Proper Crisps Big Cut - Purple & Gold Cracked Pepper & Sea Salt product reviews

My family and I are avid potato chip fans, whether it's enjoying eating them while watching a family movie, out and about, or just as a snack at home. Lately we have become more adventurous with flavours and have found ourselves steering away from the humble classics. I saw the new range of Big Cut Crisps that had been released from Proper Crisps and thought they sounded ideal.

When I grabbed the Purple and Gold - Cracked Pepper and Sea Salt variety I was instantly drawn in by how eye-catching the packaging was. The Proper Crisps logo sits proudly at the top, followed by Big Cut and the flavour. These crisps have a 4-star health rating which is quite good, are vegan friendly, gluten free and proudly made in New Zealand.

Upon opening the packet there was no doubt that there was pepper in the flavour as that was the first smell that greeted my nostrils. I pulled out a purple chip and also a golden chip at the same time, I was surprised how thick they were, they were good for dipping into dip, and did not fall apart or get stuck on the first go. I tried the purple crisp first as I was fascinated by it, the flavour was nice, the pepper and sea salt worked well together, but at times the pepper was overpowering, the golden crisp was pleasant to eat also, and the crunch factor of each was phenomenal.

I will buy these again quite happily as the whole family devoured them, the children were most fascinated by the purple crisps and have even discussed trying to grow their own purple variety potatoes. Overall I highly recommend trying these, and the other products Proper Crisps create.

It is so easy to open a bag of Proper Crisps (my favourites!) and just start eating. Before you know where you are, the bag is empty and you cannot quite work out how that happened. For that reason, I always take time before opening a new bag to think about how I can make the crisps more interesting and go further. Just like the others in this range, the Big Cut Purple and Gold offer 3.5 servings - so that confirms that they should be accompanied by something else so you get the full value from them and don't end up feeling hungry!

We tipped the contents into a shallow bowl to see if inspiration might hit. As soon as she saw the crisps spread out in a thin layer, Miss 11 shouted "Tomato crackers!" What she was referring to was the old kiwi favourite of crackers topped with thin slices of cheese and/or tomato which were one of the staple offerings at informal afternoon teas, popular when I was a child and still produced regularly in my family. The rest of us decided this was an excellent idea and raided the fridge for ideas.

Before processing the crisps, we all tasted a selection. There appeared to be three distinct colours: a light gold, a darker gold, and an unmistakable purple. The purple was my favourite; it had a full peppery flavour which would make it a great treat to eat just on its own. The rest of the adults liked it too, but the children found it a bit too spicy. Mr 13 does not like strong flavours; Miss 11 said it was ok, but she would prefer less pepper. However, the packet was advertised as being "cracked pepper and sea salt" so they could hardly complain. Some were a bit more peppery than others, but it would be a simple matter to dust the pepper off if that was an issue.

The darker of the golden chips appeared to have more crunch than the lighter, and marginally more flavour. I am not sure whether this was because they had been cooked a bit longer, or because they came from different batches. They also seemed to be quite peppery, like the purple variety. The children said they were better but still a bit too spicy for their liking. The lighter golden crisps had less flavour all round, and appealed to the children the most. It may be that they were lighter because they had less pepper added - who knows?

Having tried the crisps on their own, Miss 11 and I proceeded to make the remainder into a more substantial snack. We spread them out on a plate then added sliced camembert, basil leaves, and sliced tomato. When making her "tomato crackers" we would also add salt and pepper to taste, but since the crisps were already well flavoured, we omitted this step. The result was a sophisticated variant of the Kiwi favourite. What was amazing was that the peppery aftertaste of the crisps was no longer a problem for the children; they happily ate them at such speed that the adults had to stop them so the rest of us could try them too. Due to their thick texture, the crisps held their shape and behaved exactly as a cracker would have done. And a plus: all the crisps were a good size and there was not a single broken crumb in the packet!

When you need a filling snack, Proper Hand Cooked Crisps don't disappoint. It was that time between lunch and dinner and the whole family was getting snackish so I got out the Purple and Gold Cracked Pepper and Sea Salt Big Cut crisps (quite the mouthful!) Everyone was very happy. The crisps have a 4-star health rating and are Vegan, Gluten Free, non-GMO, and have no added MSG. They also claim to be plant-based which made me chuckle, as they come from potatoes. They are in an attractive yellow and purple bag that obviously represents the purple and golden potatoes that are used. The ingredient list is short and simple: potatoes, high oleic sunflower oil, mixed ground peppercorns, and sea salt... what could go wrong?

Upon opening the bag, there was a strong pepper smell and there were some big crisps in the packet. There was a good balance of purple and golden crips and the purple crisps were a little smaller and denser. These chips were thick and crunchy and some of the golden chips were folded over and then cooked which added to their super crunch. They were peppery, but not overly so, and were very tasty.
The whole family loved these and my biggest complaint would probably be the bag size as everyone was diving in for handfuls. Daryl made our packet of chips and he did a fantastic job as they were cooked to perfection. There were no burnt bits on any of the crisps and a fight nearly broke out over who could eat the crumbs at the bottom of the packet.

As the packet says, these crisps are 'memorable, shareable (debatable!), and addictively delicious. These are high-end crisps that you really should try. Even though they are more expensive than 'regular' crisps, they are worth it!

Sometimes you just need something to full the spot, after dinner - while you sit down with your husband to watch a movie. Cider in hand it just needs something extra and that's where chips excel. Nothing is sweeter than crunching on a chip as you watch a boring movie!

Unfortunately, in this case the chips just did not meet my expectations. I had been lying there dreaming about eating the chips in the pantry and finally temptation won out. I found the bag easily with the big vibrant colours - the yellow and purple are so eye catching. I sat down and opened the bag with out any worry - unfortunately or fortunately whatever the case may be the bag is not a self closing bag so you can either eat the whole bag in one sitting or self seal them yourself and put in the fridge or pantry.

I took a white chip and was pleasantly met with yummy salt - but I was dying to try the pepper. I adore salt and vinegar chips so assumed these would be along the same line but alas I was mistaken. I took a rather big purple chip and I was shocked at the taste explosion that went off in my mouth. It definitely took a second to get used to. It had a bigger kick then I was expecting and ended up coughing. Just as my daughter walked in the room. She hurridly rushed over and took a handful and also had a similar reaction. My husband sitting there eyes wide open could not wait to try.

He started with the salt and then tried another one which must of had the pepper on it, because next minute he was saying 'there is nothing wrong with it, it tastes fine'. I told him to try the purple one and he said it made no difference what colour it was because the seasoning was on all chips. So I tried another white one and he was right - the seasoning was on it. I was just lucky to have had the first one with just salt on it.

Personally I am not a fan I had another handful and I was done. But where as my husband sat there happily munching away on them. Where as my daughter and I are not in love with these my husband definitely is. I can't see myself buying them again, I do enjoy the crunch, the chip, the salt but I just do not enjoy the pepper.