I was invited to take part in a BzzAgent campaign for Knorr Gravy Pots recently and shortly afterwards, the postie dropped off two packs of gravy pots - one beef and one chicken - as well as a Bzz guide full of insider information and some money off vouchers to share with my friends. The concept reminds me very much of the Bisto Stock Melts that we reviewed a while back so I was keen to see how they'd compare.
The Bzz guide explains : "Say goodbye to granules and hello to Knorr Gravy Pots. The first ever jelly format gravy, they have that homemade gravy taste without the effort and hours of cooking from scratch. Created by the Knorr chef Igor Zago with heaps of passion and expertise, they are perfect for when you are in a hurry but don’t want to compromise on flavour. Use them to add a burst of taste to a traditional roast dinner, mid-week meal, like bangers and mash, or add some excitement to Christmas leftovers on Boxing Day.
Just add a little jellified pot to warm water, stir continuously and let it boil on the hob for one minute to thicken and voila! Perfect gravy!"
I started off making up gravy following the instructions on the pack, adding one little pot of jellified gravy concentrate to some hot water, measuring out the exact quantity recommended then bringing it to the boil to thicken. Flavour wise it was spot on - it's made from slowly simmered meat juices and promises a home-made taste - but I thought it was much too thin. It reminds me of the gravy at the school canteen actually, and the kids loved it, so maybe I just usually make extremely thick gravy (that you could stand a spoon in, as my dad always says he likes it !). This made enough gravy for the kids, in case they didn't like the cider version (see below), but it wouldn't have been enough for our usual family-of-five Sunday roast, so having to use two pots per meal would knock the price up considerably.
I decided to try out the next gravy pot with some added ingredients to create a rich sauce to accompany some pork chops. I cooked the pork in a frying pan, sprinkled it with thyme, oregano and Garlic Italian seasoning, removed the meat and used the juices to fry off some onions and mushrooms. I then added a Chicken Gravy Pot and generous splash (or two !) of cider, bringing it to the boil and leaving it to simmer.
This made an absolutely beautiful, rich sauce that was perfect with the pork so I'll definitely be making this again.
So the jury is still out on this one ! As an ingredient for a sauce or stock base, they're lovely but for instant gravy, I think I'll stick with the granules because you can control the quantity and thickness more easily.
star rating : 3.5/5
RRP : £1.79 for a pack of 4 gravy pots
for more information : http://www.knorr.co.uk/Products/Knorr-Gravy-Pots.aspx
Disclosure : As a BzzAgent, I often receive products to review in return for honest feedback and for spreading the word about the products, sometimes by passing on samples or money-off vouchers.
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I wanted to enter this on Bzzagent but i was not picked, seeing it now, im not so sure it is something leo and I would use. We are not gravy fans. I dont like the look of this jelly stuff, i think id rather get out the granules and stick the kettle on.
ReplyDeleteI have seen these and wondered if they were trying. Not sure I'll buy them for gravy.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, not too sure on this. We do use gravy but it looks a little on the thin side. Might try it and see what it is like but I still do like making my own.
ReplyDeleteNot too sure about buying it for gravy but it looks like it's better to use it as a stock for soups.
ReplyDeleteif you take your time and tweak accordingly its well worth it for that restaurant standard flavour i loved them even though it took a bit longer well worth it with the result
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