Monoprix Soufflés Croustillants Cacahuetes Grillees

Some of you must be expecting that I’m about to review soufflé flavored Cheetos, which would definitely be awesome (though hard to envision I must admit), but Soufflé actually just means ‘puffed-up’ in French, and in this case is referring to corn-puffs a la Cheetos.  And, as mentioned in an earlier review of a very similar product, what better flavor to coat corn puffs with then peanuts?

My review of Lorenz’s Curly Cacahuete chips ended on a dissatisfactory note, and I was left feeling that peanut-flavored corn puffs perhaps deserved to be revisited in a higher-quality rendition.  Well, as fate had it, my housemate Clemente recently left a public bowl full of Monoprix’s own version of the same product on the table, and I was pleased to find that by improving the texture and adding a subtle grilled flavor the final product was significantly improved.

My original discontent with the Lorenz chips stemmed from two factors: first of all, that fundamentally I want my peanut-flavored chips to taste sweet like peanut butter, and secondly, that the texture was crap, too hard on the outside and too airy on the inside.  The second problem was addressed by Monoprix’s chips, which featured a richer, denser, more buttery texture worthy of any Cheeto, which made them much more of a pleasure to eat.  So, texture going from crap to good = happy.

My concern over the lack of sweetness remains, though there were some improvements to the flavor that made these chips more satisfying: perhaps a dash more of sugar, and a subtle ‘grilled’ flavor which made things all together more interesting.  So, while I still want a product that is sweeter and I wouldn’t necessarily go out of my way have to more of these, they are actually pretty decent for absent minded snacking and are probably worth a try just to see where you stand on the whole peanut-flavored-cheetos issue.

Stars: 2 ½

Spiciness Rating: none

Pros:

- Strong peanut flavor emulation, now with grilled overtones and a hint more sweetness

- Buttery crunchy texture is just right for a cornpuff snack

Cons:

- Still not as as sweet as peanut butter