Latest news with #tasteTest
The Sun
15 hours ago
- Business
- The Sun
The best supermarket BBQ food revealed in blind taste test including burgers and bangers
THE best supermarket BBQ food has been revealed in a blind taste test. 1 A panel of experts blind-tasted more than 140 products submitted by 12 UK supermarkets across 16 categories. All packaging is removed and the products are prepared by a home economist according to packet instructions. This is to ensure the judging is fair and unbiased. Bargain retailer Aldi won three awards, scooping best vegan sausages, BBQ meat hero, and best sharing bread. Its Specially Selected Ultimate No-Pork Sausages, were crowned the best on the market and cost £2.49. Lidl also came out on top after its antipasti platter, vegan burger, sausage rolls and quiche won were crowned the best in each category. The German discounter and the Co-op both won four awards, the most compared to any other supermarket. The member owned supermarket was a favourite for brioche buns, coleslaw and vegetarian picnic pastry. Tesco was crowned the tastiest store to pick up sausages, with its Fire Pit 7 Jumbo Cheesy BBQ Pork trumping other contenders. The UK's biggest supermarket and Sainsbury's were named joint winners for the best place to pick up burgers. I have the easiest and safest way to clean your BBQ grill - after a few wipes, it will be ready to cook again Meanwhile posh retailer Waitrose scooped the best award for hummus, while veggie burgers. Lulu Grimes, managing editor of Good Food, said: 'It's fantastic to see so much variety and quality in this year's entries from all the supermarkets. "The winning products really reflect the way people want to eat over the summer – with bold, punchy flavours and time-saving options, so you can spend more time outside enjoying the sunshine.' Full list of taste test winners Best Sausages Tesco Fire Pit 7 Jumbo Cheesy BBQ Pork Sausages (£4.75/595g) Best Vegan Sausages Aldi Specially Selected Ultimate No-Pork Sausages (£2.49/270g) Best Burger Buns Co-op Irresistible Soft & Buttery Brioche Buns (£1.95/4 pack) Best Burgers (Joint Winners) Sainsbury's Taste The Difference Dry Aged Aberdeen Angus Burgers (£4.25/pack of 2) Tesco Finest Wild Garlic Beef Burgers (£4.50/pack of 2) Best Veggie Burgers Waitrose Vegetarian Aubergine & Feta Burgers (£2.95/pack of 2) Best Vegan Burgers Lidl Vemondo Vegan Burgers (£1.89/250g) Best Meat or Fish Kebab Morrisons The Best Tandoori Chicken King Kebab Best BBQ Hero for Entertaining (Meat or Fish) Aldi Specially Selected Coronation Chicken King Kebab (£5.49) Best BBQ Hero for Entertaining (Fish or Seafood) Tesco Fire Pit Mango Coconut & Lime Fish Skewers (£3.75/6 skewers) Best Coleslaw Co-op Irresistible Deliciously Rich Coleslaw (£1.95/300g) Best Sausage Roll (Joint Winners) Co-op Irresistible Perfectly Seasoned Ploughman's Sausage Rolls (£3.50/4 pack) Lidl Chef Select Sausage Rolls (£1.69/360g) Best Vegetarian Picnic Pastry Co-op Irresistible West Country Cheddar & Habanero Chilli Jam Pinwheels (£3.50/88g) Best Picnic Centrepiece Lidl Deluxe Quiche – Maple Bacon (£2.99) Best Sharing Bread Aldi Rosemary & Rock Salt Sharing Focaccia (£1.99/220g) Best Antipasti Platter Waitrose No.1 Italian Grazing Platter (£10/380g) Best Hummus Waitrose No.1 Extra Virgin Olive Oil Houmous (£2.75/170g) How to save money on your food shop Consumer reporter Sam Walker reveals how you can save hundreds of pounds a year: Odd boxes - plenty of retailers offer slightly misshapen fruit and veg or surplus food at a discounted price. Lidl sells five kilos of fruit and veg for just £1.50 through its Waste Not scheme while Aldi shoppers can get Too Good to Go bags which contain £10 worth of all kinds of products for £3.30. Sainsbury's also sells £2 "Taste Me, Don't Waste Me" fruit and veg boxes to help shoppers reduced food waste and save cash. Food waste apps - food waste apps work by helping shops, cafes, restaurants and other businesses shift stock that is due to go out of date and passing it on to members of the public. Some of the most notable ones include Too Good to Go and Olio. Too Good to Go's app is free to sign up to and is used by millions of people across the UK, letting users buy food at a discount. Olio works similarly, except users can collect both food and other household items for free from neighbours and businesses. Yellow sticker bargains - yellow sticker bargains, sometimes orange and red in certain supermarkets, are a great way of getting food on the cheap. But what time to head out to get the best deals varies depending on the retailer. You can see the best times for each supermarket here. Super cheap bargains - sign up to bargain hunter Facebook groups like Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK where shoppers regularly post hauls they've found on the cheap, including food finds. "Downshift" - you will almost always save money going for a supermarket's own-brand economy lines rather than premium brands. The move to lower-tier ranges, also known as "downshifting" and hailed by consumer expert Martin Lewis, could save you hundreds of pounds a year on your food shop.