“a slight ready salted flavour with a hint of pine”
October 9, 2018 12:07 PM Subscribe
“Some of us appreciate the seasonal tastes of the season, like your pumpkin beers and cinnamon-steeped fruit bakes. But as the end-of-year holidays approach, the ambition of these seasonally-specific snacks increases significantly. Case in point: The British-based Iceland grocery chain has just released these holiday-themed crisps (which we know as potato chips): “Luxury Christmas Tree Flavour Salted Hand-Cooked Crisps.” [via: The Takeout]
They're flavoured with oil from pine needles, according to the article. (Why not pine nuts, though, which are already fairly christmasy?)
Pine-Sol used to be made with pine oil, apparently, but hasn't been for some time. So, whether they're Pine-Sol flavoured for you depends on when you last drank Pine-Sol.
posted by tobascodagama at 12:23 PM on October 9, 2018 [24 favorites]
Pine-Sol used to be made with pine oil, apparently, but hasn't been for some time. So, whether they're Pine-Sol flavoured for you depends on when you last drank Pine-Sol.
posted by tobascodagama at 12:23 PM on October 9, 2018 [24 favorites]
Pine-flavoured things are amazing. I'm still pining for that beer brewed with pine needles I had ten years ago and failed to write down the name.
posted by Crease Lambada at 12:23 PM on October 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Crease Lambada at 12:23 PM on October 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
I didn't love retsina but it's a thing. A piney, piney thing.
posted by wellred at 12:24 PM on October 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by wellred at 12:24 PM on October 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
(I mean, I don't pine for it. No, no I don't mean that.)
posted by wellred at 12:25 PM on October 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by wellred at 12:25 PM on October 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
"Hand-Cooked" and "Hand-Made" always strikes me as a weird thing to advertise about your mass-produced product. They're trying to get you to picture hearty farm folk doing craft work that they're proud of, but to me it always reads, "Turns out running a sweatshop is cheaper than buying a machine. Let's put that on the package!"
posted by clawsoon at 12:27 PM on October 9, 2018 [19 favorites]
posted by clawsoon at 12:27 PM on October 9, 2018 [19 favorites]
I kinda want to try these.
Then again, I have spruce eau de vie in my collection, so it's not that weird.
posted by Making You Bored For Science at 12:29 PM on October 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
Then again, I have spruce eau de vie in my collection, so it's not that weird.
posted by Making You Bored For Science at 12:29 PM on October 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
Quebec has spruce beer, and it is fucking delicious.
posted by PinkMoose at 12:34 PM on October 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by PinkMoose at 12:34 PM on October 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
Bought some pretty great pine candies at an old confectioner in Barcelona last year.
Rich Table in SF makes a douglass fir sour cream that i would gladly bathe in.
Anyone want to send me a bag?
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 12:52 PM on October 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Rich Table in SF makes a douglass fir sour cream that i would gladly bathe in.
Anyone want to send me a bag?
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 12:52 PM on October 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Since I love sahti-style beers, which are traditionally brewed with juniper, I think I would nom these with extreme delight.
posted by merriment at 12:58 PM on October 9, 2018
posted by merriment at 12:58 PM on October 9, 2018
Why not pine nuts, though, which are already fairly christmasy?
Pine nuts are an allergen. :(
posted by Hermione Granger at 1:16 PM on October 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
Pine nuts are an allergen. :(
posted by Hermione Granger at 1:16 PM on October 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
You could always try St. George Terroir gin, which is piney as all get out.
posted by GenjiandProust at 1:21 PM on October 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 1:21 PM on October 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
Sounds like they'd just be gin flavored. Or, with the salt, taste like a dirty martini.
posted by Tentacle of Trust at 1:47 PM on October 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Tentacle of Trust at 1:47 PM on October 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
"Hand-Cooked" and "Hand-Made" always strikes me as a weird thing to advertise about your mass-produced product.
It doesn't even make sense half the time. "Tito's Handmade Vodka" has it right in the name, but how the hell does one make vodka by hand? It necessarily requires a still, which is not a hand tool of any sort.
If all something needs to be "handmade" is to have a pair of hands involved somewhere, well I'm sure there are hands pressing buttons somewhere along a factory line for just about anything.
posted by explosion at 1:54 PM on October 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
It doesn't even make sense half the time. "Tito's Handmade Vodka" has it right in the name, but how the hell does one make vodka by hand? It necessarily requires a still, which is not a hand tool of any sort.
