Tesco FreeFrom gluten free Hot Cross Buns

I know it is only January, but an idle look at the the Free From section in Tesco and I spotted Hot Cross buns, a traditional food at Easter.  They are wheat, gluten and milk free.  They have eggs in and cannot be guaranteed nut free due to manufacturing conditions.  I note that the dried fruit doesn't have any sulphites, so this is good for those of you that can't handle these.

They come in four separate pouches with a shelf life of a couple of weeks from when I bought them.  I didn't stop to check and see if there were any others with a longer best by date.

As usual slice in half and grill for best effect.  The photo of the buns slathered in butter isn't my portion - I kept mine dairy free.  I showed these as I think they have a touch too much clove in the mixed spice if eaten plain.  I suspect the recipe developer assumed people would eat them with some sort of butter-type topping.

These are a good addition to the available food.  My taster with the sensitive palate and love of dairy said it would be hard to tell them from wheat hot cross buns and thought people wouldn't notice if they weren't told.  If I had made them I would have wanted them to be a touch less dense, but they were very reasonable and conveniently packaged for a mixed household or travel.

Tesco FreeFrom Cheese and tomato frozen gluten free pizza

I spotted these pizzas in the freezer today while I was picking up Tesco FreeFrom fish fingers. I find making my own pizzas so quick and easy that they take hardly any more time than opening a tin of soup, but was curious to find out what these would be like.

You need to let the pizza thaw for ten minutes before cooking in a hot oven, and then bake for about twelve minutes.  They are done when the cheese melts and begins to go brown.  I added some extra toppings to the pizza before cooking - they don't come with pineapple, pepperoni and olives.

The pizza had plenty of mozzarella cheese on so you get that traditional stringy cheese look when you cut the pizza.  I took lactase pills with my lunch as I would not normally eat anything with much dairy in.

The base held together, wasn't claggy or dry, and would be easy to eat as finger food as well as with knife and fork.  I found it a bit flabby straight out of the oven so put it on a hot griddle for a couple of minutes to crisp it, which gave it a texture I preferred.

The tomato topping is a bit bland.  I presume it has been formulated to please kids, and has no herby taste to me.  I sprinkled mixed Italian herbs on top and Rod squirted barbecue sauce on his slice to give it more flavour.

This pizza was pretty good, and the base a lot better than those in the pantry section that I tried before.  If I was to use them again I would add more flavourings before cooking and start the pizza on my griddle pan and then put in the hot oven the way I do when baking my own pizza.  The dough has several plant gums in to hold it together but not xanthum. It is made from maize flour.

Overall I think this is a good pizza.  You could add any flavourings you like, and so it could suit almost anyone.  It cost £2.50 and could easily feed two or three people.  If three people shared it each would have 270 calories.

Christmas dinner stress-buster; Tesco ready-made gf turkey gravy

When I catered for large parties with the full turkey, eight vegetables, two types of potatoes etc. I used to buy two turkeys.  I would cook one the previous week and use the bones to make stock so that the gravy would be a minimum effort activity once the main turkey was cooked- I'd just add the stock to the gooey brown mess at the bottom of the roasting dish, give it a quick stir on the stove, and that would be it.

 With a big kitchen and  large chest freezer this sort of catering was easy.  Now I live in a flat I am looking for space as well as effort saving techniques.  While I was shopping today I noticed an array of ready-made gravy, thickened with cornflour.  I decided to test this tonight with a roast chicken and vegetables.

cold gravy

Th gravy can be heated in the microwave or on the hob.  It ha a pleasant thickness without being cloying. The flavour is a little odd for me, as it has star anise as well as pepper.  I'm never sure about my views on star anise, but every time I buy this spice I end up not using it.  However this hint of star anise is just that, a hint, and I doubt people would be troubled by it as part of the meal.  Just remember to be able to tell them that is what the flavour is if they ask.

This gravy can also be frozen. The one I bought today (Dec 12) had a use by date of Dec 27.

gf Christmas pudding test; M&S, Tesco, Jenkins & Hustwit and Village Bakery...and the winner is Tesco!

Four Christmas puddings to try at once.  They are very different, surprisingly so.  I microwaved them all, after being a little peeved that the instructions on the Jenkins & Hustwit (J&H) one said to 'microwave according to instruction manual'.  Who has their instruction manual to hand?  I just cooked it for the same time as the Village Bakery (VB) pudding which was almost the same size.

The Village Bakery pudding offered a choice when cooking - to add either a teaspoon of brandy or fruit juice before cooking.  I thought that was a nice touch.  This was 200g. £3.99

The M&S pudding was an individual 100g portion, though I find that it does for two. £2.00

The J&H pudding is 210g. £4.79

The Tesco pudding was a family size 454g. £3.99

All the puddings released easily from their tubs after heating.

Flavour and texture:
V&B: this had a waxy damp look when it came out of the tub.  When I cut it large pieces of fruit were visible, and it cut a bit messily - fine for a pudding.  I thought the initial flavour was citrusy but Rod thought it tasted of chicken - a bit odd for a vegan pudding. After the first burst of flavour I was disconcerted by the odd grainy texture.  We wouldn't buy this again.  I regard Village Bakery as a company that makes good products, and visually this was inviting with the pieces of peel and nuts showing, but the flavour and mouth feel were not good.

J&H:  This pudding had a dry look when taken out of its tub.  It cut very neatly.  I didn't like the odd aromatic flavour.  The texture was good, light and not cloying, with all the fruit part of the pudding rather than distinct pieces.  An acceptable pudding.

M&S: This pudding is damper than the previous two, with a good rounded dark spicy caramel flavour. It had distinct pieces of fruit and nut but they were not intrusive.  It was not cloying or gritty, though I did have something hard in mine- perhaps a bit of shell?  A pleasant pudding I would be happy to take to an event - being a single portion makes this useful as a 'handbag food'.

Tesco:  This pudding looked shiny and damp when turned out of its pot.  It had a slightly bouncy gluey feel to the knife compared to the M&S pudding, but it has a moist and pleasant mouth feel.  It isn't claggy or gritty.  It has a good, well rounded fruity, citrus, spicy flavour.

We found it hard to choose between the Tesco and M&S pudding.  I think it would depend on how many people I wanted to feed more than anything else.  I marginally prefer the Tesco pudding but if I wanted one for myself only I would certainly buy the M&S pudding. Checking the prices I see Tesco Free From also do a double pack of 100g pudding for £2.50.

Neither of us liked the other two - I think they will find their way to the bin rather than the fridge after this test.

So, the winner is Tesco for this household.

Tesco FreeFrom fruit loaf - gluten, wheat and milk-free

I tried Tesco's own FreeFrom Fruit Loaf, a sweet lightly-fruited bread.  It can be kept for up a to month before use, and can be frozen.  The package contains what looks like a half loaf (one crust) with seven slices.

I enjoyed the slice I ate.  The recipe includes psylliam husk powder, xanthan gum and hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose, so if you need to avoid these completely this bread will not be suitable.  I eat such items sparingly, but an occasional treat like a slice of this fruit loaf is okay.

allergy advice: contains eggs, cannot guarantee nut free