Christmas is a time to concentrate on what really matters – snacks – and in my house, it’s crisps that get top billing. They are a party in a bag, ideal paired with a glass of something sparkling or a cocktail, and wonderful swiped through a dip or topped with something bougie, such as caviar.
As a self-confessed crisp addict, and as someone who would sometimes swerve a gourmet dinner for the company of a bowl filled with fried potato pleasure, I jumped at the chance to taste-test festive flavours for the Filter, examining an ever-growing market in which crisp tycoons try to outdo each other with nostalgic flavours.
While I prefer clean potato flavour dusted with just a sprinkle of salt and sometimes a hit of vinegar, I am not a purist. I am open to the lively and new-fangled too, but I must admit some of the combinations that came in sounded unhinged and were more novelty than novel. I tasted them so you don’t have to. You’re welcome.
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The best supermarket Christmas crisps
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Best overall:
Waitrose turkey and stuffing tortilla chips
£1.60 for 200g at Waitrose (80p/100g)
★★★★☆
These tortilla chips are toasty and meaty without being heavy. They are nostalgic of the warm plate of a family roast dinner drizzled with a deeply savoury gravy.
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Best bargain:
Morrisons the Best pigs in blanket crisps
£1 for 125g at Morrisons (80p/100g)
★★★★☆
These are quite clever: they somehow capture the irresistible flavour of singed, crisp bacon and the extra dark bits of sausage skin. They are thick, deeply ridged and addictive – best eaten with a Christmas hangover.
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And the rest …
Co-op Irresistible hand-cooked duck and clementine crisps
£1.80 for 150g at Co-op (£1.20/100g)★★★☆☆
I wouldn’t say I think duck when I eat these, but there is a background citrus note that’s surprisingly pleasant. They are thin and crisp, and because they aren’t too salty, I found myself reaching for a few more.
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Sensations honey-glazed roast ham
£1.50 for 150g at Iceland (£1/100g) £2.35 for 150g at Tesco (£1.57/100g)★★★☆☆
These taste sweet and smoky and are resoundingly crunchy, but they are a little oily and the flavour is a tad cloying. The kind of crisp that would work piled up in a Boxing Day leftover sandwich. I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to buy them.
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M&S butter-basted roast turkey crisps
£1.80 for 150g at Ocado (£1.20/100g)★★★☆☆
Good crunch, a nice herbal flavour reminiscent of a sage and onion stuffing, but heavily salted. Expect to massacre a bucket of water after these.
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Aldi camembert, chilli and honey crinkle crisps
99p for 150g at Aldi (66p/100g)★☆☆☆☆
The ultimate crisp test is whether they are moreish and have you rustling in the depths of the packet for more. These did not. They start off tasting of sour cream and chive and end on an over-sweet note (not a whiff of camembert here). They get one star as I am a fan of ridged crisps and they were quite crunchy.
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Lidl lobster cocktail crisps
£1.15 for 150g at Lidl (77p/100g), in store only★☆☆☆☆
Nothing luxe about these – I was hoping they might at best taste like a good prawn cocktail flavour, but actually they taste like sucking on a packet of tomato ketchup: sour and unpleasant.
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Tesco Finest roast turkey and herb butter flavour crisps
£1.50 for 150g at Tesco (£1/100g)★☆☆☆☆
The claim on the front of this packet is that these limited-edition crisps are “made with British turkey”, but the only poultry the packet has seen is the turkey powder listed second from last on the ingredients. The overwhelming flavour is of onion powder, and there is little of merit.
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Doritos gingerbread flavour corn chips
£1.50 for 180g at Iceland (83p/100g) £2.50 for 180g at Tesco (£1.39/100g)☆☆☆☆☆
At first sniff, these smell like a packet of ginger biscuits, and at first taste, they are the only crisp I have ever wanted to spit out. Sweet and with a strong flavour of fiery ginger, they’re ginger nuts dressed as tortilla chips. I could give them a star for tasting like gingerbread, but I hate them so much that I can’t bring myself to.
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Ravinder Bhogal is chef/owner of Jikoni, London, and author of three cookery books, including Comfort and Joy
For more, read the best Christmas ham joints and the best smoked salmon
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Christmas shopping can be tough – so we spent months finding the perfect presents for everyone on your list. We selected the best products from our testing; enlisted babies, kids and teenagers to find out what they really wanted; and sniffed, tasted and tested the good, the bad and the ugly to bring you 305 genuinely brilliant gifts.
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