Lotus Biscoff: Spread (crunchy)

Product name: Lotus Biscoff: Spread (crunchy)
Purchase details: £1.79 for a 380g jar (tesco.com)
Calories: 572 per 100g
Country of origin: Belgium

Although I’m not generally familiar with the brand of Lotus Biscoff biscuits, I’ve been wanting to try their spreads for a while and have even seen positive comments from my non-blogger Facebook friends about them. I’m not surprised, though...they’re essentially liquidised biscuits!

Due to the usual high store prices, I’d always assumed that these Lotus Bakeries jars had been imported from America, but they were actually from Belgium. Either way, I’d been waiting for an offer to come along and I immediately snapped up a jar of this crunchy spread, as well as a smooth one, as soon as that happened. As it turned out, I wasn’t the only one who was keen try these spreads – I’d fully intended to review the smooth one first but, when I took off the lid, I discovered that some nasty shopper had stuck their finger through the foil layer in-store and helped themselves to some – thanks to Tesco for refunding me for this...I’ve been able to pick up another jar before the offer runs out!

Anyway, this crunchy variety of ‘the original caramelised biscuit spread’ was represented by a yellow lid and I loved the visualisation of a Lotus biscuit being turned into the spread. Although not relevant to me, I was impressed to see that it was both vegetarian and vegan, and the spread also contained no added flavours or colours, and no hydrogenated fat. What it did contain was 65% biscuits which resulted in a product that looked like a slightly darker-than-normal peanut butter.

Whilst nutritional information was provided, there was no suggested serving size, so how calorific or not a snack it was fully depended on how much was used and what it was served with! So far, I’ve only consumed it on ‘naughty’ days, and I think I might have to keep it that way because it was just so good – who needs bread when you’ve got a spoon?!

The spread was pretty thick and, whilst the crunchy bits weren’t really visible, they could be felt easily with the knife. The deep scent incorporated both caramel and biscuits but also hinted at ginger snaps – although it was very good, it was also on the verge of being a bit much.

On trying the spread on its own, it was very crispy but with the fabulous thick texture I’ve come to associate with peanut butter. In terms of flavour, it was quite like digestives but with a sweeter yet darker caramel element.

On bread, this crispy texture remained really noticeable and the flavour was still good too. The best bit, though, was the way the gloopy texture combined with the dough of the bread, making the roof of my mouth very happy indeed.

Finally, I sampled some of the spread on toast. The heat caused the spread to melt pretty quickly and the flavour and texture remained really good (although it wasn’t really possible to differentiate between the ‘crunchy’ aspect of the spread and the toast). Despite forgetting to check the toaster’s settings and subsequently cooking it for longer than I would have liked, the sweetness of the spread really helped disguise the slightly burnt bits, so I still enjoyed every mouthful...praise indeed.

This really was an excellent product and I can’t wait to eat the rest of it! There are quite a few biscuit spreads on my wish list right now and, if they’re all this good, I’m going to have to be keeping an extra-close eye on my waistline in the coming months.

Appearance: 7/10
Aroma: 7.5/10
Taste: 8/10
Texture: 8.5/10
Overall score: 7.75/10

Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream: Satisfy my bowl

Product name: Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream: Satisfy my bowl
Purchase details: £2.24 for a 500ml tub (tesco.com)
Calories: 255 per 100ml serving

I seriously don’t know how I survived for so many years without having tried the delights of Unilever’s Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream. This Fairtrade Satisfy my bowl tub was a special edition to mark the 30^th anniversary of Bob Marley’s Legend album, and also supported the 1Love Foundation which funds a youth-empowerment programme in Jamaica.

I was really interested in this ice cream since it was banana flavoured (it contained 4% banana puree) but also had cookie (6%) and caramel (9%) swirls and ‘chocolatey peace signs’ (4%). To fit in with the Caribbean theme, the usual green field of the branding was replaced with a sandy beach and a cow playing a guitar. However, the pale blue sky meant the packaging was still recognisably Ben & Jerry’s.

For this variety, a 100ml serving equated to 91g, and 23% of the product was cream itself. The ice cream was pale in colour but did have some visible caramel swirls. The chocolate chunks were presented as thick discs with raised peace signs, although the visibility of this finer detail varied.

