Cerealis Chips-Up Hot & Spicy

My final Tunisian Chip sampling was to take place nearly three months after my partner’s return from Tunisia, on a picnic in the Gardens of Versaille.  By Gardens we’re talking about a piece of property the size of a national park, and you can vividly see in the beautiful flower arrangements, breath taking vistas, and scarifying hedge mazes all of the peasants that were left unfed just so that the Sun King could employ a gardening staff the size of an army division and coat his wrought iron garden-fences with gold.  Yes, the peasants are revolting, but oh my god, just look at those hydrangeas!

In this romantic setting of reflected glory (quite literally, it was a very sunny day and there was a lot mirror-polished gold all about), I opened up the last Tunisian chip bag and began my degustation.  Yet again, I found that the imagery on the bag- which suggests something rather potato-chip like in appearance- to be deceiving.  The Chips Up line instead appears to be made out of a mash up of recombined potato mix pressed into softly-crunchy shells reminiscent of Indian papadum or Asian shrimp chips.  This is not meant to sound as gross as it does, it just needs to be clarified that these are not potato chips but potato-based snacks. On the whole, each of the ‘chips’ is pretty large and abundant with surface area, and their soft crunch is reasonably satisfying.

Given the relatively tame nature of so many chips that claim to be spicy, I actually had pretty low expectations that these chips would live up to their title.  Here, though, I was to be pleasantly surprised- Cerealis did not skimp on applying the spices, and each individual crisp proved to be potently piquant.  They did skimp on the food coloring, which in general is something I’m supposed applaud them for, but I must admit eating pure-white chips without any visual cues as to their spicy nature can be a disconcerting experience.

Papadum: thin, crunchy and salty indian
cracker/chip things, preferably eaten
dipped in chutney or tamarind sauace.

A more serious shortcoming, however, is the lack of additional flavors.  They are not spicy-barbecue, or spicy-garlicky, or spicy-pepper (though the cover art does suggest some bright red pepper powder), they are just plain spicy without apparent flavor they are specifically meant to evoke.  So although I respect their spice-power, like the infamous band, I want some more substance to go along with it.

           

Yes, the gardens go on until the end of the canal.  And they
gon on for a mile on each side, too.  And there's a special
palace just for the Queen behind the woods to the right...

‘Chips Up’ appears to be an entire line of what I assume to be similarly formed crisps with different flavorings, and assuming they can apply other flavorings with the same effectiveness that they applied the spices on the snack I tried, I think they might be worthy of consideration by travelers in Tunisia (or natives, for that matter.)  While hardly revolutionary, the potato-snack format is a little more quirkily original than the other Tunisian chips I tried, and the genuine spiciness of the Hot & Spicy variant suggests that the other flavors might show some similar virtues.

Stars: 2/4

Spiciness Rating: Hot

Pros:

- Recombined potato-snacks that are somewhat original and boast excellent surface area

- Truly, genuinely spicy-hot seasoning on each crisp

Cons:

- Serious lack of supporting flavors

- May be disappointing for anyone expecting crunchy potato chips

Cerealis Cheese Fingers

In Part 3 to our Traveler’s Guide to Tunisian chips, we take a look at Cerealis Cheese Fingers.  Like all the Tunisian chips we found, these were all basically riffing off of classic Western mass-market snack food, and these ones are no exception.  (Sorry, no tagine-flavored chips so far it seems.)  Judging from the picture on the bag, you will basically find some sort of knock off of Cheesy Cheetos on the inside, right?

Max Rebo supposedly agreed to perform
for food, presumably because it would
save him money.

However, the packaging proves hilariously deceptive.  If these are fingers, than I think they were developed by a dwarf with grotesquely stubby single-jointed fingers which might only be found on Jabba the Hutt’s favorite red-ball organist, Max Rebo.  These ‘fingers’ look more like barrels, or depth charges.  Or maybe like taters.

In any case, these are not imitation Cheetos, but imitation Cheese Twists!  Yes, the oversized cousin/competitor of Cheetos, (in the great tradition of frenemy brothers and sisters that try to kill you in one episode and help you the next), less hard and crunchy, more large and puffy.  Cheese Twists are basically perfectly awesome, and just as tasty in the shape of a tater as in the more elongated shape usually found at the grocery store.

File under the category: "cafeteria food
I actually miss eating."

The flavoring is firmly within the American salty-cheddar canon, which is to say addictive but unoriginal.  That’s ok, addictive will do for me!  Anyone who experiences a need to pop some tender cheese puffs while exploring the burned out hulls of American tanks around the Kasserine Pass, or retracing the steps taken by Obi Wan Kenobi while vocalizing the mighty roar of the Krayt Dragon, knows where to find them.  Just remember, the image on the cover is hilariously inaccurate.

Stars: 2/4

Spiciness Rating: None

Pros:

- They are essentially Cheese Twists, which are good

- The barrel shape crisps are actually kind of fun to toss in your mouth

Cons:

- Nothing new about them besides the flavor

- The packaging portrays them to be a different product

Cerealis Bugles Smokin’ BBQ Flavor

Dipping my fingers into my first bag of Tunisian chips, I can only speculate what wonders this exotic new North African locale will bring- crisps made of couscous and baklava seasoning?  Never mind that the title ‘smokin’ bbq’ is sounding much more American in inclination right down to the Drop G, (I’ll take Drop D over Drop G any time.)

A Tunisian tagine (pot) filled with
cous-cous and veggies, recipe
here.  Sadly, they haven't made
the chip seasoning yet...

