Sometimes Foodie: Snacks 101 Baked Sweet & Spicy Sriracha Popcorn

Snacks 101 Baked Sweet & Spicy Sriracha Popcorn - Marshall's

Today's post is another one of my wacky Marshall's finds. I'm normally not a popcorn person, but the whole baked concept seemed really interesting, plus I love sweet and spicy snacks. (I've been reviewing a lot of candies and yogurts lately, so I'm really looking forward to this because it's so different.) Let's get started!

The bag is more tall than it is wide, so it looks a bit awkward when compared to similar snack products, but it's a really good size for the pricing. However, that design is pretty rough. Foil isn't a very forgiving material, so every little bump and crease shows up and reflects light one way or another. Mix that beat up foil backdrop with some quirky typefaces, and this packaging ends up looking a bit like a design student's project. I feel like switching the foil background out for a solid color with a matte finish could really make this product look a lot fancier, but this does get the job done. (And I've honestly seen worse.)

Once opened, the popcorn smells slightly spiced with a hint of vinegar. The scent is extremely mild, so I really had to get in there to smell anything at all, but what I can smell is very pleasant. It kind of reminds me of the sriracha chips from the first round of the Lays Do US A Flavor Challenge. (Which were my favorite of the original three.)

I poured some out onto a plate for some photos. The popcorn is a light orange-y color with visible specks of spices. It doesn't look like it would be that intensely flavored, so I am going into this with pretty low expectations.

I grabbed a few kernels and popped them into my mouth, and that seasoning hit me right in the back of the throat making me cough. This had a lot more flavoring and heat than I had expected. The popcorn is light and crispy, which is the perfect texture for snacking as far as bagged pre-popped-corn is concerned, which could be caused by baking process. To be honest, the texturing for this doesn't feel all that different from other non-baked products on the market, but to be fair, I don't really eat a lot of popcorn. To be sure I'd have to sit down and do a side-by-side comparison, but for now, I think the texturing of this is absolutely perfect.

As for the seasoning, it's sweet with a slow heat that builds up in the back of your throat and the sides of your tongue. This is nicely spiced, and definitely spicy, but it's not enough heat to make anyone run for a glass of milk. After a few handfuls the flavoring builds up and you get a fairly authentic sriracha flavor which I am very impressed by. Even though I loved the Lay's sriracha chips, I felt like they tasted more like honey-hot buffalo wings than rooster sauce, but this actually does have that iconic sweet but spicy flavoring that makes sriracha so popular.

This stuff is really addicting. While writing this review I've put a considerable dent into this bag, and I'll be sad once it's gone. If I can find another bag, I'll definitely be repurchasing. If any of you were fans of the sriracha chips from Lay's, this is definitely something you should check out.