New Baxters Red Slaw Deli Toppers [By @Cinabar]

Baxters have brought out several new deli toppers for burgers and wraps. The first one we are giving the taste test too is this “Red Slaw”. I can confirm, for those like me, there is no beetroot in the Slaw, just a good selection of red cabbage, white cabbage, carrots etc.
I'm not used to buying Slaw in a jar, I guess it makes sense, but normally I buy coleslaw in plastic tubs that are heavy on the mayo and not re-sealable. So this is a nice twist on that. I have to say the word Slaw seems very American, I’m trying to get used to it. Whenever I say it I keep thinking of Jimmy Osmond on Master Chef.

We decided to skip the instruction on using this on burgers for now, and as we were keen to open it had some on the side with seeded fish cakes.
There seems to be quite a bit of vinegar in the jar and there is some fishing to ensure that you get a decent pile of the veggies. The Slaw was very nicely seasoned, and was spicy and acidic from the vinegar but tasty through all the added spices. The caraway seeds were a nice touch, and gave the hint of an anise flavour. Despite being soaked in the vinegar the veggies were still firm and had plenty of texture. The Slaw went surprisingly well with the fish cakes, but we will try it on burgers as per the suggestion. I’m also looking forward to giving the new Baxter’s Spicy Slaw a try next. Spectre has his high on the jar of jalapeños.

TeaPigs matcha super power green tea drink (@NLi10)

This was another one of those Ocado impulse purchases, although in fairness I'd have picked this up from anywhere!

TeaPigs have been good to us over the years, providing decent teas that are worth seeking out, and the occasional free bag in the post. These are based on the Macha Tea kit that I reviewed about a year ago where you mix up your own Macha drinks. Once I'd got the concentration of powder to juice right I found it a good way to start the day. Here we see they have premixed varieties.

The two flavours on offer were Elderflower and Apple, each offering their own temptations but both offering buckets of sprightliness.

I do love it when products look like Shrek juice! The elderflower variety was really sweet and citrusy - it contains concentrated lemon juice and is very reminiscent of the mornings I mixed the green tea powder with Orange juice. Nice enough but nothing too fantastic. As expected the Macha was a little too intense for me and I'd have been better off just having half a serving!

Because of this I shared out the Apple variety at lunch. This looks very similar but the flavours are a lot more subtle and refreshing. I believe I tried this mix at home too, but not with this degree of success. The person sampling this with me declared it to be 'better than just good, it's amazing!' Which is high praise indeed. 

While I'm not fussed about the elderflower on I can certainly see myself picking the apple variety up again, when out and about and requiring a boost anyway. 

The thing I was searching for on Ocado when I picked these up was another 50 Mao Feng Green Teabags which is my luxurious evening and weekend green tea that I treat in the same way as many would a can of beer or bottle of wine. It's nice to have a big box available!

While green teas are certainly an aquired taste I can see these being a popular addition to the TeaPigs range and hopefully the start of more quality ready to drink cold teas.

Forest Feast: Crunchy Coated Peas [By @SpectreUK]

My alternative snack radar was alerted when Forest Feast sent us these Crunchy Coated Peas a while ago. There are three flavours; Smokin’ BBQ Flavour, which I blogged about a few weeks ago, Hot & Sour Sriracha Flavour, and Spicy Chilli Lime Flavour of which I shall blog about both today. I still don’t know what the Manga type characters are on the front of each packet, and guess unless Kestrel Foods give me a nod I may never know…

Hot & Sour Sriracha Flavour

There was a hot sweet chilli smell from the reddish peas that seemed to be slowly boiling in the packet as I tore it open. I poured out the angry looking peas next to my lunchtime sandwich which seemed to visibly back away. On first bite these chilli peas gave a lovely burning chilli blast to start with. For a while this flavour toiled around my mouth and then the sour almost honey sweetness kicked in like a velvet glove thrown into a furnace. That coupled with the flavour from the roasted peas, wheat flour and rice bran oil provided a flavoursome hot and sour treat that made my mouth and eyes water a little. Lovely peas, hot enough to melt plastic, you probably won’t want to stop eating these once you’ve started. And if you do, it’ll probably be to open another packet or dive for some yoghurt out of the nearest fridge!

Information on the packet;

40g at 416 calories per 100g, having 10.4g of fat, 20g of sugar, and 1.9g of salt. Ingredients included; green peas, sugar, wheat flour, chilli sauce powder (chilli, garlic, paprika, acidity regulator (citric acid), and salt), glutinous rice flour, modified starch, maltodextrin, and rice bran oil.

