The Curators Pork Puffs Chilli Lime (Ocado) By @SpectreUK

I miss pork scratchings. I broke a tooth on one some time ago, and very rarely dare to have a packet of pork scratchings just in case I break another. I do love pork puffs as an alternative.

I have tried most of the Curators’ pork puff flavours. My favourite flavour so far has been the Salt & Vinegar. I haven’t tried this new The Curators Pork Puffs Chilli Lime, with Tajin chilli lime.

I decided to try these The Curators Pork Puffs Chilli Lime with a pork and apple sauce sandwich for my lunch. On opening the packet there was a salty pork puff aroma from the reddened puffs inside. I was pretty surprised, as the pork puffs themselves looked like they were on fire.

On taste there was an instant chilli heat from the crunchy pork puffs. There was also a lip-smacking sourness from the lime that quickly mixed with the chilli burn. Gosh, these The Curators Pork Puffs Chilli Lime are tasty and exceptionally moreish.

Information on the packet; The 25g bag contained 130 calories, with 6.3g of fat, 0.2g of sugar, 17g of protein, and 1.2g of salt. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Traditional Pork Scratchings (Tesco) By @SpectreUK

I haven't had Traditional Pork Scratchings for many years. I broke a tooth on one a few years back, and have stuck with Pork Puffs ever since. I saw these Midland Snacks - Traditional Pork Scratchings in the local store a few days ago. 

I meant to have these Traditional Pork Scratchings with a beer and a good book, like I used to do in the pub, but I'm just about to go out for my last Gumbo of the season at the Smokehouse, and thought I'd have a quick bite.

 

On opening the packet the little pieces of pork certainly looked and smelt like Traditional Pork Scratchings. On first taste I realised I was going to have to be very careful with these, as they were very crunchy for my poor old teeth.

Oh my, they tasted so good. Salty and crunchy pork. Gosh, it's been too long. I'll have to get another packet and carefully eat them whilst drinking a can of my favourite beer, Banks's Mild, and a good book.

Information on the packet:
The 40g bag contained 261 calories, with 21.1g of fat, <0.1g of sugar, and 1.24g of salt.

The Real Pork Company Golden Crunch (Morrisons) By @SpectreUK

I'm still slowly building strength with light weights after a fall in a car park a few weeks ago revealed an old break in my wrist, and aggravated my already grumpy knee.

I do like pork crunch for a source of muscle fixing protein, as an alternative to the risk of breaking my teeth on pork scratchings. It's happened before. I have tried many pork crunch on the market, but this is the first bag of The Real Pork Company Golden Crunch I have bought.

As you can see from the photograph, on opening these The Real Pork Company Golden Crunch were fairly small rectangular chunks of pork crunch. On taste these pork crunch were definitely crunchy and fairly salty, but after a few, and I don't know whether it's the hot weather at the moment, but I thought they were a little dry, and I found myself regularly taking a sip of drink to quench my thirst. Still, they were tasty, low in calories and helped to fix my muscles after my workout.

Information on the packet; The 25g bag contained 132 calories, with 7.3g of fat, 16.3g of protein, 0.1g of sugar, and 0.49g of salt.

Pub Originals Pork Crunch (Asda) By @SpectreUK

I've been a fan of all things Pork Crunch ever since I broke a tooth on Pork Scratchings a few years back. Of course, they're not the same. They don't taste as good, especially when Pork Scratchings are particularly salty, and they don't have the same texture, but they don't have the risk of an expensive visit to the dentist. Oh my, dentists are expensive now.

These Pub Originals Pork Crunch are the best quality pork cuts flash fried for a better crunch. Each packet has around 19g of protein in it, which will help to fix my muscles after my weights session today. I decided to try them with a tuna and Cholula Hot Sauce sandwich.

On opening the packet you can see from the photograph that these Pub Originals Pork Crunch were neat lightly seasoned pork puffs. They smelt like lightly salted fried pork. These Pork Crunch were easy on my teeth with a decent crunch, and were mildly salted. My spicy tuna sandwich dominated my lunch a little, however, I certainly felt pumped full of protein to fix my tired muscles after my daily workout. High in protein and low in calories, I'd certainly have these Pub Originals Pork Crunch again.

