I agree it’s the salt that triggers the craving.
I’m amazed now that I ate various brands of chips almost daily until after college.
Now chips are just a nice treat about once six to eight weeks. That’s only a single serving $2 bag. I never buy the family size bags. I learned that from my mom. She only got the small bags for my lunches.
The poll is a bit odd, as it mixes together flavors and textures.
That said, Flamin’ Hot is very good, but I have to agree with @MagicEyes that Jalapeno Cheddar is even better.
I’m not sure there’s any cheese flavor in them at all. They’re well below my threshold where I could taste other flavors if they were there, but I don’t taste much flavor beyond pepper. Well, and salt, of course. That’s one of the things that makes the jalapeno cheddar ones better.
Thanks for the Flamin’ Hot reviews. I think I’ll try and the jalapeno cheddar variety instead.
I grew up on Puffs, and now that I should avoid certain colors (not thrilled about the side effects), I still with the White Cheddar Puffs.
The flamin’ hot and jalapeno cheddar I find disappointing. I want the cheese, please.
I rarely eat Cheetos. But when I do, they’re crunchy. And I prefer the Jalapeno variety.
Yes! I have one of those silicone popcorn popper bowls that you can use in the microwave with real popcorn kernels (not the microwaveable bags) using no oil. Then you have complete control over the fat and salt (which is not to say I don’t ever use more of either than I should, but a touch of olive oil and a shake or two of bacon salt/grated Parmesan never hurt anybody, did they?)
I used to love topping my ham sandwichs with Crunchy Cheetos instead of cheese. No wonder I became diabetic. I am much better now, but yeah if the doctors tell I have 3 months to live and I can still eat I will live it up and indulge.
I guess I’m one of the few that prefers Puffs. I love the way they have a delicate crunch, then melts.
I am a fan of the original Crunchy. Prior to COVID and some serious shrinkflation, I’d break down and buy them 3-4 times a year on sale, because I know they’re junk, and an absolute waste of carbs and salt.
I enjoy the crunch and substance of the originals, but even then, it’s (of course) mostly air. Puffs take that an turn it up to 11, so no, never been a fan of those. And I like my various spicy options with more actual flavor, which the flaming hots don’t really provide IMHO.
Since I was just eating them for comfort or a taste of childhood, there really wasn’t a motivation to try various new flavors anyway.
But between inflation and shrinkflation, most processed (especially name brands!) chips and snacks were noped out for me. I mean right now, my local Kroger has an 8.5 oz bag at normal price of $5.49. I just CAN’T make myself pay that. Even at current beef prices I could get a top sirloin at a near-equivalent price per oz ($11.99/lb, so that’s $0.65/oz for Cheetos to $0.75/oz for steak). And I love steak, and it’s nutritionally quite a bit better (duh).
And even then, I haven’t bought a steak in 3ish months due to THAT cost.
Doesn’t mean I don’t want steak, or occasionally Cheetos, but apparently I don’t love them ENOUGH to throw those considerations to the wind. I’ll probably keep buying a steak as a treat every now and then, but until/unless I see an 8.5 oz bag of Cheetos under $3.99 again (not cheap, but that’s the last price point that I could convince myself at) I doubt I’ll buy them.
ProTip: Make a bowl of popcorn as you normally would.
Then, steal the powdered cheese packet out of the Macoroni dinner box. Use the Whole Packet. Trust Me.
I found powdered toppings a little tough to find in quantity, or pretty expensive. Filching the Flourescent Orange Powder of Goodness kind of meets a basic, human primal need.
Powdered Onion, Sour Cream, Parmesan flavors, that kind of thing. Old Bay is pretty good. Cayenne! Yum. (Doritos to their credit, I think have kept up their quality. But I like to control ingredients, usually. LOL
Crunchy for me, at least as long as I still have choppers that can crunch.
Ever tried Cheetos heated up in the microwave? I met someone once who said when he was a kid, sometimes they’d have Cheetos as a snack and sometimes as a “meal”. When they had them as a meal, his single parent mom would heat them in the microwave and serve them in a bowl with a spoon. It sounded kinda sad, but he said he always loved them and now grown up he and his elderly mom still eat them together that way from time to time. Then it sounded kinda heartwarming.
I tried it. I hafta say it does bump them up a notch and imbues them with quasi-nourishing air.
Microwaved Cheetos eaten with a spoon? This is going to take some time for me to process.
I can’t eat them too often anymore however, I prefer crunchy over puffy. And being Canadian, I prefer Hawkins over Cheetos.
Psst: Chili Cheese Fritos are better.
Crunchy only. Very occasionally my mom bought the an off-brand puffy Cheetos ripoff. Hated them. So I can’t even eat the real ones now.
If the Flamin’ Hot version keeps the taste of the cheese from coming through, what’s the point?
ETA: I never really liked Doritos. I grew up eating at Mexican restaurants and eating real tortilla chips, so when Doritos were introduced (yeah, I’m old), they seem fakey and off to me. Like eating Pringles instead of real chips.
I too am old enough to remember when Doritos were invented. Doritos original flavor are not typical Mexican eatery corn chips. Neither are Fritos for that matter. But they are good in their own right as Doritos. Same crunch, same salt, different and readily enjoyable flavor. Kinda like the difference between orange juice, orange soda, and Orange Julius. All are orange, none are interchangeable.
Any form of flavored Doritos are a sin against the originals.
Orange Julius! The one that used to be in Westwood Village was awesome. They put parmesan cheese on their chili dogs. Sounds gross, but was divine.
After donating a pint of blood, Vitalant strongly encourages the donors to eat salty snacks. So every 8 weeks I can treat myself to a bag of crunchy Cheetos (Hey, they’re health food). I don’t dare buy the damn things to take home.
Original and Taco were there long before Nacho Cheese
Yep, the “Nacho” Doritos were a later creation.
Absolutely! Nacho Cheese are Johnny Come Frito Latelys. Double that for Cool Ranch. It’s near impossible to find Taco Doritos anymore, ar least where I shop. I had considered them extinct, but then once many years ago they reappeared. I grabbed a bag and thought “Wow! They’re back again!” Gullible fool that I am, I thought I could just get another one later on. BUT, that was it. Just one reappearance. More rare than Jesus in toast. Now, just about every time I shop, I wheel down the chip aisle and glance over at the Doritos, longingly searching for that erstwhile delicacy. Alas, my furtive gander is yet unrequited.
Same thing happened with Zima.