Do you ever see supermarket products that you really don't want to buy, but you know you will?
A new product, perhaps, that is over-priced or unnecessary or a marketing gimmick...but one that is aimed so perfectly at your weaknesses that it niggles you each time you see it, until you ultimately give in?
I certainly do.
Cases in point:
The Leda vegan chocolate rum balls haunted me for months last year, calling my name as I passed them in the health food section of the supermarket. I finally gave in about 6 months ago. The sugar free drinking chocolate is a more recent find, crossing my path for the first time earlier in 2012. I didn't last long before succumbing.
In fairness to these products, there is nothing wrong with them. I enjoy most of the Leda products and the rum balls proved to be no different, but at $6.95 for a pack of 8, they are an expensive treat. Plus, I am sure I could make my own if I tried. The sugar free drinking chocolate was also on the pricey side - about the same cost in fact - but it was the marketing that put me off. The packet refers to a 'guilt free' indulgence and that is a phrase guaranteed to make me cringe!
But let's take each in turn.
The Leda chocolate rum balls are free of wheat, dairy, egg and gluten, but are nonetheless decadent in the way you expect truffles to be. The mix includes tapioca and besan flours, cocoa, various sweeteners (including golden syrup), raisins, macadamia nuts, rum, and coconut. One rum ball provides over 100 calories so they are appropriately rich!
When I opened the packet, there was a deep chocolate-rum aroma. The smell was promising. The look was also promising. These are picture-perfect and would be easy to serve to guests...or at least, they would be if you could afford to do so.
The texture of the rum balls is also impressive. They are firm enough to hold together and can withstand being at warm room temperature, but the inside is soft enough to sink into.
The taste? Really quite divine. Rich, as I said. Chocolatey, but with a depth of flavour that differs from the few rum balls I have tasted previously. The golden syrup comes through. The coconut sets off the other flavours. The occasional hit of raisin is surprisingly pleasing. The rum is very subtle, but just detectable.
I did love these. I still don't think they require regular purchase, but I was, in the end, glad I tried them. In my mind, they are also similar to Mel's rum balls. However, as most of my own truffle ball creations seem to go the straightforward fruit and nut way, I haven't yet tried Mel's version and thus can't say whether my imagination is correct!
The rum balls appealed to me because they were vegan and looked delicious. The Vitarium sugar free drinking chocolate appealed to me because it looked like a possible replacement for the artificially sweetened, dried milk containing, sachet hot chocolates that I used to drink but don't any longer.
Since stopping my fairly regular consumption of them, I haven't actually had hot chocolate, sticking instead with tea or coffee, and the occasional chai latte. This looked like it could allow me to bring hot chocolate back.
Fortunately, as with the rum balls, this product also proved to be enjoyable.
The drinking chocolate powder was pleasingly chocolatey. I ate some off a spoon to test it plain, and the flavours were enjoyable on their own. I find that to be a necessary component of a good hot chocolate base, so the powder was off to a good start.
You do need to mix this with milk - it's not the sort of hot chocolate that works with water alone - and I found the recommended 2 tsp to 200ml milk to be a little weak in terms of chocolate flavour. I could taste my soy milk, and I don't like that. A little extra powder to milk worked fine though, and made for an easy hot chocolate drink.
I would prefer to just mix my own ingredients along with adding the milk, but given I made the purchase - well, it worked well. I liked it and the powder can of course be used for other means as well (I have tried it with yoghurt, which I didn't like - I missed the yoghurt's natural tartness - and on top of vanilla soy ice cream, which I did like). It could be used for iced chocolate too, or added to smoothies, or whatever took your fancy.
So all in all, two unnecessary purchases, but two quite good outcomes. I suspect that won't help me out next time I'm trying to resist buying something I don't require!
Your turn - please tell me I'm not alone in these sorts of whimsical buys!
What have you bought that you really didn't want to buy? Did you enjoy it in the end?
A new product, perhaps, that is over-priced or unnecessary or a marketing gimmick...but one that is aimed so perfectly at your weaknesses that it niggles you each time you see it, until you ultimately give in?
I certainly do.
Cases in point:
The Leda vegan chocolate rum balls haunted me for months last year, calling my name as I passed them in the health food section of the supermarket. I finally gave in about 6 months ago. The sugar free drinking chocolate is a more recent find, crossing my path for the first time earlier in 2012. I didn't last long before succumbing.
In fairness to these products, there is nothing wrong with them. I enjoy most of the Leda products and the rum balls proved to be no different, but at $6.95 for a pack of 8, they are an expensive treat. Plus, I am sure I could make my own if I tried. The sugar free drinking chocolate was also on the pricey side - about the same cost in fact - but it was the marketing that put me off. The packet refers to a 'guilt free' indulgence and that is a phrase guaranteed to make me cringe!
But let's take each in turn.
The Leda chocolate rum balls are free of wheat, dairy, egg and gluten, but are nonetheless decadent in the way you expect truffles to be. The mix includes tapioca and besan flours, cocoa, various sweeteners (including golden syrup), raisins, macadamia nuts, rum, and coconut. One rum ball provides over 100 calories so they are appropriately rich!
When I opened the packet, there was a deep chocolate-rum aroma. The smell was promising. The look was also promising. These are picture-perfect and would be easy to serve to guests...or at least, they would be if you could afford to do so.
The texture of the rum balls is also impressive. They are firm enough to hold together and can withstand being at warm room temperature, but the inside is soft enough to sink into.
