Pringles Cheez Ummms Cheddar & Sour Cream Potato Crisps Review

I discovered Pringles Cheez Ummms Cheddar & Sour Cream Potato Crisps this past Friday at Walmart, and wanted to sample them and write on how they pleased me if at all.

These cheese-flavored potato chips had a satisfying but very mild macaroni-and-cheese-like flavor. While the flavor was definitely that of cheese, the bright amber color found on more intensely flavored potato chips and cheese curls, was much less visible on these cheese chips. Had to look closely at them under a bright light to see it. Also, the sour cream component I really couldn’t taste at all. Even the weak aroma after opening up the can does not immediately betray the sour cream and cheese flavors.

Further, the dairy flavors found here are derived from artificial chemicals and flavorings. The potato chips themselves are each sprinkled with a small amount of this amber powder, that is apparently where the cheesy flavor in this food comes from. However, some of the flavoring, according to the can, is natural and they say that this treat is made with real cheese. So kudos to Pringles for that.

Pringles Cheez Ummms are delightful, dairy-flavored potato chips that reminded me of the taste of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Dinner; although that flavor here is much more subtle. This flavor is a lot milder than what you find in more cheesy snacks, but is definitely cheese, and definitely tasty as well, especially when after finished snacking, you lick the yellow powder off of your fingers.

Pros, Benefits, Advantages, and Features

Their light cheese flavor can immediately suppress afternoon hunger pangs or those bedtime stomach yearnings at night. The dry crunch definitely speaks Pringles, which have never arrived at my home limp or wimpy.
This snack is not greasy, and the flavor, never becomes monotonous through repeated snacking sessions with Pringles.
Zero grams of trans fat and only one gram of sugar per serving.
Cans may be stacked several layers deep either stood up or laid down, without fear that you’ll crush the chips inside. Rest assured. You will not.
I found this snack food for roughly $1.50 per Super Stack can; a good price for sure.
Though the original flavor of Pringles is the one that I most enjoy despite all the new flavors, I’m pleased that Pringles today offers these many flavors of that famous potato-chip-in-a-can, like this Cheez Ummms Cheddar and Sour Cream flavor.
As with all other Pringles canned potato chips, these ones are all shaped the same, which makes devouring them easier. You can quickly grasp a big handful out of the can, and gobble them down with very little crumb spillage.

Disadvantages, Cons, Problems, and Concerns

These cheese chips could be thicker, as I often find myself grabbing two or three at a time to get a big enough mouthful of flavor. Thicker crisps would not only boost their wholesome taste, but also make them strong enough to hold any chip dip you’d wish to scoop with them. Once removed from the can, these chips are rather fragile.
These chips have much fat and sodium in my view, at 9 grams and 170 milligrams respectively, per 1-ounce serving.
There’s also a sizable list of high-tech and unnatural-sounding chemical additives printed on the label that includes disodium inosinate, monosodium glutamate, disodium guanylate, and sodium caseinate. Any present natural-ness from the potatoes, seems to have been way cancelled by all of these man-made flavor enhancers and preservatives.
Sugar (in the form of dextrose) as well as starch also appear on the label. Do away with added sugar, thank you.
I wish these chips could taste as good as they do, but while excluding all the added sugar, salt, and fat.
The sour cream and cheddar flavor ought to be more pronounced. I struggled to even taste the sour cream part and the cheddar cheese part isn’t much stronger. I to keep looking at the light orange cheese powder that is sparsely applied to the chips, to remember that I was in fact, eating a cheddar cheese potato chip.

Ingredients List

Dried potatoes, vegetable oil (contains one or more of the following: corn oil, cottonseed oil, soybean oil, and / or sunflower oil), corn flour, wheat starch, and maltodextrin. Contains 2% or less of: rice flour, salt, dextrose, whey, coconut oil, monosodium glutamate, sugar, onion powder, nonfat milk, cheddar cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), lactic acid, sour cream (cream, nonfat milk, cultures), natural and artificial flavors, reduced lactose whey, cultured nonfat milk, citric acid, sodium caseinate, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, yellow 5, yellow 6, autolyzed yeast extract, blue cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), invert sugar, and malic acid.

Nutrition Facts

Serving size: 1 ounce (28 grams or approximately 16 crisps).
Servings per container: Approx. 6.
Calories per serving: 150. Calories from fat: 80.
Total fat: 9 grams, 14% DV.
Saturated fat: 2.5 grams, 14% DV.
Polyunsaturated fat: 4.5 grams.
Monounsaturated fat: 2 grams.
Cholesterol: 0 milligrams, 0% DV.
Sodium: 170 milligrams, 7% DV.
Total carbohydrate: 15 grams, 5%.
Dietary fiber: 1 gram, 4%.
Sugars: 1 gram.
Protein: 1 gram.
Vitamin A: 0% DV.
Calcium: 2% DV.
Vitamin C: 6% DV.
Iron: 0% DV.

Product Rating

On the whole and aside from the near-overly subtle dairy flavor, I find these Pringles potato chips a fairly good snack. Pringles always go well at almost any gathering; the particular flavor does not matter. They hold their freshness for some hours when dumped into a bowl, and are widely recognized as the snack tradition that decades on the market has made them. People know a Pringles chip without even seeing the can. I’d rate this product thus, an 85 of 100.

Where To Buy Pringles Cheez Ummms Cheddar & Sour Cream Flavor Potato Crisps

So look for them in the aqua-colored can with the clear plastic lid that tops it at your favorite larger grocery stores. I’ve yet to spot this flavor at my local convenience stores.

References

Revision History

2015-01-23: Moved this piece to the Tom’s Diet Quest blog, added whitespace, tweaked content, and adjusted ad placement and category and tag assignments.
2012-04-23: Originally published.