Taste test

TORTILLA CHIPS

Now that summer is on the way and everyone is thinking about eating outside, we thought it was time to test tortilla chips — ideal for dipping and an essential part of any outdoor gathering. We opted for the ‘cool’ flavour when there was a choice.

Tesco Cool Flavour Tortilla Chips, 200g, 39c, 9/10

The long ingredient list that makes up the ‘cool flavour seasoning’ (apparently ‘cool’ means creamy tomato, garlic and pepper) may be mindboggling, but our testers were keen — and even more so when they saw the price. If you are hosting a large gathering, these are unbeatable.

Amaizin Organic Natural Corn Chips, 75g, €1.70, 9/10

No scary ingredient list here — these contain just corn flour, sunflower oil and sea salt — and our testers liked the pure corn flavour. The price means that these are likely to be bought for solo consumption.

M&S Cool Tortillas, 175g, €1.90, 8/10

Our testers liked the flavour and assertive crunch of these chips, ‘made from an authentic corn masa’ (dough made from hominy, or corn kernels that have been cooked and soaked in lime water and then ground into masa). These were pretty good, with a pronounced taste of corn, despite another long list of ingredients.

Doritos Cool Original Flavour Corn Chips, 180g, €2, 5/10

Doritos is the brand that everyone is familiar with but our testers were disappointed with what they felt was a lacklustre corn chip, and put off by the price and a list of ingredients that includes flavour enhancers such as monosodium glutamate (MSG).

Aldi Snackrite Cool Flavour Tortilla Chips, 200g, 39c, 4/10

These chips from Aldi are the same price as the ones from Tesco, but not a patch on them in terms of flavour. Granted, none of your guests may be able to tell the difference at 3am, but at a daytime test, the onion, tomato and garlic flavour left a nasty aftertaste that our testers found off-putting.