The taste? Really quite divine. Rich, as I said. Chocolatey, but with a depth of flavour that differs from the few rum balls I have tasted previously. The golden syrup comes through. The coconut sets off the other flavours. The occasional hit of raisin is surprisingly pleasing. The rum is very subtle, but just detectable.
The rum balls appealed to me because they were vegan and looked delicious. The Vitarium sugar free drinking chocolate appealed to me because it looked like a possible replacement for the artificially sweetened, dried milk containing, sachet hot chocolates that I used to drink but don't any longer.
Since stopping my fairly regular consumption of them, I haven't actually had hot chocolate, sticking instead with tea or coffee, and the occasional chai latte. This looked like it could allow me to bring hot chocolate back.
The ingredients in this mix are simple - effectively just natvia (a natural sweetener based on stevia and erythritol, the latter being a nectar that occurs in some fruits) and cocoa. The reason I didn't want to buy it is because I could just combine stevia and cocoa, or even regular sugar and cocoa, at home. Such is the power of pre-mixed packaging, and my demented reasoning around 'I could take it to work!'.
Fortunately, as with the rum balls, this product also proved to be enjoyable.
The drinking chocolate powder was pleasingly chocolatey. I ate some off a spoon to test it plain, and the flavours were enjoyable on their own. I find that to be a necessary component of a good hot chocolate base, so the powder was off to a good start.
You do need to mix this with milk - it's not the sort of hot chocolate that works with water alone - and I found the recommended 2 tsp to 200ml milk to be a little weak in terms of chocolate flavour. I could taste my soy milk, and I don't like that. A little extra powder to milk worked fine though, and made for an easy hot chocolate drink.
I would prefer to just mix my own ingredients along with adding the milk, but given I made the purchase - well, it worked well. I liked it and the powder can of course be used for other means as well (I have tried it with yoghurt, which I didn't like - I missed the yoghurt's natural tartness - and on top of vanilla soy ice cream, which I did like). It could be used for iced chocolate too, or added to smoothies, or whatever took your fancy.
So all in all, two unnecessary purchases, but two quite good outcomes. I suspect that won't help me out next time I'm trying to resist buying something I don't require!
Your turn - please tell me I'm not alone in these sorts of whimsical buys!
What have you bought that you really didn't want to buy? Did you enjoy it in the end?
Even though I often make my own (and thanks for linking to my rum ball recipe), I have to admit that the man purchased a packet of Leda rum balls recently. It was purely out of protest because he had been deprived of his precious mint/orange/rum balls for too long. His verdict was that my home-made ones are nicer than the bought ones.
ReplyDeleteI'm always buying things I don't need just to try them out, consequently my pantry is always overflowing!
I'm now even more convinced I need to make your version of the balls. They have been in my bookmarks folder for so long, I need to set myself a date!
DeleteAnd I am with you on the overflowing pantry. I try to rein it in but it always re-explodes!
I've been resisting the Leda balls for years, but know I'll succumb eventually. And I also know I won't like them when I do, because of the rum thing. "Guilty free" drinking chocolate, however, O wouldn't buy with the 50 foot pole (metahopr works, shuddup :P ) You're on your own there! I don't want to give the marketers the satisfaction :)
ReplyDeleteAnd that is why you're a better person than me :)
DeleteNot a better proof-reader though ;) Ugh!
DeleteYour post makes me want to try the rum balls - except that I am not keen on the rum flavour as I have always had these without rum. There was a cafe in the student union that was really close to my work years ago that had the best ever chocolate balls and I wish I had asked for the recipe - I was addicted to them. I try to make more fruit balls than chocolate balls now for Sylvia's sake.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite latest purchase is vitawheat sunflower oat and chia biscuits - they are so so so good but ridiculously big
I haven't seen those biscuits! But now I will be looking out for them...they sound like another item to get under my skin, although quite possibly one I will be happy to buy :)
DeleteIf you don't like rum then these balls may well not be for you! Interestingly, I've never actually had rum in its drinking form, but I'm pretty sure the taste is clear enough in these to put off non-rum likers.
My mother used to make rum balls for all her Christmas parties. I used to help her in the kitchen. This post brought back so many memories. They sure do look good! And yes, it's important that they do have that rum smell. xx
ReplyDeleteMy mother used to make rum balls for all her dinner parties, especially at Christmas time. Those rum balls do look good and yes, it's important that they do smell like rum! xx
ReplyDeleteI'm keen to try some rum ball making myself now. The smell does seem like it would be very important!
DeleteI always make rum balls for Christmas to give away but they don't look this good. :)
ReplyDeleteMost things I make don't look this good ;)
Deletewhat a great review! I've never seen these before!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if they are Australia specific? It seems so rare for that to happen, but I guess it must sometimes!
DeleteI am always suckered in by new shampoo. Anything that claims it can tame my unruly hair. Just hopeless. The guilt free thing would have completely turned me off, personally when it comes to chocolate I'm guilt all the way!
ReplyDeleteI used to be like that with shampoo but now I have just given up I think! My hair does its own thing regardless it seems.
DeleteThe marketing on the hot chocolate really does irritate me. And I irritate myself for buying it anyway! :p
Nah mate, you're completely on your own with the whimsical purchases :-)... well this week anyway.
ReplyDeleteThe rumballs look like my mum's ones which I adore. I used to eat so many my face would get hot from all the rum I had just consumed, (although she never knew that ;-)
Tehehe, they must have been good rum balls indeed :) Probably a whole heap better than these ones...and perhaps why you are so much better than I am at the non-whimsical purchases thing. If you have better home ones, the supermarket variety would probably lose their appeal. Note to self: make home ones...
Delete