Information on the packet; The 27g packet has 491 calories per 100g, with 24.2g of fat, 0.8g of sugar, 4.08g of salt. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Curators Cheese Flavour Pork Puffs (Ocado) By @SpectreUK

Just when I thought I'd blogged about all the flavours of Curators Pork Puffs, Cheese Flavour Pork Puffs appear on the shelves. I've liked all the other flavours so far and have them in regularly, but I have to say that I'm just not sure about Cheese Flavour Pork Puffs. Not that I don't think that cheese goes with pork, I'm just not sure that I've ever tried it before.

On opening the packet there was a strong smell of pork puffs with a cheesy aroma at the back of the smell. It was somewhat an unsavoury savoury smell. On taste these Curators Cheese Flavour Pork Puffs screamed cheese at me from the get-go. There was also a strong flavour of salty pork puffs that followed that blast of shouty cheese. Bizarrely these cheesy pork puffs actually worked.

These Curators Cheese Flavour Pork Puffs tasted great, in a bizarre kind of moreish way. I really liked them for their mixture of yelling-at-me cheesiness and their salted pork puff goodness. They were very tasty and I'll definitely have them in regularly, just like Curators's other flavours.

Information on the packet; The 23g packet contains 120 calories, with 2.23g of fat, 1.1g of sugar, 0.97g of salt, and 16g of protein. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Mr Porky Crispy Strips (Tesco) By @SpectreUK

One time I broke a tooth on a pork scratching. I eat more pork puffs now to save on dental bills. I do love pork scratchings though, especially after a good workout with my weights at home. These Mr Porky Crispy Strips, the Lighter Bite, may be able to help with my cravings for pork scratchings. They are high in calories for the size of the serving at 198, which is also much higher, but also heavier than a regular bag of pork puffs, although I do love to try new innovative snacks. So here goes…

 

On opening the packet there was a familiar aroma of pork scratchings. As you can see from the photograph, these Mr Porky Crispy Strips are slimmer in texture if not much different in calories or fat content. On first tentative bite I was a little concerned that these Crispy Strips would be almost as hard to eat as some pork scratchings, but my poor old teeth were pretty safe in the end. I found these Mr Porky Crispy Strips very tasty, they were more reminiscent of pork scratchings than pork puffs and were certainly a decent protein hit after a good long workout with my weights.

Information on the packet; The 35g bag contains 198 calories, 12.7g of fat, 2.25g of salt and 20.7g of protein. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Porky Puffs Marvellous Maple (Ocado) By @SpectreUK

I do like a packet of pork puffs with my lunch after a good workout. Of course I'm still on my calorie counting diet and can't see that changing. I have a balanced diet so I try to have whatever I want to eat, but in moderation. It works for me, well, just as long as I workout like crazy every day I can even have half a packet of biscuits and a mug of eggnog with a shot of rum in it if i want. Gosh… now that was a 1000 calories of heavenly pudding right there! Of course I can't do that very often, but the joy of just doing it once in a while…

I used to eat a lot of pork scratchings in order to fix my muscles after a workout, then the pandemic struck and everything went wacko! Then of course I broke tooth eating pork scratchings. Not wanting to go to the dentist at the time i was thankful it was at the back of my mouth, and so far hasn't caused me any further problems. So I fairly recently switched to pork puffs. Lower in calories (around the same as a packet of crisps) full of protein and fat, they're perfect for a boost to my muscles after a long morning of weights and other exercises.

I have tried most of The Snaffling Pig Co. pork rind and pork crackling flavours. I have tried their Marvellous Maple Pork Rinds before and loved them. Snaffling Pig have made Pork Puffs with same Marvellous Maple flavouring now. These pork puffs are made from lean cuts of pork that were double cooked.