If all something needs to be "handmade" is to have a pair of hands involved somewhere, well I'm sure there are hands pressing buttons somewhere along a factory line for just about anything.
posted by explosion at 1:54 PM on October 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
Interesting! I love flower-flavored things, so I wonder if I'd like pine-flavored things?
posted by xingcat at 2:42 PM on October 9, 2018
posted by xingcat at 2:42 PM on October 9, 2018
I would eat the hell out of these. Chewing the soft ends of new pine needles was a guilty pleasure as a kid (my parents didn't care, but other kids were dubious about the habit) and as an adult I've enjoyed pine-steeped akvavit and pine syrup as flavoring.
Incidentally, for those of us who spend a bit of time daydreaming these days on the possibility/necessity of running off and living in the woods, the white inner bark of (nonpoisonous varieties of) pine trees is a fine food and vitamin c source.
posted by notquitemaryann at 2:48 PM on October 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
Incidentally, for those of us who spend a bit of time daydreaming these days on the possibility/necessity of running off and living in the woods, the white inner bark of (nonpoisonous varieties of) pine trees is a fine food and vitamin c source.
posted by notquitemaryann at 2:48 PM on October 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
Didn't Tim Conway do a parody of Euell Gibbons on The Carol Burnett Show once? I remember him eating pine furniture and realizing it was a parody of something/someone, but I wasn't sure of what or whom.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 3:30 PM on October 9, 2018
posted by The Underpants Monster at 3:30 PM on October 9, 2018
You could always try St. George Terroir gin, which is piney as all get out.
Oooohhhh they do tastings in Alameda!
posted by GuyZero at 3:35 PM on October 9, 2018
Oooohhhh they do tastings in Alameda!
posted by GuyZero at 3:35 PM on October 9, 2018
All the supermarkets here have their Christmas lines in now, and they all seem to try to outdo each other in novel, but seasonal, flavour combinations. I'm sure I saw pine-flavoured mince pies last year. These crisps probably taste better than the brie-and-cranberry flavoured tortilla chips I saw the other day. Iceland do some very odd stuff though, like their chicken tikka masala lasagna.
posted by Fuchsoid at 6:07 PM on October 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Fuchsoid at 6:07 PM on October 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Knowing my tastes I'd probably love pine syrup, but I can't help thinking of this scene when I hear the idea.
posted by traveler_ at 6:11 PM on October 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by traveler_ at 6:11 PM on October 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Pine is definitely ready to be the next big flavor. For years, watching our dog lap up the Christmas tree stand water, we have asked ourselves why pine-water or pine-flavored seltzer isn't a thing. Count me as another kid who ate pine needles (and later, as an adult in environmental education, taught kids to make white pine and hemlock tea). It's a great, great flavor that could use more culinary applications.
posted by Miko at 7:13 PM on October 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Miko at 7:13 PM on October 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
For years, watching our dog lap up the Christmas tree stand water...
My dear departed Bob the Cat used to do that. I'd have to refill the stand twice a day.
My mother cleaned with Pine Sol for so long that I'm not sure I could get past the sense memory to enjoy the taste.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:16 PM on October 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
My dear departed Bob the Cat used to do that. I'd have to refill the stand twice a day.
My mother cleaned with Pine Sol for so long that I'm not sure I could get past the sense memory to enjoy the taste.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:16 PM on October 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
That reminds me, I've never tried making pine needle tea... Also, pine shortbread sounds like it absolutely could work, especially with a pine-citrus glaze.
posted by notquitemaryann at 8:39 PM on October 9, 2018
posted by notquitemaryann at 8:39 PM on October 9, 2018
I was another one who grew up chewing on the needles of the Christmas tree, and I'm ready to wholeheartedly embrace pine as a flavor. I love the citrus-y, resin-y tang of it, and bet it makes great chips. And, excitingly for me, while I am allergic to nuts, including pine nuts, I'm not allergic to pine needles. I'm already researching local organic Christmas tree places where I can hopefully buy some needles. Hooray!
posted by mishafletch at 12:05 AM on October 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by mishafletch at 12:05 AM on October 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
Pine-flavoured things are amazing. I'm still pining for that beer brewed with pine needles I had ten years ago and failed to write down the name.
