One of the snacks that I really enjoy that I know is not healthy for me is Pringles. I am not even sure if they are really potato chips or if they are just some potato pieces mashed together into a paste to make for a delicious treat, but I love them all the same! The salty goodness, the crunchy crispness of the snack, and the ever expanding range of new flavors to try.
That’s why when I was visiting my local supermarket and I saw two new flavors here in Korea I just had to try them and compare them head to head!
The two flavors that I had not seen before were Grilled Potato and Garlic and Italian Style Four Cheese. The latter is part of Pringles Passport Flavours line-up, which I couldn’t find on the American website and so I guess they are flavors for international markets.
The cans themselves don’t look to special, although the Italian Style Four Cheese does have a backdrop that I guess is supposed to look like a city in Italy.
When I opened them up, the wonderful smell that a fresh can of Pringles produces was evident in the air. I could definitely smell the garlic from the Grilled Potato and Garlic flavor. There wasn’t a strong scent beyond saltiness from the Four Cheese flavor, but I was hopeful that the taste would be stronger.
The Grilled Potato and Garlic looked very similar to regular Sour Cream and Onion flavored Pringles, with a white dusting plus a few dark flakes on top.
The Italian Style Four Cheese had a much darker orange color on the top, and boded well for a strong cheese flavor.
Finally, I decided to taste them to see which was better!
The Grilled Potato and Garlic was very nice, and had a very strong garlic flavor to them. The concept of grilled potatoes on a potato crisp seems strange to me, because you probably could have called them grilled garlic Pringles and produced the same result. There was a slight hint of a ‘grilled’ flavor, but it was definitely garlic all the way. I believe there was a tinge more of umami which might have come from the Grilled Potato part of the flavor. Overall, a solid crisp, but nothing over the top.
The Italian Style Four Cheese was next. The crisps tasted mostly like Parmesan cheese, and I really enjoyed them! They had a great balance of saltiness and yet a touch a sweetness from the cheese flavors. One thing that I was a little disappointed in was that you couldn’t taste the different types of cheese. I think this is to be expected, but if you can’t taste the other types of cheese, you might as well call them Parmesan Pringles!
That being said, the Italian Style Four Cheese was the clear winner for me. It had a great balance, and most importantly the cheese flavor was very different from the Cheddar Cheese Pringles that have been sold here for years. In fact, I preferred the Italian Style Four Cheese to the Cheddar Cheese Pringles because the cheese flavor was much more natural and not heavy on the chemical flavor.
Sorry to the Grilled Potato and Garlic Pringles, but you’ll have to settle for second place as the Italian Style Four Cheese was the clear winner in this head to head battle!
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