Simon Food Favourites: Taste test

Showing posts with label Taste test. Show all posts

25 May 2014

Blind tasting: Coca-Cola Coke vs Woolworths Select Cola (25 May 2014)

The cola wars

Any die hard Coke fans out there? I'm not talking about the white powdered stuff which used to be in Coca Cola but the drinkable kind you find all over the world. These days I'm not a huge soft drinker but when I was a kid I couldn't get enough of it. Did the Coke vs Pepsi Challenge many years ago although I think die hard fans can tell the difference with these products. On a recent shopping trip for the Mrs I was asked to buy some Coke from the refrigerated section. Woolworths was selling a 1L Coca-Cola Coke for $3.69 and was interesting to see you could get a 1.25L for less on the room temperature shelves for about $2.79 I think. I also noticed the Woolworths Select Cola for only $0.90 for 1.25L so thought I'd do a blind tasting. Back home I served up both with ice. After careful consideration the Mrs decide on which one she liked which she also thought was the Coke. In fact it was the Cola from Woolworths. Surprised at the result she now will probably buy the Cola for much less when craving that sugar hit.

I tried it myself and I found not a lot of difference in smell and taste of each but perhaps for some there is. Both seem to have the same ingredients although the Woolworths Cola sugar content is slightly higher with 11.5g per 100g compared to 10.6g in the Coke. Sodium content for Woolworths Cola is 4mg while Coke is higher with 10mg. My thoughts are if you're going to buy something that's bad for you you might as well pay less for it and save your money for other things. Personally I think you shouldn't drink either but I'd be interested to see if anyone can taste much of a difference in their own blind tasting. Some people will be more than happy to pay a premium price due to image association while others might actually be able to taste a difference in the products and prefer one over the other. I look forward to your thoughts.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Sugar hit guaranteed

CONS: Contains a lot of sugar you probably shouldn't be drinking

MUST TRY: Your own blind tasting and share your findings

VERDICT: I couldn't really taste a difference between Coke and Cola so for my money I'd be buying the cheaper version for future parties and mixing cocktails

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Cola vs Coke

Coca-Cola Coke Nutrition Information — perhaps should be called Non-Nutrition Information

Woolworths Select Cola Nutrition Information

14 June 2013

Taste Test: Huntley Berry Farm jam, Huntley (7 June 2013)

Huntley Road, Huntley NSW 2800

http://www.huntleyberryfarm.com.au

Community made jam

“Huntley Berry Farm is an OCTEC-owned and operated Australian Disability Enterprise, as well as a significant contributor to Orange’s reputation for high quality locally grown produce. The farm has long been known for its large variety of berries, which visitors can pick themselves between November and May each year.”

Thanks to Tom Harvey from OCTEC (Orange Community Training and Education Centre) for sending me some jam samples made by Huntley Berry Farm. OCTEC is a not-for-profit community business providing employment, education, training and advocacy services to all members of the community in the Central West of NSW. At the farm, a number of people with disabilities are employed to carry out activities associated with operating Huntley Berry Farm. I did a taste test of 12 jams, 1 jelly and 1 chutney on some pancakes which I thought would make a suitable base. Overall the jams were well received with the Boysenberry and Bourbon Jam being a clear favourite amongst many including myself. It had an enjoyable well-rounded mouth flavour with a bit of punch. I also liked the Blackberry and Whisky Jam. It must be the balance of alcohol that I found really worked a treat although probably best to avoid feeding to the kids. I thought the Strawberry Rose Jam would be good on scones and the Strawberry and Vanilla Jam would suit a sponge cake. The Feijoa and Macadamia Jam might work well with cheese instead of quince paste and the runny Red Currant Jelly with a turkey sandwich. The Feijoa Chutney would probably go well on a ham sandwich. Marmalade or mixed berry jam don't seem to be available in the range which are some of my favourite jams I tend to look out for. Pricing comes at a premium at $2.50 for a 40ml, $7 for 200ml, $9.50 for 300ml and the jams with alcohol $8.50 for 200ml and $10.50 for 300ml. I'd recommend visiting the farm to sample products before purchasing as there's so many choice and everyone's taste is different in what they find appealing.

