Up The Packet : One man’s crisp odyssey

Golden Wonder, KP, Smiths, Murphys, Rileys, Tudor, Hunters, Freddie Bees, Hedgehog, Christies... the names roll off the salted tongue as they are instantly whisked back to a youthful world filled with packed lunches and tuck shops, of wishful thinking and fizzy pop drinking, of adolescent crushes and heady, savoury rushes. There are snack packs too, everything you can ever dream of, from Ringos to Rock''n''Rollers to Rancheros and brand brothers beyond. These a-maize-ing legends will get referenced along the way, ostensibly because crisp marketing politics are so tied in with the success or otherwise of some of our favourite corn-based brands, but they aren''t the point. Because ''Up The Packet'' is a book primarily about CRISP packets, and their seasoned innards. Those lovely shiny bags of corporate glory bursting with flavour, a riot of colour and a barnstorm of additives and addictiveness. But what is a crisp? Who is a crisp? Why is a crisp? They are fried, dried, popped and chopped. They are sliced and priced, crinkled and sprinkled with vinegar and pepper and all manner of dusty flavourings. They come in small bags, maxi-bags, six-packs, multi-packs, share bags, grab bags, handbags and gladrags. They sometimes taste of bacon and are frequently shaken with salt, baked and naked or caked in chemicals... they really are potato-strippingly great.