Danone Danio: Honey

Product name: Danone Danio: Honey
Purchase details: £0.89 for a 150g yoghurt (Tesco)
Calories: 123 per yoghurt

I’m not usually one to eat healthier yoghurts but I couldn’t say ‘no’ to a voucher for a free pot of Danone Danio thanks to their Facebook page! I was particularly pleased to be able to opt for the Honey flavour as I think all non-dessert yoghurts I’ve ever had have been fruity.

The strained yoghurt was made for the UK and Ireland market and came in a simply-designed white pot with a clever use of amber at the base and a swirl on the lid to look like the honey within. The packaging also warned that the contents were ‘delicate’ and so it needed to be kept upright. I figured this was because the honey was included as a separate layer so I dutifully obeyed. However, when I retrieved it from the fridge, I found someone else had knocked it over – tut!

This yoghurt was high in protein and contained 0% fat which I was pleased about. It also contained no preservatives or artificial colours or flavourings. Described as ‘super thick’ due to using more milk than standard yoghurts, the ingredients stated that 10% of the product was bakers’ honey whilst 1% was sugar. There was also some natural flavouring.

I can’t pretend I wasn’t disappointed with the yoghurt’s appearance. It looked curdled and very much like cottage cheese. It also had the horrible watery layer that yoghurts sometimes get and it just didn’t look appetising at all. However, I haven’t marked it as harshly as I normally would on the basis that this may have been caused by my pot spending a bit of time on its side – apologies, Danone, if that’s the case! If you’re super-observant, you may have noticed that the ‘use by’ date on this yoghurt has already passed but I did eat it before that date – I’ve just only got around to reviewing it! As a result, I know that the appearance wasn’t caused by the yoghurt having gone bad and so I wasn’t completely put off.

The honey was a very pale yellow rather than the amber colour suggested on the packaging. It did look nice and thick, though, but there was no hint of it in the aroma. Instead, the smell was of natural yoghurt which, taste-wise, isn’t something I enjoy!

Despite my initial concerns, this Danio: Honey redeemed itself once I actually tried it. Its texture wasn’t at all lumpy – it softened nicely in the mouth and there was absolutely no denying how very thick it was.

The yoghurt itself tasted very plain but, to my relief, it didn’t have the tart taste I associate with natural yoghurt. The nice hint of honey that combined with this gave a pleasant breakfast feel (despite being an evening snack!) and I was pleased to find more at the bottom of the tub than there initially appeared to be. I had expected this to be viscous but, instead, it was thin in texture.

Unsurprisingly, the Danone Danio: Honey wasn’t as sweet as I like my snacks to be, and I must say that the honey itself wasn’t as prominent as I’d hoped, but for a product containing no fat, this was a great option!

Appearance: 5.5/10
Aroma: 5.5/10
Taste: 7/10
Texture: 7.5/10
Overall score: 6.38/10

Müller Corner: De luxe (Mississippi mud pie)

Product name: Müller Corner: De luxe (Mississippi mud pie)
Purchase details: £1.00 for a pack of two 130g yoghurts (tesco.com)
Calories: 251 per yoghurt
Country of origin: UK

Following my enjoyment of the Müller Corner: De luxe (crème praline), I couldn’t resist trying this new Mississippi mud pie version.

 

My first ever review was of Mr Kipling Dessert Classics: Mississippi mud pies but Müller’s take on the pudding was somewhat different since it added both coffee and toffee. I still haven’t had the real thing, though!

These yoghurts came in the same style of elegant packaging as the crème praline variety, and was represented by a purple tinge, as well as photographs of its flavour inspiration. The product was described as ‘velvety smooth coffee and toffee’ flavoured yoghurt that had been ‘made with whipping cream’ (14%, in fact) and contained an ‘alluring hidden dark chocolate layer’. On this occasion, the ‘add-on’ that got mixed into the yoghurt accounted for 12% of the product and was a pot of ‘exquisite coffee infused dark chocolate coated biscuit pearls’.

 

Starting with the biscuit pieces, these were very small and glossy balls (I could see why they were called ‘pearls’!) that had thick chocolate shells and appeared to contain cocoa inside. Trying a couple on their own, they were very bitter and their thick coating was emphasised by the long time it took to melt. This shell produced a cracking sensation, when chewing, and was the dominant texture. As a result, I found the biscuit itself wasn’t that noticeable, and I didn’t think it tasted of much either.

As previously, I didn’t think the layering of the yoghurt was as impressive in appearance as suggested by the packaging, and the chocolate underlayer had the same watery appearance. The yoghurt was a paler shade than the crème praline and, above anything else, it seemed to have a slightly acidic toffee aroma.

The yoghurt was smooth in texture and had quite a dark coffee flavour that was lifted by the toffee. It had the slight tang that you’d expect from a yoghurt but I didn’t think the chocolate flavour was very powerful. However, the crunchy biscuit pieces were the overwhelming element of the product, and they provided a strong dark chocolate taste that gave the impression of a grown-up dessert. The only downside of this, for me, was that the creaminess of the yoghurt was overshadowed.

I can’t say I enjoyed this yoghurt as much as the crème praline but I think that was more down to personal preference – I’ve got a very sweet tooth so these were a little too bitter for my liking. I would have preferred the whipping cream to be more noticeable but this was a pleasant product nonetheless.