However, my hyperactive imagination might have been better served to note the ‘General Mills’ logo on the corner of the bag, and as I pop out the cornucopia-shaped treats it turns out that this is a very faithful reproduction of the original American Bugle.  Right down to the lovingly ribbed corn crisp husks, the buttery savory taste as they are pulverized in the mouth, and reveille playing over the camp loud speakers.

But wait, what about the smokin’ BBQ flavoring?  Surely they mean Smokin’ in the Biblical sense.  However, you'll have to untwist your undergarments, as though the bugles themselves are pleasantly dusted with red seasoning, the flavoring is at most a very mildly sweet undertone- these are much more Bugle-flavored than BBQ seasoned.  The flavoring does contribute very subtly to the eating experience, but if you are in any way expecting ‘BBQ’ or ‘Smokey’ flavored crisps, you are in for a serious disappointment.

The US Governmen paid 20% of its annual
budget in 1800 in tribute to the Barbary
pirates.  That's more booty than even
Sir Mixalot could handle.

Nonetheless, I have kinder words for these crisps then the Bacon 3D Bugles I tried here earlier in France, because while those were actually smoky, they were also overly salty.  By contrast, for all their serious lacking of seasoning, these Tunisian bugles preserved the buttery and unobtrusive flavoring one expects from a Bugle.  We can only assume they are keeping with the grand tradition of the Barbary pirates in ruthlessly acquiring the loot for their own tasty purposes.

Stars: 2/4

Spiciness Rating: None

Pros:

- They are 90% authentic Bugles

Cons:

- Not particularly Barbecue or Smokey

Tunisian Chip Extravaganza

About a month ago a certain post-modern Mexicanfood enthusiast that I happen to be intimately acquainted with embarked upon an expedition to Tunisia on a mission to witness a local marriage and also eat as much tasty food as possible (the second goal being a necessary outcome of succeeding at the first.)  She returned with a deep sun tan, a million beautiful pictures, and a quartet of Tunisian domestically produced chips!

Now in case you are not familiar with Tunisia, you may recall a certain science-fiction epic with shiny robots, little hooded men with glowing eyes, and endless walks in an arid desert on a planet farthest from the bright center of the universe called Tatooine.  Which was rather unimaginative, as Tataouine is the name of the desert governate in Tunisia where those scenes (at least in the first movie) were filmed.

Now, those of you paying attention to the recent wave of revolutions in Arab countries may recall that Tunisia was in fact the site of the first revolution in the Arab Spring when the arrest of an unregistered fruit seller led, over the course of month, to the overthrow of the government.  The ripples of change in Tunisia swamped over into Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen and beyond, causing mass popular protests and the overthrow of dictatorships that had lasted for decades.  So the lesson is, don’t underestimate the Tunisian people, and don’t keep them from selling their food.

In that spirit, we’ll dive into the intricacies of uniquely Tunisian chip cuisine from the local producers Cerealis and Golden Krispy (sounds like donuts!) over a series of 4 reviews in the following month.  And do feel free to check out Erin’s beautiful photos of Tunisia, its people (especially the spicy sweethearts at the wedding, all inked up) and their food, not to mention her written observations of the visit and the three day wedding ceremony (they have a wedding party each night.)
And, the bride and groom dance over a fish. Seriously.

To kick us off, read below for the first reviews of the familiar sounding Sun Chips Paprika, which you will learn, are not at all what they seem to be.

Golden Krispy’s Sun Chips Paprika

They’re called Sun Chips, use a yellow-orange color scheme, are identified as a multigrain snack, and boast of having 30% less fat than potato chips.  Why am I bothering to review this everyday American product?  Well, because these ‘Sun Chips’ are made by the Tunisian Golden Krispy company in the town of Zaghoun, and they have about as much in common with Sun Chips as MTV does with the music industry.  (Wait, did that just make sense?  Yes, it did.)

These are not the crunchy rumpled multigrain crisps you are used to, but actually little cheeseball-like confections that appear to be made of puffed corn, but are actually composed of potatoes and corn.  So, multigrain, but not necessarily in the healthy ‘I’m good for your digestion’ way.  Still, there’s nothing objectionable about the format- they are relatively soft textured and the size of playing marbles (that is, a little larger than a Coco Puff), a pleasant light orange in color with the occasional speck of black pepper, and melt swiftly in the mouth.  The pebbles are lacking in density, but at least they aren’t rough or brittle on the outside.

The seasoning certainly isn’t very paprika-ish, although faint overtones of the Hungarian spice can be detected amidst the broadly sweet flavoring, with the occasional seasoned-salt surge and perhaps even a slightly sour element that elicits saliva from the tongue.  The flavoring on each individual puff tends to make a pleasant first impression on the tongue, but like a visit from your favorite mistress, doesn’t last as long as you would like, so I ended up gobbling three or four at once to saturate my mouth with the tasties.  Overall, a slightly higher seasoning content would have been better, but this shortcoming proved far from fatal.

Although Golden Krispy’s product has nothing to do with everybody’s favorite multigrain chips, they are still pretty fun to munch and deliver a seasoning that’s fairly compelling with its blend of sweet and salty, even if it seems a little off topic.  I’m vaguely curious if Golden Krispy actually has some licensing arrangement with Sun Chips to take advantage of their brand name (certainly the marketing is remarkably parallel), but I don’t want to give the game away if they don’t!  If I ever end up going to Tunisia myself, I’m definitely going to seek a LARGE bag of these so I can mindlessly munch away at them as I bake away under the sun of one of the world’s latest revolutionary states and trust that the the masses will even everything out.

Stars: 2/4

Spiciness: None

Pros:

- Reasonably amusing sweet-and-salty flavoring

- Fun to pop three or four in your mouth like coco pebbles

Cons:

- Not particularly Paprika-like, or spicy

- The individual balls could use more seasoning

- The chips are a little thin in texture