They are made primarily of corn and rice, fried in vegetable oil and then flavoured. The corn and rice batter is extruded into the hot oil, resulting in a relatively dense product compared to most similar snack foods, such as Cheetos and Burger Rings, and a distinctive mouth texture.
Twisties were originally available only in cheese flavour, but chicken flavour was introduced and became a standard part of the product line. There have also been flavours in various countries as diverse Toffee, Tomato and Salmon Teriyaki.
Twisties have been advertised for several years with the well-known slogan "Life's pretty straight without... Twisties".