Here's a great video by ABC Central West NSW
http://www.abc.net.au/local/videos/2013/08/07/3820065.htm

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Interesting flavour combinations, Quality ingredients, Supports people with disabilities and local community

CONS: The online shop needs a bit of refresh to make it easier to navigate and purchase products, Jams are at a premium price, I'm assuming you need to avoid feeding alcoholic jams to kids, Marmalade or mixed berry jam not available

MUST TRY: Boysenberry and Bourbon Jam, Blackberry and Whisky Jam, Visiting Huntley Berry Farm during fruit picking season

VERDICT: An extensive range of jams that tempts me to visit the farm during fruit picking season as a family outing

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Boysenberry and Bourbon Jam — good balanced flavour

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Strawberry and Cointreau Jam — nice, slight marmalade taste from I think the Cointreau

Strawberry, Balsamic Vinegar and Pepper Jam — OK although quite a thick consistency

Blackberry and Whisky Jam — good flavour
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Strawberry Rose Jam — would go well on scones with cream

Strawberry and Vanilla Jam — would go well in a sponge cake

Raspberry Jam — good

Spiced Blackberry Jam — nice

Blackberry, Balsamic Vinegar and Pepper Jam — quite thick, robust flavour notes

Rum and Raspberry Jam — nice

Feijoa and Macadamia Jam — would probably go well with cheese like quince jam

Blackberry and Lime Jam — lifted end notes of lime

Red Currant Jelly — nice but very runny consistency, might be good for turkey sandwiches

Feijoa Chutney — nice for perhaps ham sandwiches or roast meats

Tasting survey

My tasting notes

Toscano pancakes ($4, Coles) — I used these as the tasting base. They taste better if you quickly pan fry them with a bit of butter to warm them up

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20 August 2012

HelloFresh: Globally inspired recipes and ingredients delivered to your home to cook (30 July 2012)

http://www.hellofresh.com.au

Home cooking without shopping

“Our recipes are created by our dedicated food team. We want you to have fun in the kitchen as well as eat healthy food. Our recipes will take you around the world with our wide variety of international cuisines that can each be prepared, cooked, and on the table in less than 30 minutes.”

Thanks to Helena from HelloFresh for inviting me to sample one of their Gourmet 3 meals per week plan ($64) which was suitable for 2 people. The box of ingredients was delivered on a monday night after work which was convenient to be at home to receive. The fresh produce supplied was good quality and recipes were fairly easy to follow for a novice cook like myself. I assumed the Pesto pizza with goat cheese and sundried tomato was the first to be cooked which was simple and quick to do and ended as a tasty result that I'd be happy to cook again. I liked how there wasn't much preparation required and I managed to finish within 30 minutes. I chose to wash the baby spinach leaves just in case there was any grit residue. The amount of ingredients was well portioned with left over baby spinach that I made into a side salad with some dressing I had.

On the second night I made the Lean beef chilli con carne which involved more time in preparation. 345g of beef mince was supplied while the recipe only required 250g leaving plenty as leftovers. Tomato paste was considered a pantry item to be provided by the householder although I think it would have been nice for this to be supplied as well. Time taken to finish was about 50 minutes and I added some grated cheese and a side of corn chips to compliment the dish. I would have liked a bit more spice and chilli hit in the dish so maybe the extra amount of mince used was a factor. I'm not a fan of cooking rice and usually prefer buying those 90 second microwave packs in supermarkets so perhaps one of these could be included instead for lazy cooks like me.

The final dish was Pork and mushroom stir fry with noodles which also involved a bit of preparation time and took around 45 minutes to finish the dish. The generous amount of ingredients provided more than enough. The rice noodles were easier to prepare than rice for me and I also included some left over carrot and capsicum from the previous chilli con carne recipe. I wondered if egg noodles might have been a better match for the dish than rice noodles. With the left over noodles I ended up cooking a couple of Pad Thai dishes the following week with just a premade sauce which worked out well. Olive oil was required from the pantry but perhaps a suitable alternative could be sesame oil or even peanut oil for a more Asian-style flavour. With limited time and a preference for very simple recipes my favourite was the pesto pizza out of all the three recipes.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Saves you time shopping except for having basic pantry items like olive oil, Recipes were quite easy to follow, Ingredients were fresh and decent quality

CONS: You still need to prepare and cook the recipes, Possibly might be cheaper to buy the ingredients yourself, Some recipes took me longer than 30 minutes

MUST TRY: Discovering more pizza topping recipes for home
VERDICT: If you dislike grocery shopping and are happy to cook simple recipes at home then HelloFresh might suit you

50% DISCOUNT OFFER (Valid until 21 Nov 2012)
The kind folks at HelloFresh are offering Simon Food Favourites readers an exclusive 50% discount on their first HelloFresh box. Just enter the voucher code 'HFsimon' upon checkout at HelloFresh. You'll then get a weeks worth of dinners for about $5 per meal and if you don't like HelloFresh, you can cancel straight away. Sounds like a win win situation if you're curious to try. [Note: I do not receive any money or commission if you take up this offer]

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