TOTAL GREEK YOGHURT REVIEW

I was sent some Total Greek yoghurt to sample and use in my cooking. Here's my long overdue review and some suggestions on how to use the yoghurt. The top photo is full-fat yoghurt served with honey and was absolutely divine.

Tsatsiki made with Total yoghurt.

Fat-free yoghurt served with jam.

2% fat yoghurt served with complimentary honey.

2% fat with honey.

Total is real Greek yoghurt rather than the cheaper 'Greek-style' yoghurt, and it is strained to remove excess whey, apart from the little 2% tub, I think.

As you can see from the close-ups, the low-fat and fat-free products are less even in consistency. The 2% yoghurt is thicker around the edges of the tub and slightly grainy whereas the full-fat one is beautifully smooth. The non-fat one is evenly thick, though grainy, because it has been strained and has a disk of paper resting on top to prove it but the 2% with the honey one is thinner.

The honey that comes with the snack-size tub is good quality and there's plenty of it.

Flavour-wise all the products are good in their category. I like to use full-fat products so my palate wasn't as keen on the non-fat and 2% ones but they were good compared to similar products. I found the fat-free yoghurt surprisingly creamy, which is probably because it's strained and therefore condensed.

I used the full-fat yoghurt in curries and in a baked cheesecake, replacing half of the cheese with Total. I flavoured the cheesecake with grated marzipan, which may sound slightly strange but the almond was a very good match with the yoghurt.

You shouldn't use low-fat or fat-free yoghurt in anything that's heated up because it may curdle but it's great for dips or non-baked cheesecakes. I also used it to make a layered dessert with shortbread, apricots, pistachios and honey.

BYRON BAY GLUTEN-FREE COOKIES

Paul from Beyond the Bean sent me a sampling pack of Byron Bay cookies. I am in no way connected to either company and am free to write an honest review.

Byron Bay are an Australian company that also seem to have a UK branch since the cookies I received were baked over here. Although the samples I got are all gluten-free, they mostly do regular cookies.

The cookies reviewed are dark choc orange, sticky date & ginger with walnut, white choc chunk & macadamia nut, Dotty and triple choc fudge.

The cookies weigh 60g (about two ounces) each and are individually wrapped in order to be convenient for cafés. Boxes of cookies, and cookies of various shapes and sizes are also sold if you shop online. These 60g ones can be bought online by the dozen if you can’t find a local distributor. A quick Google search will give you a couple of websites.

To make the test a full experience, I paired the cookies up with a drink.

Ready to open the box, with my testing equipment a.k.a. mug ready.

Dark choc orange
With rooibos tea.



After coming home from work in the middle of the night I want a definite pleaser and this one seems like a safe bet: I like dark chocolate and I like orange, and I love the combination.

Being the first Byron Bay cookie I have laid my eyes or teeth on this looks a bit like an ice hockey puck: thick, circular and hefty.

At first I’m not too happy about the individual wrapping, though I understand it’s a necessity. My opinion changes in an instant when the orange aroma reaches my nostrils. It’s strong for something that’s not exactly hot straight out of the oven. The plastic does a great job at keeping the flavour and smell in.



The texture of the cookie is very dense and dry, very close to shortbread. The chocolate is of good quality but there isn’t enough cocoa in the dough. The flavour doesn’t quite live up to the expectation created by the lovely, strong smell. Maybe needs more sugar or butter as well as the cocoa?

A bad close-up of the texture. Very dense.

Overall the cookie is very satisfying and rooibos is the perfect drink to go with it.

8/10

Hubby’s verdict: Nice. Feels like a ‘real’ cookie, not a gluten free one.




Sticky date & ginger with walnut
Accompanied by English breakfast tea with milk and sugar.




After a good experience I was ready to go for something risky. This cookie is not something I’d buy for myself so I thought I might get it out of the way and leave the nicer cookies last. How wrong was I.

My Aussie cookie and my English cuppa on my English carpet.

Again, the smell is lovely: just slightly spicy and quite sweet. The texture is soft and very pleasant after the comparable dryness of the Dark choc orange cookie. The soft texture works well with the flavours of the cookie: it’s very comforting, sweet and has a perfectly harmonious blend of spices. A shortbread-like texture wouldn’t probably bring out the flavours equally well.

Texture.

No one flavour dominates and the balance is so good I can’t even tell what the exact flavours are. After a look at the ingredient list I feel silly for not realising it myself.

The dates are indeed sticky and are a nice contrast to the soft, crumbly dough.

I kept thinking about this cookie for a long time afterwards. It’s beautiful.

10/10

Hubby: Pretty good.


White choc chunk & macadamia nut
With sweetened apricot tea, no milk.



The cookie crumbles very easily but the texture has a very nice mouth-feel: soft and delicate, almost melting. Not a bit dry. Again, the texture suits the flavour.




The flavour is sublime. It is sweet, buttery and slightly nutty.

I’m surprised to find that this cookie ‘only’ contains 12% butter compared with 20 % of the Dark choc orange one. My message to Byron Bay: whatever you did to this cookie to make it so luscious, do some of that to Dark choc orange, too.

This has a very rounded and calorific yet sophisticated and delicate flavour. If you like shortbread, you’ll love this. The amount of bits in the dough is perfect, enough to create nice surprises and texture but not roughness.




A surprisingly elegant cookie. Amazing.

10/10

Hubby: Awesome!



Dotty (triple choc with Smartie-like sweets)
Not accompanied by a drink due to milk having run out and general weekend laziness.




A slab of medium-brown dough that photographs as grey. The sweets on the top are not very brightly coloured – some were even light brown, not an appealing colour to children. The packaging is more colourful and the name is simple and fun to appeal to children.




The cookie weighs a majestic 60g, as do the other varieties, so it’s maybe a bit too much for a toddler but that just gives mum or dad the perfect excuse to have some too. There’s a generous amount of chocolate and cocoa in the dough. Very filling and satisfying.

The only drawback remains the colours. I’d like to see a stronger warm shade in the dough and some brighter Smarties to replace the light brown ones.

Also, the sugar coating on the Smarties had cracked slightly during baking. I don’t mind but kids can be fussy. Maybe the chocolate recipe or the coating needs tweaking.




8/10

Hubby: OK but a bit too rich.



Triple choc fudge
With milk





Very chocolaty dough with a generous amount of chocolate bits. The promise of some fudge confuses me because I can’t find any. I’m surprised to find some toffee, though. Maybe a case of Australian versus British English?




Anyway, the toffee/fudge is a perfect addition to a triple choc cookie. It gives it a nice update. We’ve all had dozens of triple choc cookies, haven’t we, and they’re pretty much the same but not this one.

Very satisfying and sweet. I almost forget about the milk.

The amount of chocolate and other bits can be seen on the bottom of Byron Bay cookies. The top is cleaner, maybe to maintain an elegant image of the company.

9/10

Hubby: Good.



My overall view of the samples remains very positive. These are definitely something I'd pick up at a café but they seem to be hard to find. I suppose that's what Beyond the Bean are trying to fix, though.

After a quick Google, I discover that Café Bar Marzano at The Forum in Norwich should stock these but they didn't have any when I checked yesterday. Some larger Sainbury's stores should stock them too.

Dear reader, have you come across Byron Bay cookies? Where?