Paul Hollywood & Prue Leith Judge the Best American Snacks
In a video for Bon Appétit, the judges from the Great British Bake Off weigh in on a host of American snacks, from the Snickers bar to Thin Mints to Ruffles potato chips to Combos. I’ll excuse them for eliminating my favorite Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in the first round (even though their holiday-themed eggs, trees, and pumpkins are better) because their finalists were correct. Some of their reactions:
- Cheez-Its: “Tastes like old socks.”
- Pop-Tarts: “If I was starving, I’d eat that.”
- Combos: “I don’t think my dog would eat that.”
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Interesting to see the two "munchies"-est snacks in the Finals, with the only snack contender containing monosodium glutamate taking the prize.
MSG isn't a bad thing.
I completely agree that the holiday-themed Reese's are superior to regular cups. While I agree that Pop-Tarts are not a contender, I love them anyway. I'm surprised they liked Thin Mints so much. And Lay's potato chips. This was fun to watch.
Pop-Tarts were one of those things that I saw on TV as a kid and deeply, desperately wanted my parents to buy -- so naturally, when I finally tried them, they were a letdown.
They're terrible. Both far too sweet and yet also not sweet enough at the same time. Plus a weird plastic aftertaste and an edge (border?) that's distressingly cardboard-adjacent. I still (obviously) don't get their appeal.
"Distressingly cardboard-adjacent" is a perfect description of Pop-Tarts.
I love how Paul uses the singular "snicker" for a Snickers bar. I'm totally going to search out a UK "snicker" to test the superior chocolate coating.
I completely agree with their decisions (except maybe Lays vs Ruffles), and I'm going to keep an eye out for a Snickers the next time I'm in Britain.
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