Friday, January 23, 2009

Tyrell's Crisps

I am back in the UK after a 6 week working holiday in Canada. As I saunter over to the Post Office this morning at a visa-is-running-out-must-post-application speed, I stop by the small local grocer. There are certain things I do miss about Canada, food-wise, like red licorice and good Mexican food. As I peruse the food in my local Sheffield grocer my eyes fall on one of my "new country" favourites: Tyrell's Crisps. Not only do they appeal to my taste for salt and the savoury, but the packaging is extremely clever and visually appealing. Tyrell's have a fascinating line up of crisp flavours like Ale & Mature Cheese, Beef & Horseradish, Ludlow Sausage with Wholegrain Mustard (see picture left), and Winter Worcester Sauce with Sun Dried Tomato. Each flavour is accompanied by an antique photo making reference to the flavour of that bag. One of my favourites is Naked Chips which features an old series of posed, nude women. If I didn't like salt so much, I might actually try them. Another favourite are the Root Vegetable Chips made up of beetroot, carrots and parsnips (or sold in each of these vegetables separately). On more than one occasion a bowl is put out at a party and people avoid eating it because it is often mistaken for potpourri. I have been known to accidentally eat from a real bowl of potpourri.

2 comments:

Craig-n'-Dana said...

I wish I could be shopping with you at your local grocer, or Tesco or Sainsbury... I LOVE foreign grocers. The packaging, the flavours, the varieties. LOVE IT!!!

Anonymous said...

I think you can tell a lot about a country's people via their grocery stores.