Monday 9 July 2018

Degustabox BBQ Box (June 2018)

The heatwave is upon us, and the forecast is for another month of misery sunny weather. I'm not a big fan of the hot weather, and feel rather grouchy. While the sun is out, many of our neighbours have already enjoyed their BBQs. The smell of the burnt meat is not very appetising, but there's no avoiding it. The supermarkets are offering all kinds of BBQ products.

BBQ is an inspiration for this month's food selection from Degustabox.
This food box arrives every month and is full of foodie surprises. This monthly food and drink subscription box is an excellent way to discover products which have only just appeared in the shops or those which might have been around for while, but you haven't had a chance to try them yet.
Thanks to Degustabox, I have found new favourites to add to our shopping list, including some products which I probably wouldn't have tried otherwise.

Each time the box arrives, it's a total surprise. You get a good selection of foods and drinks.
If you haven't tried Degustabox subscription box yet and would like to have a go, I have a whopping £7 off discount from your first box (and you can unsubscribe any time) - just use a code 8EVI8 when you place an order.
What did we receive in the June Degustabox? Let's have a look.

food box


Fyre Fruit Drinks are an exciting combination of fruit and spice. There are two inspiring flavours -
Fruit & Spice All Natural sparkling drink in lemon & ginger and Blueberry, Blackcurrant, Peppers and Chilli.
Lemon & Ginger flavour was ultra-gingery.
0 fat, 4.8g sugar and 19.2kcal per 100ml
Lemon and ginger are a lovely combination of refreshing zingy flavours and a robust heat.  I like ginger in drinks, but that was the dominant flavour.

I was a bit worried about trying the Blueberry, blackcurrant, peppers and chilli, expecting the punch of heat, but was pleasantly surprised. Here the flavours are balanced nicely, and the chilli is not the most supreme note.

summer drinks


Rosie's Pig Raspberry Roller (4% alc) (£2) is a sparkling cloudy cider with raspberry juice and cucumber
Made with fresh pressed Herefordshire apples, this sweet and well balanced cider is slowly matured and left unfiltered to create an uncompromising flavour.
It looks pretty, and has a unique taste of apples and raspberries, with a mild aftertaste of cucumber.


Orangina (original and light) (£1.20) makes a lovely summer refresher. With its unmistakable orange flavour, sparkle and real citrus pulp, they come in amusing-shaped bottles.
Drink them on their own, straight from the fridge, with ice or without, or use as a base for cocktails and mocktails.


No & More Raspberry & Blueberry (£1.29) is a spring water with a hint of raspberry and blueberry. It contains no sugar, no sweeteners, preservatives, artificial ingredients, and is pH neutral.
You can find it in Boots and Waitrose.

I was most excited about Frylight Avocado Oil Cooking Spray (£2.99).  I find the Frylight range of oil very useful for baking, as you can coat the inside of any cake tin evenly. They are particularly great for fancy bundt cake tins.
It is also useful for shallow frying, roasting and baking. The avocado oil can be used at higher temperatures than most cooking sprays due to the more resilient nature of the oil.


I baked a Curd cheese cake with vanilla chips, using the avocado oil spray.


Idahoan Gratin Bake (£2.30) is an ingredient for a super easy potato bake. Prep time takes just 3 minutes, mix the contents of the bag with hot water, milk and butter, add to the casserole dish and cook for half an hour for a creamy potato dish.
I haven't tried it yet. It's being too hot for any proper casserole.


Capsicana Cook Sauces (£1.99) have already appeared in Degustabox food boxes in the past.
We have tried Brazilian Chilli & Coconut sauce before and found it pretty hot. I'm passing it on one of our fire-eating friends who enjoy hot meals.
It is made with tomato paste, coconut milk, white wine vinegar, ginger puree, onion puree, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, spices - more pepper like black pepper and frutescens chilli etc. It says "hot", and it doesn't disappoint if you're after the heat kick.


Capsicana Cuban Chilli & Lime Cook Sauce is featuring Habanero chillies. This sauce is based on Cuba's famous Mojo sauce. Ingredients include orange juice concentrate, honey, garlic puree, white wine vinegar, olive oil, corn flour, lime juice, salt, spices - cumin, habanero chilli, black pepper - and parsley.

I used this sauce to cook a roast chicken. No photos of the chicken but I used the leftovers to make a salad next day, with assorted beans, cucumber, olives and cheese.


I also used a little bit to make a brioche sandwich.


Brioche Pasquier Pains au Lait (£1.75) make a tasty base for little sandwiches, with whatever filling you fancy. Above you see a brioche with cold salmon, cucumber and a bit of butter, as well as cream cheese with leftover chicken and parsley.
Pains au lait are free from preservatives, artificial flavours and hydrogenated fats. They are soft and have a mild sweet note.


Peckish BBQ Rice Crackers Multi-pack (£1.79) are a thin, light and crispy snack made of rice. Baked not fried, they are gluten free and are under 100kcal per portion. Nice munchies, while you're waiting for those sausages on the BBQ.


The Jelly Belly Bean Factory Faitrade Box (£1.25) are filled with 36 fruity flavours and made with Fairtrade sugar. My guys love jelly beans, but I have to ration them, or the box will be empty in one go.
They look pretty and make great and easy decorations for any bakes.


Mighty Fine Salted Caramel Honeycomb Bar (£1) is the finest handcrafted honeycomb made with the best natural ingredients. This light, crisp honeycomb is covered in a creamy Belgian milk chocolate.


Great British Biscotti Co (£1.30) are a tasty combination of Belgian white chocolate, zingy cranberries and crunchy pistachios inside the buttery crumbly biscotti. There are 20 flavours altogether (very impressive). These delicious biscotti are made in Dorset, and will soon be available in Ocado and Amazon.


Disclosure: We receive a monthly food box for the purposes of reviewing. All opinions are our own.

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