Here in the UK we take nutrition very seriously. From an early age, we’re taught about the three major food groups: Lager, Marmite & Jaffa Cakes.
Jaffa Cakes are of course the most important of the three. Many Brits have been known to go for days without lager. Some people even claim not to like Marmite. But we are all fed Jaffa Cakes daily from the day we are born.
Erm. At least that’s how it went in the dream I had last night.
For those of you unfamiliar with this delicacy, Jaffa Cakes are thin sponge ‘cakes’ with a disc of orangey jelly on top, covered in milk chocolate. I use the word ‘cakes’ in quotes, because there is still some debate about whether or they are in fact cakes or biscuits (that’s cookies for our American readers).
McVitie’s have always classed Jaffa Cakes as cakes, but in 1991 they were taken to court by HM Customs & Excise who claimed they were actually biscuits. (No, I’m not making this bit up, honest.)
In the UK, cakes are classed as luxury items and are not subject to VAT (sales tax), but biscuits are. Given the fact most Brits are addicted to Jaffa Cakes, customs felt they were losing a lot of revenue.
Thankfully McVitie’s won the case, so we can all feed our addiction without breaking the bank. Yay!
It’s difficult to tell what makes Jaffa Cakes so moreish. When you actually look at them, they’re not that special. A thin, rather dry sponge, a disc of artifical orange jelly and a very thin layer of chocolate. Very simple.
For me, I think it’s the fact they’re so light and they orangey bit is, as McVitie’s say themselves, rather smashing. The chocolate is almost imperceptible, and as far as I can tell , its only purpose it to keep the orangey bit in.
But none of that matters. Jaffa Cakes are simply yummy. Go buy some. Now.
When I was a wee nipper, Fry’s Turkish Delight was about as exotic and sophisticated as you could get on the confectionary aisle. The television advertisements were full of exotic beauties (probably hailing from Ipswich, but hey, they had jewels in their belly buttons so to a kid that was as good as a Turkish princess – not quite sure why they always had to be buried in sand by the end though). So it was with some excitement that I brought home a Turkish Delight from Tescos earlier this week.
The packaging claims that it is “full of eastern promise” and that the bar is still “as good as ever”. The latter statement triggers my inner cynic for a short while, especially as it’s an old favourite relaunched by Cadbury, but I’m lured back by the luxurious look of the metallic purple/pink of the wrapping.
On opening the wrapper though, I’m disappointed. What is revealed is a bland rectangular slab, measuring 6cm x 4cm x 1cm and with 4 ridges on the top – just like you’d find on countless numbers of chocolate bars on the market. Its competition has moved on – it no longer looks the rich sophisticate. As you can see from the photo, the chocolate was cracked on mine – a problem endemic with the crisp layer of chocolate on a flexible filling (yes, I’ve now eaten several of these – the extremes I go to for proper chocolate research… I hope you’re impressed).
My nostalgia somewhat tempered, I bite into the bar. I’m immediately impressed with the crunch of a generous layer of proper Cadbury milk chocolate – and let’s face it, in the milk chocolate stakes there’s not much that beats Cadbury’s. The interior takes a little more getting used to. The filling in a Turkish Delight is far removed from “real” turkish delight. Imagine instead a firm jelly flavoured with the essence of rose and overdosed with sugar and you won’t be far off. It is pretty sickly.
Oddly though, once you’re used to it, the combination works. Maybe it’s my die-hard sweet tooth which always gets in a “shall I have chocolate, shall I have some sweets?” dilemma which is nicely eradicated in the one bar. Maybe it’s just nostalgia winning out over common sense. Either way, I’m looking forward to the next one.
There may well be many more exotic and sophisticated chocolate bars in the confectionary aisle these days, and to be perfectly fair, I have to state that Fry’s Turkish Delight can no longer compete in those lofty circles. But it’s still a pleasant little bar, above the norm of your every day chocolate snack, and highly recommended to sugar-holics.
There are certain chocolates I loved when I was a kid that I still love now, but feel slightly awkward buying — simply because I’m not 10 any more.
Luckily, now I have an excuse. I’m a chocolate reviewer! I have to buy them! It’s the law!
Amongst my childhood favourites were Milky Way, Curly Wurly and these – Revels. I’m not entirely sure why I like them. I think it’s because you never quite know what you’re going to get in a packet of Revels.
For those of you that have never had them, Revels are a small bag of assorted milk chocolates with different centres. You get a random mix of orange cream, coffee cream, caramel, chocolate raisins, chocolate buttons and Maltesers.
But the catch is that it’s very difficult to tell exactly what you’re eating until you bite into it.
As a kid, one of my favourite games was to make a friend who couldn’t stand coffee eat Revels. A one-in-six chance of making a friend horribly ill is an incredibly satisfying game for a ten year old. And a thirty six year old, come to that.
The current UK TV ads for Revels play on this, featuring two guys engaged in a rather surreal game of Revels Russian Roulette. It’s exactly how I remember it.
Personally though, I like them all. My only complaint is that there aren’t enough orange ones. I want more orange Revels! Do you hear me!?
I’ve always loved dark chocolate, and this is Green & Black’s 70% exception. I can’t understand how some people claim not to like it. I can only think they’re eating it wrong.
Good quality dark chocolate should be eaten slowly and allowed to melt in the mouth one chunk at a time. It’s about flavour and texture, not quantity.
Which is why I bought the biggest bar of this I could. Green & Black’s Dark is 70% cocoa solids & cocoa butter. Apparently the cocoa butter is there to coat each individual cocoa and sugar particle, allowing the chocolate to melt beautifully and cleanly in the mouth, revealing intense, bittersweet chocolate aromas. Well it certainly works for me.
The chocolate is smooth without the ‘grainy’ texture that dark chocolate sometimes has, and the flavour is divine. Not too bitter, not too sweet.
Green & Black’s (now owned by Cadbury) make all their chocolate from organically grown beans. I have no idea if this is what makes the chocolate so delicious, or if it’s just that they keep their products simple and take a genuine pride in producing high quality chocolate.
Whatever their secret, it works for me. Highly recommended.
PS. If anyone from Green & Black’s is reading this, do feel free to send us some samples to review. Please. 😉
