Do British Prawn Cocktail Chips Actually Contain Shellfish?

Crisps (known as regular ol' chips in the U.S.) are one of Britain's favorite pub snacks. Potatoes are deeply entwined with English cuisine, especially when sliced thin and fried crispy. Flavor-wise, there's some crossover between British crisps and American potato chips, with a shared love for salt and vinegar and barbecue. Although, the most popular crisp flavors are inherently British, leading with prawn cocktail.

Despite tasting just like English prawn cocktail, the crisps don't contain any actual shellfish. Walker's, the leading crisp brand in the U.K., lists prawn cocktail seasoning as an ingredient on its iconic pink bag of crisps, but no actual prawns are involved. Aside from sugar and salt, Walker's so-called prawn cocktail seasoning includes flavorings like onion, tomato, and paprika. Walker's and other popular snack brands like Seabrook and Tyrrells make it clear that its prawn cocktail crisps are shellfish-free, and even vegetarian.

The flavor mimics the tangy sauce traditionally served with cold prawns in Britain, not the shellfish itself. Prawn cocktail has been a beloved classic in Britain since the '70s, but rather than cocktail sauce, it's served chilled with Marie Rose sauce, a mayonnaise-based seafood condiment. The creamy alternative to cocktail sauce has a similar flavor profile, rich with ketchup, zesty lemon, and Worcestershire, but Britain skips the horseradish. The mayo and tomato blend together to create a soft, pink color that lends a nice touch to the presentation, hence the signature pink color of Walker's prawn cocktail crisps.

Apparently, the inspiration behind many chip flavors of the 1970s was sandwich toppings, and prawn cocktail sandwiches became another popular way to enjoy the bold mayonnaise-based sauce. There are so many cherished chip flavors in Britain that would have Americans scratching their heads, like haggis and "brown sauce," but prawn cocktail is one of the region's forever favorites.