Cheetos Cheese and Bacon Balls are a guilty pleasure of mine that D’s never quite understood, but being a fan of spicy food, these Cheetos Flamin’ Hot Puffs tickled his fancy.

We expected skinny 4-5 cm long puffs in an orange colour ala Twisties-style so we’re shocked by these fat 7 cm puffs in a bright pink-red colour. Upon tasting, there’s an initial sweetness before a strong savoury flavour from the cheese came through ahead of a burgeoning spicy finish. The ingredients list for the Australian version doesn’t shed light on the components that go into the ‘spiciness’:

Corn, Vegetable Oil, Sugar, Cheese Powder (Milk), Milk Solids, Maltodextrin, Flavour Enhancer (621), Yeast Extract, Salt, Food Acids (Citric Acid, Sodium Diacetate), Vegetable Fat Powder (Milk), Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Natural Flavours (Milk), Natural Colours (Cochineal, Paprika Extract).

Nonetheless, these puffs blew our low expectations for the heat level of ‘flamin’ hot’ out of the water. It seems like Western manufacturers have finally kicked up the heat of their ‘spicy’ products and this one delivered a very healthy heat that builds to a steady burn as we keep eating. We found these unexpectedly enjoyable.

This Cheetos Flamin’ Hot Puffs contained 90 g. It was produced in Australia and purchased in Sydney, Australia in 2019.