Boxerchips – Crackpot Pepper and Salty Salt Flavour (Selfridges) [By @SpectreUK]

These Boxerchips were packaged with a mind to become more space efficient, especially when stored for serving on aeroplanes. Boxerchips’ website told me that 45% of a regular 40g bag of crisps is wasted air, with another 25% of wasted air when the crisp bags are placed in bulk in a box for transportation. Manufactured by the Boxerchips Company, in Dublin, these potato crisps are gourmet, hand cooked, and scream quality from the smart outside packaging to the product inside. I opened the rectangular bag to find a box that unfolded into a makeshift cardboard bowl with crisps inside. There were the usual 40g of crisps in the box, at a healthy sounding 187 calories. The crisps had a decent crunch, and a lovely salty and black pepper taste. All ingredients and packaging are sourced within the UK. Other flavours offered by the Boxerships Company are; cheese and red onion; ready salted; salt and vinegar; and various veggies flavour (which consists of parsnip, sweet potato and beetroot). Not sure about the various veggies flavour, as I’ve had some run-ins with beetroot before, but I’ll be happy to seek out the other flavours, as I love the idea of having a box of rustle free crisps that I can sit down and watch a movie with. No washing up afterwards, just pop the box in the recycling bin. Bonus! 
By Spectre

McCain Ready Baked Jackets (Sainsbury’s) [By @Cinabar]

As tasty meals go, jacket potatoes are healthy, and filling so have a lot of plus points. They do sadly have one major flaw – if you are hungry, and forgot to plan they take far too long to cook. You can’t rush a decent jacket potato, and to get that soft feel inside and firm coat you have to oven bake them which can literally take hours.
This unfortunately means that if you happen to be cooking sausage and egg and fancy a jacket potato on the side there was no chance, unless you made the decision at least an hour before. That was until now. This new product from McCain may seem like a simple idea, but it really is pure genius. They have done all the hard work for you and slow baked the jacket potatoes before popping them in the box. This means that if you happen to fancy a spud and you have some of these in, they only take five minutes in the microwave and ding and you are ready to go. The magic is that they still have all the consistency of an oven baked potato, the skin is perfect has texture and easily pulls away from the flesh within. The potato itself is soft and has that slightly fluffy almost powdery texture which is exactly what you would expected from a slow cooked jacket potato. The flavour is full, and if you add butter and cheese it just enhances it perfectly.
I love this new product, it’s a simple concept but one that shouldn’t be underrated. It is definitely one I’ll be keeping in, as it just makes such a quick and easy meal without losing out on any of that oven baked taste and texture.

By Cinabar

Reeses's BIG CUP (Mr. Simms Sweet Shop) [By NLi10]

Reese's stuff is big in the USA but only usually found in import shops and tucked away in the corner of Newsagents stores who got boxes from shady sources here in the UK. It came as a surprise to find that Mr. Simms - the good old fashioned English sweet shop has started to stock lots of these and Hershey's chocolates.

For UK readers this is almost chapter two of the story of these particular sweets as we've never mentioned Reese's normal cup. Essentially what this is a small £2 coin sized piece of chocolate that upon biting turns out to be completely full of peanut butter. If you like peanut butter it's excellent (although a little sickly) and as they tend to come in packs of three the tendency to eye up the next one is there, but resistible.

These two products above are the evolved versions of these, and I couldn't imagine how either of them would work. The one eaten today was the BIG CUP which is essentially double the size of the normal cup - meaning the chocolate to peanut butter ratio is way down! It's essentially the size of a Mr. Kippling cake, but just a thin layer of chocolate until you bite into the peanut butter.

I found that upon biting it seemed to be a little thicker in the centre than the smaller ones, and the taste was pretty much all peanuts. Not a bad thing, but I found myself eating it bite by bite instead of in two swift munches. As you could buy 6 of the regular cups (at import prices) for the £1.80 that this cost it's certainly a one off treat, but as a late night working experience it certainly boosted the energy levels and I'm still convinced that peanut butter (whose ingredients are essentially peanuts and violence) are better for you than most over refined foods that are put into stuff.

Thumbs up for the range, but the BIG CUP is a little too indulgent for me. Will eat the white ones soon.

