31 July 2009

Milka Blueberry Cream and Hazelnut Cracknel (Germany)


I always put my hands up before writing about Milka and confess that it is my favourite chocolate! I think it is because I love nuts and chocolate, and the chocolate itself always has that lovely nutty ‘alpine’ taste. One of the best things about Milka is that they do come up with interesting combinations of fillings. As someone who always likes to try things that are different, this gives me another reason to love the brand!
So, as you can imagine, I adore the chocolate in this bar, but the filling itself is also rather amazing. The blueberry centre is light and creamy in texture, with an added crunch from the cracknel. In flavour of the blueberry is sweet, fresh and zingy, and nicely balanced by the honey nut taste. Put it all together and this is a bar that really says summer, if only we had the weather to match!

30 July 2009

Go Ahead! Oat Squares Apple & Blackberry (Waitrose)


‘Go Ahead!’ specialise in making healthier cereal bars, biscuits and other similar items. Inside this pack were five individually wrapped squares of a flapjack like product. I am not a big flapjack fan, as I find them a little stodgy, but these did not have that problem. Consider them to be a light flapjack. They are fairly thin too, which I think helps with the texture.
Although they do not have the syrup taste you may associate with flapjacks, they do have the rather lovely fruit flavours to sweeten the treat. I have to say I actually really enjoyed these with my coffee at work, and have to give the product credit where it is due. They tasted far naughtier than I expected from a lower calorie item and made a lovely afternoon treat. They have also released a mixed berries variety of Oat Squares which I will be keeping my eyes out for too.

29 July 2009

Mars Treets (Sainsbury’s)


This is a product re-launch of some choccies that used to be available up until 1988. Mars are reviving an old brand in the hope that it will stir up reminiscence sales, much like for the recent Wispa bars. But this product confuses me for a couple of reasons. Firstly I do not remember the originals, which makes no sense as they include both chocolate and peanut and I usually have a good memory for such confectionary! Secondly my initial thought is - aren’t these just one colour peanut M&Ms, a product that is already available and also manufactured by Mars? The image in this link does give the impression that Treets somewhere along the way became M&Ms? http://jetube.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/mms_treets.jpg
All of that aside time to tuck into the product. I do like the fact that they are in a sharing bag, I suspect in their original form they weren’t in an easy re-sealable pack. I was surprised by just how much I liked these chocolates too. Compared to a peanut M&M, there is definitely more chocolate around the peanut, and it tastes stronger too, I even thought that it was almost a dark chocolate in taste. The shell has a good crisp crunch and sugary flavour and I actually found myself rating these over M&Ms. From a bit of research, I’ve found that they also used to make chocolate and toffee varieties too, I wonder if Mars will be releasing those? As these are such a tasty product, I do hope the other options will follow soon!

28 July 2009

The Simpson’s Caramel Choco’s Biscuits (Sainsbury’s)



After the High School Musical branded cereal from the other day, I have found another ‘new’ branded product. This one is a brand I feel a little more comfortable with though – The Simpsons. This is a packet of biscuits, inside of which are further portioned packets each containing two biscuits. The idea is that it makes them perfect for lunch boxes, and it also helps with calorie control as it measures out a portion for you. It also means there is a fair bit of potentially excess packaging though, but that is a different issue.
Inside each packet were two shortcrust biscuits, filled with a splodge of caramel and chocolate. They are very pretty looking biscuits, with the shortcrust pastry making a nice pattern around the edge.
They also taste rather good, as the pastry melts in the mouth and chocolate and caramel flavours add to the taste perfectly. The branding may boost sales, but that is irrelevant as the biscuits are yummy.