On opening the bag there was a familiar aroma of salty pork and sweet maple syrup. On first crunchy taste these pork puffs began to melt in my mouth. There was the sweetness from the maple syrup flavouring mixing perfectly with the pork, as well a saltiness throughout each crunchy mouthful.

These Snaffling Pig Co. Porky Puffs Marvellous Maple tasted great. They had a perfect balance of sweetness from the maple syrup flavouring, as well as saltiness and porkiness from the crunchy puffs. I'll be looking forward to having another bag of these one lunchtime for its boost to my protein levels in my diet.

Information on the packet; The 25g bag contains 487 calories per 100g (about 122 calories per bag), with 24.5g of fat, 0.5g of sugar, and 6.1g of salt. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Sea Salt & Cider Vinegar Pork Puffs (Ocado) By @SpectreUK

I've written about three previous flavours of The Curators Pork Puffs. I've tried the Sweet Chilli flavour, the Smoky Bacon Flavour and also the Original flavour. All of which I love and have in the house regularly. My favourite being the Original flavour for their pure saltiness, and been as though they go so well with any lunch I choose to accompany it with. The Curators Pork Puffs have an excellent combination of low calories and high protein, which is great for helping to fix my muscles after long workouts, as well as to keep my weight down while I do it.

These Sea Salt & Cider Vinegar Pork Puffs sound like they should also become a firm favourite. I generally save the spicy Sweet Chilli flavours to go with tuna and mayonnaise sandwiches, the Smoky Bacon to go with an afternoon beer, and the Original flavour to go in between jam on toast and boiled eggs lunches. Jam on toast and boiled eggs is the only meal I can think of where I eat the sweet before the savoury. I don't know why I do that, it just seems to be one of those things I prefer.

On opening the packet of this Sea Salt & Cider Vinegar Pork Puffs I received a good smell of salty pork puffs with a little vinegar. I used to eat Pork Scratchings with apple sauce all the time when my teeth were a bit stronger. I reckoned cider vinegar should go with the sea salt and pork puffs very well indeed.

These pork puffs have the same lovely crunchiness as the other flavours. The cider vinegar came to the fore straight away. I liked the cider part of the taste that I could pick out, but for some reason the vinegar sourness threw me a little. This sour flavour merged into a saltiness complementing the crunchy pork puffs, but there was then that vinegar sourness into the aftertaste. I finished the whole bag, of course, but the flavour combinations weren't doing it for me.

Don't get me wrong, I did like these Sea Salt & Cider Vinegar Pork Puffs, and I have some more in the house with the other flavours, but I reckon with the vinegar sourness this is unfortunately my least favourite flavour. I'll certainly eat the other packets, but the Original flavour is still my absolute favourite.

Information on the packet; The 22g bag contains 108.68 calories, 5.54g of fat, 0.22g of sugar, 1.1g of salt, and 14.72g of protein. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

The Curators Smoky Bacon Pork Puffs (Ocado) By @SpectreUK

I've recently written about two flavours of The Curators Pork Puffs, which were the Original salted flavour and also the Sweet Chilli flavour. Both flavours were superb and I have some more packets in the cupboard to supplement my lunches with more protein after my weights sessions. Cinabar has now found me The Curators Smoky Bacon Pork Puffs to try, so I thought I should write about those too.

I've mentioned before that The Curators Pork Puffs are based on a Latin street-food called "Chicharrones". These pork puffs are made from pork rind which is hot flashed to make its fluffy texture. I'm rather looking forward to trying this Smoky Bacon flavour, as I know just how good the other two flavours are!

On opening the packet there was a sweet and smoky aroma from the light reddish dusted pork puffs inside. On first crunchy taste there is a sweetness from the oak smoked sugar in the seasoning, followed by a smoky bacon flavour mixed in with the salty pork rind flavour underneath the seasoning.

These The Curators Smoky Bacon Pork Puffs are gorgeous. I even tried dipping them into a little apple sauce I had left over from my pork sandwich, and they went particularly well together. I shall definitely be having these in regularly with the other two pork puff flavours from The Curators.

