I am partial to a crumpet in the morning when I get to work and am very loyal to the warburtons brand of crumpet, so imagine my distress when I went to Asda on Monday morning to buy my weekly crumpet fix only to find that there were no Warburtons crumpets on the shelves. Instead, my only options were Asda's own brand or Kingsmill love to toast. Having tasted and enjoyed Kingsmill bread, I decided to opt for this brand of crumpet.
What is a crumpet?
No a crumpet is not as the thinking man's saying goes an intelligent good looking woman / one who is the object of sexual desire. A crumpet is an English savoury /sweet bread snack that is very popular across the UK. The recipe is a simple one, basically, flour and yeast. You can't really confuse a crumpet with anything else as they are quite distinctive in their appearance, with their circular shape, flat top and holes across the top acting as pores. What causes these pores is the inclusion of baking powder incorporated into the dough. They are soft and spongy and generally enjoyed hot with a knob of butter or Jam or any other form of condiment. Just the right size to pop into the toaster.
Kingsmill love to toast crumpets
One of the first thing to note about these crumpets is they are suitable for vegetarians and they can be frozen. Like traditional crumpets this offering from Kingsmill looks exactly as I've described above but the one thing I noticed is they are quite weighty for the size of them. I like my crumpets to be a little lighter and fluffier so there's a negative straight away, but of course the proof is in the tasting.
The smell
Opening up my pack of crumpets, it's impossible not to enjoy the lovely smell of fresh doughy bread, a smell I like to savour which only intensifies when you pop them into the toaster to heat.The one thing that I notice about crumpets is how incredibly fast they cool down – I think with all the little holes in this little bakery delight it lets the air permeate the crumpet and cools it down a lot quicker than you would expect for something of its size and stature.
How to eat
I always have my crumpets with butter and I always have 2 at a time but occasionally I'll spice it up with some Jam. I removed the crumpets from their card and plastic wrap, and once my crumpet had been severely cremated in the toaster (I like mine to be nice and crispy on the outside and nice and soft and fluffy on the inside), I smothered on butter like it was going out of fashion and let the buttery goodness run into the little crevices spread out over the top of the crumpet and then with great anticipation take the first bite.
The Taste
Now I don't know if I just got a bad batch of crumpets from Asda but to me the crumpets I ate on Monday morning were kind of stale tasting, (you know that horrible taste you get when your bread is turning), and not as tasty as my favourite Warburtons crumpets so I was immediately disappointed. I persevered and ate 1 whole crumpet but I just couldn't bear to eat the 2nd one and so into the bin it went.
A crumpet is generally quite bland on it's own but when you add butter into the mix or jam or honey or maple syrup and bacon they take on a whole new flavour and it doesn't seem to matter if what you spread on them is sweet or savoury, anything pretty much goes. Crumpets are much doughier than bread so I suppose you could say that a crumpet is just a thicker doughier version of toast.
Storage instructions
To keep your crumpets fresh you should store in a cool dry place as warm conditions may reduce the shelf life of the product. Crumpets can be frozen, but should be consumed within 1 month of the purchase date.
Ingredients
Each crumpet contains wheat Flour, Water, Salt, Vinegar, Invert Sugar Syrup, Raising agents:E450, Sodium Carbonates, Yeast, Acidity Regulator:E575, Preservative: Potassium Sorbate. Each crumpet also contains 99 calories so I don't actually think this is too high of a calorie count for something that most people would incorporate into their breakfast.
The cost
The kingsmill crumpets are currently part of a 2 for a pound offer in Asda (I'm glad I didn't go for this), or 64p a pack which is what I opted for, a single pack of 6 of which I ate 1 and the rest went in the bin. The warburtons option is also on a 2 for a pound option which I will go for next time if Asda happen to have them in stock or 74p a pack. In my humble opinion, the warburtons brand is well worth the extra 10p, but while they're on offer there's no cost difference between the two if you do find yourself faced with the option of which brand to choose.
My overall opinion
Although I do love crumpets, my experience with the Kingsmill love to toast range of crumpets was not a good one so I will safely say that I don't think I'll be buying them again – I'll just go back to my beloved Warburtons. I think perhaps it is the inclusion of vinegar that gives this product it's stale taste as I looked at the warburtons ingredients and note that there is no vinegar used in the recipe- but that's just speculation. If I were to offer my advice I'd say try both and see which you'd prefer because what is not enjoyed by 1 person may be thoroughly enjoyed by another.