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Australian supermarket tahini taste test: one of the worst is ‘thick enough to build a sandcastle'
This morning I made myself a tahini latte. The morning before, I mixed tahini with yoghurt and powdered ginger and poured it over my muesli. I use tahini in salad dressings, in sauces for spicy noodles, I've even put it in pesto. But until a few weeks ago, I only had the most vague idea of which tahini I liked or not (I just knew to avoid any brands in the health aisle) and I suspect I'm not the only picnic-attending hummus-maker that needs an education. I gathered 18 supermarket aisle tahinis and four reviewers (including Syrian Australian author and chef Sharon Salloum, and Tuli Keidar, a friend who came close to dedicating their life to hummus before joining the coffee industry) for a blind taste test. We tasted the tahini in two rounds, hulled first and unhulled second. Before presenting the reviewers with the tahini, we stirred each container to make sure the oil and paste had mixed together. We scored them on taste and texture, but texture was cut from the final score as the tasters decided different consistencies and mouthfeels each had valid merits and uses. As tahini is rarely eaten straight, I did an extra round on my own after the taste test, using the top- and bottom-scoring brands, as well as the most unusual, to make hummus. My thinking is if their qualities, good or bad, stand out in a hummus, they'll stand out in a sauce, dressing or whatever other mix. When I finished the taste test and checked all the jars, I was shocked to find every single one claimed to be 100% sesame seeds with nothing else added. Compliments to nature – it's extraordinary how different 18 batches of ground sesame can be. Usually here I'd try to give you a neat summary of what to look for or analyse why some scored highly and others didn't, but I found no consistency in ratios of fat to protein, country of production (I would prefer to know where the sesame is grown, but most brands don't advertise that) or best before date. The only exception was this strange fact: all the organic tahini scored badly, except for the unhulled, where the opposite was true. Al Kanater Tahini, 900g, $13.75 ($1.53 per 100g), available from Coles and select grocers Score: 8/10 I have a friend who doesn't like tahini. 'It's building material,' they say with a grimace befitting a morgue intern. What would they think of this? It's thin, luscious and pours out of the jar like warm honey. On top of that, it tastes as though it was made yesterday – just a simple, clean nutty flavour with barely any bitterness to oppose it. It makes a silky hummus and might even convince my partner it's a worthwhile inclusion to a cumin-drenched roast eggplant pasta or whatever other midweek experimental meal I make. Spiral Foods Organic Tahini Hulled, 375g, $8.99 ($2.40 per 100g), available from select grocers Score: 7.5/10 Based on nothing but prejudice against 'health foods', I assumed every unhulled product would be joyless, impractically thick and bitter, like the guys in manosphere podcasts turned into goop. I was wrong about one of those things. While bitter and hard to distribute, they all carried this intense, savoury flavour, as if a few drops of soy and sesame oil had been mixed into a very dark roast tahini. Of the four unhulled tahini, this was the most intense version. 'Every flavour dialled up … strange to taste something so toasted and it's not crunchy,' wrote one reviewer. There's a lot of joy to be had in that. Oh So Natural Organic Hulled Tahini, 375g, $4.79 ($1.28 per 100g), available from Aldi Score: 6/10 Not all of the tahini had wild, differentiating flavours warranting wine label poetry; some just tasted like tahini. This was one. Reviewers described it as slightly sweet, bitter, wheaty, thick and sticky. 