What a treat to be sent a box of crisps all the way from Australia (my brother) and within was a new crisps star.
You know sometimes crisps can be so light and full of air you can feel cheated, well Cheezels are heavyweight! You know by the weight of the bag that they are going to be worth it. Thick, crunchy and substantial they are like a grown up version of Knick Knacks! This flavour was Bacon Rasher and they were gorgeous. Unlike some crisps nowadays these were absolutey coated in flavour, leaving you to lick your fingers at the end (always a good sign).
To top the experience I came across the holy grail of crisp eating at the bottom of the bag, a large nugget of pure flavouring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I never thought of Australia as a leading member of the crisp nation but Cheezels are a revalation.
I even managed to create a new snack from my box of provisions, Bacon Cheezels diped in cheesy vegimite (yes in Australia you can get cheesy Marmite!), beat that!!!!
There can be only one way to start my crsip related blog and that is to acknowledge the position of a crisp whose taste insires both devotion, happy memories and for those who have moved away a sadness at its scarcity. We are takling about XL Cheese crisps!!!
In my youth XL Cheese were made by Bensons and my father had a strange addiction to them, often devouring multiple bags one after the other. Indeed one of my favourite childhood photos is of my dad and I coimg out of a pub in Scotland while on holiday and my dad has 9 bags of XL Cheese in his hands!! My fate was sealed. But it was not just my father, everyone loved them. Little did I know then that these crisps were only available in the North West of England and South Scotland and once people moved beyond these boundaries XL Cheese were not available. You hear stories of exile Cumbrians and Scots stocking up with boxes of XL Cheese each time they returned home, sustatining them until their next visit.
They seemed to disappear for a while as Bensons was bought by Golden Wonder, but have been back on the scene for a few years now, again mainly in North Cumbria and South West Scotland. Athough they have changed owners they have lost none of that special taste. You know something is good when its taste inspires memories and these crisps do it everytime-simply the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I will hopefully bring you more from the XL Cheese world and its band of devotees in future posts.
Welcome fellow crisp lovers!!
For those with a love of crisps let me take you on an adventure to all corners of the crisp kingdom.
I hope to share my crispy thoughts, review some personal favourites, taste some new savoury treats and extend the hand of friendship to members of the international crisp loving family.
Lets feel the crunch!
