Food&Drink
Taste Test C h r i s t m a s
CHRISTMAS CAKE B E S T B U Y
Waitrose Richly Fruited Xmas Cake, £16.99 ●●●●● Nicely decorated and complete with an edible icing snowflake, this cake has a balanced and suitably delicious compliment of cake, icing and marzipan and is packed with fruit.
Broughton Deli Cake, £16.50 ●●●●● One for those not so keen on icing, but will leave most Chrimbo cake connoisseurs hankering after a little bit more of the white stuff. Still, their cake is moist and has a nice cherry-flavoured twist. Sainsbury’s Taste The Difference Cake, £16 ●●●●● Not so much taste the difference as find the flavour here, with an offering that really fails to pack any sort of punch. Tough, dry and bland. Sorry Mr Sainsbury.
CRANBERRY SAUCE
Mrs Bridges Cranberry Sauce with Port from Hopetoun Farm Shop, £1.99 ●●●●● This sauce from Mrs B is a touch sweet and sugary, but does have the advantage of whole juicy cranberries giving it a good texture.
Waitrose Essential Cranberry Sauce, £1.05 ●●●●● This sauce is a little tart, but that’s not the main problem. Rather it’s the slightly too jammy texture that (once again) stops a reasonable cranberry sauce being a great one. Sainsbury’s Taste The Difference Cranberry Sauce, £1 ●●●●● Sweet and sickly with hints of strawberries, this was a surprise guilty pleasure for our taste tasters who found it an enjoyable turkey perker.
TRUFFLES B E S T B U Y
Wicked truffles from Hopetoun Farm Shop, £3.99 ●●●●● This selection was lovely and creamy, though the dark chocolates registered proper bitterness. Just a little bit of booze coming through made these very pleasant indeed.
Peckham’s Oban Truffles, £10.95 ●●●●● There’s something in this selection for everyone, though we particularly liked the white chocolate and raspberry ones. The spicy truffles weren’t to everyone’s taste however. Thorntons Truffles, £4.99 ●●●●● The rich, dark flavour, a fudgey consistency and a cocoa coating make these truffles from Thorntons a winner on taste and texture, and gained them all-round approval from our taste team.
MINCE PIES B E S T B U Y
Peckhams Mince Pies, £1.50 (for 3) ●●●●● Fluffy pastry and a top-notch mincemeat filling make this a tasty treat from one of Scotland’s best deli staples. The pastry is heavy, but it is Christmas, so why not indulge yourself? Tesco Mince Pies, £1.50 (for 6) ●●●●● The festive cheer is a little low here with a pie that offers up rather dry pastry and somewhat flavourless mincemeat. That said, it’s far from a total disaster. And the price is bulk-buy-friendly.
Bradfords Mince Pies, 60p each ●●●●● There’s something reassuringly ‘home-made’-looking about this little culinary parcel. The mincemeat is tangy and full of flavour. A perfectly decent addition to your day.
Sainsbury’s Blanc De Blancs Champagne, £20.99 ●●●●● This is a light, if slightly uninspiring offering from Sainsbury’s, but as a reasonably priced bottle of fizz, it’s good bang for your buck. Morrisons Champagne Brut, £19.99 ●●●●● There’s something a tad confusing about the different tastes attacking the palate with this bad boy. A little tart, with a slightly smoky aftertaste, we’re not entirely convinced.
Moet And Chandon Imperial, £25.99 ●●●●● There’s a refreshing, floral bouquet to this old school pleaser from the M&C stable. But, you know, more ‘nice’, than memorable mega- bubble.
CHAMPAGNE 58 THE LIST 15 Dec–5 Jan 2012