there's no way on earth I'd eat this in my Marmite sandwiches and as dips go there are a lot nicer available. 

Rating 6/10 

Hula Hoops Puft Cheese

Another crisp I've tried recently is the new Hula Hoops Puft cheese flavour. They're marketed as a healthier crisp as you can see from the little yellow box in the corner of the packet and a lower calorie crisp although that could be because the bag only weighs 15g - so a standard 30g bag would be 142 calories, the same as a standard bag of crisps roughly...

Anyway the cheese is overwhelming when you open the bag, so much so even when I opened the multipack I had to check none of the packets had split - they hadn't! My first thought on trying one, and my opinion still on these now is that these are disguised quavers, in both taste and texture. And that's how I'll sum these up I think. Hula hooped shaped quavers. 

The thing that impressed me though, was the number of crisps in the bag. Despite only weighing 15g you're not short changed in terms of volume - I had about 50 in my bag, they didn't stop coming!

Another decent low calorie snack if that's what you're after. 

Rating 7/10