The one I had was called alba and it is indeed delicious. I might have to make some pine cordial to make up for my sorry lack of Spruce beer for many years.
posted by koolkat at 12:45 AM on October 10, 2018
The one I had was called alba and it is indeed delicious. I might have to make some pine cordial to make up for my sorry lack of Spruce beer for many years.
posted by koolkat at 12:45 AM on October 10, 2018
In and around Philadelphia (and maybe elsewhere in the US), you can get Yards Brewing Co's Spruce Ale, brewed based on a recipe of Ben Franklin's. As a Philadelphia -> UK expat, it's one of the things I miss. I'll have to try these crisps and see if they can fill some of the piney void in my heart(/palate).
(Also, speaking of holiday crisps, a few years ago Marks & Spencers had prosecco flavored crisps, which simulated the carbonation of sparkling wine by being coated in a thin even dusting of baking soda. They tasted well nasty.)
posted by dendrochronologizer at 1:07 AM on October 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
(Also, speaking of holiday crisps, a few years ago Marks & Spencers had prosecco flavored crisps, which simulated the carbonation of sparkling wine by being coated in a thin even dusting of baking soda. They tasted well nasty.)
posted by dendrochronologizer at 1:07 AM on October 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
"Hand-Cooked" and "Hand-Made" always strikes me as a weird thing to advertise about your mass-produced product.
Especially egregious when describing something deep fried. I can't help but feel sorry for the heartily calloused chip artisans plucking my snack from the peanut oil when perfectly golden brown.
Or blown glass. Surely it should be mouth-made?
posted by St. Oops at 3:55 AM on October 10, 2018
Especially egregious when describing something deep fried. I can't help but feel sorry for the heartily calloused chip artisans plucking my snack from the peanut oil when perfectly golden brown.
Or blown glass. Surely it should be mouth-made?
posted by St. Oops at 3:55 AM on October 10, 2018
Around Christmas time a few years ago, the local artisanal ice creamery had pine-flavored ice cream and cedar-infused vanilla ice cream. I loved both those flavors. Only lasted one season, though. The people said nobody liked them. Nobody but me, apparently.
posted by Quaversalis at 5:38 AM on October 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Quaversalis at 5:38 AM on October 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
Several years ago now, I had a pine-enhanced cleansing enema (long and messy back story, and you don't want to know about my colon). One unexpected side effect was that I didn't need to use air freshener, post-defecation, for a week or so afterwards. Another was, because the procedure took place a few days before Christmas, I was able to break weirdly appropriate wind on December 25th itself. This massively impressed a few very young ("His fart smells of Christmas Tree!") and very old people also sitting at the same Christmas Dinner table, though I regretfully just realised I have never been invited back. Oh well.
posted by Wordshore at 7:06 AM on October 10, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by Wordshore at 7:06 AM on October 10, 2018 [10 favorites]
What does "hand-made" mean in this context? I certainly hope it's just marketing and there aren't some poor saps out there mandolining potatoes all day.
posted by GoblinHoney at 2:37 PM on October 10, 2018
posted by GoblinHoney at 2:37 PM on October 10, 2018
long and messy back story
...
...
...I see what you did there.
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:22 PM on October 10, 2018 [3 favorites]
...
...
...I see what you did there.
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:22 PM on October 10, 2018 [3 favorites]
(Also, speaking of holiday crisps, a few years ago Marks & Spencers had prosecco flavored crisps, which simulated the carbonation of sparkling wine by being coated in a thin even dusting of baking soda. They tasted well nasty.)
Best avoid the salt and vinegar chips in the same meal then.
posted by sebastienbailard at 6:13 PM on October 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
Best avoid the salt and vinegar chips in the same meal then.
posted by sebastienbailard at 6:13 PM on October 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
Here in Alaska spruce tip beer is all the rage. Spruce tips are the new growth on the trees in the spring. The native folks here have been using them forever to make tea etc. Very high in vitamin C.
posted by Belle O'Cosity at 2:44 AM on October 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Belle O'Cosity at 2:44 AM on October 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
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I'm open to loving pine-flavored crisps.
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 12:13 PM on October 9, 2018 [1 favorite]