Topic: Hope over experience

[Robert]

Spotted some sauces in Home & Bargain yesterday. These were the ones that have a separate plastic container on the lid, sealed with foil and holding powdered spice mix that is fried with your main ingredient before simmering with the sauce from the jar. There was a long list of spices on the label, plus yoghurt and coriander leaf. The brand was "Indi".

Thinking that perhaps these things have come on in recent years, wanting a quick meal and in the interests of research I bought the rogan josh, (89p!)

Alas, just as expected. Despite all the spicing the only flavour really detectable above the sourness was chili. The only thing on the label that we wouldn't use at home, apart from maize starch which presumably is a thickening agent to compensate for the small amount of onion, was citric acid. I suppose this is a preservative, but what's the point of a preservative that ruins the taste?

Until someone finds a way of slowly caramelising onion cheaply on a commercial scale, and avoiding preservatives that taste bitter our local BIRs will be safe.

Oddly many chinese cook-in sauces produce a perfectly acceptable quick meal, without any of the sourness, wonder why?

Robert

[Peripatetic Phil]

Until someone finds a way of slowly caramelising onion cheaply on a commercial scale ...

http://www.ocado.com/webshop/product/The-Bay-Tree-Caramelised-Onions/29373011?from=search&tags=%7C20000&param=caramelised&parentContainer=SEARCHcaramelised_SHELFVIEW

[Robert]

http://www.ocado.com/webshop/product/The-Bay-Tree-Caramelised-Onions/29373011?from=search&tags=%7C20000&param=caramelised&parentContainer=SEARCHcaramelised_SHELFVIEW

Nearly 20% brown sugar, plus balsamic vinegar. Doesn't sound much like a base

Rob