Tesco Collection: Dark Chocolate Stem Ginger

Stem ginger coated with dark chocolate.

£5 from Tesco

In the confectionaries isle you can find these ‘Tesco Collection’ dark chocolate stem ginger sweets in a pine box. The mandala inspired design sticker, similar to the other Eastern designs used by Tesco in their ‘quality ‘ range (most notably their teas), on the cover of the pine box packaging is eye catching.

At the very least if you do not the sweets you have an approximately 12 x 12cm unvarnished box to use for keeping spare change or repurpose as a gift box for something else. The lid is a tight fitting panel and no doubt overtime would become looser from inevitable wear and tear. The interior or the box contains a few sheets of greaseproof paper to protect the pieces inside but otherwise this is minimal packaging and I am slightly conflicted by its use.

Certainly everything here is biodegradable however the manufacturing of the box is no doubt needlessly expensive and therefore counterintuitive if their aim was to provide something more eco-friendly. As the box is unvarnished there is a chance, though very minimal, you may get splinters from it. On the shelf it is shrink wrapped so there is no fear of the contents being contaminated or the packaging falling apart until you have taken it home.

The confectionaries themselves are of high quality. You get about 20 pieces in each box although the information on the back of the box says it contain 6 servings i.e. 18 pieces. (I eat a few before writing this review and there were definitely more than 18).

The dark chocolate shell is quite thick and hard but I assume this is to retain the moisture of the core ginger root filling. The filling is quite substantial and is unmistakeably the warm, mildly intense, sensation of good quality ginger root. The warmth of the taste is luxurious and pleasantly remains after consumption. The packaging seems to suggest a serving of three pieces but personally I was satisfied to have one piece occasionally when the urge to snack struck.

I think overall this is a nice treat although it is placed next to the larger gift box type chocolate selection trays. If you know someone who likes the taste of ginger then these come highly recommended and are reasonably priced when compared to the gift box chocolates. If nothing else you have a nice little utilitarian pine box to use as a repurposed gift box or to keep spare change and nick-knacks if you haven’t already got a place for such things.

Ingredients:

Stem Ginger (65%), Dark Chocolate (35%).
Stem Ginger contains: Sugar, Ginger.
Dark Chocolate contains: Sugar, Cocoa Mass, Cocoa Butter, Emulsifier (Soya Lecthins), Vanilla Extract. Dark Chocolate contains: Cocoa Solids 50% minimum.

Allergy Advice: For allergens, see ingredients in bold. Also, may contain nuts and milk.

Suitable for vegetarians

Nutrition:

Typical values / 100g contains / Three pieces (29.4g) contain / % RI*
Energy / 1695kJ / 500kJ
/405Kcal / 120Kcal / 6%
Fat / 11.1g / 3.3g / 5%
Of which saturates 7.0g / 2.1g / 11%
Carbohydrates 72.3g / 21.3g
Of which sugars 64.2g / 18.9g / 21%
Fibre 1.0g / 0.3g
Protein 2.7g / 0.8g
Salt 0.0g / 0.0g / 0%

Pack contains 6 servings

*Reference intake of an average adult (8400kJ / 2000kcal)
Best before end: (doomsday… or a fortnight whichever comes first)

Store in a cool, dry place and out of direct sunlight

Recycling
Tissue: Paper Widely recycled
Box: Wood Not currently recycled
200g e

Our Promise
We are happy to refund or replace any Tesco product which falls below the high standard you expect. Just ask any member of staff. This does not affect your statutory rights.

We are here to help:
Freephone 0800 50 55 55, Mon-Sat, 9am-6pm.

Shop on-line at http://www.tesco.com

Produced in Turkey for Tesco Stores Ltd.,
Cheshunt EN8 9SL, U.K. © Tesco 2013. SC103650

---

Next week… is a mystery. I haven’t decided what to review yet. Maybe a ‘How to write a H. P. Lovecraft story’ piece as there are certain things he seems to use in almost every single story he writes (… and no I don’t mean just the xenophobia although I would discuss how often he relies on ‘otherness’ for impact and uses ethnic sterotyping as a shorthand for that). Maybe a review of a Dorota Masłowska play… although I would be reading it not reviewing a particular performance so I would’t be able to do a ‘stage layout’ etc as I did in past theatre reviews on this site.

