Avoid This Heartburn-Inducing Fritos Flavor At All Costs

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While we've reviewed plenty of tortilla chip brands, Fritos are in a class of their own. They've successfully mastered the ultimate corn flavor and satisfyingly thick, crunchy texture. Even though it's hard to improve upon the original Fritos chips, they've come out with different flavors, shapes, and sizes. We sampled 8 Fritos flavors to find which ones are worth buying. And, while we found some winners, you should avoid Lime & Jalapeño Flavor Twists at all costs.

The Lime & Jalapeño flavor is one of Fritos' newest additions and features a fun shape that resembles dry rotini, a pasta shape known for trapping sauce or, in the case of chips, seasoning powder. Unfortunately, the seasoning powder is this chip's downfall. Lime and jalapeño are a classic tangy and spicy duo that you'll find on plenty of tortilla chips, not to mention bean dips and guacamole. However, the lime and jalapeño seasoning on these Fritos was abrasive straight out of the bag; we were hit with a sour, acidic aroma that all but burned our nose hairs, a foreboding for the following assault on our taste buds. The first thing we tasted was the sour citrus lime, yielding to a burning spicy heat. The heat completely masked any vegetal or savory flavors of jalapeño peppers. Furthermore, the acidity and spiciness not only burned our mouths and lingered in our throats, but it also ended up giving us severe heartburn after consuming a handful of chips.

While we thought Fritos' Lime & Jalapeño Flavor Twists were so aggressively sour and spicy that our mouths and stomachs burned, we can't find fault with the shape and texture. The spiral shape is super fun to eat and delivers an even more satisfying crunch than the original strips. We were hoping the intense corn flavor would temper the citrusy heat of the lime and jalapeño seasoning. Unfortunately, we couldn't get past the burn. 

If you're looking for a tangy twist, we ranked the Honey BBQ Flavor Twists as one of our favorite Fritos flavors. If you're looking for flavorful and spicy heat, we loved the Flamin' Hot Fritos. The balance of cheese, corn, and salt was a delicious prelude to the tongue-searing heat on the back end. Of course, the Original Fritos made it to our top 3. So, you can always dress up the tried-and-true original chips with your own spicy tangy seasoning blend. For example, you can add Tajin or a simple chili powder and a squeeze of lime juice to a bag of Fritos, shake it about, and voila, you've got the freshest, spicy lime snack. 

Fritos are also the foundation for the popular walking taco street food snack. So, if you want to take Fritos to the next level, you can add pickled jalapeño and lime juice to a bag along with a dollop of sour cream and shredded cheese to balance the tangy heat with dairy richness.