(egg cracking) (food sizzling) (upbeat music) - Hello, and welcome to Sorted Food. - Now, it's been a while since I've blindfolded Jamie and Barry, so it must be time for a Pick the Premium. - Yes, we have our two normal
home cooks Barry and Jamie, and they are going to blind taste test two comparable ingredients and try and guess which of them is
the more premium or expensive of the two. - Excuse me, Ebbers, did last
night mean nothing to you? - Oh, what? (upbeat music) - In front of you, you have A and B. One of those has been prepared
with a premium ingredient, one with a less premium. But, methods, weights, measurements, everything else is identical. - What is that? - Given you something really
easy to eat with a blindfold. (both murmuring and giggling) - Wow, has that got any garlic in it? - [Ben] You all right? - It was def- it's spaghetti bolognese but with a hell of a peppery kick. - It's spaghetti bolognese, you're getting bolognese are you? - I'm kind of guessing it's a spag-bol. - There isn't any pepper in it. - What?! - [Mike] There isn't any bolognese in it. - What? (laughs) So, what? - [Ben] Try plate B. What you have in front of you is a very delicious plate of spaghetti. It's the spaghetti that is the difference. So, this is a recipe inspired by one of our Meal Packs dishes. Wonderfully garlicky and olive oily, and kind of lemon and herbs,
a wonderful crumb on top. Both are dried pasta. One is a supermarket-owned brand, and one is a more artisanal dried pasta with its own I.G.P. - Can't tell the difference. - B is thicker. That is a fuller spaghetti. I think I'm gonna have to
say that the premium is B. - I'll go for B as the premium. - Answer locked in. - [Ben] Take the blindfold off, have a look, see if that
changes your minds at all. - I think that does look ever
so slightly more premium, because it's a bit chunkier. - Am I happy with my answer? I don't know. - I can reveal to you
that B, the one you chose, is Sainsbury's basic dried spaghetti. - Oh, wow. - [Ben] Whereas A, is the premium. It is Pastificio dei
Campi spaghetti I.G.P. It has the protected
geographical status, artisanal. - I'm a little bit comforted because I love my pasta dishes at home, and I don't really spend a lot of money, I always get the cheapest
stuff at the supermarket. - That's exactly why
we chose it, you know, a chunk of our Meal
Packs' recipes are based around staple ingredients. Pasta is one of those, and
we often use dried pasta, so we're interested. Does spending more make
that much of a difference? You got it wrong, so it would suggest, no. Both only have one
ingredient on the label, 'cause you don't have to declare water, and that's durum wheat. - No eggs? - No egg. Most dried pasta doesn't actually use egg. You tend to get that in fresh pasta. Now, the artisanal pasta pushed through a bronze dye, so it is slightly more textured. If you look at it as it's dry form, it is more textured. - So what, is the idea it sticks to its sauce a little bit easier? - [Ben] Exactly that. - I mean that, that feels so different from normal spaghetti. - Oh, you're right! It is, it is textured. - It's rough. So let's talk price. In both instances, 500 grammes. The Sainsbury's basic is £0.55. - [Mike] What do you
think the premium costs? - £3? - £1.20. - [Mike] £5.99 - [Ben] More than 10 times the price. - [Barry] Ooh! In my opinion, that
feels quite extortionate. - Taste-wise, not worth it for me, personally. - [Mike] We have loads
more recipes like this on our Meal Packs app. It helps you plan and cook midweek meals with recipe choices to fit
your tastes and lifestyle. The step by step recipes and audio guides help you maximise the
ingredients you have, saving you money on your
grocery shopping as a result. Join the thousands of others using it, and try it free for a month so you, too, can boss your midweek cooking. - Well, that was a feast. Ready for number 2? (upbeat music) You've got two bowls, a
spoon for each, A and B. Identical except for one ingredient. (upbeat music) - Whoa, it's delicious. - Whoa, what is that? (people laughing) - That was a mushroom, if we tell you it's a mushroom, you're okay.