'Feels like a textbook tahini but a little too bitter for how unmemorable this flavour is,' wrote one reviewer, seemingly doing my job for me. Of all the 14 hulled products, it was the highest-scoring organic tahini. I was proud to see my guess 'tastes cheap' turn out to be true. Al Wadi Tahini, 454g, $6.60 ($1.45 per 100g), available from select grocers Score: 7.5/10 If Aldi wanted to create a slightly cheaper version of Al Kanater, this is what I imagine they'd come up with. It's similarly thin but while the taste test winner feels like a velvety, pure sesame experience, this feels as though it has been watered down. Or oiled down? Along with the texture being a little slippery, the aftertaste is buttery (two reviewers said it was peanut butter-y). My guess is the difference in protein and fat. Al Kanater was the highest-protein tahini of the day (the presence of protein likely means more flavour-enhancing amino acids), while Al Wadi had the highest fat content of the day. Buttery, nutty and smooth, I'm thrilled with that. Mezzabibi Tahini, 1kg, $19.60 ($1.96 per 100g), available from select grocers Score: 7/10 One of the surprises of the taste test was finding out there was no relationship between viscosity and clagginess. I assumed the thicker the tahini the more likely it was to turn your mouth into a swamp but here we have a thin, silky tahini that hangs on to the top of your mouth like toffee made in a glue stick. That's no complaint – it's a normal part of the tahini experience. What I care about is the flavour. It's a little more salty and savoury than its competitors but still on the mild end compared with something like Kalaajieh (below). Sign up to Saved for Later Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips after newsletter promotion Carwari Organic Black Tahini Unhulled, 375g, $9.99 ($2.66 per 100g), available from select grocers Score: 6.5/10 I wonder what the reviewers would have written if this was a blindfolded tasting. As the colour is pitch black, like an edible horror film prop, it stands out. Surely that affected our reviews. But while there is a distinct aroma, the flavour isn't markedly different from other unhulled tahinis other than it being a little less intense and maybe a bit peppery and sweet. For those thinking of making experimental hummus, it's as usable as other unhulled tahini – you'll just end up with an office-carpet grey. I will be experimenting at home to see what hulled versions are like. Kalaajieh Tahine Extra, 450g, $6.50 ($1.44 per 100g), available from Coles and select grocers Score: 6/10 Based on a recommendation from a man I met in the aisle of an Afghan grocer in 2018, I've bought this tahini many times but I'd never noticed how much it tastes like olive brine. It's not notes of olive brine, either – it tastes smoky, bitter and fruity, just like an olive. All of the reviewers agreed. One of them, having recently picked, brined and eaten a large amount of olives, said it was unmistakable in smell and taste. Another reviewer wrote: 'Very unexpected, very distinct tahini. Hard to believe it's just sesame seeds!' I like it but, due to the crime of comparison it's no longer what I want in a tahini. Green Hill Tahina, 908g, $13 ($14.3 per 100g), available from Coles and select grocers Score: 6/10 Like fish eyes, ghosting or seeing your celebrity crush dressed as your greatest fear, this is going to be appealing to some, unnerving to others – or, if you're like me, a bit of both. The division in this group was caused by the tahini's acidity. Tahini shouldn't be particularly sour. It was slight and I didn't mind it but others accused it of being metallic, oily and unlike sesame in smell or taste. In a sauce, hummus or anything else with acidity added in, you're not going to notice. Mayver's Hulled Tahini, 385g, $6.50 ($1.69 per 100g), available from major supermarkets Score: 5.5/10 Like Kalaajieh, this has the same bitter olive flavour, but worse; it's as if the fat from the seeds has aged beyond the range of deliciousness. It's also impractically thick and comes with a pool of oil on top – that's fine, many tahinis separate on the shelf, you just need to mix them before you use it, I hear you saying. Sadly, few of us will have the forearm strength or stamina to actually do it. The unhulled version from the same brand was one of the only tahinis to outmatch this product in thickness. It was so thick, I held a bowl of it upside down and it just hung there without dripping. I imagined someone throwing it on to my ceiling: unless I scraped it off, it might live there for ever. Macro Organic