Information on the packet;
The 22g bag contains 107 calories, with 4.6g of fat, 0.44g of sugar, 16.2g of protein, and 1.1g Salt. Ingredients include; pork rind (95%), rice flour, salt, sugar, yeast extract, oak smoked sugar, natural flavouring, smoke flavouring, and paprika extract.

The Curations Pork Puffs Original Salted (Ocado) By @SpectreUK

Okay so The Curations Pork Puffs Original Salted may not sound very interesting, but I enjoyed their Sweet Chilli flavour that I wrote about last week, so I decided to write about their original flavour this week. Besides, it's starting to get tougher finding new things to write about again, and I need the extra protein in my diet to fix my muscles after my workout today.

The back of the packet of these Curations Pork Puffs Original Salted states that they are inspired by Latin street-food called "Chicharrones", which are fried pork belly and fried pork rinds. Curations hot flashed their pork rinds to create these pork puffs and then lightly salted them.

On opening the packet there was a decent salty smell mixed in with the strong aroma of pork rind. Nothing too mind explosively interesting about that. However, before I describe the taste or try to, I'll just mention a couple or more instances where I've experienced the same feeling as eating these Curations Pork Puffs Original Salted…

When I was a young boy we holidayed in Devon in a seaside town called Combe Martin. It was a very nice place indeed from what I can remember. What I do mainly remember was the hotel food… well okay, just the chocolate fudge cake that an old lady made for the hotel every day. It was by and far the best chocolate fudge cake I've ever had, none have matched it or come close to doing so since. The same can be said about Pizza Hut's Carne Amanti thin crust pizza before they stopped making it. No pizza I've had since has matched it.

This is a good thing, in a way, it's marked down as a beloved experience I can take wherever I go, like the people closest to me and those deeply important ones I've lost along the way. However, it's also a curse… What if Curations stop making their Curations Pork Puffs Original Salted or stupidly change the recipe like my favourite brand of alcoholic Dandelion and Burdock? I just don't like the latest version…

What if I never taste that pure saltiness perfectly merged with the fluffy light and crispy pork puffs again? I mean… I'm a project manager and this is now going right at the top of my Risk Log in fire engine red… these Curations Pork Puffs Original Salted are definitely my new go to after weights snack now for their awesome salty and porky flavour, perfect fluffy crispy texture, as well as their high protein and low calorie content. They are by and far the best pork puffs I have ever and probably will ever taste… Now that is interesting indeed!

Information on the packet;
The 22g bag contains 118 calories, 2.2g of fat, 0.03g of sugar, 15.6g of protein, and 1.3g of salt. Ingredients included; pork rind (95%), salt, and yeast extract.

The Curators Pork Puffs Sweet Chilli BBQ (Ocado) By @SpectreUK

I probably do way too much exercise. I have done so since my last knee operation. Over the last two and a half years I've built up an exercise programme that virtually covers my whole body each day. I've lost plenty of weight over that time. I've rehabilitated the muscles around my knee and also around my shoulder after a previous major operation there some years before. I'm probably fitter and healthier than I have been for much of my adult life, but I'm not stronger, as the operations only take me so far and the muscles take me some ways further, so I'm not like a person without injuries. However my real strength comes from within. I'm not sure from where. There's no doubt that there is a warrior spirit deep within me driving my determination, perseverance, and discipline, as well as some sensitivity to my mind and heart's well being and those around me.

I've been very lucky to be supported during this time by those closest to me. I try to keep a balanced diet, which is slightly high in protein and fairly low in calories. Keeping my low calorie diet in check, Cinabar has been looking for high protein snacks to fix my muscles after a workout with not too many calories to damage my waist size. The Curators Pork Puffs Sweet Chilli BBQ have 13g of protein and 113 calories. Perfect for a high protein snack with my lunch. So let's hope they're tasty… 

The Curators Pork Puffs Sweet Chilli BBQ are made from pork rind, which is hot flashed to make their light fluffy texture. They are full of natural protein, and are seasoned with habanero chillies, ginger and sugar for a "sweet & spicy kick". On opening the packet there was a good strong smell of pork rind from the red coloured pork puffs inside. On taste these fluffy light puffs have quite a hot kick of habanero chilli, with a slightly salty pork rind flavour into the aftertaste. The chilli heat just keeps on giving after eating them too. There is also a sweetness and slight smokiness in the flavour leaning towards barbecue just before the chillies caught hold of my palate and started to burn. The Curators Pork Puffs Sweet Chilli BBQ are very flavoursome indeed and I'd definitely have them again.