- Well, it taste like a- - I mean, this is interesting in itself, like, when you don't
know what you're eating, your brain tries to calculate what it is because it could be anything. - [Mike] So you've had a prod
around and a taste of A, try B. Now, obviously, the dish
contains so many components, this might be a difficult question, but can you guess at the
ingredient we're comparing here? - I don't know, is it stock? - This is a challenging one. What we're asking you to
pick the premium is the wine. Some people say you should
only ever cook with wine that is worthy of drinking with. So, that's the question. One of those is made with a cheaper wine, one of those made with
a more expensive wine. It's the summer, so we've done a nice white wine velouté with fish and seafood, some steamed vegetables,
asparagus, samphire, you got mussels in there, and
a wonderful piece of hake. - "Velouté." - [Ben] Now you know, you
can go back to A and B. Spoons work better the
other way up. (laughs) - There is a difference, like that is the thing that I pinpointed, like there is a difference in the taste. I feel like A is slightly tangier, but there are so many
different types of wine, different grapes, different- - We have tried to keep
this as fair as possible, both white wines are
made with the same grape. One, is a lot more
expensive than the other. Pick the premium! - B is the premium. - [Mike] Three, two, one! - B. - Remove your blindfold, you've
locked in your answer: B. Any visual differences whatsoever? - The bubbles, where it's
split, but split in a good way, are smaller on A than they are on B. - Well, Jamie, we can reveal that the premium in this case is B. You were correct! A is a supermarket basic
boxed wine, Chardonnay. And B was a UVC Chablis
Premier Cru Grande. A bit of a bad reputation, boxed wine, but certainly coming back into fashion as the quality improves. - I'd say B, the Chablis, is drier. It's fruiter without being tangy, whereas the Chardonnay's got
a bit more of a tang to it, which I think is what was
coming through in the velouté. - But I enjoy both of those equally because I'm not really
a white wine drinker. - Do you ever cook with
white wine at home? - Never cooked with white wine. I would always add some
red wine into something, like a chilli, or a bolognese,
or something like that, just a splash. If I was gonna buy a
bottle of wine specifically to put it into something, I don't feel like I would go
out of my way to find a special bottle to do that. - Okay, well let's talk price. Both of these products come in
separate, individual weights. So we're going to ask
you to guess the price per 750 millilitres. So per bottle. So if I told you the boxed wine is £4.33, how much do you think
we paid for the premium? - Nice bottle of Chablis, £12.50? - Let's just go for £15. - £25. - Whoa. I was halfway there. - I mean, you can get a
nice bottle of Chablis for £12.50, for sure. I think it's really interesting
because, in the dish, I don't think it makes any difference. If a glass of wine is
going to improve the dish, a risotto, a velouté, anything that you're gonna
actually use some wine for, then I would rather put
a more expensive wine in. Not for the sake of the dish, but because I'm going to
have three quarters left, and that's what I want to drink. - Right, interesting. - Different, different scenario. - [Mike] Yeah, I get it - But in the dish, we've proven today, very little difference, if any. (upbeat music) (crowd applauding) (upbeat music) - So far, a spectacular array of food. - Number three, same as usual, have a smell, have a taste, have a think. (Jamie mumbling) Yeah, yeah, yeah, you can get back to us. Oh, here we go. - [Ben] Little ball to nibble on. - Big time chicken flavour. - What is that? It's a spiced meat. - Almost like a spicy meatball. - [Barry] I thought mushroomy
first, maybe not mushroom, but just really earthy. - [Ben] Try B. See if there's any difference that might help you identify what it is you're trying to pick the premium on. - It is absolutely delicious. But I feel like it's a
less harsh chicken flavour. - Interesting. - I honestly couldn't
tell you what ingredient I'm trying to pick out here. - It's the chicken stock. You are eating two different
bowls of Korean rice porridge. So think congee. So we chose the dish because, essentially, it's rice cooked quite
long and slow in stock. We've also added in sous
vide chicken drumstick, so long, slow cooked chicken that's stripped up and put through. There's also a meatball
in there, just spiced. Some coriander oil, some spring onions, but ultimately, a good rice
porridge needs good stock. - Which dish do you prefer? - On first taste, I preferred B because it was mellower. But the more I keep going back, the more I think I prefer A. - I assume the cheaper
one is chicken stock cube, which, when you have too much of it, you can really tell it's a
