Welcome to 2021's first Grocery Review Friday! Each Friday, I'll review a different grocery item and we can discuss its merits, its downfalls, and where you too, can obtain it for yourself. The very first one will be Herr's Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup Puffs. The fact that I have these, and the inspiration for this series comes from our friend Nick. He showed up on a very cold December day under our carport, bearing grocery sacks filled with several bags of these cheese puffs.
"Why?" I asked. The answer was simple: he saw them online, could only order them in a case of nine, and as someone who claims he doesn't want to eat nine bags of cheese puffs himself, he shared with his weird food loving friends — us! This is not the first time he's come bearing novelty cheese flavored items for us. The other time he brought the three flavors of Cheetos mac and cheese but let's not even discuss those except jalapeno cheese is the only flavor worth getting.
Herr's is a Pennsylvania-based snack foods company, but their products can be found nationwide. You probably don't really know you know of them, but you've likely laughed at some of their unusual flavors of snack foods at the grocery store or in the gas station. They make ketchup flavored chips, Old Bay spiced chips, and they also make the subject of today's story: grilled cheese and tomato soup puffs.
So what are they like? They look just like regular cheese puffs. They aren't garishly red to represent the tomato soup part, luckily. That gives a false sense of these tasting like regular, boring cheese puffs, so the first bite is almost TOO much flavor. It's cheesy, deeply cheesy, with a tomato flavor creeping in as you continue chewing. As it dissolves betwixt your grinding molars, a cacophony of flavor erupts and there it is — you can actually taste the grilled cheese and the tomato soup. You'll hungrily grab for another to see if you can replicate the sensation and yes, it works!
While 1:1 a cheese puff will never taste like the real version of its flavor profile, these do a pretty good job of it. Once you do the math to order these online, the price is $2.99 for a 7 ounce bag, which is right on par with how much you'd pay at the grocery store. So order away, and enjoy these if you like cheese puffs, and especially if you like tomato soup and grilled cheese. Just make sure to share some with your friends.
Thanks again for the cheesefoods and the strange, strange inspiration, Nick! Stay tuned for grocery review Fridays, happening every Friday that I remember to review something in enough time to make a post.
Looking for advice on making the best grilled cheese sandwich ever? Click on over to see the real secret to sandwiches with a crispy, golden crust.