Wacky Snacks: Charoni Crackers

Edwin Goei

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Name: Charoni Crackers

Origin: Phillipines

Found at: Pinoy Mart, Tustin

Cost: $1.39

Ingredients:

Cassava Starch, Wheat Flour, Vegetable Oil (May Contain Palm and/or Coconut Oil), Onion, Iodized Salt, Sugar, Natural Flavoring, Spices, Monosodium Glutamate, Malic Acid, Artifical Food Color (FD&C Yellow #5, FD&C Yellow #6)

Edwin Goei

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Why I Bought It:

Three words:  Artificial pork rinds.  Though I don't normally advocate vegetarian versions of anything, I'll be the first to admit that I probably can stand to eat less pork these days.  Also, who can refuse the half-nekkid pig in star-spangled short shorts and a shiny wand/walking stick (or whatever it is).  This happy ham seems to be saying "Presto!  Here's something to eat besides me!"

Tasting Notes:

They seem to have nailed the texture and the shape of a pork rind.  Although it doesn't quite have the bubbly crackle or the piggy decadence, the chewed-up mush does indeed taste very much like pork rinds.  Plus it's spicy -- hotter than I expected with a vinegary finish.  But any hope I had of eating a healthier pork rind alternative is as real as that cartoon pig's modesty.  The fact is that this stuff has 8 grams of saturated fat per 25 grams of serving.