stock cube and not proper stock. - Can you pick the premium? - A is the premium. - I'm going for B as the premium. - Okay, you can take your blindfold off, your answers are locked in. See if it changes your mind. - Looks-wise, nah. - No, I (laughs) can't see any difference - I can confirm, you're absolutely right. You're wrong. - Am I? - [Ben] A is the premium, a
free range organic bone broth from Borough Broth, got
a Great Taste award. B was a chicken stock cube from Aldi. And the reason we brought
this one to the table today is because we use stock cubes quite a lot. A powerhouse of flavour, of seasoning, and it's really simple
and very, very affordable. If we're cooking in the studio, we tend to buy fresh stocks because it looks nicer on camera, and I think it does have more of a depth and a richness to it. We also sometimes talk
about making your own stock. If you've got carcasses, or bones, or chicken wings leftover, make your own 'cause
it's practically free, but it takes a bit more effort. - I'm trying to work out if
there's a texture difference. - You'd expect the broth to be
a little bit thicker perhaps. - [Jamie] Yeah. - Perhaps more fatty? - Yeah, a bit more bits in it. - [Mike] Yeah. - Interestingly, 'cause today, given how fair we're doing on the testing, this is the only dish that differed. The one made with the
stock cube cooked quicker. In the same pans, the same quantities, the same temperatures,
but it cooked quicker. And we can only presume that's the salt. The number one ingredient in
those stock cubes is salt. There is none in the chicken bone broth. - There is definitely more chicken flavour coming from A. - I'm surprised because I really thought
this one would be obvious. - Let's talk about price then. Where would you guess? And we've calculated it per litre. So two stock cubes roughly makes a litre and per litre of the bone broth. - (groans) What's that per litre? - [Ben] £0.06. - [Barry] Yeah, who knows, um, £4. - £5? - The free range, organic
chicken bone broth: £15.10 per litre. - Wow, okay. - We've got to point out,
we're looking at this purely from a taste point of view. The bone broth is going
to give you an awful lot of extra nutrition. It is good for you, as well. Last thing to bear in mind, if you're gonna buy fresh
stock, once you've opened it, you need to use it in a couple of days. - Okay. - Whereas stock cubes are gonna sit in the cupboard until you need them. - It's almost a hundred
times more expensive. - Was it a hundred times better? - It's not a hundred times better, but it is definitely better. Midweek cooking, I'll
always go for a stock cube. On the weekend, making something fancy, I'll spend 3, 4, 5 pounds
on a good pot of stock. - But you're absolutely right, you can get great fresh
stocks a lot cheaper, and you can pay a lot
more for stock cubes. So there's always a middle
ground making your own, generally, cheaper across the board. - I'm sure, I'm sure
it's really high quality and an amazing brand, and
they're doing great things. - [Ben] It is, it's
won Great Taste awards, it tastes delicious. - I just couldn't spend
that much money on a broth. (upbeat music) - [Ben] In front of you, A and B, you're probably best to go in
with your hands on this one. It's a real kind of get stuck in. It's a visual dish. - You are not going to have
a clue what to do with this, so have a feel around, you're just gonna have to go for it, mate. - [Ben] I mean, that's the garnish. - Oh. (laughs) What is that? - [Ben] A little bit of seaweed. - Seaweed?! - Why is there a lid? - What the hell is that? - That's a joint! Oh, is it a crab or something? - It is a crab. - [Barry] Oh! - [Ben] Gonna put you out of your misery. What you're eating is
a Cambodian crab dish. Wouldn't expect you to know the dish, but once you've tasted
A and B and the sauce that's in the bowl, can you identify the premium
ingredient we're talking about? - So, the ingredient we're
talking about is not crab? - [Ben] Nope. - For goodness' sake! - Oh, that's nice! A lot of black pepper. Like I feel like I might have just eaten 12 peppercorns. - That is delicious. There is unexceptional base to that that has a peppery warmth. - Move on to B. - [Mike] Take the lid off. - (chuckles) Take the lid off, take his head off. (upbeat music) - Oh, a lot sweeter. - Still very peppery. - [Mike] Mhm. - But I'm not choking on this pepper. Is it the pepper? - Black pepper is the ingredient
you're trying to identify. - Oh, is that what was on the- oh! I thought that was sand. (people laughing) Am I gonna lick a crab? - [Ben] Pepper is something
we use all the time. One of two condiments
we have on the table, and we always season to taste with. Kampot pepper crab. One of them uses basic black pepper, and one uses a more premium pepper. Again, precision was important here. We used 120 peppercorns for each. - Okay, they're both fiery hot. - This one gives you a nice warmth, but then dissipates. This one keeps on developing. I might've just had more pepper, but it keeps on getting
stronger and stronger, releasing more and more flavours. That almost tastes spiced,
as well as peppered. - But any idea of which one
might be the premium and why? - On the basis that B