Comment, Like, Follow – all are welcome 🙂

Marks & Spencer’s Belgian Triple Chocolate Cookies

£2 for one box but £3 if you take advantage of the ever present offer from the M&S range of premium biscuits.

Very rich tasting and the chocolate chunks melt in the mouth. Strong enough you could dip it in tea if that was your thing but crisp enough to have a satisfying bite. Not as soft and chewy as fresh made biscuits of this sort but that is in its favour as they can seem doughy. The chocolate almost instantaneously melts in your mouth as you chew it releasing its rich flavour. Definitely a better all-round biscuit than the crystallised stem ginger ones I bought with them. An indulgent item which lives up to its name.

But onto the important bit and provide you with the box information so you are not stood in the store reading off ingredients and coming across as a bit too obsessive about your diet. Personally I find that with the more enjoyable taste you are also going to pay by it being that much worse for you nutrition wise. This is a ‘treat’ kind of biscuit not something you should be eating every day.

–

Per cookie 461kJ / 110 kcal
Energy 6% of your RI
Per 100g 2151kJ / 515 kcal

–

Chocolate cookies with chunks of dark, milk and white Belgian chocolate half coated in Belgian dark chocolate.

Not suitable for nut allergy suffers.

Ingredients: Wheatflour contains gluten, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin) Belgian Dark Chocolate (17%) (Sugar – Cocoa Mass – Cocoa Butter – Emulsifier: Soya Lecithin – Vanilla Flavouring) –– Butter (Milk) – Belgian Dark Chocolate Chunks (13%) (Sugar – Cocoa Mass – Cocoa Butter – Emulsifier: Soya Lecithin – Vanilla Flavouring) – Sugar – Belgian Milk Chocolate Chunks (8%) (Sugar – Dried Whole Milk – Cocoa Butter – Cocoa Mass – Emulsifier: Soya Lecthin – Vanilla Flavouring) – Belgian White Chocolate Chunks (7%) (Sugar – Dried Whole Milk – Cocoa Butter – Dried Skimmed Milk – Emulsifier: Soya Lecthin – Vanilla Flavouring) – Golden Syrup (Invert Sugar Syrup) – Fat Reduced Cocoa Powder – Raising Agent: E450, Sodium Bicarbonate, E503 – Salt. Belgian Dark Chocolate contains Cocoa Solids 46% minimum. Belgian Dark Chocolate Chunks contain Cocoa Solids39% minimum. Belgian Milk Chocolate Chunks contain Cocoa Solids 25% minimum, Milk Solids 14% minimum. Belgian White Chocolate Chunks contain Milk Solids 25% minimum.

For allergens see ingredients in bold.

Not suitable for Nut allergy sufferers due to manufacturing methods

Suitable for vegetarians

NUTRITION Serves/Portions: 7
Typical values: Per 100g / per cookie (21g)
Energy kJ 2151 / 461
Energy kcal 515 110
Fat 27.9g / 6g
Of which saturates 17.6g / 3.8g
Carbohydrates 58.1g / 12.5g
Of which sugars 41.2g / 8.8g
Fibre 4.0g / 0.9g
Protein 5.8g / 1.2g
Salt 0.63g / 0.13g

Reference intake (adult) Energy 8400kJ / 2000kcal

Fat 70g Saturates 20g Sugars 90g Salt 6g

STORAGE For Best Before, see front of pack. Store in a cool, dry place. Once opened, store in an airtight container.

125g along side one of those scannable code things and a recycling ying yang arrows sign.

–

French / NL versions of ingredients are also provided

Made in Scotland.

SC6324
Copyright Marks and Spencer plc
PO Box 3339 Chester
CH99 9QS
United Kingdom

Marksandspencers.com

FSC MIX Paper FSC C002324
Tray – Minimum
50% recycled plastics
Recyclable Carton – Paper – Widely recycled.
Recyclable Tray – Plastics – Check local recycling
Recyclable film – plastics – Not currently recycled

---

The other box of biscuits along with the ones that had gigner in them. I prefer these ones although the pieces of crystalised ginger were very nice in the others. Marks and Spencers really want you to know how dedicated they are to their civic duty of recycling.

Next time on the misadventures in blogging… we will see. Hopefully on the weekend get around to reviiewng the stage production of The Woman In Black I saw recently.