27 July 2009

Mild Tabasco Green Pepper Sauce – (Selfridges)


This sauce is the natural opposite of the Hot Tabasco Habanero Sauce I wrote about a couple of months ago. Instead of being extra hot, this sauce is labelled as being mild.
Smelling the product all I could really pick up on was a scent not unlike roasted peppers, which was rather inviting, but did leave me worried that there wouldn’t be much spice to this at all.
However when I tested the sauce I was pleased that the roast pepper element was still apparent, but that there was also a lovely tingle of a burn too. I actually tried this sauce with cheese on toast, and thought it went perfectly. But the more I ate, the stronger the chilli burn and the heat really does creep up on you! The moral of this story is that if Tabasco use the word ‘mild’ they do not mean the sauce is mild, they mean it is mild compared to regular Tabasco – i.e. still hot!!!

26 July 2009

Twix PB [Peanut Butter] (Cybercandy)


For those of you following my Twitter adventures this week, you will know I’ve been in London. What trip to London is complete for a Foodstuff Finder without going to Cybercandy in Covent Garden, which is filled with all sorts of interesting chocolates and candies.
The first thing I picked up in the shop was this Twix Peanut Butter, which I have been desperate to get my hands on since I first heard that it had been released in The States. It consists of a dark cookie base, topped in peanut butter and coated in milk chocolate.
I absolutely loved this bar. The dark base is soft, but full of cocoa flavour. The peanut butter is very smooth and creamy, and adds that wonderful nutty salty taste I so love, and the milk chocolate flavour pulls it all together. In one word – fantastic!!! Why do chocolate manufactures think that all the chocolate and peanut butter lovers live only in the USA?

25 July 2009

Weetabix – Chocolatey Whole Grain Stars [High School Musical] (Asda)


It has been too long since I last wrote about a breakfast cereal, so I decided to have a look at what is new in that aisle of the supermarket. Oddly enough the only thing with the magic ‘new’ label that I could see was these High School Musical cereals. I have to admit that I’ve never actually seen the film, but I’m sure that shouldn’t stop me writing about the product.
The product consists of chocolate flavoured stars, which remain fairly solid even after adding milk. I found them to be rather nice, and with a good wholesome cocoa taste and not overly sweet. They are a surprisingly good cereal, but I wonder how many people would be put off by the film references?

24 July 2009

Great Bite Mints (Alton Towers Hotel)

What drew my attention to these mints was the packaging. I found them on the counter of a small shop in a hotel, but it is hard to miss the lovely tin they are in. It is designed to look like a shark took a bite out of it, and the packaging actually made me smile, so I felt obliged to buy them!


When I opened the tin, I smiled again when I saw what the sweets themselves look like. Each one looks like it has had a mini shark bite taken out of it. I just love novelty and these sweets are so cute!
Great Bite are also a strong spearmint sweet, which is lovely to see as I find most strong mints are peppermint. In texture they are quite solid, but do crumble after a little while. They are a shade softer than a Polo mint for comparison. In taste the spearmint is lovely and strong, but not so much so that it is uncomfortable. A refreshing mint in absolutely lovely packaging!

23 July 2009

Maynards [Limited Edition] Reds and Blacks (Sainsbury’s)


According to those folks at Maynards, fans report that their favourite wine gum flavours are the red and black ones. Consequently, for a short time only, Maynards have released a limited edition bag of sweets with just the red and black flavoured wine gums within it.
For those that don’t know these sweets are firm jellies and have a slightly chewy texture. The black ones are blackcurrant flavoured and the red are widely believed to be raspberry, but I always think they have a slightly cherry taste mixed in too.
The limited edition pack also has a promotion on the bag where you can ‘win the loot’. In other words make sure you check the inside of the wrapper to see whether you have won £100. Sadly the inside of my pack revealed the word ‘sorry’, but perhaps I’ll have better luck next time! I shouldn’t really complain, the sweets were lovely!

22 July 2009

Mauxion – Choco Fun (Asda)


This bar of chocolate consists of milk chocolate with colourful sugar coated candies set within it. The packaging, with its bright colours and cartoon drawings, really gives a sense of fun, and as such when I opened the bar I was a little disappointed to find that not many of the candies were visible. There was just the odd speck of red and blue colour showing through here and there. Even hidden within the chocolate there was barely an average of one candy per cube. Having said that, the main chocolate in the bar was of a very high quality, and absolutely lovely. When it melts in the mouth it has quite a thick texture and a good taste of creamy smooth cocoa. The candies hidden within add an occasional crunch and add a little sweetness. To be honest the main milk chocolate is of such a good quality I would have preferred a bar of just that!

