Thursday 9 February 2012

Choccy Philly - what will they think of next????

Choccy Philly on crusty bread

Toast is a staple food in this country - and loved in many European countries, including Italy where you can get a mean ham and cheese toastie in any bar or France where you can choose between a Croque Monsieur or Croque Madame (recipes here, just add a fried or poached egg on top for the Croque Madame). 

Back in Blighty, I have been experimenting with spreads as it's the perfect snack for a homeworker like me (see here). Lately I got a bit fed up with peanut butter and jam (homemade from our own apples and berries, see recipe here) so I hit the supermarket shelves to browse spread options. I was quite disappointed about the narrow choice, lots of jars but more of the same... I ended up buying lemon curd and some sandwich paste (a bit old woman, I know and it did taste like an old sock!). A recce in the refrigerated aisle didn't unearth anything new, aside the usual cheese spreads.



Philadelphia with Cadbury
Then a friend who went to Holland brought me back some fruit and dark chocolate sprinkles (see pic) for my toast, which are quite nice. Of course this is a temporary fix, as I won't be travelling to Holland to stock up.

You probably wonder why I don't go for chocolate spreads then (Nutella anyone?), but I do find them sickly sweet. 

So I was quite excited when a refrigerated box turned up on my doorstep with a new, mystery spread. It was
totally unexpected, a chilled chocolate and cheese spread, combining Cadbury milk chocolate and Philadelphia light cheese. Apparently a similar spread already exists in Italy and Germany. so it was high time it was launched in the UK, after all this is the country where I had my first taste of chocolate cheesecake, a delicious concoction that is often made using Philadelphia cheese.

Curious to try it? Choccy Philly is in the shops right now and retails from £1.62 x 160g tub. It's totally moreish, with the right balance of sweetness and has only 86 calories per serving - what is not to like? My daughter and I both enjoyed it as an afternoon, after-school snack.  

I do hope that new products are in the pipeline for sweet and savoury spreads, I could do with more spreadtastic varieties....