Home > Categories > Food > Snack Foods > Corn Nuts - Chile Picante review
"Spice is nice" is one of the many chants you're likely to hear because Chile Picante CornNuts has just the right kick of spice to complement the Ultimate Crunch.
Product reviews...
Out of all the 3 types of Corn Nuts, this was the worst in our opinion. Yes these are a good sized portion, even at the price its an okay value for them. Not your everyday type of 'nut', but would be perfect with a box of beer so more of an adult snack, as they are quite spicy in flavor. My 6yo son like the taste, but said it was a bit too spicy. So he agreed it should be given to adults when watching the game with a beer :P
It you have dentures, or teeth that are weakened DO NOT ATTEMPT TO BITE THESE!
Perhaps it helps that due to the hardness of it, it takes time to chew You really get to enjoy the full flavour.
As i have said in my other two reviews of the original and ranch corn nuts - i LOVE these!! I was hesitant to try the chile ones and left them till last. I do like chilli- but it really depends on how hot it is!
When i tried i found that the flavour was perfect. it was a little hot but nothing extreme. As i munched away i thought i had better offer some to my other half. He had a small handful and screwed his nose up stating they were terrible.
I love the crunch and hardness of this product and that you get heaps in one bag. I would love to see these in supermarkets, but if not i would purchase online and pay for postage. It would be fantastic if they made them in larger bags so you could take to peoples BBQs over summer or to picnics etc.
I don't have a favourite flavour from the 3 that i tried as they were all really great in their own way! I would buy this flavour again for myself, but if available in a bigger size i think i would stick to the ranch or original to cater for a wider range of people.
Opening the packet it amazes me how ugly these things are. Its like a cornel piece with a brown bit in the middle of it - truely not appetising to the eye.
I am not a huge fan of spice and after only eating 5 of them my mouth felt a little hotter. I can't describe the taste as there really wasn't one just a spicey feeling with salt. Definitly has the crunch factor and you do need to work your jaw. Can still taste the salt on my lips and its been about 10 minutes or so.
I shared with my husband. I had about 10 of them and in the end he ate the rest although it did take him a while. When ever he had any in his mouth all you can hear is the crunch so definitly not a quiet snack.
I personally did not like them and would not recommend them. He said they were just alright. I think if you like spicey hard food this would be perfect for you. But as I like soft food it really does not appeal to me. If I had a choice I would choose the Ranch flavour from last night - we still have the original to go which will be tomorrow nights treat.
Of the three flavours of corn nuts that I tried these were by far my least favourite of the lot. I normally like spicy/hot food like curries/chiles but this one just didn't do it for me.
I don't really know what it was that put me off them, but for whatever reason my tastebuds just decided that these just weren't right for me. I know it wasn't the heat/spicyness of them as they were what I would consider to be of medium strength. However it wasn't a total waste as my kids loved these so they polished these off for me. I would most likely buy these again for the kids to have as a snack.
Chile Picante is perfect with a box of beer and hence therefore I would highly recommend as a adult snack. The ultimate snack testers (boys aged 5yrs and 10yrs) absolutely loved the taste but probably would not have this little treat as their first choice. But for us adults who want something to serve at a BBQ or pre appetizer then this is definitely want you want. As this package is quite small (obviously as its a snacking product) I am hoping they have larger packets which you can chuck into a bowl and serve up as something a little different. I found this to be one of my absolute favourites out of the range so far and will definitely be serving up to friends at our next eating and drinking gathering.
I receieved the Corn Nuts to review yesterday so dutifully we went home and opened a pack, the Chile Picante flavour sounding like it would go well with the whiskey we were having. My partner's first words were "Instant out-of-the-bag crunch", which is quite lyrical for him.
They were very crunchy; we wondered how people with false teeth would get on, but not too crunchy to eat. The only complaint was you could hear the person next to you crunching; never take these to a cinema!
They also didn't look very pretty, and as people eat with their eyes, maybe not a good thing!
However, the chile flavouring was spot on; not too hot but spicy enough to give you a pleasant flavour in your mouth. We liken it to a good bhuja mix flavour.
I was wondering if these would go well in Nuts n Bolts recipes.... Not something I make myself, but I know a friend who does.
All in all a pleasant change from ordinary snacks. I don't think I'd buy them, but I would help myself if they were left on a serving platter at a party.
Of the three flavours we tried, this one was the middle favourite. It had more flavour than the Original variety but it was not as well liked as the Ranch flavour. I think this is because of the spice in it. I can't eat these kinds of foods because of my false teeth so I got my mokopuna to test them for me. Even though I enjoy spicy food, and it is possible I would really like these, my first try of the Original flavour ended up with me getting my gum cut by a small sharp piece getting under my denture plate and stabbing my gums.
Every one of my testing crew thought these were OK but the spicy aftertaste was a little too much for their young mouths. I think this flavour is more likely to appeal to adults over the kids. Though the young ones really like the "flavoured popcorn" side of this snack it really did seem to come down to the spice as the deciding factor.
For the price, these will be a special treat and not a regular snack and even though I can't eat them myself, and the kids didn't seem to be great fans, I will probably buy some to keep on hand for the older visitors I seem to getting more of since I started writing reviews for this website.
I wasn't too sure about this at first, since I am not much of a spicy food fan. But, these have just the right amount of spice so that it isn't overpowering, doesn't linger for too long, yet has a great taste.