21 July 2009

Starburst Smoothie Chews (Sainsbury’s)


This is the second recent new product from Starbursts, this variety being a summer edition inspired by popular smoothie drinks. They also released Starburst Twisted Chews just a little while ago. There are three flavours in the Smoothie packet and these are:

Strawberry and Banana (Pink and Yellow Wrapper)
I found that both the strawberry and the banana flavour were very distinct and full of taste. The sweet was quite sharp, but the two tastes worked well together.

Strawberry and Blueberry Yoghurt (Pink and Purple Wrapper)
This particular sweet had a very strong strawberry hit, and a lighter blueberry taste, but I found no way of picking up on any yoghurt in the mix. As with all Starburst products this sweet is also quite sharp and has a bit of bite.

Mango and Passion Fruit (Orange and Yellow Wrapper)
Of all the sweets in the bag this was my favourite as it had the most summery taste. Both the mango and passion fruit were well defined, and the whole chew was really juicy, and had a lovely zingy edge.

When I first purchased these sweets I was convinced that as they were named smoothies the flavours would be smoother than regular Starburst products. Of course they were just as sharp in taste, but all very refreshing. I think that there was a lovely selection of flavours in the bag, perfect for summer.

20 July 2009

Lindt Dark Mousse [Mousse Au Chocolat] (Selfridges)


This is one of the other bars released by Lindt as part of their new mousse range. As with the hazelnut variety, which I wrote about earlier in the month, I still don’t like the image on the packet as I find it looks rather unappetizing.
Never the less, I wouldn’t let that stop me from tucking in. The bar is split into big chunky pieces of rich and sweet smelling dark chocolate. The chocolate shell is smooth in texture and has a good full flavour cocoa edge; when bitten it cracks satisfyingly revealing the light mousse within. The mousse also has a good dark chocolate taste, but adds a wonderful sweetness to the combination of flavours that works remarkably well. The bar as a whole has a very sophisticated taste or strong cocoa, with a sweeter fluffy mousse and from somewhere a slight nutty aftertaste. As the mousse is so light, it makes the bar very easy to eat, and it just leaves you wanting more!

19 July 2009

Walkers Tomato Ketchup Crisps (Asda)


When Walkers first started doing there ‘Do Us A Flavour’ competition, somebody messaged me and told me that they could no longer find Walkers Tomato Ketchup crisps. Dutifully I have kept my eye out for them, and this is the first time I’ve seen them since, and it is several months later! So I don’t think that these are a new product, just one that supermarkets (etc ) cut back on while Walkers had the six trials flavours out for their competition.
If you have been looking for Walkers Tomato Ketchup crisps, I am now pleased to announce they are finding their way back on to shop shelves! They are just as good as I remember them too, full of sweet tomato and that sharp almost vinegary edge. Absolutely lovely crisps and it is a pleasure to be able to buy them again.

18 July 2009

Twix Cappuccino (Pound World)


This is another Polish import find from Pound World, were I discovered the Mars Midnight I wrote about a few days ago. These Twix bars were also in the fantastic four for one pound section, so are really good value for money.
When I opened the wrapper I was hit by the lovely smell of coffee cream that seemed to be generated from the pack. When tucking in, the extra cappuccino flavour wasn’t as strong as I was expecting, it was pleasingly mild. I was worried that it might distract from the regular flavour that you get from a Twix, but it didn’t at all, the biscuit, caramel and chocolate were all distinctly there and there was a lovely coffee flavour mixed in too. I thought the bar was very well balanced in taste; I do have to admit to thinking that it could have easily have been sickly. The bar is nicely put together and well worth seeking out.

