Lindt Strawberry

Product name: Lindt Strawberry
Purchase details: £0.99 for a 100g bar (Home Bargains)
Calories: 496 per bar
Country of origin: Switzerland

I was very excited to see a range of Lindt chocolates in Home Bargains last week that I’d not seen before. Although most of them were boozy, I managed to pick out this Strawberry bar, along with one other appealing flavour for another day.

The red and silver wrapper of this wrapper was really attractive, slightly festive, and featured images of juicy strawberries and the ‘filled milk chocolate’ that was within. It was clear that the bar was an unusual shape since each of the 12 pieces was flat but with a pill-shaped dome that contained the filling. Whilst I was initially impressed that a piece of cardboard had been included within the foil to protect these pieces, this quickly turned to disappointment when I realised just how broken my bar was – I pieced it back together as best as I could for its photo shoot!

When I first spotted this Lindt & Sprüngli product, my first thought was of a previously reviewed product: E. Wedel Strawberry. Whilst this bar didn’t contain a cream layer, it did still contain alcohol (unfortunately) but, once again, I’d later find that this wasn’t noticeable in the taste.

Despite the image on the wrapper, the filling inside the Lindt logo-engraved pieces was like a very pale pink creme rather than a deep red goo. The chocolate contained a minimum of 30% cocoa solids and 14% milk solids and had a really good colour about it and the bar also has a nice yet subtle berry scent.

There was no nutritional information on the packaging but I was able to obtain this from Lindt's website. The ingredients were present on the wrapper, though, so I knew that the flavour came from 1.4% strawberry powder which, despite sounding minimal, made a huge impact on the taste. Whilst the chocolate tasted as good as Lindt usually does, on its own, it had still picked up a hint of sweet berry.

When combined with the filling, the chocolate flavour was barely detectable at all because the dominant taste was a really sweet and tangy strawberry one which was just like Campino sweets and, therefore, hinted at cream too.

The chocolate had a nice melt and, despite not being a proper liquid, the filling did pop out of this under a little pressure. To chew, the thin chocolate had a really crunchy texture which went wonderfully with the lovely, soft centre too.

I think some people would probably find this bar a bit too sweet but I really liked it. Although it wasn’t my favourite ever flavour combination, it had been very well executed, so I’m glad I spotted it!

Appearance: 7/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 7.5/10
Texture: 8/10
Overall score: 7.38/10

Walkers Jed's Sizzling Steak Fajita

Product name: Walkers Jed’s Sizzling Steak Fajita
Purchase details: £0.99 for a multipack of six bags (Home Bargains)
Calories: 132 per 25g bag
Country of origin: UK

This bag of Walkers Jed’s Sizzling Steak Fajita was the final flavour I tried from the Do Us A Flavour selection 2 multipack that I got on a Spotted On Star Buys promotion. As one of the varieties I’d really wanted to try prior to purchase, I couldn’t wait to see if I found it to be as good as Emma G's Chip Shop Chicken Curry.

The packet’s colour scheme matched its contents better than some of its competitors, with the brown and green reminding me of steak and peppers. The crisps were visibly tinted brown, too, by the powdered Scottish Aberdeen angus beef that was used in conjunction with smoke flavouring in an attempt to achieve the desired taste.

Bizarrely, the crisps actually smelt like vegetables! There was a tiny hint of meat too but, if I’m honest, I wasn’t really convinced or impressed by the aroma – it just didn’t seem to quite work in this format. However, I love fajitas (although I don’t eat them as often as I’d like!) so I still wanted to see how the taste compared...and they were actually pretty authentic! I could pick up aspects of both steak and peppers in the flavouring, and there was a very slight ‘kick’ in the mix too. It was just a shame that the sour cream and shedloads of cheese – which I think are essential for good fajitas – weren’t flavours that were included in the overall experience. Furthermore, I sometimes felt that the peppers were simply masking the taste of standard roast beef crisps. However, I was impressed by the juicy aspect of the meat which I thought was quite unique in this type of product.

Texturally, there was no change from Walkers’ usual high standards, so I was left feeling that this was a nice enough packet of crisps...just not sensational.

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 5.5/10
Taste: 7/10
Texture: 8/10
Overall score: 7/10

Swiss Peak Milch

Product name: Swiss Peak Milch
Purchase details: £0.39 for a 100g bar (Home Bargains)
Calories: 531 per bar
Country of origin: Switzerland

Always one for a bargain, I couldn’t help picking up this Swiss Peak Milch – a bar of ‘milk chocolate with honey-almond-nougat’ which was obviously based on Toblerone. I’d tried Marks and Spencer’s version before but this ‘Swiss premium quality’ brand was new to me.

