Bottom Line: The Carolina Reaper Cheese Curls, Ghost Pepper Chips, and Creamy Ranch & Habanero Chips from Herr’s deliver some good snack options that bring some heat.
Herr’s Snacks is a brand that is sold throughout the country, though their primary focus is the Eastern and Midwest states. You will see them in stores in other parts of the country, but usually just in special displays of limited-time-only flavor varieties. Just recently, I noticed several of the smaller bags at my local 7-Eleven, each with an intriguing spicy flavor, and decided to give them a try. I don’t know if these are regulars for the store, but I am hoping that they keep at least the first two of them on the shelves. Here is my rundown of each:
Carolina Reaper Cheese Curls: Several snack makers have a similar product, and these stand up well next to others I have tried (you can read my review of the HEB version here). The cheese curls have a good cheesiness to them, as you would expect, along with just a bit of smokiness which could come from the Carolina Reaper seasoning (there is also some natural smoke flavor added). All of the ingredients come together to make these quite tasty and they have a heck of a kick. The first couple of bites bring some heat, but that quickly amps up to the point that these are beyond the Hot level on my scale and approaching Fiery. This is one of the few snacks out there that really lives up to its claims of being hot!
Ghost Pepper Chips: These chips have a nice peppery taste with just a bit of sweetness to balance that out. They have good crunchiness, though they are a bit flimsy and do not have that thick, heavy crunch you get from kettle chips. (There are also quite a number of broken chips and little pieces in the bag.) The package I got was on the verge of staleness (best by date was still two weeks away), though I won’t hold that against them because I have had plenty of fresh bags of Herr’s products. The heat starts out slow as often is the case with Ghost Pepper chips. But it builds up to approach the Hot level on my scale. The bag refers to them as “Hot” and that is quite accurate. They bring the heat along with good taste, and I will look forward to getting a fresher bag of these. And as an added bonus, these are relatively low in sodium for a snack at 180mg.
Creamy Ranch & Habanero Chips: These have the creaminess and tang you expect from Ranch seasoning, but almost to the point of being sour. Those who really like Ranch may enjoy these, but it was a bit much for me. But as you keep eating them, the taste profile shifts and they seem to resemble hot sauce flavored snacks. (I assume that comes from the habanero seasoning.) When you get to that point, they are more enjoyable. The heat is not as noticeable at first, but it keeps building to get close to the Medium level. These are definitely much milder than the other two flavors, but still somewhat enjoyable after you get through the first few bites. And this bag was fresher than the one I encountered above.
As you can tell from my reviews, the Cheese Curls were the hottest, followed by the Ghost Pepper Chips with the Creamy Ranch & Habanero Chips in third place. The first two really do bring some heat and chiliheads should enjoy both of these. So often, snacks promise the heat and don’t deliver, but both of these follow through. Average mortals should proceed with caution and it is probably best for them to start with the Creamy Ranch & Habanero Chips. If they can tolerate those, proceed on to the next two.
Herr’s does seem to be showing up in more convenience stores lately, so if you don’t have a 7-Eleven near you may try one of the other chains out there. You can also find their snacks available for purchase online, but you usually have to buy them in bulk that way. But if you do manage to find any or all of these three available at a store near you, I recommend giving them a try. And for those at Herr’s who are listening: do a spicy version of your Ketchup chips. Those could be huge sellers!
Nutrition Info:
Carolina Reaper Cheese Curls
Ingredients: Corn Meal, Vegetable Oil (One or More of the Following): Corn, Cottonseed, Palm, Sunflower), Cheese Blend (Maltodextrin, Whey, Sunflower Oil, Cheddar Cheese [Pasteurized Milk, Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzymes], Salt, Monosodium Glutamate, Sodium Phosphate, Butter [Cream, Salt], Natural Flavor, Citric Acid, Lactic Acid, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Enzymes), Seasoning (Corn Maltodextrin, Salt, Spices, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Sugar, Paprika, Gum Acacia, Corn Syrup Solids, Natural Flavoring, Citric Acid, Carolina Reaper Chile Powder, Natural Smoke Flavor), Salt.
Serving Size: 28g (About 13 Chips)
Calories: 150
Fat: 10g (3g Sat/0g Trans)
Protein: 1g
Carbs: 15g
Sodium: 390mg
Ghost Pepper Chips
Ingredients: Potatoes, Vegetable Oil (Contains One Or More Of The Following: Corn, Cottonseed, Soybean, Sunflower), Seasoning (Maltodextrin, Spices Including Ghost Chili Pepper, Dextrose, Sugar, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Yeast Extract, Torula Yeast, Natural Flavours, Citric Acid, Vinegar), Salt.
Serving Size: 28g (About 13 Chips)
Calories: 150
Fat: 9g (2.5g Sat/0g Trans)
Protein: 2g
Carbs: 16g
Sodium: 180mg
Creamy Ranch & Habanero Chips
Ingredients: Potatoes, Vegetable Oil (contains one or more of the following: Corn, Cottonseed, Soybean, Sunflower), Salt, Buttermilk, Spices (including Habanero Chili), Monosodium Glutamate, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Sour Cream (Cream, Nonfat Milk, Cultures), Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Sodium Diacetate, Sugar, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Corn Syrup Solids, Dehydrated Bell Pepper, Lactose, Corn Starch, Tomato Powder, Citric Acid, Cultured Nonfat Milk, Maltodextrin, Modified Food Starch, Dextrose, Sodium Caseinate, Paprika, Mono & Diglycerides, Vinegar, Malic Acid, Disodium Inosinate and Disodium Guanylate, Extractives of Annatto, Extractives of Turmeric, Gum Arabic, Glycerine, Turmeric, Titanium Dioxide, Blue 1, and Red 40
Serving Size: 28g
Calories: 140
Fat: 8g (2g Sat/0g Trans)
Protein: 2g
Carbs: 16g
Sodium: 340mg