17 July 2009

McVities Penguin Bakes (Asda)


I found this product in the cereal bar section of the supermarket, not the biscuit aisle which is the traditional place to find Penguin products. This was the first clue that this product was going to be a little bit different from regular Penguin items.
Inside the packet were six individually wrapped ‘bakes’, each consisting of a bar marked into three pieces. On the inside of the bar is a soft filling, it is very reminiscent of the proper Penguin bar chocolate filling and was very pleasant. The coating though is a little strange, it is chocolaty in taste but in texture it is more like that of a dry Nutrigrain bar, which unfortunately let the whole product down a little. The bakes each had a nice flavour, but needed a better moister casing.

16 July 2009

Sherbet Fountain [Now in a Plastic Tube] (Home Bargains)


Okay this isn’t a new product, in fact it is such an old product it deserves to be recognised as one of Britain’s traditional sweets and given some sort of an iconic status. I am writing about it then because it has had new packaging consisting of a plastic tube. Gone is the old paper wrapper with the liquorice sticking out. I find it an odd choice to move to plastic from an environmental perspective. It does say it is recyclable on the base, but not all councils collect plastic, and not everyone will think to put sweet packaging in the correct bin. Also over the plastic tube, is another layer of plastic outer packing. The packet says “twist to open” in order to tear the outer plastic wrapper – I did this, but felt that it was tougher to open than I was expecting, and actually hurt my fingers a little. Once I’d torn the wrapper, I was left with a lid rotating, but still not an open pack. I had to give the lid quite a hefty pull to finally open it; it was so hefty in fact I wasn’t quite sure if I was supposed to pull it in that way to open it.
Thankfully inside the tube I found the expected sherbet and liquorice. The sherbet was sweet and zingy and as I remembered from when I was little, and goes lovely with the rich treacle tasting liquorice. The flavours are as I remember them, but there are no longer any artificial flavours/colours in the recipe. In conclusion I really liked the items inside the packaging. One positive to the new plastic pack is that you can seal the sweet half way in and come back to it later. Another is that it is more hygienic for the liquorice to be covered up. But on a negative, I did find a tiny bit of torn plastic wrapper inside my sherbet, which I assume made its way there from the outer plastic coating when I struggled to ‘twist to open’ the lid. The sherbet had also got mostly stuck at the bottom of the tube and was quite hard to eat, and the tube is too long to get a finger in, to entice the sherbet out. I do really miss the paper wrapper though, as attempting to get that last bit of sherbet out of a dampened paper packet would have filled me with nostalgia! Lovely contents, but I remain unconvinced by the new packaging.

15 July 2009

Mars Midnight [Limited Edition] (Pound World)


This is a Polish bar which has been imported and found in a UK pound superstore. The bars were fantastic value in the shop too, as they were four for a pound! This bar is similar to a regular Mars except that the chocolate coating is made with rich dark chocolate instead of the milk. The nougat inside the bar is white in colour and creamier in taste and softer in texture than that of a regular Mars. The caramel flavour seems more pronounced too, I’m not sure if the layer is thicker or whether it is simply tastes sweeter, but it is good!
The whole bar is lovely, the dark chocolate and creamier nougat go together really well, offset by the caramel. As it is such a soft bar it kind of melts in the mouth, and is very quick and easy to eat. In fact the second you finish you immediately want another one... did I mention they were just four for a pound? ;-)

14 July 2009

KitKat Caramel (Sainsbury’s)


It does seem to have been quite a while since we’ve had any new flavoured KitKats around, so I was pleased to find a new caramel version in the shops.
When I opened the wrapper the first thing that is noticeable is this absolutely wonderful aroma of caramel. The smell from this chocolate is lovely, sweet burnt sugar. Biting in I was a little disappointed to find that there is no layer of gooey caramel within the bar. I just expected there to be visible caramel inside. The taste of caramel obviously comes from flavoured chocolate instead, and is not as strong as I expected from the aroma. Having said that, there is still an acceptable amount of caramel taste within the bar, and it does complement the chocolate and wafer nicely.
Over all it is a nice bar with a decent flavour, but it is disappointing that it didn’t a have that layer of oozing caramel! I do hope they release a KitKat Caramel Chunky!