By NLi10

Jules Destrooper Biscuits (Waitrose) [By @SpectreUK]

The other day I complained to Cinabar that I wasn’t eating enough, I mean, blogging enough about biscuits, mainly because I like snacking and I like biscuits. A few days later I found these posh looking Jules Destrooper biscuits on my “taste testing blog work desk”, which is set in the dark depths of Foodstufffinds’ basement. Investigating the company website showed me that Jules Destrooper was a colonial trader, based in Belgium, who combined the spices he imported from Africa and the East with other biscuit type ingredients. The first biscuits Jules came up with were his almond thins in 1886. I don’t like almonds, and Cinabar isn’t that cruel, (strange flavoured beers asides) so the biscuits below were put forward for review instead.


Jules Destrooper - Butter Crisps

In 1890 Jules devised a recipe for golden crisp butter waffles, which are thin wafer style biscuits. Butter Crisps taste similar to Brandy Snaps, with a rich, sweet brown sugar flavour. These biscuits are crunchy and brittle, yet after biting they melt in the mouth. Butter Crisps would go very well with ice-cream or fruit puddings. If you’re the dunking kind, Butter Crisps would go well with coffee or milk. Dunking biscuits into tea is a heinous crime. I knew someone who liked to dunk buttered toast into tea. Of course, I reported them to the authorities, but they didn’t seem interested! :-D


Jules Destrooper – Chocolate Thins

Milk Chocolate Thins

After stealing a few, Cinabar informed me that these are “uneven thins”, which loosely means that they are uneven biscuits (not flat) with chocolate dumped unceremoniously all over them. However, there was a good helping of luxurious milk chocolate that made my mouth water whilst I defended the biscuits from prying fingers and scoffed the remainder. The biscuits are sweet and crunchy, but don’t melt in mouth like the Butter Crisps. I immediately earmarked these biscuits as my favourites in the box. I’m a stickler for milk chocolate anyway, so perhaps I should have tried the others first?

White Chocolate Thins

There was only a couple of these White Chocolate Thins in the box. The sweetness of the chocolate contrasted with the sweet biscuit. Although there was still a really good creamy flavour to the chocolate, I was glad there wasn’t more than a couple in the box. I found them a little oversweet, and as I’m sure you’d agree that I’m sweet enough (No comments from the Editor please).

Dark Chocolate Thins

These biscuits are covered with rich, flavoursome dark chocolate, which complemented the sweet biscuit. These were Cinabar’s favourites out of the thins, fortunately leaving me with more milk chocolate biscuits to eat. I would say that these were easily my second favourite out of the box, as they were such a pleasure to eat, which is a rare statement from me regarding dark chocolate.

By Spectre

Walkers – What’s That Flavour? Mystery Flavour C [Crisps] [By @Cinabar]

Following on from yesterday, I thought I’d give the very last Walkers ‘mystery flavour’ from Walkers a try. Just as a quick summary, the packets aren’t labelled with a variety instead you have to guess what it is and there is a competition on the Walkers homepage where you can enter if you are correct.
The only clue on the bag to Mystery Flavour C’s variety is that it is spicy. This becomes apparent when you open the packet and the rich scent of curry powder fills your nostrils. The crisps themselves don’t taste overly meaty, but do contain some rich curry tones, and a nice hint of something like a tomato base. The heat isn’t too bad, so the curry has to be one of the more easy going varieties, and as such I think we can rule out vindaloo. I guess the obvious guess would be chicken tikka masala, but I have to confess to not knowing my curries that well.
There was a part of me that felt the milder spice might mean that it was something more Thai in nature, but I wasn’t sure I could pick up on any of the coconut or lemongrass key tastes. I’m normally quite good at spotting lemongrass, as it’s not a favourite taste of mine so it always is quite noticeable and it is a favourite in Thai cooking (sadly). Its lack of appearance was a bonus, for me anyway! Perhaps it is a good Korma curry, but it does have a sort of crisp taste at the end, which is perhaps a vegetable base. This crisp tasting business isn’t as easy as you might think!
Anyway these were good spicy crisps, and I think they could really work when they get launched properly. I do like curry flavour crisps, and whatever the specifics of Mystery Flavour C they get the thumbs up from me.

