Tesco Cheddar with Spices & Jalapeno > Reviews (1)

Introduction

Cheese slices and Sliced cheese; are they the same? Not for me! - I always associate cheese slices to be those plastic wrapped, too cold, limp offerings that have an odd, creamy near-cheeselike taste which made many appearance between 2 slices of bread and classified as 'lunch' when I was younger. Over the years I have dabbled in and out of the world of cheese slices as even though they are naff they made for a quick, convenient sandwich filler that cost very little.

Sliced Cheese on the other hand is 'proper' cheese that has been readily sliced and pre-packaged and whereas you may consider this to be a lazy purchasing option as the lone cheese eater in my household I find that I can rarely finish off a whole block to myself without it going stale or developing mould. This is why, when I spotted the subject of this review I ended up buying a packet of 5 "cheddar with mexican spices & Jalapeno" slices from Tesco at a not-unreasonable £1.75.

Packaging

The packaging is as illustrated above and is attractively designed with a picture of a red pepper and some jalapenos. I am informed that the contents are 'Mild Cheddar slices with green jalapeno peppers, red bell peppers and Mexican style spice mix" and that there are 5 slices in a pack. The 'hotness' warning illustrated by the use of chillies indicates that these slices are of 'Medium' strength which carries a 2 chilli rating and that each slice contains 105 calories and 5.6 grams of saturated fat.

Getting into the sealed package is always a challenge with foods of this nature and true-to-form the top layer of plastic always (for me anyway) manages to tear half way up the pack and therefore despite being a resealable pack the truth of the matter is that a piece of foil or clingfilm is required to maintain the freshness of the contents if wanting to put back into the fridge. Once into the pack the cheese slices are staggered ontop of each other so that they don't sit in a square which makes them easy to seperate from one another and the first thing you notice about them is their appearance.

Appearance

Light orange in colour and square in size each slice has plenty of red inclusions dotted across its surface and every so often is a tiny amount of green jalapneo peppers. Surprisingly there is no smell whatsoever from the cheese or the peppers but they do look interesting and if you are a fan of spicy food and cheese in general then these offer someting different from the usual slice of cheddar.

Taste

Taste wise the cheese is the dominant flavour at first but as this is a mild cheddar it isn't as intense or as heavy as the mature varities, there is a slight nuttiness to the cheese and an almost-bitter kick and as you start to chew the flavours of the peppers and spice begin to come through. Whilst I wouldn't say they are 'hot, hot, hot' they are certainly evident and you do get a warmth on your tongue and tastebuds and they add a whole new dimension to a slice of cheese. Together the spices and peppers definitely add a kick and the two-chilli rating is pretty much accurate - not overpowering but definitely there these make for a really special change and I have become a big fan of these since discovering them only a few weeks ago.

Some of the Ingredients

Rather than list each individual ingredient that goes into a cheese slice which (in my opinion) makes for a boring read I will mention the list of spices and natural flavours that have gone into them as Tesco certainly pack enough into each individual slice, so we have:

Tumeric, Fennel, Coriander, Celery, Cumin, Salt, Fenugreek, Garlic Powder, Ginger, Black Pepper and Cayenne Pepper! and of course 2.5% Jalapeno Chili and 2.5% Red Pepper

So there's plenty packed in to this product as you can see.

Allergy Information and things to note

Mustard and Celery are listed under the 'Allergy Advice' panel so if these ingredients are of concern than this product may be unsuitable and although there are no nuts in the product list and the factory in which the cheese is made is nut-free Tesco cannot guarantee that the product is nut-free so another consideration if this is a concern.

On a more positive note, the cheese is vegetarian friendly and a single slice of the cheese will provide 21% of an adults calcium RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance)

Conclusion and Rating

Five slices in a pack is plenty for me and lasts me a good couple of days if I'm being lazy and relying on a sandwich for lunch, you are advised to eat the slices within 3 days of opening anyway so this works out perfectly fine for me personally. For convenience, flavour and offering something different I rate these cheddar slices highly from Tesco and find for the money they are a great buy. The only criticism I have with them is with the packaging as explained earlier and for that I would deduct a star from my rating giving them 4/5 from me.

They are a Tesco branded product and can be found instore and online and cost around £1.75 for the pack and should appeal to anyone fond of hot, spicy foods without being too overpowering - Great in a sandwich or on a salad they come highly recommended by me. Thanks for reading my review.

Please note that this review appears on dooyoo under my same username