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
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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 🙂
Rambling At The Bridge Head 
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