By Cinabar

Walkers – What’s That Flavour? Mystery Flavour B [Crisps] [By @Cinabar]

This is the second flavour in the new Walkers range of mystery varieties which have launched with a big competition on the bags. I discussed the first one here, but there are three new packs out, and you can guess what flavours they are on the walkers site and try and win some money! Have look at the walkers homepage for full comp details: walkers.co.uk
As per the first pack (know as flavour A) this one doesn’t have much of a clue to the taste except a vague ‘meaty’ comment on the back. I should point out that the image on the bag shows inspirational ingredients and is not actually a clue to the contents (boo hiss).
I opened the pack up and the aroma was surprisingly sweet, more so than I had expected. The sweet tones dulled a little when I tried a crisp, and the meatiness promised on the back of the pack kicked in. I didn’t think it was as rich as beef, or as light as chicken, so I ended up concluding that it must be pork. The sweetness seems to turn into more of a tomato flavour mixed in, so as a conclusion I was thinking around a meat feast pizza or more simply sausage and red sauce. Either way I liked the crisps, but still feel that I haven’t quite hit the mark with the solution. There were some background hints of another flavour, and although it was just gentle, it was enough to make me think I’d missed something. Another friend who had tried them felt that it might be Spam, but as I’ve never tried the stuff I can’t really comment on that one, sadly.
Identifying these flavours is so much harder than you might think but I am enjoying trying! I’m off for another bag of Mystery Flavour B and going to have a bit more of a think. Anyone else got any ideas? Good luck with your guesses! :-)

By Cinabar

Ben Shaws' Dandelion & Burdock Classic (Veggie Cafe - Birmingham) [by @NLi10]

During another all day gaming session I popped into the veggie cafe on the corner to grab some teas (it's snowy and cold in the UK at the moment - by our standards anyway) and spotted this solitary can hiding behind the counter. I'm not sure if it's a big brand, or a new brand but I figured I wouldn't turn down the chance to try it so I bought one (with a couple of their home-made cookies) to take back to the gaming tables.

The can says that they have been going since 1871 and what I originally thought in the picture was a reflection of the games shop is actually a picture of an old style factory setting where presumably this drink was made.

The odd thing is that this is very much a 'pop' style drink like a Dr. Pepper or a Pepsi and not at all like the Fentiman's D&B that my brain is now accustomed too due to its rise to sit alongside their cola as one of my favourite drinks. I think that this isn't a bad thing, not everyone likes the earthy undertones that this drink can have and a sweeter, brighter version is quite welcome. It was very refreshing and despite being the standard 330 ml seemed a very small can as I'd have happily drunk more.

I'm not sure I’ll ever see more in this range, but as I plan to go back to the cafe to try out their veggie all day breakfast including avocado bacon (?!) then hopefully I'll get to see some more traditional drinks with a modern style.
By NLi10

Lucky Me! - Artificial Bone Marrow Flavour (Pinoy Foods, Birmingham Indoor Market) [By @SpectreUK]

On picking this instant noodle pot up in the Birmingham Indoor Market, Cinabar said “the only thing more disgusting sounding than bone marrow flavour, is artificial bone marrow flavour!” It states “true to the taste” on the outside of the pot. “True to the taste” of bone marrow? Yuck! It sounded positively revolting. It reminded me of those crazy people (no offence intended) that like to eat liver or kidney. Nevertheless, on a quiet Saturday afternoon, once I’d packed Cinabar off to the shops with her mom, I decided to brave this instant noodle pot made by the Monde Nissin Corporation, in the Philippines. Mind you, it had sat in a cupboard for several months and was reaching its sell by date!

There was a plastic fork, a silver sachet of food mix and a hard block of stringy noodles in the cardboard pot. There were 35g of ingredients at 150 calories in the pot. I opted for the usual metal fork, as plastic ones never get on well with freshly boiled water. The sachet had “Lucky me!” printed on it. I added boiling water to the noodles whilst I opened the friendly looking sachet. The silver sachet was filled with what looked like grey dust and bits from the kitchen floor. I dumped the unappealing contents of the sachet into the hot watery noodles, stirred a little, re-covered over the pot and left to stand for three minutes as per the instructions. I must admit, I didn’t feel particularly “lucky” when stirring the contents of the pot. Nevertheless on pealing back the lid there was quite a pleasant meaty smell from the noodle brew. There were bits of what looked like onion or chives floating around amongst the noodles, but there was no mention of these in the ingredients list on the pot. On tasting the noodle brew I found it had a suitable beefy taste, which went well with the beef and mustard sandwich and salt and black pepper crisps I had as an accompaniment. Whilst I ate my lunch I watched Kirk Douglas in the western movie, Posse, which was very good and had a great twist at the end of the film. The artificial bone marrow flavour pot noodle tasted disappointingly good. I say “disappointingly”, because I wanted to be amusing in my disgust of the concept of this pot noodle. How sad that I wanted it to taste horrid? As I said earlier, it had a subtle and understated beefy flavour to it. I even drank off the leftover liquid in the pot after I’d finished the noodles. This is a decent snack meal, rather than a full meal, but tasted fine and would be okay for a late night supper snack after a booze fuelled night out or just enjoyed with a sandwich and a ripping good western. Yeehah… Bang, bang!

