I absolutely love Pringles. I don’t care that they’re made from “dehydrated processed potato” and aren’t technically potato chips as a result. They’re crispy, flavoring clings to their surfaces beautifully, and you can eat a shitload of them even if you shouldn’t really eat a shitload of them. Did you notice how excited everyone got when the new Taylor Swift album came out? That’s me when a new Pringles flavor drops.
To my delight, Pringles recently released two new flavors (exclusively at Walmart): Hot Honey and Philly Cheesesteak. Are they the Midnights of potato crisps? My colleague Jordan Myrick and I tasted them to find out.
We tried these as part of a blind taste test—Jordan put on a blindfold and tried to guess the flavors without looking at the cans. Jordan thought these smelled like the powder packet that comes in a box of Kraft Mac & Cheese; I thought they smelled like something much, much worse. If you can get past the stink (I barely could), these chips are a little bit peppery (but, jalapeño peppery rather than bell peppery) and certainly fake cheesy, but there’s no meaty flavor whatsoever. They’re weird, but not good weird. I don’t recommend buying these—and I definitely don’t recommend smelling them.
Jordan guessed that these were sweet chili flavored, which wasn’t far off! These are sweet and a little spicy and, much like sweet chili sauce, don’t really taste like honey at all. These definitely don’t taste bad, but the sweetness is a little weird after you’ve downed a stack of them. I didn’t hate them, but I wouldn’t pick up a can of these again.
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde
Rating:
6/10
Sporks
Blind Tasting Pringles Philly Cheesesteak and Pringles Hot Honey
Gwynedd Stuart, Sporked’s managing editor, is an L.A.-based writer and editor who spends way, way too much time at the grocery store. She’s never met an Old El Paso taco or mozzarella stick she didn’t like.
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!
Thanks G