Hulled Tahini, 375g, $5 ($1.33 per 100g), available from Woolworths Score: 4/10 In the tahini world, this is pretty much my nemesis. Like many products made with a goal that isn't deliciousness, it's found in the health food aisle despite being no more or less healthy than any other tahini on this list. Before you even eat it, you have to spend a minute working the oil and solids through couples therapy. Even if you have the patience to make it to the end, you still have a paste thick enough to build a sandcastle. For me, it's too bitter to use in hummus (or much else) and too gritty and dry to bake with. What is the point of it other than convincing people tahini should be stocked in the building material section? Gaganis Hulled Tahini, 375g, $7 ($1.87 per 100g), available from Coles Score: 4/10 Many of the reviewer scorecards read the same. The first comment is about the tahini having a slight sweetness. Next is the recognition of the olive taste from previous tahinis. Then there's the aftertaste, which one reviewer describes as 'a very particular mustiness, like old powdered spices that have lost their flavour'. Other comments included 'tastes artificial' and 'like you'd eat in wartime'. Chef's Choice Stone Ground Tahini 5/10 Coles Wellness Road Organic Hulled Tahini 5.5/10 Macro Organic Unhulled Tahini 6.5/10 Mayver's Unhulled Tahini 5/10 Melissa Organic Sesame Tahini 5.5/10 Melissa Sesame Tahini 4.5/10 Spiral Foods Organic Unhulled Tahini 5.5/10
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
I Asked 4 Chefs To Name the Best Fast Food French Fries, and Their Top Pick Wasn't McDonald's
Four professional chefs evaluated fast food French fries based on texture, seasoning, and temperature. One unexpected chain impressed every chef and came out as the unanimous the Golden Arches gets a lot of glory for its secret sauce, Coke, and even ketchup, McDonald's might be most lauded for its incredibly popular French fries. Despite this, the chain actually finished second in our fast food French fry taste test last year, inspiring us to ask another highly qualified group of experts for their opinion. Want to find out where four top chefs stand on the piping-hot side dish debate? Ahead, we're dishing up the qualities that chefs from coast to coast look for in a French fry, and then we'll reveal their unanimous choice for the best fast food French fry—and the best sauces to dip them in. Matt Ayala, executive chef at Francois Frankie in Chicago, Illinois Elliot Bell, chef-owner of Charlie's in St. Helena, California Dominic Iannarelli, chef-owner of Prime & Providence in West Des Moines, Iowa Vivek Surti, founder and owner of Tailor in Nashville, Tennessee From how thick the potatoes are sliced, to whether they're "potato only" (or a blend of potatoes with seasonings and preservatives), to the cut (crinkle, waffle, steak, etc.), the fast food French fry landscape is vast and varied. Admittedly, a fair amount of the choice of which French fry is 'best' boils down to personal preference, but bland and soggy fries are out of the running. These three qualities qualify a French fry to be considered the best in fast food: Crispiness. 'Texture is the biggest quality that I look for in fast food French fries. The best fries are crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and seasoned to perfection,' Bell says. Seasoning. As our recipe for the Best Potatoes You'll Ever Taste proves, potatoes are a blank slate for whatever flavors you add, and enough salt is key when it comes to the fried variety. Temperature. At his American brasserie, Francois Frankie, Ayala serves fries alongside menu items including a Lobster Roll, Le Cheeseburger Royale, a Prime Steak Burger, and Braised Short Rib Dip. 'Even though the fries are secondary, I make sure they are always served hot and crispy to balance the integrity of the entire dish,' Ayala says. Lukewarm or cold fries simply don't compare. 'A lot of people love McDonald's fries, but if they are cold, they're a huge letdown,' Ayala adds. For the ultimate experience, fries should be savored hot. With runner-up honors going to both McDonald's and Rally's/Checkers, our four chefs unanimously selected Arby's curly fries as the best fast food French fries. 'Arby's is the best,' Surti says. 'First, they're curly, so they're automatically more fun. The seasoning they add to the curly fries is more than just salt, so there's more flavor. Arby's also puts their curly fries through a batter, which results in more texture and bits that get crispy.' The curly quality isn't just fun, though. It increases the surface area of the fries, which leads to more real estate for crispiness and seasoning. Part of the pleasure comes from the novelty, according to Iannarelli. 