By Spectre

The Smarties Sandwich [By @Cinabar]

There has been an awful lot of press about the incident of the Smarties Sandwich that occurred earlier in the week. If you haven’t heard about it a very brief run down was that a school spotted that a parent had made a child a sandwich with Smarties inside it for their lunch. The story is covered by the Daily Mail here. The general consensus was horrified teachers/parents but the whole thing really got me thinking. Yes I have to admit to smiling when I saw the article, I know I shouldn’t, but it’s one pretty looking sandwich you have to admit! I find it hard to believe that people reading this haven’t at some point indulged in a sandwich made with Nutella / Jam / Crisps / Chips or some other inappropriate ingredients, although admittedly probably as an occasional treat.
So we are all disgusted by the Smarties sandwich, but let’s think this through – is it because of the bright colours? Nestle Smarties have no actual artificial colours or flavourings in their choccies, so that can’t be the reason. Perhaps it’s the nutritional facts – so for reference a tube of Smarties has 178 calories and 6.8g of fat, please keep that in mind.
Now let’s look at a far more common scenario. A child goes to school with a sandwich, with two slices of cheese and maybe even some pickle, nobody would bat an eye lid. I dare say that situation is far more widespread than the Smarties incident. Interestingly two slices of cheese actually amounts to 202 calories and over 15g of fat. Just saying. Scarily the Smarties sandwich has 24 less calories and 8.9g less fat than the cheese version.
I am not trying to defend the Smarties sandwich, just trying to rationalise our reaction to it, and remember there are plenty of other choices which look okay and are far more common, but in reality aren’t great if you look at the stats.
Anyway, I write a blog about that contains a lot of chocolate / crisps / bad-for-you food, so I felt it best to actually try out this emotive snack. I wasn’t sure about measures, but I did discover that the whole tube of Smarties covered the bread rather well. My local newsagent only had the limited edition pink Smarties, which are created to help fund raise for breast cancer care, so yet another reason why this sandwich isn’t all bad!
To be honest though the sandwich wasn’t great when it came to the crunch. For a start the Smarties run everywhere, as you pick up the bread it is disappointing to see the contents slip out and you have to mourn the lost chocolate. The texture is a bit weird too, I felt the Smarties were a bit too hard for a sandwich, and didn’t quite feel crunchy like a crisp sarnie or satisfying like a chip one. Smarties are best left in the tube, but if I was to offer some advice to any wannabe testers, I think I’d suggest some Nutella to help them stick! Please read this responsibly and remember a Smarties sandwich should be for occasional snacking purposes only! Normal Foodstuff Finds service will resume shortly... ;-)

By Cinabar

Kit Kat Chunky Peanut Butter [New] [Limited Edition] [By @Cinabar]

Wow – I can’t tell you how excited I am to have one of these bars sitting in front of me!
This Kit Kat Chunky Peanut Butter may be part of the new Limited Edition range of Kit Kat Chunkys currently frequenting our shelves, but we have seen this bar before in the UK. It was discontinued in 2009 to my dismay and replaced by the caramel version. If you too have been missing the bar, you now have a chance to get it back on to British shelves permanently! You can vote for its return on the Facebook page (there are some other choices on that page too – but seriously who cares about them).
So with some excitement I unpacked this fabulous bar. I found one giant Chunky stick, neatly marked so that it could be broken into three pieces. I snapped the first chunk off and had a look at the layers of wafer, chocolate and that warm beige blanket of peanut butter, and a smile appeared on my face.
As I sunk my teeth in the peanut butter and chocolate blended together and created a flavour match made in heaven. The smooth but thick paste of peanut butter brought a rich nuttiness and a touch of salt, it filled the senses, and blended with the sweet cocoa flavours. It’s so much more than a bar, it’s an experience for the taste buds. As the bar is in the Chunky range it feels wonderfully substantial and filling to get your teeth into. This is my little corner of chocolate heaven, and I do not understand why we don’t have more peanut butter and chocolate options available in the UK. It’s crazy, we are all missing out, if you don’t believe you need to hunt down this Kit Kat and see what chocolate bars could really be like!
This previously discontinued Kit Kat left a peanut butter shaped hole in my heart. I will be voting for the Kit Kat Chunky Peanut Butter daily and keeping my fingers crossed for its return.
On the off chance it doesn’t make it back, I’m guess I’m going to have to bulk buy the Limited Edition version... anyone know if you can freeze Kit Kats?

By Cinabar