Proper Crisps Big Cut - Dill Pickle & Apple Cider Vinegar product reviews

Reading the back of this packed, the description of the flavor was mouthwatering. To say I was excited to dive into this packet was an understatement, although this was tinged with a little reserve, I love pickles, but had never before ventured into the dill pickle flavored chip world! In true research style, I gathered up a group of diverse friends, to trial this new flavor. We paired the crisps with some cold ciders and some long island iced teas.
We opened the chips, and were pleasantly surprised by both the aroma from the bag, and that it was nice and full, there is nothing more disappointing than opening a chip packet to find it only half full ( or less!). We were keen to try and after a quick read (Yes these are vegan friendly!) everyone dove in. No on paused to give me a review, they were simply diving for a second and third handful. I feel this in itself speaks volumes more than if they had paused to let us know the flavor.
The chips were delicious, there were mixed decisions on whether the pickle could be tasted, some felt they were simply fancy salt and vinegar chips, others said they could taste the dill pickle and it added the extra that chips needed. All were in agreement these were delicious, the chips themselves were a good thickness and they were not a broken crumble of crumbs, which was another win. When the packet was empty, which did not take long, there was general discussion that the inclusion of dill was a masterpiece and provided the subtle flavor that traditional salt and vinegar chips are missing.
I definitely recommend that you purchase a pack, these are value for money and truly yummy, and we loved that they were vegan friendly! You will be the hit of your next chip and dip party with a packet of these!

I love Proper Crisps and there is always a big rush for family members to open and eat them. Hubby got to these first, opened them up, and had about a third of a bag before I shouted at him to give some to me. By this time, the bag had gone down considerably and any chance of using them with something had disappeared. The crisps come in a 140g bag and have a 4-star health rating which is pretty impressive. They are gluten-free, non-GMO, and have no added MSG. I liked that I could read the ingredients and, with the exception of acacia gum salt, know exactly what all the ingredients were. No nasty flavours or E numbers to be seen!

When I sniffed the bag I could smell the apple cider vinegar and a subtle dill scent. In my mind, I thought these would taste like salt and vinegar but although it had the tangy vinegar and dill flavour, you couldn't really taste the salt. I did notice that they weren't very big, but that could be down to the fact that hubby had scoffed a large proportion first! Obviously, he loved them and kept coming in for more. He said that the flavor wasn't overwhelming but was tasty and he loved how crunchy they were. I have to admit, they do have a great crunch and are nice and thick. Some of the crisps look like they have been folded over which adds to the crunch. These are cooked by hand and Cameron, who made my packet, did a great job. I think you can really tell the difference between these crisps and others that are mass-produced.

Overall, these crisps were a big hit with our family (especially hubby who hates pickles!) and we will definitely be buying them again.

We had heard that these crisps were so thick that they could be used instead of nacho chips or crackers, so we brainstormed ways that we could test this out. First, however, we each took a couple so we could see what the flavour might be. Both of us enjoy pickles and always add dill or fennel to fish dishes, so we were imagining possibilities as we bit into the plain crisps.

The vinegar flavour was much more subtle than we had expected. It was very delicate, almost challenging us to acknowledge its presence. The dill, however, was unmistakable: bold and full of herby flavour. My partner said it would be worth buying the crisps for the dill alone as it is quite unique when used in this way. As for the texture, it lived up to the hype. The crisps were firm and thick, and full of crunch.

The fish choice was a definite; I had made a salmon pate with some fish offcuts and parsley, and this seemed the perfect accompaniment for the crisps. Because the crisps were so thick, I made little nests for each of us and put the pate in the middle with a grape as garnish. It looked good enough to serve for a party, with each person having their own little supply of chips-and-dip, and made a change from the usual larger communal bowl with separate piles of crisps surrounding it. We ended up eating it in exactly the same way, extricating each crisp and dunking it in the pate if it did not already have enough coating, but it still gave the impression of being slightly more upmarket.

We plan on pursuing a couple of variations on this idea. Additions such as anchovies, capers, thin sliced smoked salmon, sour cream, and cream cheese would all go well - not all at once, of course! Even after sitting underneath the dip topping for half an hour, the crisps had retained their texture whereas traditional potato chips would have wilted, We plan on exploring some other ideas from the Jewish tradition: beetroot, thin sliced beef with mustard (hold the cream!), and other pickled vegetables would all go well with this product.

One thing that I did notice was that the vinegar flavour all but disappears when other ingredients are added whereas the dill holds its own. I think this may be because the product uses apple cider vinegar rather than malt. It does not have the heavy acidity of a malt vinegar; rather, it just hints at the effect. It is much lighter and easier on the digestion than the more common salt-and-vinegar variety. Personally, I like it, and if I am looking for a crisp to serve with a fish dip, this is the one I will be going for.

Pickles and chips are not a flavour combo I would usually lean towards but that's the benefit of getting something to review... I love that this is vegan-friendly, having a dairy-free child can be frustrating because milk sneaks in places you wouldn't expect and since it's an intolerance and not an allergy, it takes hours before their symptoms flare up, so vegan-friendly means I don't have to worry. I ate my first chip and really did not like it, I found the pickle flavour a tad too strong for my taste. I do like pickles, but I prefer them in my burger or on my pizza. I made myself have a couple more and put a few aside for later testing.

My youngest promptly made sure their siblings and our two guests tried the chips. All five of the enjoyed the chips a lot, with my youngest telling me that I simply HAVE to buy more for them and my friend's daughter was asking her mother the same thing. I arrived home from work to discover that the chips I had put aside were gone, my eldest being unable to resist the allure and gobbled them up (not that I complained too much, it meant I got out of having to eat any more). Whilst my scoring for this product will reflect my own personal opinion of these chips, I have no doubt that a bag or two will find their way into my shopping cart in the future.