'Arby's seasoned curly fries are my favorite because so few places have them.' While the chain is in 48 states, it's not as prolific as some other fast food fry slingers like McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's. But it's also about the quality. Bell and Ayala agree that they deliver on that 'fast food French fry trifecta' of texture, seasoning, and temperature. 'They always come out hot and crispy,' Ayala says. 'This is a must.' While they're good on their own, curly fries are even better dunked in any of Arby's sauces. Here are the top five dips to grab, according to our chefs: Horsey Sauce: For the uninitiated, this is horseradish-flavored. Ketchup: 'I like fries and ketchup,' Surti says. 'It's a classic.' Ranch: Arby's recipe is a buttermilk ranch that brings a comforting flavor, a pleasant, well-rounded tang, and an excellent "dips-cocity.' Cheddar Cheese Sauce: This costs an extra 50 cents, but is more than worth it, Iannarelli says. Arby's Sauce: This recipe reminds us of a mash-up of ketchup and barbecue sauce—sweet and slightly smoky with a vinegary bite that beautifully cuts through the richness of fried foods. Read the original article on ALLRECIPES
The Sun
6 days ago
- Lifestyle
- The Sun
I tried supermarket Coca-Cola dupes – the 49p winner tastes identical to the real thing
COCA-COLA is one of the biggest and well-known brands on the planet. And even though many of us worry about the effect of the sugar hit on our waistlines, sales are still going strong. 8 In 2024, the company's global net sales increased by 3% to £37.9billion. Supermarkets have struggled to recreate the iconic taste but cola 'dupes' are getting better every day. The question is - are any of them good enough to satisfy your cola craving? Lynsey Hope finds out: Sainsbury's Cola (2 litres) 80p This looked darker in colour than most colas and wasn't strong or fizzy enough. There was no satisfying "psst" as you opened the bottle and no bubbles as you poured. It needed more cola punch and went flat quite quickly after pouring into the glass, though the sweetness was about right. Drinkable, but no match for Coca-Cola. Taste: 3/5 Value: 3/5 Total: 6/10 TikTok's viral protein Diet Coke trend explained Why doctors warn against mixing protein into your cola Morrisons Cola (2 litres) 80p Morrisons ' version was unoffensive and easy to drink. It was pleasant enough, sweet without being sickly and boasted a nice cola taste. It had a good fizz when you unscrewed the cap and was bubbly to drink. It's not as good as the original, but with ice and a slice it was passable and a good, family size bottle. My kids tried a bit - and enjoyed it. Taste: 4/5 Value: 3/5 Total: 7/10 Lidl Freeway Cola (2 litres) 49p If you need to save cash on cola, this dark caramel-coloured pop compares very well to the real deal. It is very sugary and sticks in the mouth a bit, but the sweetness level and aroma are almost identical to the market leader. It's very wallet-friendly, costing just 49p for two litres. Side by side in a glass, it's quite tricky to tell the difference between this and the original but the great price means you can enjoy more of it. Taste: 4/5 Value: 5/5 Total: 9/10 Coca-Cola Original (1.25 litres) 80p There is no mistaking the caramel taste and punchy cola flavour of the original. But it is very expensive - costing 80p for a bottle containing 750ml less than most of the own brands. It also packs a mighty sugar hit, with 10.6g per 100ml which is not good news for your teeth or your waistline. Taste: 5/5 Value: 3/5 Total: 8/10 Tesco Classic Cola (2 litres) 80p The Tesco cola was loaded with artificial sweeteners including acefulfame k and sucralose which gave it an overly sweet and sickly taste. It was treacle-like in colour and tasted unpleasant. It was less sugary than some as a result with just 4.4g of sugar per 100ml, so it might be an option if you're cutting sugar intake. But I felt it left my mouth dry and wasn't at all refreshing. Leave this one on the shelf. Taste: 2/5 Value: 2/5 Total: 4/10 Aldi Vive Cola (2 litres) 49p If you get through a bottle of branded cola a week, switching to Aldi Vive could save you over £16 in a year - and you get more in the bottle for your money. I thought it was the best budget option cola. It had the right strength of cola flavour with