Unlike all other Mrs Crimbles products I’ve tried, I’m less than enthusiastic about (her/their?) corn cakes. This is not because they are nasty, because they are not. It’s just that there is another similar product which I prefer.
As you can see from the photograph, the corn cakes come in a cardboard outer box, and inside there are four separate portion packs. There are five corn cakes in each pack, which I find a little too much to eat at one go, but as they are sure to go soft if not eaten, I generally do. The whole pack is currently priced at £1.25 at Tesco.
These corn cakes are extremely delicate, and are often already broken when you open the inner packaging. This isn’t as bad as it sounds, because the bits are quite like a snack product, so you just nibble the smaller pieces like crisps.
Because they are so fragile, it’s quite difficult to spread anything on them, like butter or cream cheese, without breaking them. So my advice if you are buying them is to always soften the butter first in winter, or if you are one of those people who keeps it in the fridge, by zapping it in the microwave for a few seconds. If you don’t you will end up with a lot of little bits.
So far as flavor goes, these are fine. They are about as tasty as the average crispbread – that is, not very tasty. They are nice enough to eat with just butter, though I generally have them with cream cheese and smoked salmon.
The product I prefer is becoming more difficult to get. They are Corn Thins by Real Foods Pty, which are round and do not come packed in individual portions, but they keep well enough in an airtight container. They also have less of a tendency to fall apart and are not full of little dents that make a thin coating of butter/whatever difficult. Better if you’re watching your weight, I feel. Unfortunately, although I used to be able to get these in Tesco, Sainsbury and some Morrisons, none of the local branches of these stores carries them any more, so to get them I either have to get a bus into Morningside, where there is a health food store that stocks them, or order them by mail.
I recommend, if you have a choice of Mrs Crimbles corn cakes or Corn Thins, to go for the Corn Thins, but either will be ok.
I’ve been quite hesitant about doing this review, but it has to be done.