13 July 2009

Pringles Zesty Lime and Chilli (Sainsbury’s)


Recently I seem to have tried quite a few crisps/snacks containing chilli, and my usual problem with them is that they don’t have much of a kick. To be honest these crisps also don’t have much of a heat kick either, they give only a modest tingle from the chilli.
However in this case I really don’t think it matters. The flavour from the lime is spot on, it is fresh, sweet, yet sharp and just absolutely right. Combine this full flavour lime with a small amount of heat from the chilli, add in that Pringles magic to the base, and you end up with a wonderfully moreish crisp! I absolutely loved these; they just made my taste buds happy. They are a lovely refreshing addition to the Pringles selection for the summer months and hopefully beyond.

12 July 2009

Yorkshire Tea – Ginger and Treacle Cake (Home Bargains)


One of my favourite Sunday treats is to have a slice of small loaf cake like this for dessert at lunch time. Usually I find that it is quite easy to get either a golden syrup / treacle variety, or a ginger flavoured one. This is the first time I have seen both flavours incorporated into one cake, and I was of course excited to not have to make the choice between the two types.
The cake comprises of a wonderfully moist sponge, and a lovely smooth texture. Within the sponge are pieces of sweet ginger that enhance the taste immeasurably. The whole cake is rather gingery, and I was a little bit disappointed to note that there isn’t much treacle favour. In fact had it not mentioned treacle on the packet I would never have guessed it was anything other than a pure ginger cake. Don’t get me wrong, the cake is absolutely lovely with a sweet tangy flavour in its own right, it is just a shame about the lack of promised treacle.

11 July 2009

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (WH Smiths)


Although I have heard of these chocolates, I haven’t tried them before. They are an American confectionery, but it is interesting to note that they were spotted in a branch of WH Smiths, not in a specialist importers. Next to them on the shelf was a packet of Reese’s Pieces, which I have only ever seen in the ‘American’ section of department stores.
Inside the packet were three individual Peanut Butter Cups, each presented in their own paper case.
Each ‘cup’ has a chocolate base and coating, with a generous portion of thick, firm peanut butter inside. The filling is smooth, not at all gritty, and has a good texture. Each ‘cup’ is sweet, but salty and the combinations of flavours are just lovely, a perfect example of the magic that is peanut butter and chocolate.

10 July 2009

Starburst Twisted Chews (Sainsbury’s)


I seem to have gained a sweetie bowl at work, and feel that it is only fair to share my obsession with new products with those lovely people I work with. However I bought these new Starburst sweets and have been rather surprised at just how slowly these have gone down. In the bag are three types of sweet each with two flavours twisted together..

Dark Pink and Yellow
I think this is a combination of raspberry and lemon, and is very strange in taste almost like an overly sweet marzipan.

Purple and Yellow
The purple is definitely blackcurrant and the yellow may well be lemon, but it tastes sharper than that to me. This whole sweet is very strong in flavour, almost like kali.

Red and Green
The two flavours in this sweet are strawberry and lime, and this was my favourite of the available varieties. It was still sweet, but with the lime shining through and has a good zingy sharp taste.

This bag of sweets is strictly for the sweet toothed and those wanting a seriously fruity hit!

9 July 2009

REAL Crisps – Roast Ox (Vending Machine, Birmingham Bullring)


These crisps caught my eye in a vending machine at the Bullring, as I don’t think that I have seen them before. In texture they are a little bit thicker than a Walkers crisp, but still relatively light and easy to eat. They had a good full meaty flavour that was reminiscent of roast beef. The only negative thing about these crisps is that they were a little bit saltier than I was expecting, and as such they don’t quite beat Walker Beef and Onion for my taste buds.
Having done a little internet research I have found that REAL have got a variety of flavours out at the moment, including Spicy Jalapeno which I will keep my eye out for. REAL is part of the Tayto group, so if any Irish readers try some, I’d love to know what they think!