Appearance: 7/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 7/10
Texture: 7.5/10
Overall score: 7.13/10

Müller Corner: De luxe (crème praline)

Product name: Müller Corner: De luxe (crème praline)
Purchase details: £1.00 for a pack of two 130g yoghurts (tesco.com)
Calories: 238 per yoghurt
Country of origin: UK 

 

I’ve wanted to try a ‘new’ Müller Corner: De luxe for a while but, if I’m honest, I’ve been put off by the standard prices so have been waiting for them to be on offer. (We did have a different variety in our house a couple of months back but they contained alcohol so I decided against trying those ones!) 

I mainly associate Müller Corners with my childhood Summer holidays – it used to be a treat to be able to mix a crunchy or fruity (if I was slightly less lucky!) ingredient in with the main yoghurt section. The packaging and name of this crème praline variety, though, made it clear that this particular yoghurt was a bit more up-market. 

I loved the sophisticated black and brown design of the packaging (even the plastic pot was black instead of white), and the images of a cream-topped tower of chocolates, as well as a spoon containing all three layers of the product within. I couldn’t wait to tuck into what was described as a ‘velvety smooth praline flavour’ yoghurt that contained 15% whipping cream. Beneath this yoghurt I was supposed to find ‘an alluring hidden dark chocolate layer’ but, on peeling off the foil lid, this was already partly on show. For this particular Corner, the accompaniment I would be mixing into the main yoghurt was ‘crispy fancies coated with milk chocolate’, and these contributed to 8% of the product. 

I’d never had (or even heard of) praline yoghurt before but this dessert really did both smell and taste of hazelnuts, although a tangy yoghurt element was also present in both. (Bizarrely, whilst the health warnings confirmed a presence of nuts, these weren’t actually listed on the ingredients.) Claiming to be indulgent and a ‘creamy heaven’, the yoghurt did have a lot to live up to, but the very pale beige element of this product really was incredibly creamy. It was also beautifully thick and smooth. 

The chocolate layer was very watery in consistency and, although it introduced a slight bitterness to the overall experience, it seemed to have picked up a lot of the yoghurt’s tang over anything else. I actually felt a little let down by this sauce since it seemed to take away from the fantastic creaminess that was so present when trying the praline yoghurt aspect of the product alone. 

The knobbly fancies had a noticeable chocolate aroma and, taste-wise, were the same as the other cereal-type crunchy pieces used in different Müller Corners. As expected, they were very crispy, and I also found they tasted more chocolatey than the actual chocolate layer beneath the yoghurt. 

As tasty as this yoghurt was, for me, it didn’t compare to an actual praline-containing chocolate. However, for a yoghurt, it had a great flavour – I genuinely would have been happy for it just to consist of the yoghurt and fancies, though, and I think, if that had been the case, it may even have resulted in a higher score! 

Appearance: 8/10

Aroma: 7.5/10
Taste: 7.5/10
Texture: 8.5/10
Overall score: 7.88/10

Cadbury Dairy Milk: Strawberries & creme

Product name: Cadbury Dairy Milk: Strawberries & creme
Purchase details: £0.99 for a 120g bar (Home Bargains)
Calories: 85 per three chunk serving (672 per bar)
Country of origin: Europe 

What better way to mark the middle of December than with a limited edition Summer chocolate bar? That’s right, after sitting on my shelf for several months, I’ve finally got around to reviewing Cadbury Dairy Milk: Strawberries & creme!

Made by Kraft Foods, the bar came in a slightly girly wrapper since, not only did it contain Cadbury purple, but baby pink too. This was understandable for the flavour on offer, though, and I loved how the word ‘Strawberries’ was made to look like the fruit by containing little seeds.

In case anyone was in any doubt about what variety of Dairy Milk this was, the wrapper also contained images of the product and a strawberry, and carried the description of milk chocolate containing a yoghurt  and ‘strawberry flavour filling’. Whilst I’d had yoghurt-based chocolates before in the form of Milka Lila Pause: Erdbeer-Joghurt and Ritter Sport Himbeer-Cranberry Joghurt, I was interested to see Cadbury’s take on the idea.

The aim was to create a bar that tasted like Summer and so the good people at Cadbury half-filled the bar with a ‘delicious crème’ that contained ‘dried skimmed milk yoghurt’ as well as 1% freeze-dried strawberries which promised a mouth-watering experience. The chocolate itself was the usual Dairy Milk and contained 23% milk solids to add to the creamy theme.

This slab of Strawberries & creme had the usual, slightly curved Dairy Milk presentation (as seen with the Snowy delight) and had a pale pink inside which seemed to darken slightly towards the centre. This filling also contained darker speckles which I thought may have been pieces of freeze-dried strawberry. It looked delicious!

As is often the case with fruity chocolate, the bar had a really strong aroma. In this case, it was a sickly sweet strawberry one but, thankfully, this sickliness didn’t transfer to the taste. The strawberry was by far the main flavour and, amazingly, did taste specifically of yoghurt. It was creamier than I’d expected it to be but it also had a slight tang. Unusually, I found the two parts of the bar tended to separate when I broke chunks off, but this did mean I could easily sample the chocolate and yoghurt on their own. In doing so, I found the chocolate did provide its own flavour but had also picked up a fruitiness from contact with the crème. Together, as much as I enjoyed the strawberry flavour, I wouldn’t have minded a stronger chocolate taste as I did feel the classic Dairy Milk goodness was overpowered a little too much.

Texturally, the bar was, again, similar to the Snowy delight since the overall experience was pretty soft, although the chocolate was a little chunkier than the yoghurt. The latter had quite a thick, rough texture but it did melt well, as did the chocolate.

Cadbury certainly didn’t disappoint with this variety of Dairy Milk – roll on next Summer! 

Appearance: 9/10
Aroma: 7.5/10
Taste: 8/10
Texture: 8.5/10
Overall score: 8.25/10