Information on the packet;
The 22g packet has 112.9 calories, with 6.2g of fat, 2.2g of sugar, 13.3g of protein, and 0.03g of salt. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Simmons Pork Scratchings (Asda) By @SpectreUK

I broke a tooth in half eating Pork Scratchings once. I'm not naming names, but they weren't produced by Simmons! I've written about Simmons Pork Crackling before. As they are cooked twice, rather than the once Pork Scratchings are cooked, Simmons Pork Crackling practically melted in my mouth. They are perfectly seasoned for saltiness, and are by and far my favourite after weightlifting snack. Yes they are full of fat, but I generally have a tin of tuna on a sandwich and a 20g bag of Simmons Pork Crackling for an extra boost of protein before my extra protein yoghurt. So you can imagine my surprise when a huge 180g of substitute Simmons Pork Scratchings turned up in a food delivery instead of the usual multipack!

At first I wasn't going to eat these Simmons Pork Scratchings. I'd just have a few one lunchtime and leave the rest in the garden for the cats or a passing fox. Then Cinabar found that you can store Pork Scratchings for a few weeks in an airtight container. So I figured I'd somehow police myself to estimate roughly 20g portions after nine weightlifting sessions.

The first weightlifting was today. I must admit that I was pretty good at portion control, the three largish pieces I picked from the Tupperware box were probably just over 20g, but hey, they didn't break any of my teeth so that was a good start. I must admit that my initial apprehension about eating Pork Scratchings again was completely unfounded.

Like their Pork Crackling these Simmons Pork Scratchings were perfectly seasoned for saltiness, but not too overwhelming, so I could still taste the porkiness. They had a slightly stronger crunch to them than the Pork Crackling, but still pretty much melted in my mouth. So not only do Simmons produce my favourite Pork Crackling, but they do a damn fine job with their Pork Scratchings too!

Information on the packet;
The 180g bag contains 676 calories per 100g, with 59g of fat, 0.1g of sugar, 33.5g of protein, and 0.54g of salt. Ingredients included; pork rinds, edible oil, salt, enhancer E621, and vegetable protein.

Microwaveable Pork Crackle (Kings Elite Snacks) By @SpectreUK

You may be asking if the title is right of this blog. Yes, it is Microwaveable Pork Crackle. Kings Elite Snacks very kindly sent us a whole box of these Microwaveable Pork Crackle, so I hope I like them. I've certainly never thought about heating up any pork crackle or wanted any hot, but I've an open mind where snacks are concerned. Pushing horror stories of microwaveable popcorn setting fire out of my mind, I'm going to give them a try.

Watching my calories to try to keep my weight down, I try to limit myself to one packet of high protein (yet fatty) pork scratchings a week after one of my morning weights and swimming sessions. These Microwaveable Pork Crackle certainly fit into that bracket of snack food. So I'll try them on the side with my usual tuna sandwich.

Looking at the instructions they state to remove the inner paper bag and to carefully read the instructions on it… I'm not great with instructions, as I'm more an attention span deficit kind of person. so I'm hoping the instructions are not long and I don't dose off reading them. Specifically not putting the plastic wrapper in the microwave seemed very important though. So here goes…

Now I'm not saying everyone will definitely have problems with this product…. but what I am saying is that I personally had problems with this product. First of all the dial on our almost brand new 800 watt microwave oven (as the old 1000w microwave oven packed up recently) only counts in 10 seconds, so the two minutes and fifteen seconds instructed had to be stopped right before the two minutes and twenty seconds was up. Second of all on unfolding the bag it was clearly far too big for the new tiny microwave, although the microwave can fit a whole dinner plate in it. In fact I was pretty sure the bag wouldn't have turned in the old huge microwave oven either. Third of all, as you can see from the photographs, although the bag expanded it also almost caught fire. I did read the instructions thoroughly and watched it all the way through the cooking process, and I also noted the smell of burnt flesh was pretty disturbing after roughly a minute of cooking. I turned the bag around and noticed the scorch marks on it but then finished cooking it anyway, and left it to stand for a couple of minutes.