As usual for frozen products, this didn’t emit any kind of smell, but the flavour was immense and felt like a full-on dessert. I allowed my ice cream to soften a fair amount before trying it and it was ridiculously creamy! Adding to this, the banana flavour was really strong, but then there was also a lovely, sugary taste from the caramel. I can’t say I really noticed the cookie swirls as a feature but, in contrast, the size and abundance of the chocolate made a massive difference to the experience. It tasted just liked ice cream chocolate sauce but its format meant it provided a crunchy texture amid the juicy, thick, but not completely smooth ice cream.

Whilst this tub of Satisfy my bowl wasn’t quite up there with the amazing Peanut butter cup, it did feel really special and it’s a shame it was only a limited edition.

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 5/10
Taste: 8/10
Texture: 8/10
Overall score: 7.13/10

Nestlé Munchies

Product name: Nestlé Munchies
Purchase details: £0.60 for a 52g packet or three for £1.20 (Tesco)
Calories: 135 per six sweet serving (256 per pack)
Country of origin: UK

It’s been years since my last packet of Nestlé Munchies but I do remember loving them as a kid as they seemed to last forever (yep, I was a greedy-guts!). I don’t feel the wrapper has changed much since then, with the 12 chocolates still coming wrapped in a gold foil and red wrapper, on one side of which was an image of a biscuit and caramel centre within a chocolate shell.

 

The sweets contained no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives and the milk chocolate contained a minimum of 14% milk solids. Shaped into cubes with a simple decoration, I did find their dusty appearance made them look less appealing than they could have done. However, the ‘crisp biscuit’ (6%) and ‘soft caramel’ (30%) inside did look more promising, although the colour of these barely contrasted with the outer chocolate which I thought was unusual (that said, the difference is more noticeable on the photo!). 

The product had a scent of overly sweet and not great quality chocolate but it still had a nice enough flavour. It had the taste of general Nestlé chocolate, as well as quite a buttery biscuit. Mainly, though, it was very sweet and this seemed to be down to the caramel and chocolate combination.

The standout feature of the chocolates, for me, was the texture. The chocolate’s melt was ok but was improved by the way the caramel seeped out. As an added bonus, the biscuit didn’t feel uncomfortable when doing this. However, it would have been wrong not to munch on these Munchies and I’m pleased to report that this provided a lovely mix of chunky, crispy and soft, gooey textures – wonderful.

Although I didn’t feel that this was the type of product that was worth raving about, it did provide a nice change in my evening routine. I’m sure I’ll buy them again at some point but they won’t be a regular item on my shopping list.

Appearance: 7/10
Aroma: 6.5/10
Taste: 7/10
Texture: 8/10
Overall score: 7.13/10

Nestlé Yorkie: Peanut

Product name: Nestlé Yorkie: Peanut
Purchase details: £0.60 for a 43g bar or three for £1.20 (Tesco)
Calories: 248 per bar
Country of origin: UK

Well this is one exciting, new and limited edition product that nearly passed me by! I hadn’t (and still haven’t) heard a thing about the Nestlé Yorkie: Peanut but saw them mixed in with a stand of other Yorkie bars in Tesco. Once I’d convinced myself that the unusual jet black wrapper wasn’t an indication of Hallowe’en or dark chocolate, it went straight into my basket!

Choosing to ignore the typically sexist slogan of ‘man fuel for man stuff’, this bar was described as ‘chunky milk chocolate with peanuts (25%)’ which were roasted. The chocolate consisted of a minimum of 25% cocoa solids and 14% milk solids and was part of Nestlé’s Cocoa Plan.

The bar was the same in style as the Raisin & biscuit and was divided into five pieces that were full of dark-centred peanuts (the fact the chocolate splintered when I cut into it demonstrates how full each piece was!). These produced a really strong nutty scent that actually smelt a lot like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

The Yorkie’s chocolate itself was unchanged from the usual kind and it tasted nice and sweet against the nuts – I particularly loved the roasted aspect of these. It had a nice yet chunky melt but the bar was also really satisfying to chew as the nuts were really crunchy. To my amazement, the flavour was very similar to peanut butter, and the overall product reminded me of a simpler Reese's Nutrageous.

I genuinely didn’t expect this bar to be as good as it was but it was such a delight to eat. I’m gutted it’s only a limited edition...please don’t take it away from me!

Appearance: 8.5/10
Aroma: 8/10
Taste: 8.5/10
Texture: 8.5/10
Overall score: 8.38/10