8 July 2009

Thornton’s Summer Collection (Thornton’s)


If I am given a selection box of chocolates, the first things I home in on are the fruit creams. Consequentially when I discovered that Thornton’s new Summer Collection was essentially a selection of fruit creams, I really couldn’t resist. I bought myself a small bag, but these chocolates are also available in boxes if you are looking gift.
Mixed in the bag are some absolutely lovely choccies. There is a lemon cream encased in white chocolate with meringue pieces on top that is fresh and vibrant in taste. A strawberry cream, again in white chocolate with freeze dried strawberry in the shell, which was sweet and fruity. There was dark chocolate with a blackcurrant cream that was full of flavour, and just for variety there were also some chocolates with a chocolate mousse filling. The bag presented a lovely selection of chocolates for the summer which I was really impressed with, and included a well thought through collection of flavours.
On a side note, while I was in Thornton’s I spotted that they were selling the White Chocolate Fruit Bars that they had last year. If you haven’t tried them, those too are worth a purchase.

7 July 2009

Snack Bites: Maryland Choc Chip Cookies / Cadbury’s Mini Fingers (Sainsbury’s)



I spotted these two new additions to the biscuit section in Sainsbury’s today. The packet is labelled as ‘new’ but the contents are regular products shrunk down and presented in a sharing bag. These bags of goodies seem to be taking off, and I do like be able to re-seal the bag when we’ve finished. Just looking back through my blog quickly there have been quite a few products with this style of packaging recently:
On to the latest additions then:

Mini Maryland Cookies
Most biscuits I eat I tend to dunk in coffee. However as these are smaller and more bite sized, I actually really like these without doing that. They are easy to eat and full of flavour with a buttery biscuit and chocolate chips. I wonder how the cookies will stay fresh in the bag though, as they aren’t air sealed. If I manage to leave any for a period of time I will let you know how they hold out!

Cadbury’s Mini Fingers
I do like Cadbury’s Fingers, so I just knew I wouldn’t go wrong with a miniature version. They have the usually sweet creamy biscuit flavoured base, with a good coating of Cadbury’s chocolate. They are so easy to eat and moreish, that there should be a warning on the pack stating that it is far too easy to lose track of how many you’ve eaten! It is a lovely revamp of a classic treat.

6 July 2009

Jell-o Instant Pudding and Pie Filling [Chocolate] (Selfridges)


Jell-o is a huge American brand that sell both jelly mix and instant pudding mixes, and is near impossible to find here in the UK. I was pleased to find a box of the chocolate Jell-o, as I thought that it sounded similar to Angel Delight.
Indeed this dessert is simply whisked with milk and left to set in the fridge just like Angel Delight, but it isn’t of of the same consistency at all. It is thicker and does not go really bubbly, and the colour of this chocolate pudding is also a lot darker than chocolate flavoured Angel Delight. My first mouthful I spent adjusting to the fact that it didn’t taste or feel like I was expecting, and after that the product really grew on me. It is sweeter, has a good chocolate hit and smooth consistency with a slightly nutty aftertaste and I really enjoyed it! Not what I was expecting but it made a lovely pudding, and I would love to try some of the other flavours available. I understand that there is even an Oreo variety out in the states, which I would love to get my hands on!

5 July 2009

Cranberry and Red Fruit Smoothie bar (Tescos)



I don’t get to go to Tesco’s much, so am not the best person to comment on their own-brands, but I can spot a ‘new’ label at fifty paces, so these caught my eye.
It seems that one of the keywords for summer seems to be ‘smoothie’, we have had Galaxy ‘Smoothie’ Milkshake, Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream ‘Smoothie’ and now ‘Smoothie’ bars.
I picked up a box of cranberry and red fruit smoothie bars, and was very impressed by them. They are quite soft in texture rather like a very soft nougat. The texture is very slightly grainy though too, and has bits of berries mixed in. The bar is very pretty to look at as it is presented in two different colours, pink and half covered in a cream coating. My photograph doesn’t quite do it justice! The cream section is yoghurt flavoured, and the pink is the fruit section. This bar is definitely one for the sweet toothed (like me).Initially you get a hit of cranberry, followed by an aftertaste of strawberries. It is sweet and zingy, and has wonderful fruit flavours that remind me of sweets or candy. It is indeed a very summery bar, and one to give a try as refreshing change to regular cereal bars.

