Biscuit Blog: Fox's Crunch Creams - Ginger

Fox's Crunch Creams - Ginger

I should have put a size indicator next to these biscuits as, in common with other biscuits I have seen from Fox's these are small.  The packet is short and the diameter of the biscuits is probably about two-thirds of the size of the average ginger nut I have reviewed here.  I did not include a picture of these biscuits on edge, but in fact, as you can see from the packet, these are sandwich biscuits, i.e. like a Custard Cream or a Bourbon, they consist of two biscuits joined by a smooth filling.

Aside from the size another challenge is the lack of ginger flavour in the biscuits.  They have the appearance, texture and snap of a usual Ginger Nut, but lack the flavour.  They are very plain biscuits.  As a result, it is the filling which gives these biscuits most of their flavour.  Perhaps surprisingly the filling is lemon.  It is not too sharp, and would counter-point a good ginger flavour but that is absent, so the biscuit flavour overall ends up imbalanced.  These are not terrible biscuits, but they do not really offer what they promise.  If you want this flavour then you would be better off with a standard Custard Cream, or, perhaps better, get two typical Ginger Nuts and spread lemon curd between them.

Rating:
*****

Biscuit Blog: McVitie's Ginger Nuts

McVitie's Ginger Nuts

McVitie's was the brand most hit by the flooding in Cumbria which caused biscuit shortages in the early part of this year.  However, supplies are now back to normal.  As regular readers know I tend to shop in discount supermarkets and buy own brands.  This does not stop others bringing brand named products into the house or as in this case giving them to me directly.  These ginger nuts are reasonable.  However, they lack the snap that I look for in this kind of biscuit.  They are almost soft to the bite, though not to the extent that the Tesco's ones I sampled earlier this year were; these are certainly not powdery.  The upfront taste has a lemony tang and you only get a real ginger bite in the aftertaste.  They serve their purpose without being outstanding.

Rating:
*****

Biscuit Blog: Tower Gate Ginger Nuts

Tower Gate Ginger Nuts

These were one of the brands of ginger biscuits that seem to have been hit by the biscuit shortage earlier this year so I was glad to find them back in circulation.  For a discount supermarket these are very good biscuits.  They have what you are looking for in a ginger nut - a good snap, a clean not powdery texture and a good flavour. These have the gingeriness that I am looking for, not as sharp as the Hall ones I tried last month.  I think these are a very good biscuit, though a little small in diameter, you get a lot in a packet as can be seen above.  For me they lacked moreishness but as certainly well above many ginger nuts I have been tasting recently.

Rating:
*****

Biscuit Blog: Hall Ginger Nuts

Hall Ginger Nuts

I bought these from Asda at the height of the ginger nut shortage earlier this year.  They were the last packet left.  I have not come across Hill as a company before, though it is clear that they are well established.  I am glad that I did try these as they are good ginger nuts.  They have a really sharp snap to them and they do not powder in the way inferior ginger nuts do.  They have a crisp flavour with a clear ginger tang to them.  I notice that they say that they have a hint of lemon in the flavour and I think that adds to the tang which is what you are looking for in ginger nuts.  My only complaint is that they are smaller than equivalent biscuits of this type.  However, they are of sufficient quality that I would buy Hall biscuits again.

Rating:

*****

Biscuit Blog: Biscuit Shortage!

I could not continue producing my biscuit blog postings without noting that Britain is currently in a biscuit shortage.  This is the result of flooding even before  http://www.cityam.com/230293/storm-desmond-carlisle-floods-close-united-biscuits-mcvities-factory-as-army-drafted-in-and-cobra-meetng-called-to-handle-flood-fallout of a large United Biscuits factory in Carlisle.  This produces biscuits branded as McVities and Carr's.  The largest impact seems to have been on ginger biscuits which are in short supply even now, two months after the initial flooding: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35482789  This has provoked uproar on local radio stations even in southern England and on the dreadful Mumsnet which exists for indignant people.  I had noticed the shortage of ginger nuts even own brand ones in Lidl, Tesco and Asda as people deprived of the brand names have clearly switched to others and have stripped shops of them.  It does show how vulnerable we are to simply one factory going down.  I think Lidl has missed a trick, it should have shipped in more speculoos biscuits from the continent; instead they have just added more digestives where the ginger nuts used to be.  My sympathies go out to all of you unable to get your favourite biscuits but I will be holding on to my small supply of them extra carefully until the crisis is over.

P.P. 06/03/2016
The BBC has an update outlining that the biscuit shortage is likely to be coming steadily to an end over the next few weeks: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-35696027

Biscuit Blog: Tesco Everyday Value Ginger Nuts

Tesco Everyday Value Ginger Nuts

As this biscuit blog builds up, I will be comparing the same type of biscuits from different UK stores.  I do not know whether I can bring myself to compared digestives between the different shops, I may leave that to my mother.  However, ginger 'nuts' as they are termed are certainly on the cards as will be rich tea and malted milk biscuits.  Though the sampling will naturally be spread out over weeks, even months, you can link through to all the relevant postings as I am carefully tagging each of them at the bottom.  This allows you to compare what I say about the nature of the same type of biscuit sold in different stores.

This week I have strayed beyond Lidl to Tesco where the woman in my house primarily shops.  These are the large packets of Everyday Value Ginger Nuts.  It says on the side that they have '30 servings' by which I assume they mean 30 biscuits, though I rarely eat single biscuits, usually I count two biscuits as a 'serving'.

I do like the mid-1960s styling of Tesco products introduced 2-3 years ago.  Marks & Spencer did something similar.  For someone of my generation these are very nostalgic as in the early 1970s this seemed a 'classic' styling, so I guess it is ideal for targeting people in their 40s and 50s.  These biscuits are alright especially for a value brand.  They are small in diameter and do not have a satisfying gingery flavour or an after taste which you would expect from a ginger biscuit whether of the nut or stem ginger variety.  They also lack a really good snap when bitten, but avoid being powdery like some of the worst ginger nuts,  They could be a 2½-star biscuit, but lack the tang you can even find in some cheap versions.  They do their job which I suppose is all you can ask for from a value version biscuit.

Rating:
*****