For price, I'd be happy to pay the $2.49 as these are a good sized portion, and even just half the bag (since I split it with hubby) proved to be a great amount, and was surprisingly filling. Perhaps it helps that due to the hardness of it, it takes time to chew, so you are in no danger of rushing through the bag and overindulging. You really get to enjoy the full flavour.
I would buy this flavour again as I really enjoyed it. Perfect blend and perfect size.
So, this is the third variety of corn nuts I have written a review for, I have covered the basics in the other ones, tasty, very very crunchy, and takes a long time to eat.
So now I am at the nuts and bolts of this flavour, Chile Picante, not to be confused with a part time rapper from a South American country, this is a great flavour to taste.
Now the chile part in the name might put you off, but don't let it scare you. Being a person that can't take too much heat in his food, the chile Picante flavour has just the right mix of spice to be tasty, without burning your mouth.
I kept alternating between this flavour and the ranch one, trying to decide which one was the better one, it is a very hard call to make, but I think this one just squeaks in, combine the flavour, and the crunch and you have a unique snack that is sure to keep you munching.
The corn nuts arrived for us to review this morning. They have been sitting in the pantry calling to me all day. Once my husband was home I suggested we try one packet. His choice was the Chile Picante.
Even though it says not to give to children under 6 years of age our 3 1/2 year old and 2 year old also sampled them. It wasn't hard to supervise them I just had to listen for the crunch.
My husband said they reminded him of bhuja mix. I can see where he gets that idea from as they have a definite crunch and spicy kick to it. The taste wasn't as strong as I thought it would be but it does linger in your mouth. It was just strong enough for me. The children didn't find it too hot but didn't eat more than a couple each.
My husband and I both thought the packet was quite small for the price but a little did go a long way (probably due to all the crunching involved). It satisfied both of us and the children. For a party it would be great added to a bowl with peanuts or pretzels.
Okay, with ranch being my favourite flavour and original being my least favourite, this one is in between them. There was a definite spicy taste to the nuts, but not enough to really heat up my mouth, however I didn't get any other flavours except the taste of the crunchy corn, and I would have thought that there would be a few more flavours, like maybe a hint of lemon. I liked how there was some spicy flavour as it sent a nice tingle down my tongue, and that plus the crunch of the nut gave off a nice, pleasant sensation.
The dosage of nuts was good, it took two days of casually chewing away at the snack for me to finish the packet, so when used as something to snack on while doing work or watching TV, just a 48g bag will last a significant amount of time. I don't entirely agree with the 6+ age restriction for the consumption of this product, as my little brother was able to eat these without choking, and he's only 4 years old, so as long as kids have eaten foods similar to these, there shouldn't be any reason why they can't eat the nuts.
The price is good, I won't say why as after saying the same thing in the reviews for both the ranch and the original corn nuts, it would just be getting too repetitive. I can see now that you can buy a pile of any flavour for a small amount of money. It brings me to no surprise that as usual, the price of this product matches the value of this product, in fact if you could convert these two aspects into object, it would almost look as if they were cut from the same mould, that's how well they match. All in all, great taste, great price, great product, so enjoy!
I got a pack of these Chile Picante CornNuts yesterday. I opened this packet first out of the three flavours as I was convinced that they would be my least favourite. I don't normally enjoy hot spicy foods.
That said, these corn nuts were delicious. They had just the right amount of heat for me, so I wasn't overwhelmed by the spice. They also have a slight citrus tang which was refreshing. They are seriously addictive! I couldn't stop at a handful of these yummy corn nuts.
I love the way these crunched as well. I have a new baby and there is nothing wrong with her ears! With every bite, her startle reflex kicked in. That's how loud the crunch was. So I wouldn't recommend eating these at a movie theatre.
Although the bag seems small, I was feeling pretty full after eating a whole bag. The price seems steep, but given how full I felt and that these are a novelty in New Zealand, I would be willing to pay that to have these again. Out of the three flavours, this was my favourite one for sure.
Trying these on their own immediately gave me ideas on how I could use them. OK, eating these while walking past a KFC poster gave me ideas. I thought these would go really well if I were to put them in a bag and beat them with a rolling pin until fine, then use them in a batter mix to deep fry some home-made chicken nuggets. So it was off to the Mad Butcher to buy some chicken.
Preparation went as expected - the kitchen was a mess but I got there in the end. The mini deep-fryer failed to magically appear out of thin air, so I had to rely on a saucepan and a slotted spoon to do the deed. Good ol' MacGyver! Once the oil was up to heat, in went the chicken with my special batter and a hefty helping of prayers.
Ummm... yeah, kinda overcooked them a little bit, so instead of being golden brown, they shot past the 'golden' bit a little. Thus, no photo of this recipe. However, the taste was really good! The corn nuts gave a really nice crispness to an otherwise plain batter, and the chunks gave it that nice rough texture that so many junk-food chains have led us to associate with crispy battered meat. The crunch was very noticeable, so as an ingredient these turned out to be bang-on expectations and hopes.
Overall, as a snack they were still pretty good, even if not my top favourite, but instead sharing top-equal with the Ranch flavour but for different reasons. Really, I wouldn't buy these as a snack myself, but will be looking to buy more as ingredients in my next creative escapade - crispy Asian-style fish-bites! (One of these days.)
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