Henrietta Said – Lemon Pepper Peanuts
Bitter: ⭐✰✰✰✰
Salty: ⭐⭐⭐✰✰
Sour: ⭐⭐⭐✰✰
Sweet: ⭐⭐✰✰✰
Umami: ⭐✰✰✰✰
Heat: ✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰
Quick Flavor Notes: Sour, tangy, savory, vague citrus essence
Texture: Crunchy peanuts with good chew
Recommended: Conditional
Ingredients: Peanuts, Peanut Oil, Lemon Pepper Seasoning (Maltodextrin, Spices (to include Celery Seed), Salt, Citric Acid, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Sugar, Natural Flavor, Soybean Oil, and Silicon Dioxide to prevent caking).
My final bag of peanuts from the Henrietta Said variety pack, this is their mildest flavor, and I’m actually not sure there’s any heat in it at all, though it does rate at least one on their scale (which is fairly optimistic as far as heat goes). Lemon Pepper seasoning become a bit in vogue several years ago when Donald Glover’s Atlanta TV show had an episode featuring Atlanta’s famous “Lemon Pepper Wet” wings, something that sounds tasty but that I haven’t had an opportunity to try yet. Lemon Pepper is a popular seasoning for seafood however so it’s a flavor combination I’m familiar with and was looking forward to giving these a try.
Interestingly the ingredients don’t list either lemon or black pepper specifically, though there are he obfuscated “spices” and “natural flavors” which could include the black pepper as well as dried lemon zest. It is a pet peeve of mine when products try to hide their ingredients behind generic terms instead of being straightforward. Again we see sugar as a listed ingredient when the front of the bag states “zero sugar”, a case of weasel-wording to be sure. Citric acid has a sour taste and is often used in sour candies. I wonder if that’s a stand-in for actual lemon in these peanuts. At least the onion powder, garlic powder, and celery seed should bring flavor.
As expected the Henrietta Said Lemon Pepper Peanuts have zero heat, not even a little tiny bit of a tingle. They do have a nice tart and savory flavor however. I’m not getting a natural lemon taste, nor any big black pepper punch, but there’s a sour tartness and the garlic and onion come through. As with the other Henrietta Said flavors it doesn’t really taste like what’s listed on the bag except in a very vaguely remotely general way, but they’re well seasoned and still taste good. There is a noticeable sweetness in these that I’m not quite sure the origin of, again likely something in the “spices” or “natural flavors” but it’s not off-putting, The peanuts are of high quality with good crunch.
If you’re looking for spicy, or for something that actually tastes like lemon pepper, these aren’t for you, but they do have a nice flavor so I’ll give them a conditional recommendation, though I’m still annoyed by the marketing-over-substance nature of the Henrietta Said products and likely won’t purchase from them again.
