This wil be my final Foodie News for the time being (certainly not stopping this blog just Foodie News!) I will keep you updated with new food products via my other social media channels so make sure you are following me (find buttons at the top left of this page). Well on with this month’s round-up of products which are either new or new to me!
Olives Et All
Sweet Chilli Billy Jelly, Chilli & Ginger Relish was a big hit in our house. Meant for meat, noodles and dressings we found ourselves enjoying it with cheese and crackers and I can see why it’s won a Gold Great Taste award!
Smoky Chipotle Chilli Olives also went down well in our household and were mild enough that even my young daughter enjoyed them. They were really firm and meaty (if that’s possible for an olive) and oozed quality!
North Arfican Style Red Harissa Sauce – I’ve never had Harissa before so have nothing to compare it with, my only comment would be that I wasn’t overly keen on the fenugreek flavour that came through. But if you like the taste of fenugreek then I’m sure you would love this as all the other flavours were good.
Sweet & Salty Liquorice, Handmade Gourmet Fudge – when I heard about this new fudge I simply had to try it. Being half Danish I was literally weaned on salty liquorice and when I occassionaly come across some I’m ecstatic. Apparently the pairing of flavours came about when Scandinavian visitors to Fudge Kitchen food events asked for this flavour and so they set about plugging this hole in the market. They sourced the finest liquorice from Denmark and made these exquiste little boxes of handmade.fudge. I think I would have prefereed the blocks of fudge to have been smaller as salty liquorice usually comes in quite small pastels and is not something you need a lot of at once. Therefore I found myself eating this fudge in a couple or more mouthfuls and would have preferred to have a little at a time instead of a large block in one go. A man would probaly not find this a problem at all though, just me being delicate! If you like salty liquorice and you like fudge then this is the sweet for you as it has that classic sweet versus sour vibe (luckily I got to eat the whole box to myself as no-one else in my household shares my taste for salty liquorice)!
Having got used to my usual brand of peanut butter over many years it was a bit of a culture shock to open the Meridian Nut Butters; at the top of each jar was a large pool of oil. These Almond, Peanut and Cashew Butters are all made of 100% nuts and therefore have a looser consistency to other brands. After my initial reservations I did what it said on the jars and stirred the contents and they stayed mixed thereafter. The flavours of the peanut and cashew butters grew on me as they were more natural and stripped back than my usual brand. I didn’t get on with the almond butter though, it just didn’t taste of almonds to me. I do think that these nut butters are ideally suited to cooking and did make a curry with the peanut butter which was far easier to encorporate than my usual stiffer brand. I’ve noticed that there is a crunchy variant of the peanut butter in Tesco so I think I’ll be giving that a try next!
Boxerchips
It’s not often a food product puts a smile on my face but that’s exactly what these Boxerchips did. I just loved the packaging as it made the contents feel that bit more special! Inside the outer foil wrapping was a little box which had fold out sides (my children may have pointed this feature out to me) to enable sharing. The crisps themselves were very tasty with a nice crunch and the Cheesed Off Red Onion ones were my favourite.
Mr Organic
Although pitched at the vegetarian market we very much enjoyed these pasta sauces from Mr Organic which came in Seitan, Soya and Tofu flavours. You can either just eat them as they are with pasta or use them as a base to do your own thing with. The clean flavours and the fact that they are organic make them a gulit free “fast food” storecupboard ingredient! My personal favourite was the Seitan with crushed chilli and sun ripened tomatoes and if you’re not a vegetarian there’s not reason why you can’t add say some crispy bacon!
I’m loving the Clearspring Quick Cook Organic range of Grains & Pulses at the moment. So far I have made an oriental salad with the Rice and Quinoa and used the Rice Trio with a chilli. Everyone remarked on the marked difference in taste to ordinary rice. As the cold weather draws in I shall be using the other pack in stews and soups over the coming weeks.
The Organic Japanese Tamari Soya Sauce has a very clean flavour is is not overly salty like some brands of soya sauce so we like this very much.
The Omeg-a-day 78% Flax Oil Blend has unique flavour with a slightly peppery note to it so I think it is perfectly suited to salad dressings. I love that fact that it can help maintain a healthy heart too!
Real Ale Chutney – my son really like this chutney made with sultanas, apples, apricots, onion and locally-brewed ale but I wasn’t blow away and found the texture just a bit slimey. This is a first for me as I’m a huge Stokes fan!
Red Onion Marmalade can do no wrong, the perfect sticky relish to adorn your cheese and an absoulte favourite here!
Lemon Mayonnaise – I love the little bits of zest in this mayonnaise which makes it stand out from other lemon mayonnaises!
That’s all from me, I hope you have enjoyed this culinary round-up and have perhaps been inspired to try something new yourself!
NB: Thank you to all the brands above who supplied samples, I was not paid and all opinions are my own.
Choclette
What a fab selection of goodies. The liquorice fudge sounds right up my street, although I’ve never had salty liquorice before.
Camilla
Aren’t they just! Well salty liquorice is an acquired taste and I’ve yet to meet anyone who’s not Scandinavian who likes it!
Janice
Wow, I would have loved all of those, including the salty liquorice fudge – how delicious.
Camilla
I’m sure you would Janice:-)
Jen @ Blue Kitchen Bakes
Great round up, I’m very intrigued by salted liquorice even though I don’t really like liquorice, I keep trying to imagine the flavour!
Camilla
Thanks Jen, in Danish salty liquorice I think it’s ammonium chloride or something like that that gives it its intense kick so it’s not a flat taste of salt but has a real zing to it:-)
Jacqueline Meldrum
Nice roundup Camilla. I do like posts like this. I also really like the Mr Organic range.
Camilla
Thanks Jacqueline:-)
Nazima
those quick cook grains look fab! We have a lot of clearspring products and love them.
Camilla
They are lovely products aren’t they Nazima:-)
Corina
I love natural nut butters so really like the sound of the Meridian ones. I’ve also got the Olives et al products at home and am looking forward to trying them. I like fenugreek in curries so the harissa sounds good and my toddler will probably also love the olives as she likes things to be a little spicy.
Camilla
Glad you’ve been inspired Corina:-)