As you can also see from the photographs a few of the Pork Crackle pieces were also burnt. I did try a couple of other pieces, but the Original favouring was more or less Ready Salted and could not disguise the burnt flesh smell that filled the kitchen for the rest of the afternoon even with the back door open. In fact the burnt flesh flavour had been absorbed by the rest of the cooked Pork Crackle. I threw away the rest of the bag, and then threw away the contents of the box Kings Elite Snacks had kindly sent us. I'm afraid I'd rather stick to my pork Crackle pre-cooked!

Information on the packet;
The 35g bag contains 78 calories per 17.5g, with 2.3g of fat, less than 0.1g of sugar and 0.41g of salt. These Microwaveable Pork Crackle are gluten free, with no artificial colours or flavours. Ingredients included pork rind (94%) (antioxidants BHA, BHT), sea salt, rice flour, yeast extract, and black pepper extract.

Pork Crackling Low & Slow BBQ (Ocado) By @SpectreUK

I'm still working out like a crazy person trying to get the remainder of the muscles in my thigh and around my knee to grow enough to walk and drive for a longer amount of time. Specialist operations on anything can be tough to recover from, but recover we must. As I do weights at the gym three or four times a week and cardio for three days I'm big on protein at the moment. My stomach has gone down quite a lot, so after my weights on Sunday I struggled to fit in my Mixed Grill during a family pub meal.

Asides the big tuna sandwiches I usually eat after weight lifting, I also eat lots of boiled eggs and the odd packet of pork crackling now and then. Although this Pork Crackling Low & Slow BBQ flavour, produced by The Snaffling Pig Co., has a lot of fat in it (which is still good for our diet), it has 21.95g of protein in a 50g bag. This in my opinion is ideal for mending tired muscles, if not so much for my slowly decreasing waist size. That's what the crazy burnouts of cardio the next day are for, as they help burn calories for hours after exercise. My surgeon said that there is research that proves weights one day and then cardio the next is good for you, just as long as you have at least one day of rest a week. The results prove it as I've lost over a stone safely in the last two or so months, and gained a lot of muscle mass at the same time, which is also pretty heavy in itself.

On opening the packet of these Pork Crackling Low & Slow BBQ flavour there was the expected salty whiff of pork crackling and a spicy slightly smokiness at the back of the aroma. These slightly orange paprika coloured nuggets of pork crackling have a decent crunch. They're not too hard to break my teeth, which will please my dentist. Pork Crackling Low & Slow BBQ flavour have a salty pork taste to begin with, followed by a mild chilli spice from the cayenne and paprika, as well as a hint of smokiness into the aftertaste. I certainly enjoyed the packet and dipped the odd pork crackling nugget into some apple sauce on the side, which also went well with the slightly spicy smoky BBQ flavour too.

Information on the packet;
The 50g bag contains 47.5g of fat per 100g, with 0.3g of sugar, 1.24g of salt. Please see photograph for ingredients.

Golden Pork Crunch (Poundland) By @SpectreUK

I'm still building up the muscles around my fairly recently operated on knee. I go to the gym six days a week. After some trials that saw me totally overdoing it and descending on what seemed to be a helter skelter of pain into hell's torture chamber, I seem to have now settled into a routine of muscle building weight lifting one day and then pure cardio the next. My NHS surgeon in Oswestry, who has been giving me excellent aftercare, agreed that some research shows this is the best way to gain muscle and also lose weight. Losing weight is something he's very keen on me doing, as he mentions it every time I have an outpatient appointment with him. Only trouble is, although I seem to have lost quite a bit of fat now, I have gained more muscle, which has made me several pounds heavier!!