The wrapper featured nice images of some of the key ingredients: the chocolate itself (containing a minimum of 30% cocoa solids and 14% milk solids), honey (2.5%) and almonds (1.4%) and the bar inside continued Toblerone's triangular theme. However, these pieces were diagonal in shape, and also thinner, so I presumed they wouldn’t be as satisfyingly chunky to chew.

In terms of aroma, the product just smelt like sweet chocolate, although this was no bad thing! It had a good, milky chocolate flavour, with hints of honey and almond coming through here and there. The chocolate was definitely the main taste but I did like the darker sugar element the honey provided.

Despite appearances, the triangles did still manage to provide a chunky texture, and the presence of crunchy nut pieces and chewy nougat (8%) was also noticeable. On the downside, the bar’s shape did make it difficult to break off each piece so I ended up having to bite it, and I also found the chocolate’s melting point to be a little higher than normal so it felt like it separated out in the mouth rather than melding together.

At £0.39, it won’t surprise anyone to learn that this product wasn’t of the same quality as Toblerone of Switzerland. However, it was still pretty tasty in its own right!

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 7.5/10
Taste: 7.5/10
Texture: 7/10
Overall score: 7.38/10

Walkers Paul's Pulled Pork In A Sticky BBQ Sauce

Product name: Walkers Paul’s Pulled Pork In A Sticky BBQ Sauce
Purchase details: £0.99 for a multipack of six bags (Home Bargains)
Calories: 132 per 25g bag
Country of origin: UK

The deadline for voting for Do Us A Flavour may have passed but I’m still working my way through the selection 2 bag I picked up on a Spotted On Star Buys promotion! These Walkers Paul’s Pulled Pork In A Sticky BBQ Sauce were a bit of a mouthful but it was also the flavour my colleagues had absolutely raved about so I couldn’t wait to try them.

Pushing past the pink packaging that reminded me of dreaded prawn cocktail flavoured crisps, I was interested to see that that this variety contained pork from Norfolk, just like Extra Crunchy: Sticky BBQ rib. I’d already suspected that these flavours would be similar, and they certainly smelt alike too.

I’ve only had pulled pork a couple of times but these crisps did do a good job of capturing the slightly sweetened aspect of the sauce. They seemed to taste smokier than the Extra Crunchy: Sticky BBQ rib (they specifically contained ‘smoke flavour’) but they had the standard crisp texture rather than the thicker, crunchier one I’d love with the Extra Crunchy variety.

I definitely really enjoyed these pulled pork-inspired crisps but I did find it a bit odd that Walkers shortlisted a flavour that was so similar to an existing product. Still, when they tasted this good, it was hard to care!

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 7.5/10
Texture: 8/10
Overall score: 7.5/10

Walkers Emma G's Chip Shop Chicken Curry

Product name: Walkers Emma G’s Chip Shop Chicken Curry
Purchase details: £0.99 for a multipack of six bags (Home Bargains)
Calories: 132 per 25g bag
Country of origin: UK

I’ve now moved on to selection 2 from the Walkers Do Us A Flavour contest and I was pleased to find this multipack on a Spotted On Star Buys promotion.

I really couldn’t anticipate how I’d feel about Emma G’s Chip Shop Chicken Curry crisps. I’ve never liked chicken flavoured crisps, but the curry sounded nice, although I never get curry sauce from the chippy so I wasn’t even sure if the real thing was good!

The crisps came in an orange bag but I was more interested in the colour of the crisps which were noticeably yellower than most. Amongst the ingredients were curry powder, cumin and red pepper powder, and there was a definite curry powder aroma mixed with a more standard salty crisp smell.

Despite containing free range chicken from Devon, the emphasis was definitely on the curry in terms of taste, too. The crisps were flavourful but the curry itself was mild, and I actually thought they tasted a lot like coronation chicken, with an added lightly salted element. Despite this, I couldn’t specifically taste poultry as a separate feature, but I was more than happy about that as it meant I had finally found a chicken flavoured crisp that I liked!

Texturally, the crisps were as normal, so these were a great all-rounder. I don’t know how the flavour would compare to real chicken curry from a chip shop but, as far as I’m concerned, these were a surprise hit which I’d be sad to see taken off the market.

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 7.5/10
Taste: 8/10
Texture: 8/10
Overall score: 7.75/10