Spicy Chilli Lime Flavour

There was a particularly angry looking kid starting at me from the front of the green packet. He looked like he was going to try to beat me to death with a skateboard or stick his finger up my nose. I couldn’t tell which so ignored him and tore open the packet. There was a chilli and lime smell from the red roasted peas inside. Instead of the chilli heat and then sweetness that I’d experienced from the other two Crunchy Coated Peas flavours, there was an initial strong zesty burst of lime followed by a sweet chilli heat that washed cheerily around my mouth with every finger full of peas. This flavour left a rich chilli and lime burn in my mouth.

I was impressed with all three flavours and to be honest with you I couldn’t pick a favourite flavour. I liked the sweet barbeque heat from the Smokin’ BBQ Flavour, the chilli burn and sweetness from the Hot & Sour Sriracha Flavour, and the completely different tack of lime a sweet chilli burn from the Spicy Chilli Lime Flavour. As I can’t eat nuts I’ve been waiting for alternative flavours in an alternative snack such as this for years, so these will become a regular in my snacking duties.

Information on the packet;

40g at 403 calories per 100g, having 12.1g of fat, 10.8g of sugar, and 2g of salt. Ingredients included; green peas, sugar, wheat flour, corn starch, sugar, lime chilli sauce powder (lime, chilli, garlic, dextrose, maltodextrin, paprika, acidity regulator (citric acid), paprika powder, pepper, and garlic powder) salt, glutinous rice flour, modified starch, soy sauce (soybean, wheat, salt, water) and palm oil.

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Lotus Caramelised Biscoff Cheesecake (English Cheesecake Company) [By @Cinabar]

Following on from yesterday’s curious mix of ingredients, today we have another two brands teaming up together. This time it's the English Cheesecake Company and Lotus Biscoff, which sounds just fab to me! The cheesecakes are available online, and are delivered next day. There was note in with ours saying that it had been frozen before being sent and packed with dry ice before being couriered. The dry ice had evaporated into carbon dioxide when the cake arrived, but it had done its job as the cake was very cold and felt still frozen in places.

When we unpacked it the cake was an amazing sight, it was huge and covered in loads of crumbled Lotus Caramelised Biscoff biscuit crumbs. We cut into the cake and realised you could get about 12 servings from it, so they are perfect for a party. Once cut it revealed a luscious layer of thick caramel underneath the biscuit topping. Curiously the biscuit base is not made with Lotus Biscoff biscuits, but a more traditional Digestive. I guess this is more solid and stable.
This was my first try of an English Cheesecake Company cake, and I couldn't wait to tuck in. The cheesecake part is sweet and creamy, and its fluffy nature makes it ever so light. The caramel sauce is a bit more heavy, but the spicy biscuit crumbs just gives this the perfect moreish finish. IT was a pleasure to eat, from the mix of textures to the biscuit crumb working so perfectly with the cheese section. These cheesecake are a bit of an event, but are an absolutely worthy treat.

By Cinabar

Parma Violet Cheese (@1CheshireCheese @SwizzelsMatlow) [By @Cinabar]

Swizzles makers of Parma Violets, have teamed up with The Cheshire Cheese Company. It doesn’t sound like two brands that would ordinarily go together, but this means we now have Parma Violet Cheese. I needed a minute for that to sink in. It is the 70th Anniversary of Parma Violets, and to celebrate, they’ve produced a cheese. There were probably a few different items they could have come up with, a Parma Violet cake would have been nice, but somehow cheese made its way to the top of the list!
Parma Violets are the violet flavoured purple sweets that taste rather floral. The new cheese from The Cheshire Cheese Company comes in a purple wax, and looks rather like a giant Parma Violet. As it happens I love cheese, and I like Parma Violets, so what could go wrong.

I took the wax off the cheese, and found the violet cheese underneath. It was purple, of course it was purple, what other colour would it be. I cut myself a chunk and gave it the taste test. Now my initial reaction was not great. The overwhelming sweet floral taste of violet, mixed with cheese, just took my taste buds by surprise. I wasn’t sure I could eat any more, it is such a strong fragrant flavour. I pushed myself for a second taste, and as I was expecting the flavour shock, it seemed a whole lot more palatable. Yes it is very sweet, yes it was weird, and yes it tasted of violets. This may have a bit of a marmite effect on people, my mum enjoyed the cheese but Spectre wouldn't touch it with a barge pole! I think this cheese has a place in the novelty market, it would be great to surprise friends with a piece of this on a shared cheeseboard. I’m not sure I’d buy it just for myself though!

By Cinabar