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Product Love: Luxembourgish Nut Butter and British Crisps

I’m a sucker for food products – whenever I travel I spend a good few hours of each day in supermarkets and food shops, to discover the latest products and intriguing foodstuff that I can’t find at home. Hence, from time to time, I will bring you “Product Love” – where I’ll introduce some food products that I really like.

Starting this week with four awesome nut butters from Luxembourgish food start-up NUX spreads.

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Those who know me well, know that I usually only have a cup of coffee for breakfast. But if I wake up with a growling belly, I’d start my day with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I just love peanut butter! Creamy, nutty and filling – simply yum.

So you can imagine my utter delight when I found out that a Luxembourgish food start up has popped up on the scene, that specialized in nut butters!

NUX spreads have four different nut butters: peanut break (peanuts, dark chocolate (85% cocoa) and a pinch of salt), cashew dream (cashews and coconut) and almond treasure (almonds with a touch of honey). My absolute favourite is walnut holiday, which combines dry-roasted walnuts with peanuts and a dash of honey and cinnamon!!! Totally addictive!

Check out the NUX website if you want to order a few jars, plus they’ve also got nice nut butter recipe ideas on there. Ah, and keep an eye out for seasonal specials – at the moment it’s dry-roasted almonds, coffee and maple syrup!

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The second product I’d like to present to you this week are Corkers crisps. The Brits love crisps. I can’t go to a pub without ordering a bag of crisps to go with my pint. It’s part of the culture. Point.

So, no surprise that the Brits like to play with crisp flavours. You may have come across salt and vinegar crisps on a trip to the UK – any foreigner frowns at this seemingly crazy combination, but let me tell you, it’s pretty delish!

Another classic is cheese and onion as well as salt and pepper. Most crisp brands will do these. Then there are more unusual combinations that reach from roast chicken to ham and mustard.

Most often, wacky flavoured crisps have a tendency to taste artificial, too salty or the seasoning is simply too strong. I was quite surprised when I tried Corkers crisps’ more daring flavours. The pork sausage and English mustard crisps were delightfully subtle – with a very light meaty note balanced with thyme and mustard flavours. The same goes for the red Leicester and caramelized onion crisps: no nasty onion taste that overwhelms the palate, instead, a well-balanced natural cheese and onion flavour, quite unlike any cheese & onion crisp I’d ever come across. Thumbs up!

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But the real stunner has to be Corker’s Gressingham duck & Hoisin sauce crisps. I love Chinese duck pancakes, smothered in sweet and sticky Hoisin sauce and topped with zingy spring onions – pretty much my idea of a perfect Saturday night in Chinatown (ok, there need to be dumplings too!).

Anyway, Corkers have come up with duck-flavoured crisps!!! Again, a flavour combination that I’d be very weary of – it just risks to be overwhelmingly sweet or spiced because of the Hoisin sauce dimension. Alas, as in all Corkers crisps I’ve sampled, the balance was spot on, yet again! A subtle meat flavour, complemented with hoisin spices and slight heat. Absolutely addictive! I’ll sure jump on a bag whenever I’ll come across it from now on (damn, I’ve eaten the all already!!!).

So, give them a try! If you live in the UK you can get Corkers crisps at most Waitrose supermarkets, or order them online.

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Lastly, a word on taxis. I have become quite an Uber addict . Still, Uber haven’t tapped in the Luxembourg market yet. But Blacklane have. You can book your chauffeur and car in advance and get a fixed rate for any journey – which is quite handy in Luxembourg, where taxi prices are absolutely ridiculously high! In London I’d still have the tendency to jump in a black cab or Uber though, as these can be called on the spot (way better for a chaotic, unorganized Londoner like me).

*NOTE: All products I endorse are products I really like. I’m being sent a lot of free products to review, and only the best ones make it on here. To give you full disclosure: I was given a package of four NUX nut butters and free Corker crisps, as well as a free ride with Blacklane.

April 22, 2015
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