If you’re looking for ‘experts’ to taste test chocolate, where better to go than the school gate? After all everyone knows that it’s a scientific fact that women not only want but actually need chocolate. Or at least if it isn’t it should be.

They may not be nerdy connoisseurs, but if the mummies say it’s yummy, that’s good enough for me. So the other day when doing the school pick up, I brought along bags containing small pieces of these three high cocoa chocolates, marked simply A, B and C, and held an impromptu tasting session.

Fifteen people tasted, thirteen mummies, one teacher (who is also a mummy!) and one daddy, and this is how it came out.

Chocolate A: Green & Black 70%

Price: €2.90 for 100g

This came last. I admit I was surprised as I like it and often buy it. Others were equally surprised when it was revealed which was which.

The one person who liked it best liked it a lot but several people had a “yuck” or “This tastes weird” reaction - which nobody had to either of the other two.

Origin: No country specified, but website states cocoa beans mostly come from Belize and the Dominican Republic

Organic? Yes Fair Trade? No

Cocoa Beans: Trinitario.

Ingredients: Organic Cocoa Mass, Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Cocoa Butter, Emulsifier: Soya Lecithin, Organic Vanilla Extract.

Nutrition (per 100g): 551 kcal; Protein: 9.3g; Carbohydrate: 36g; Fat: 41.1g.

Chocolate B: Lidl’s 70% Ecuador Chocolate

Price: €1.49 for 100g

This was the favourite one for six people. Several people asked for second samples in order to finally decide between this one and C - or at least that’s why they said they wanted more!

Whatever about it’s popularity with these tasters, there is no doubt that Lidl shoppers love this chocolate. It is recently often sold out and when a box is opened it disappears very, very fast.

Origin: Los Rios, Ecuador.

Organic? No Fair Trade? No

Cocoa Beans: Arriba.

Ingredients: Cocoa Mass, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Emulsifying agent: Soya Lecithin, vanilla.

Nutrition (per 100g): 533 kcal; Protein: 7.6g; Carbohydrate: 31g; Fat: 42g.

Chocolate C: Lidl’s Fair Trade Dark Choclate (70%)

Price: €1.49 for 100g

The narrow but decisive winner, with eight people choosing it as the tastiest. Most of those who found it hard to choose between B and C, and took a second taste of each, plumped in the end for this one.

This was the only chocolate of the three that anyone described as tasting creamy, which strikes me as odd as it’s got the lowest fat content and is the only one with no vanilla, so I’d have expected it to be the most ‘dark’ tasting.

Origin: Ghana.

Organic? No Fair Trade? Yes

Cocoa Beans: Not Specified.

Ingredients: Cocoa Mass, Cane Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Emulsifier: Soya Lecithin.

Nutrition (per 100g): 525 kcal; Protein: 7.7g; Carbohydrate: 33.1g; Fat: 40.2g.

Which one is my favourite? I like them all but probably would go with the majority and pick the Lidl Fair Trade. But my favourite chocolate of all remains the ultra dark 85% cocoa from Green & Black.

Tags: Chocolate, Taste Test
Posted in Chocolate, Taste Test | 11 Comments »

I remember years ago, and I mean maybe 25 years ago or more, being at some do or other where beautiful salmon sandwiches were served, fresh tasty salmon, soft bread, a little mayo. Perfect. But one women cast her’s aside with a disgusted snort: “I don’t know what rubbish they have in those but it certainly isn’t John West Red!“.

We’ve come a long way in Ireland from the days when salmon more or less always came in a tin, its quality judged by the depth of its colour.

I’m a pretty dedicated consumer of many of Lidl’s frozen fish offerings, but although I’ve been told by several people that the Admiral range of tinned fish was also excellent, almost as good as fresh, I’d never tried any. So last week I bought a tin for the first time, specifically the ‘Nature’ (ie unflavoured) Salmon, which cost €2.39.

The tin looked promising with a nice looking piece of salmon pictured on it. When I opened it though, it was a different story.

A greyish looking and very unappetising chunk of fish lay in a cloudy brine inside. Ok, I thought, maybe grey salmon is good. It’s probably just the effect of the brine and it means there is no dye or anything, which is a plus.

So into a bowl it went with some mayo, chopped scallions, a squeeze of lemon and a shake of paprika. Much better. Now it at least looked edible, even tasty. I tucked in……..

It certainly isn’t John West Red. The dog really, really liked it. I won’t be buying it again.

Tags: Fish, Salmon, Taste Test
Posted in Taste Test | 5 Comments »

Lidl’s standard Olive Oil is very cheap - €3.99 for a litre. However, while it’s fine for cooking with, it isn’t really of a high enough standard or an interesting enough character that I’d use it for salads or in any situation where the flavour of the oil really mattered.

It claims to be an Extra Virgin Olive Oil but to be honest I’m not really convinced.

I’m totally convinced by a current special buy however, part of an Italian food promotion. This is a monoculture oil made entirely from Italian Bosana Olives, costs €4.49 for 500mls, and is a real bargain.

It’s a light, soft oil with a mellow flavour and a slight peppery after taste. It may not pack the mighty punch that some expensive oils do or have their strength of character, but then you don’t always want that sort of oil.

The mild but distinctive flavour and light texture make this a perfect oil to use as a dressing on salads - it adds to the flavour of the other ingredients without overwhelming them.

It would also be great served in a bowl for dipping good bread into or drizzled over meat or fish just before serving. This isn’t an oil I’d cook with - real Extra Virgin never is and this seems to me to be the real thing.

I suspect that this oil will sell fast and there is generally only limited stock of these sort of specials - so don’t hang about too long before getting yourself some.

Try it with a tomato, mozzerella and basil salad - a typical dish of Sardinia which is where the Bosana olive comes from - the combination is a match made in heaven.

This is one of the simplest as well as the tastiest dishes in the world, just slice the tomato and mozzarella and tear up some basil leaves. Arrange the lot on a plate, drizzle with the olive oil and season with black pepper. 2 minutes tops.

This was lunch today. Everything except the basil came from Lidl. It was very, very good.

Tags: Bargains, Best Buys, Olive Oil, Recipes, Salad, Specials, Taste Test, Tomato
Posted in Best Buys, Taste Test | No Comments »