4 July 2009

Gű American Choc Banoffees [Chocolate Puds] (Sainsbury’s)


Although Gu have had a Banoffee dessert available for some time, it has recently had a make-over, according to the packet to become Americanised. It seems that this makeover means that it has had a layer of chocolate ganache added to the mix, which is never a bad thing!
The bottom layer of this pudding is a soft biscuit crumble, which reminds me of digestive biscuits, and makes a nice base. On top of this is the banana layer, which is sweet like caramel and has a gentle banana flavour, which isn’t at all overpowering. On top of this is a creamy layer of mascarpone, which is natural in flavour and lovely and fluffy. Finally the top layer is the chocolate layer, which is gorgeous, rich cocoa presented in a light and fluffy texture, and genuinely fantastic addition to the dessert. Together the layers complement each other perfectly.
One of the things that surprised me most was the overall mildness of the banana. You tend to find with Banoffee dessert that they are quite sickly strong with artificial banana, but this pudding is sweet but mild and proves that less is more.

3 July 2009

Marmite Oven Baked Cashews (Selfridges)


Firstly I would like to apologise for covering two Marmite products in one week, but these really were too good to make you all wait.
The product consists of cashew nuts dusted in a marmite flavour powder, and my word these two flavours go well together. Obviously nuts and salt go well together, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Marmite with its salty zingy taste makes a match made in heaven when mixed with cashew nuts. This is just about the nicest of the Marmite products I have tried, and I can’t emphasise how well the combination of flavours work. If you have the a slightest bit of love for Marmite in your heart, you really ought to give these a try.

2 July 2009

Weetabix – Oaty Bars [Milk Chocolate / White Chocolate] (Sainsbury’s)



It seems that a lot of cereal companies now make cereal bars too. I guess this makes sense as I know I like to have a cereal bar as a quick and easy breakfast some days. Weetabix is the latest company to jump on this market and have released three new cereal bars. I am going to be writing about the two chocolate varieties, but will update you when I get hold of the other strawberry edition.
These bars don’t seem to have a noticeable Weetabix flavour, but do taste nice, sweet and oaty and have a good firm texture. The chocolate on both bars is drizzled in a zigzag design on the surface of each bar. The milk chocolate bar had a fairly messy zigzag of chocolate, that was smudged and drizzled off the edge, but this didn’t affect the taste! In both bars the chocolate taste isn’t that pronounced, but is enough to add a nice hint of flavour to the bar. The white chocolate was creamy with a vanilla edge, and the milk chocolate sweet and but with a better defined cocoa flavour. One of the good things about this bar was that it had just 85 calories, making it a nice low calories start to the day, or indeed guilt free snack between meals.

1 July 2009

Lindt Hazelnut Mousse [Mousse Au Chocolat] (Tesco)


Am I the only one that thinks the image on the packaging is a little, how shall I put it, unattractive? If I was to be brutal, I could say that it looked like something a dog might leave behind. Surely I’m not the only one that thinks this? Let me know your thoughts below!
The image distracted me a little, but let me tell you about the chocolate instead. This bar consists of Lindt milk chocolate covering a whipped chocolate hazelnut mousse. As regular readers will know, I love nuts and chocolate, and thought that this bar provided a good mix of those flavours. The shell of chocolate around the centre is just the right thickness and cracks satisfyingly when you bite it. Each cube is actually quite chunky, and the mousse inside is really light and fluffy, making it almost melt in the mouth. Inside the mousse there are also tiny bits of hazelnuts which add to the flavour, but do slightly divert from the smoothness of the chocolate. Over all a lovely bar, my only complaint being the image on the packaging!