Anyway, when you're building muscle, as most people will tell you, large amounts of protein is required to help mend the muscles after weight lifting. I bulk a little at the rather revolting looking protein shakes the proper weight lifters seem to drink at the gym. I prefer a tin of tuna on a sandwich when I get home, a protein heavy Icelandic yoghurt, and maybe some pork scratchings. We all need some fat in our diets as well, and a bit of a treat after doing a lot of weights is a bonus. The Real Pork Crackling Co. have brought out these Golden Pork Crunch, which are high in protein and not too tough on the teeth. They are served in roughly three centimetre flat crisp-like squares. They taste meatier somehow than other pork crunches I've had in the past. It must be something to do with the seasoning. It tastes more like salty pork crackling, which I'm sure some may agree, is one of the best flavours in the world!

Information on the packet;
The 35g packet contained 520 calories per 100g, with 26.2g of fat, less than 0.1g of sugar, 2.7g of salt and 69.7g of protein. Please see photograph for ingredients.

Simmons Pork Crackling (Asda) By @SpectreUK

I have heard said that the best pork crackling is produced in the West Midlands. As I've lived in the West Midlands all my life I've found it a rare occurrence not to like a bag of pork crackling with my beer in a pub, or a large bag or two small bags poured out into a bowl and eaten with my lunch after a good turn at the gym. I also like to dip pork crackling into apple sauce, as apple sauce and pork go very well together. I'm not sure how G. Simmons & Sons' Pork Crackling, from Walsall, has eluded me until now, but these little 20g blue bags contain some of the best pork crackling I have had the pleasure to eat.

Pork Crackling are seasoned fried pork rinds. It states on the packet that they are "only suitable for people with strong healthy teeth." I wouldn't like to tempt fate here, as a few months ago a broke a tooth on a rather hard pork scratching, but these Pork Crackling are some of the easiest pork rinds I've eaten. Yes, they have a good crunch to them, but they almost immediately melt in my mouth. It must have something to do with the frying. They are lusciously salty and super porky tasty. I probably should have written about them a few weeks back, as they have now taken over as my regular brand of pork crackling in the house. So no more broken teeth… well, fingers crossed anyway!

Information on the packet;
There are 6 x 20g packets in a pack. Per 100g there are 701 calories, with 62.9g of fat, less than 0.1g of sugar, and 0.815g of salt. Ingredients included; pork rinds, salt, flavour enhancer E621, and hydrolysed vegetable protein.

Marvellous Maple Piggin’ Pork Rinds (Ocado) By @SpectreUK

I have a particularly unhealthy obsession with pork scratchings, well, a colleague at work seemed to think so when I told her I like to have several packets after a good workout at the gym. She looked at me as if she doubted I'd make it through the next weekend! I do like to dunk them in apple sauce too, which I thought was healthier, but she didn't seem to think so… I can't see how I could convince her that pork rinds are healthier either. Although they are lighter and fluffier than pork scratchings, and made from lean cuts of meat that are double cooked.

I also have a confession to make. I've had a few packets of these Marvellous Maple Piggin' Pork Rinds by The Snaffling Pig Co.. I have a bad habit of eating them before I manage to write a blog about them. At the top of the packet it states; "Let's make the piggin' magic happen". It certainly does, because these pork rinds disappear very quickly! They smell pretty much like pork rinds on opening the packet, with a little sweetness from the maple. On first taste though the sweet maple covering explodes all over my tastebuds. With this maple sweetness follows the salty pork flavour as the pork rind first crunches and then melts in my mouth. It's almost impossible to stop eating them from first taste onwards. With the sweetness from the maple seasoning there is no need for dunking in apple sauce for these Marvellous Maple Piggin' Pork Rinds. Mmm… Piggin' marvellous!

Information on the packet;

The 70g packet has 636 calories per 100g, with 46.3g of fat, 2.6g of sugar, and 2.75g of salt. Please see photograph for ingredients. Not for vegetarians!

