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Christian and Nawaal are back, this time ranking six different Pringles flavors

BY NAWAAL NACKERDIEN, NEWS EDITOR AND CHRISTIAN SEGOVIA, ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

After ranking eight Oreo flavors, we went back to the drawing board on what snacks Mason Patriots could be interested in snacking on. We know finals are around the corner and snacking to get through long study periods is essential. So we picked six different Pringles flavors to rank for your snacking needs. From lowest to highest, here are our rankings.

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Philly Cheesesteak: 0/5

The smell of a Philly cheesesteak has layers. There’s the freshness of the bread and the spice of the green and red peppers. Of course, there’s the cheese, onion and steak. 

However, when opening the Pringles Philly Cheesesteak can there was the strong smell of pure onion. When eating the Pringles, the chip tasted more like an onion than a Philly cheesesteak. 

“Raw onions that are rotted, negative 5,” Copy Editor Mady Godfrey said. We deemed that this Philly cheesesteak had no layers. 0 out of 5.

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Chili Cheese Fries: 2/5

The Chili Cheese Fries Pringles were mediocre. When opening the can, it smelt mostly like cheese – in the way that a regular cheese Pringle smells like cheese. Upon further observation, it tasted smokey and had an overpowering sour taste. Mady hated it. 

“The taste is disgusting,” she said. “This was my trojan horse. I welcomed it, it ambushed me and I cried.” We deducted points because it did not taste like chili cheese fries and the overpowering sour killed it. We rate it a 2 out of 5. 

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Hot Ones Los Calientes Barbacoa: Rating 2.5/5

We were quite worried about the Hot Ones Los Calientes Barbacoa Pringles (Hot Ones for short). Hot Ones is known for making movie and internet celebrities cry with their spicy wing sauces on YouTube. We thought we would be out for the count with these. Upon further research, we discovered the “sauce” for our Pringles was one of the lowest on the Hot Ones list. 

These Pringles smelled like tangy sweet BBQ sauce. During the tasting, it wasn’t as hot as we expected it to be. The taste started as mild but with a long-lasting burning aftertaste. Nawaal realized that the long-lasting burn would probably be more potent after eating several more chips. Both she and Christian then proceeded to eat five chips in total after the first. The heat roared, burning so much that it felt like tastes became a bit singed.

Overall, the Hot Ones effect can be achieved by eating more than one chip at a time but we docked points. We judged on the expectation of one bite of a chip, not multiple. 

In this case, the Hot Ones Pringles lacked its overall presentation. “It has no personality,” said Culture Editor Saahiti Chamala. It has a decent smell, and a good long-aftertaste burn but a disappointing personality. We gave it a 2.5 out of 5.

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Pizza: 3.5/5

We had no expectations for the Pizza Pringles. When opening the can of Pizza Pringles, it smelled like a warm pizza in a cardboard box, a smell that encapsulates late nights driving home in the car. 

However, while eating the chip, it felt like regular original Pringles with a subtle chili taste. Christian and Mady kept snacking on the Pizza Pringles, while Nawaal was disappointed with how the Pizza Pringles lacked flavor; therefore, a 3.5 out of 5.

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Hot Honey: 3.5/5

Hot Honey wasn’t bad but it wasn’t the best either. When opening the can of Pringles it smelled like Korean fried chicken sauce.

When eating the Hot Honey Pringles, it tasted the same but the flavor instantaneously died before the heat arrived. “I can’t taste the flavor. It’s just two things, sweet and then spicy,” said Saahiti. Hot Honey checks off a few boxes but the flavor dying quickly kills the mood. We gave it a 3.5 out of 5.

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Las Meras Meras Habaneras: 5/5 

Despite its bright pink exterior, neither of us expected anything from Pringles’ Las Meras Meras Habaneras flavor beside singed taste buds. Christian, especially, was hoping that it met that criteria. 

When opening the Habaneras Pringles can, the dominant smell was jalapeno. Nawaal thought it was a bad omen; however, the taste was not spicy. It was good, with mostly a refreshing taste of lime. Afterwards, a mild kick of spice and jalapenos wandered in but as a pleasant accent. The after-taste was, of course, the taste of jalapenos. 

“I was really worried that the spice was going to be overwhelming but this was really good,” Mady said. Both Christain and Nawaal had to agree. 

“This one’s my favorite. It’s like the perfect blend of spice and tangy. This is the only one I would willingly spend my money on,” Saahiti said. Las Meras Meras Habaneras hits the spice, has refreshing lime, a spritz of jalapeno and a great aftertaste, giving it a well-deserved 5 out of 5.