didn't blow my head off on the first mouthful, B is the premium. - I'm gonna say B is the premium. - [Ben] Okay, take off your blindfold. You've locked in your answer. Have a look. (Jamie exclaiming) Still not sure it will
give you much difference. (people laughing) - Okay so, A is smaller pieces of pepper, and B has big and small pieces of pepper. - [Ben] Gonna put you out of your misery. B, the one you chose, was the premium. - Okay, good. - [Ben] Kampot pepper. And what you may be getting is some of the extra kind of citrusy notes. It's sometimes describe
it as lime blossom, but, more citrusy. So A is basic Aldi whole peppercorns. - Wow, that's a massive difference. You're right about the
citrusiness of the premium ones. - Oh, it smells a bit like coffee beans. - It's got a kind of fruitiness to it. If you pick them, up you
can literally probably crush them into your fingers. If not, with a thumb on the table. They're much softer,
incredible citrusy flavour. They're grown in a particular
region of Southern Cambodia, actually has G.I. status. So it's protected because
of where it's grown. I didn't know about it
until a couple weeks ago. - Wow, really nice. - Should we talk price? - Yeah. - So, we're gonna go price
per 100 grammes here. The basic, £1.19 per 100 grammes. Want to take a guess at
the Kampot pepper price? - Let's call that £9 then. - £12? - Not a bad little guess. £13.98. - Okay, do you know what's interesting? I've never considered
buying different types of black pepper. - I think actually,
something like that, for me, I'd quite like to have in a pepper mill that I would use on seafood,
and prawns, and fish because it's gonna give something a little bit extra. But until we did this today, I don't think I'd even considered it. - At that price point, I could consider buying it, but as a longterm black pepper investment. There's a sentence I never
thought I'd hear myself say. (upbeat music) - So, coming to the results, Spaff, you got three out of four. Good score. Which makes you today's winner! - Yes! - [Mike] Congratulations! You're taking the pepper home? - I'll take the pepper home, that'll save me £14. - Well as always, over to you guys, which of these ingredients
are interesting to you and would maybe make your weekly shop? - And if you liked what
the food team did today, then give the video a like, and then comment down below
with other suggestions they can play with for next time. - I don't think anyone can deny that the food team did a great job today, but maybe next time, just things that are
slightly easier to eat. - Absolutely not! - and just have live
animals just running around. - No, no, no, no, no. - We have to try and find them. - (laughs) Find them? Ants. (people laughing) (beeping) (beeping) - He keeps on getting texted. - "Have you seen my blindfold?" "No, I've got it at work." (people laughing) Sorry.
Is this just my bias against overly expensive Ingredients showing, or does it actually seem like, based on these videos, that buying the expensive one is almost never worth it (coconut milk was worth it) and sometimes the cheaper one is even better (frozen peas)?
The pasta and the stock seemed so unnecessary to me. The pepper a little bit too but I do want to try it.
Most of all I would love to have those recipes; especially the chicken and the crab dishes.
Also; velouteeee
What everyone is thinking... VELOOUUUTE!
Regarding pasta: I don't like how the test basically pits the cheapest possible spaghetti against an overly expensive. Granted I don't know supermarket prices in the UK very well, but I could buy a box of good quality bronze pasta for like (equal to) £2-3 when I lived in Sweden.
I think bronze pasta has some great qualities compared to the regular brand. First it usually has a more robust texture, which is nicer when cooked al dente. Also, since it's not smooth it picks up the sauce better, which is fantastic in some pasta dishes. Also you get much starchier pasta water, which is great for dishes where you want to add that.
I think the test shows product X vs product Y, based on its performance in one dish. But I'd argue that for some pasta dishes I'd much rather go for a bronze pasta, provided the qualities listed above would be a big benefit (like in a carbonara) Although I'd probably not go for that particular brand which is more than 10 times more expensive.
I'm a sad foodie but I must admit I was disappointed that there was no real mention of doing homemade stock. Ben mentioned it as a throwaway comment.
Have a roast chicken and then making stock from the carcass is very cheap and simple. If you have a pressure cooker it can even be fairly quick. It will give a better result as well.
Pop the stock into the freezer in recipe size containers and then take it out the morning you need it. I've not bought stock for years. I do have some cubes at the back of the pantry for emergency needs though.
Boxed wine is actually good for cooking because they have an internal plastic bag that prevents it from going bad. Or well, getting worse than it already is :D