Almost 3.5 years ago — on Sunday, August 13, 2017, to be exact — I wrote this article on a snack which I enjoyed so much that I wished it was available for purchase in the United States; and since that article was written, that snack had officially been discontinued and is no longer manufactured anymore…
My Wish Came True: This Snack DID Arrive in the United States — Or Did It?
…but the good news is that Tangy Pickle flavor Doritos are currently available in the United States — and they have quietly been available for several months at select retailers.
I rarely pay full price for anything; but when the pickle-flavored corn chips were available at the nearest supermarket to me, I paid the $4.29 to purchase a bag and try it out.
Upon opening the bag, I pulled out a chip and ate it.
While I liked the taste of it, I immediately realized that the flavor was just not the same as that of the Intense Pickle flavour Doritos which used to be available in Canada — and I then remembered what I wrote in the aforementioned article: “The flavor really was intense and easily became my favorite flavor — or favourite flavour — of Doritos. It reminded me somewhat — but not completely — of the intensity and flavor of a real dill pickle which one can purchase at an authentic delicatessen in New York.”
This chip definitely did not remind me somewhat of the intensity and flavor of a real dill pickle which one can purchase at an authentic delicatessen in New York — not even close to that incredible intensity and flavor.
I wrote in that same article that “Pickles are amongst my favorite foods; and yet for some reason, I never was all that crazy about Lay’s Dill Pickle potato chips, which are available in the United States. As both Lay’s and Doritos are manufactured by Frito Lay, I would not be surprised if the pickle seasoning used on both products are identical…” I then realized that the seasoning of the Tangy Pickle Doritos tasted similarly to that of the Lay’s Dill Pickle potato chips.
I compared the nutrition facts from both bags of Doritos — keeping in mind that the serving size of the Intense Pickle flavour Doritos from Canada is almost twice the serving size of the Tangy Pickle flavor Doritos from the United States:
| Per Serving of Doritos |
Intense Pickle flavour Doritos from Canada — 50 Grams |
Tangy Pickle flavor Doritos from the United States — 28 Grams |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 260 | 140 |
| Total Fat |
13 grams or 21 percent | 7 grams or 9 percent |
| Saturated Fat |
1.5 grams or 9 percent | 1 gram or 5 percent |
| Trans Fat |
0 grams | 0 grams |
| Cholesterol | 0 milligrams or 0 percent | 0 milligrams or 0 percent |
| Sodium | 280 milligrams or 12 percent | 260 milligrams or 11 percent |
| Total Carbohydrates | 32 grams or 11 percent | 18 grams or 6 percent |
| Dietary Fiber |
2 grams or 9 percent | 1 grams or 4 percent |
| Total Sugars | 1 grams | 0 grams |
| Protein | 3 grams | 2 grams |
| Vitamin A |
0 percent | Not Applicable |
| Vitamin C |
0 percent | Not Applicable |
| Vitamin D |
Not Applicable | 0 micrograms or 0 percent |
| Calcium | 4 percent | 20 milligrams or 0 percent |
| Iron |
4 percent | 0.3 milligrams or 0 percent |
| Potassium | Not Applicable | 40 milligrams or 0 percent |
The Intense Pickle flavour Doritos from Canada contained surprisingly less sodium per serving than the Tangy Pickle flavor Doritos from the United States; and it contained one gram of total sugars. The other differences in the nutrition facts between the two products are basically negligible.
Curiously, I then compared the ingredients of both bags of Doritos.
The ingredients for the 255 gram bag of Intense Pickle flavour Doritos from Canada are as follows:
Selected corn, vegetable oil, seasoning (corn maltodextrin, sugar, salt, sodium acetate, vegetable oil, modified milk ingredients, acetic acid, dehydrated onion, dextrose, monosodium glutamate, glucose solids, dehydrated garlic, natural flavour [includes extractives of dill weed and cucumber], dehydrated tomato, colour, cheddar cheese solids, citric acid, malic acid, spice, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate), natural flavour, calcium hydroxide. Contains milk ingredients. Gluten-free.
The ingredients for the 276.4 gram bag of Tangy Pickle flavor Doritos from the United States are as follows:
Corn, vegetable oil (corn, canola, and/or sunflower oil), maltodextrin (made from corn), natural flavors, salt, vinegar solids, garlic powder, and yeast extract.
I was surprised that the seasoning of the Intense Pickle flavour Doritos from Canada contained so many ingredients — including milk, tomato, cheddar cheese, and other items one would not normally find in a pickle. Then again, the Tangy Pickle flavor Doritos from the United States did not contain any ingredients which most people would have difficulty pronouncing…
…yet the Intense Pickle flavour Doritos from Canada tasted better than the Tangy Pickle flavor Doritos from the United States. Go figure.
Many Other Flavors of Doritos I Have Never Tried
I know that at least one reader of The Gate will point out all of the flavors of Doritos which are available in other countries such as Japan. Of the 102 flavors of Doritos mentioned in this article — which is probably not considered definitive — how about sinking your teeth into flavors of Doritos such as bacon, fish taco, olive, teriyaki chicken, garlic, shrimp mayo, coconut curry, steak, tomato and onion salad, roasted turkey, corn soup, sausage and beer, winter crab, crispy salmon, and seaweed?
Actually, some of those flavors sound quite appetizing to me…
Deception — or The Case of the Missing Doritos?
Back in the United States, do you see a difference between what appears to be two identical bags of Salsa Verde flavored Doritos?
If you look closely, one quarter of an ounce — or 7.1 grams — of tortilla chips has been removed from each bag of Doritos currently sold across all flavors. Of course, the regular price of $4.29 per bag was not reduced…
…but even then, that is still 21.4 grams more than the weight of the Intense Pickle Doritos sold in Canada.
Does the apparent sleight-of-hand remotely remind you of how frequent travel loyalty programs are administered?
At least 3.5 years have elapsed since that reduction in the amount of product per bag occurred; and at least a bag of Doritos still contains 276.4 grams of product at the time this article was written.
Summary
I am not a junk-food junkie — although I do enjoy snacks between meals — but I have missed the taste of the Intense Pickle flavour Doritos I ate when I was in Canada. I am probably better off, after reviewing its nutrition facts and the ingredients.
As for the Tangy Pickle flavor Doritos from the United States, they are good and I would eat them again — but as I said, the flavor is different than that of the Intense Pickle Doritos which used to be sold in Canada…
…and simply not as good.
Graphic illustration ©2020 by Brian Cohen. All photographs ©2017 and ©2021 by Brian Cohen.
