Lea spotted this bag at Publix the other day and correctly supposed that I might like to try this product.
Habanero Tostitos? That could be a really tasty chip. Habanero peppers are far too hot to go into a mass market snack at full strength, but they also have an excellent fruity flavor, and maybe that’s what the mad scientists at Frito-Lay are after yes?
So what do we have here? The ingredients panel reads corn, vegetable oil (corn, canola, and/or sunflower oil), maltodextrin (made from corn), salt, natural flavors, dextrose, spices (including habanero pepper), whey, cheddar cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), sugar, tomato powder, onion powder, cream, sour cream (cultured cream, skim milk), garlic powder, paprika extracts, butter (cream, salt), Monterey jack cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), Swiss cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), and artificial flavors.
Hmm. Where to begin? Well, this clearly isn’t as simple as the “chip plus a little spice” model previous Tostitos varieties have used (you know, with “hint of” in the name?). If I’ve had a Tostito that had cheese and sugar in it, I don’t remember it. This seems like it should be a Dorito, does it not? Indeed, that’s the tactile experience too. Habanero Tostitos are visibly dusty, and they leave substantial residue on your fingers.
That’s just weird. If I want significantly flavored chips, I have plenty of options. I want Tostitos to be a reliable vehicle for salsa or queso, right?
I guess they are tasty enough. I mean, they’re tortilla chips flavored with cheese and salt. How bad could they possibly be? But this just isn’t what I’m looking for when I reach for Tostitos. Worse, there is no hint of habanero flavor and only a very little heat that must accumulate to be detected at all.
Pass.
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Darn, I was really hoping you’d say that they managed to provide the wonderful flavor of Habanero without the scorching heat. I really love the flavor of Habanero, but I just can’t handle the burn.
The closest flavor to Habanero that I can handle is the Datil pepper – I love the flavor of Datil peppers.
These got a little hotter toward the bottom of the bag, but that front-center fruity habanero pop you’re talking about was never present.