a punchy taste and the right amount of sweetness and fizz. It will save you a packet compared to the big brands. Taste: 3/5 Value: 5/5 Total: 8/10 Asda Classic Cola (2 litres) 70p This is a great all-rounder with no artificial sweeteners, and could save you a lot if you guzzle through litres of the big brand. Not only is it better value than many big supermarkets including Tesco and Sainsbury's, but it has a lovely smooth taste and is easier on the palate than other budget options. It's a very dark caramel colour and had plenty of gas to keep it carbonated in the glass. Taste: 4/5 Value: 3/5 Total: 7/10 How to save money on your supermarket shop THERE are plenty of ways to save on your grocery shop. You can look out for yellow or red stickers on products, which show when they've been reduced. If the food is fresh, you'll have to eat it quickly or freeze it for another time. Making a list should also save you money, as you'll be less likely to make any rash purchases when you get to the supermarket. Going own brand can be one easy way to save hundreds of pounds a year on your food bills too. This means ditching "finest" or "luxury" products and instead going for "own" or value" type of lines. Plenty of supermarkets run wonky veg and fruit schemes where you can get cheap prices if they're misshapen or imperfect. For example, Lidl runs its Waste Not scheme, offering boxes of 5kg of fruit and vegetables for just £1.50. If you're on a low income and a parent, you may be able to get up to £442 a year in Healthy Start vouchers to use at the supermarket too. Plus, many councils offer supermarket vouchers as part of the Household Support Fund.
News.com.au
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Influencer's ‘entitled' supermarket act enrages onlookers
In the age of TikTok, influencers are known for their rather unique content creation methods, but one recent video has left onlookers really scratching their heads. The clip, which has gone viral, features influencer Meliss Milan taste-testing a Pandan cake in the fridge section of a Woolworths, while a bemused shopper attempts to grab an item from the shelf she's blocking. Ms Milan took to the video sharing platform to share her latest product find with her followers. 'I am obsessed with Pandan,' she declared, holding up the cake for the camera. 'I got this Pandan Swiss cake, so we're going to give it a go.' As she unwrapped the packaging, she explained, 'I am inside Woolies as we came to get a chocolate mudcake too'. Ms Milan's taste test began with her describing the cake as 'very coconutty, creamy,' and 'so light'. However, her review was cut short when a man, clearly on a mission to grab his own dessert, interrupted her. Ms Milan awkwardly smiled at the camera before stepping aside, allowing the shopper to reach for his item. The onlooker's perspective Meanwhile, another shopper, @codah_h, captured the scene from a distance, dubbing it an 'influencer in real life'. His video shows Ms Milan with her phone propped up against the fridge railing, filming herself in selfie mode. An older man, visibly puzzled, attempts to navigate around her to access the products. 'Of all the places to make a video,' @codah_h remarked, adding in the comments, 'I'm appalled at you being in this man's way when he was just trying to get some dessert'. People weigh in The video was immediately flooded with comments, with many expressing their second-hand embarrassment. 'This is so embarrassing! How is she not embarrassed?' one person questioned. Another added, 'Yeah there's a time and a place … And this isn't it'. 'She couldn't wait until she got home?' one person asked, while others labelled the situation as 'cooked', 'entitled', and 'cringe'. A particularly irked commenter noted, 'It's common KNOWLEDGE to maybe not record in a public place where people need to be able to grab things?' Others empathised with the other shopper, saying, 'Get out of that poor man's way,' and 'I dislike when people are in my way while they're SHOPPING. This would next level irritate me'. Defence for the influencer Despite the backlash, the influencer had her defenders. 'To be fair, she didn't see him … and she moved as soon as he came up to her. You're acting like she stayed in his way after noticing him. It's not that deep,' one person argued. Another chimed in, 'All she was doing was recording a video, harmless. What's embarrassing is all the people jumping on the hate train, not her'. Finally, one fan eloquently encouraged Ms Milan to 'Stay unbothered queen'.
