Chips (or crisps) are the easiest conduit for this, since in they can be quite tasteless by their lonesome (being that they are corn and potato byproducts), and often necessitate flavor-blasting of some sort to set themselves apart from the crowd. The only problem is that it ain't always an easy feat, ya know... making reconstituted corn slurry taste like something other than salt. Plenty try it, oh sure, and the packets of Spare Rib Pringles littering discount shops across this great nation are all the proof you need that it doesn't always work.
So what about you, Cheeseburger Cheetos? Either you got it, or you don't.
Again, Japanese packaging means a glossy, realistic photograph of the actual food. It's so different from American packaging, where it's usually a heavily airbrushed illustration of food, or a mascot.
Interesting to note that the cheeseburger seems to have a huge squirt of hot dog relish on it, which isn't exactly kosher. Get it, pickles, relish, kosher? Ah, you get it. Apparently relish is commonly used in Canada and Alaska as a burger topping, but not in the USA. I'm open to relish on a burger, but it was just a bit strange to see it featured so heavily on this photo when it's not regulation.
Also shout out to that big splat of clearly processed cheese. It's best on burgers - B.O.B.
Opening the bag, there was a very promising sweet smell of pickles - 'just my style', I thought, smirking before becoming deeply ashamed of myself.
This was my first trip around the rodeo with Japanese Cheetos -at least since I've started this blog- and I thought the texture was quite different than what we get in the USA. Number one, they're much taller and thinner than American Cheeto sticks, and the consistency is more like an Andy Capp fry than a classic Cheeto. They're kind of in the middle of puffs & sticks, in terms of air-to-Cheeto ratio. This makes them easier to munch down, and seem less greasy than their American compatriots.
I've tried cheeseburger flavored snacks before, and they've always been a bit crappy - mostly flavored with beef extract and salt. I knew these would be different because they smelled so pickle-y.
They taste almost exactly like a plain McDonald's hamburger. It was all there, the pickles, the ketchup, the mustard, the onions...everything...but...the cheese.
It's the strangest thing, Cheetos are known for being cheesy, am I right? These are cheeseburger Cheetos, and I would've presumed they'd be leaning on the cheese part of the burger, ya know? That's there forte, after all.
I think I've read before that Japanese tastes don't necessarily go crazy for cheese, as much of the adult population is lactose intolerant - which might explain the lack of American style cheese hyperblasting on these Cheetos. Nonetheless, they're quite tasty and a good approximation of the taste of a hamburger without the use of much beef extract or cheese powder. They really do taste like that ketchup/onion/pickle/mustard topping on each and every McDonald's hamburger, with the same kinda sweet but mostly savory flavor. I thought they were extremely easy to scarf, and I think this flavor would be well received in the UK and America.
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