Having a fussy eater as a son means that I've become a little more "experimental" in the food that's available in the house. In desperation I've tried products that I wouldn't have dreamed of buying before having children. Sometimes this is just to offer variety, other times it's for convenience.
Yorkshire puds have to be one of the easiest things to make. There's nothing fancy in the batter and, when you're cooking a roast it's no hassle to slip a tray in the top oven. However, upon discovering that my son actually liked these and having had little success in freezing home-made pies I decided to try some of the ready-made versions so that, when offering my son a roast mid-week (made from a roast that my husband and I have most likely shared the night before) I can also offer a pud alongside.
Bisto Yorkshire Puddings caught my eye in the supermarket for the simple fact that they were on offer and so my attention had been cleverly drawn to them by the marketers. At £1 for a frozen pack of 12 I decided that I couldn't go far wrong. A skim of the ingredients list showed me that there was nothing "nasty" in them (by that I mean no odd ingredients that I would not put in my own puds) and that they would cook in 4-5 minutes. Perfect.
The puds are a reasonable size (about the size you'd achieve if you'd made your own in muffin tins (rather than Yorkshire tins)) and don't actually look "commercial". By that I mean that there is a slight unevenness of colour as would be expected from a home-made version. They also don't look "fried" as some commercial puddings can.
There's a satisfying crunch to the edge of the pud which then yields to a softer centre. The taste is surprisingly fresh and, to be honest, in a blind test I think I'd have been pushed to say that these tasted anything other than authentic. They were not greasy (an issue that I've had on the one other occasion that I've been tempted into buying frozen puds) nor were they overly stodgy.
I don't think I'd every try to pass these off as my own (and I still prefer my own) but they were perfectly acceptable for what they were. For the purposes for which I bought them they were perfect. They passed the "son-taste-test" and kept me happy as they required minimal cooking meaning that I could bring the meal together quickly. I liked the fact that, being frozen you have the option of cooking one or 12 puds at once. This is a clear advantage over fresh puddings (which must be cooked and eaten within a short period) and means that these are ideal for those dining alone (or in small numbers).
The puds would not be suitable for doing much with other than serving plain - toad in the hole and similar dishes are best made fresh. As a convenience though I might just be tempted to purchase again!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Not much of a yorkshire pudding person (partly because of lactose intolerance and milk) these would make giving one to my husband easier when I'm not allowed any (unless I use non-milk milk)
. . . ♥ jesi ♥
paulpry118 25.10.2009 22:07
For some reason my daughter will not eat my home made yorkie puds so I tried her with Tesco Value puds and she loves them, so I make fresh for my husband and myself and give my daughter a couple of frozen Tesco ones.
Oct 19th, 2009
very helpful by (100%):