Crackling Crisps (Marks and Spencer) By @Cinabar

Ok I actually tried these for the first time last week, but someone pointed out to me that last week was National Vegetarian Week, so I thought I best leave the review until today. Not that I did anything special for National Vegetarian Week it is just that it didn’t seem the most appropriate time to review meaty based snacks.
These Crackling Crisps were found in the chiller cabinet at Marks and Spencer and seemed to be in with the place where you would find posh picnic snacks, olives etc. They are not in a bag like most pork scratchings instead they are in a plastic tray and were kept chilled. There were enough to share in the pack, and indeed the idea of eating the whole contents would have been a bit much for me! The “crisps” are meat based and look like they are pork scratchings rolled to create a flat spiral.
I tried one and absolutely loved the flavour and texture. Although these are unquestionably crunchy, they had a lightness to them too, sort of like there was enough air mixed into stop them being too hard and instead they were nicely crispy. Flavour wise these were very much pork scratchings, they tasted meaty and fatty, and so a bit naughty but very tasty. They were seasoned nicely, with slat and pepper and were fun to snack on. These would be a great accompaniment to a picnic, but they felt a bit posh just to munch on as a casual snack.

Snaffling Pig Colman’s Pork Crackling (@SnafflingPigCo) By @SpectreUK

Previously I have tried Snaffling Pig Salt and Vinegar Pork Crackling, and also tasted their super hot Pig of Doom chilli pork crackling. I must say I could happily eat the Salt and Vinegar flavour every day. The Pig of Doom were so hot I almost blew a gasket biting into them! These new Snaffling Pig Colman’s Pork Crackling seemed like a decent compromise. I have Colman’s English Mustard on my sandwiches almost everyday. I’ve never found a mustard I like more. So my favourite pork crackling laced with Colman’s English Mustard sounded like a gift from heaven - literally a gift as Snaffling Pig very kindly sent me these to try.

After a lengthy session at the gym I popped open a bottle of lager and then popped open the huge 300g jar. There was a decent porkish smell form the yellowish pork crackling jammed into the huge jar. On first taste these double cooked pork crackling melted in my mouth after a little encouragement from my old gnashers. Biting into the salted pork crackling there is an unmistakable mustard burn from the Colman’s, which is light and not overpowering, but definitely there. As I ate more and more the mustard burn built tickling my nose hairs. Yet don’t be put off if you don’t normally like mustard, as the flavour never distracts from the salty pork crackling. Only enhancing it, nibbling and tickling the senses as I munched more and more. Mmmm… Yum!

Information on the jar;
The 300g jar has 667 calories per 100g, having 55.9g of fat, 1g of sugar and 2.3g of salt. Please see photograph for ingredients.

Mr Porky Finest Quality Pork Scratchings (Sainsbury’s) By @SpectreUK

I bought these pork scratchings to have in the hotel room whilst holidaying in York. Little did I know that they were from just down the road near us in Wolverhampton made in the Black Country. I've tried Mr Porky's Pork Crunch before, but not his Finest Quality Pork Scratchings. The packet states that these pork scratchings are made with a traditional recipe "for the connoisseur". Well, I certainly like pork scratchings and have tried plenty of types in the past, so was more than eager to pick up the challenge.

On opening the packet there was a heavenly super salty pork scratching smell. Each pork scratching had a superior crunch that would deafen any nearest person who was trying to concentrate on their afternoon paper over a beer or better still Cinabar whilst watching an atmospheric TV programme. I always get funny looks from her when I eat pork scratchings during late night TV time. These pork scratchings from Mr Porky are perfect. Perfect crunch, perfect salty porky taste, and I'm sure they'd go perfectly with a pint of ale. I just need to go and find a bottle opener…

Information on the packet;
The 45g bag had a suggested 22.5g serving having 141 calories, 10.5g of fat, 0.4g of sugar and 11.1g of salt. Made with 315g raw pork rind per 100g of pork scratchings. Ingredients included; pork rind, pork fat, salt, monosodium glutamate, hydrolysed soya protein, rusk (wheat flour and salt), and dextrose.