(upbeat music)
- Hello and welcome.
Normals, Are you ready?
- Always
- Very ready, Ebbrells.
I love these
- In that case,
number one is in front of you.
You have A and B as always
both prepared identically
with the exception of one ingredient.
We want you to identify it and then pick the premium.
- Straight away a waft of salmon.
- Wrong.
- Oh, I was really confident of that.
(fork hitting plate)
- Nearly
- It almost taste like a potato salad.
- On the base,
you have a little potato salad.
- There we go.
Bosh, what a pallet.
What a palette!
- Well, have a go at B
and see if you can spot any differences.
So you've kind of got an appetiser portion.
- Nothing is screaming at me,
but there is a subtle difference between the two.
One tastes slightly fresher.
- Feel like I'm getting more from dish A.
- More?
- More, more flavour
more variety and flavours, more depth, more balance.
- I dunno if that's good or bad
but what we need you to do is pick the premium.
Do you think it's A or B?
- I think it must be A
but I don't even know the ingredient we're talking about.
- The ingredient we are talking about is creme fraiche.
- I'm gonna say that A is the premium.
- You can now remove your blindfold and have a look.
- They look completely different.
And I dunno whether that's
through processing, quality don't know.
But they don't taste hugely different to me.
Can I eat it?
- Yeah.
- I think I'm right on my taste profiles.
That does look thicker and fattier.
- That's smoother and it's tangy
and it tastes like creme fraiche.
- I can reveal that the premium
in this round is...
A.
You got it correct.
This is Bordier's Creme Fraiche.
So it is a family business, artisanal
from Normandy in France, very rich,
creamy.
They say almost like a cheesiness to it,
but very smooth, very creamy.
Whereas B,
is Tesco Creme Fraiche,
it's made in Britain
with British dairy and is our more affordable option.
- They're both delicious, but B is slightly harsher.
Tell you what,
for dolloping some of this on top of some, some nachos.
I'd go for the premium one.
Mixing all the flavours, it's not that noticeable.
- It all comes down to the price, Ebbrells.
- So you're saying they're not worlds apart.
What if I told you that the Tesco version
works out to be thirty-three pence per hundred grammes.
- What's this?
- I wouldn't be surprised if that's something
like three pounds per hundred grammes.
Which is ridiculous.
(Barry laughing)
- It's one pound eighty per hundred grammes,
but that does make it five and a half times more expensive.
Obviously the Bordier French version
is family business, artisanal.
There's a lot more care and attention that goes into it.
And that will drive the price up
than a supermarket sort of mass produced product.
- Dab that on top of some nachos or
- A dollop on a, like a slice of
or a really rich chocolate brownie as part of a dessert.
- But when I use creme fresh at home
to plunk on my chilli con carne
it's being mixed in and the cheaper version works perfectly.
- And as always, if money wasn't an object,
then yes, I would buy that.
But money is an object, from a purely personal
at home budgeting perspective
and the difference it's made, I'd go there.
If money wasn't am object and taste wasn't
yeah, that is better, but not better enough for me.
(upbeat music)
- Number Two
This one's a bit more familiar handheld.
You might wanna start from the bottom and work your way up.
And then you'll pretty quickly clock what it is.
- Always in a cupcake case.
- I know exactly what you're doing here.
- Having fun while you're blindfolded.
- I'm gonna indulge you.
Wait!
- What touched your tongue?
- As I got to it, the smell was not sweet.
- Open wide.
[Mike] Ooh, wahoo.
- That's not a cupcake.
(Ebbrells laughing)
Some fiery horseradish in that.
Wait a minute, I've got steak as well.
What is, what are you?
- Have you put, have you put sushi in a cupcake?
- We left Kush on his own for a couple of days
and that's what happened.
- This is chirashi don.
Which is very beautiful things on top of rice.
So on, on don.
- That's what is sushi.
it's a Wasabi.
- Essentially, you have sushi rice
with a little bit of wasabi.
A wasabi and soft roe puree.
- Some muscle, some salmon and some baby octopus.
You've made a mess of A, now make a mess of B.
- That has to be the wasabi because this one is
has nowhere near as much of a kick as A.
- In which case, yes, it is the wasabi we're talking about.
Please pick the premium A or B.
- I'm gonna go B.
I felt like there was a strong hit.
It just tasted less
(slaps hands)
and more here's some flavour, enjoy it.
- So I've had raw, real wasabi,
and it has a wonderful kick to it.
There's so much more layers to it than just
green horseradish, which is pure fire.
A is incredibly familiar.
That is, that is now wasabi as I know it.
Whereas B, something a little bit different.
It feels more subtle.
And I think I'm used to eating the cheap stuff.
So I'm gonna say B is the premium.
- Take off the blindfold.
See if visually there's any stark difference.
Not that you can, but would you change your mind?
- I actually wouldn't
cause now knowing that a lot of the wasabi that we consume
is dyed horseradish.
A is greener, B looks like it's got more texture.
It's more fibrous and it's less luminous.
- I'm not sure you're a normal home cook anymore.
You are absolutely correct.
Yep. B is Yutaka wasabi.
So it is made with 65% real wasabi
from a particular precinct in Japan.
Whereas A also made in Japan,
but made with wasabi that isn't grown
in Japan is just 4.5%.
The rest is horseradish.
- As much as being just booted in the face
it's a little bit more nuance in the booting of the face,
in the real wasabi.
So yeah, I'm, I'm pleased with that.
- Funny how, when I first tasted that
I did taste horseradish over wasabi.
Whereas the second one didn't taste of horseradish at all.
It tasted of something fragrant
and I, I'm on board with that.
I love that I really hope it's not ridiculous expensive.
- The regular one is
three pounds seventy-two per hundred grammes.
- Okay. How much better is the other one?
And would you spend that?
- I'm gonna say five pounds per hundred grammes.
- I'd happily pay at least a fiver for that.
- They should put up their prices.
It's only three pounds, fifty.
- Good, but that does make it
two and a quarter times as expensive.
But you are getting
more than ten times the amount of actual wasabi in the tube.
- So an extra couple of quid on proper wasabi,
I think is well worth the extra.
- Pay a few more pounds.
You get a completely different product
and a completely different experience,
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(upbeat music)
- Round 3, two more dishes.
Exactly the same as before, prepared identically.
- Ah, what is that?
- Don't ever invite Mike around to a barbecue cause
he just goes into all the salads with his hands.
- Mike will not turn up to your barbecue
with a blindfold on.
(laughing in amazement)
- Guys. I'm sorry you had to see that,
a good generous mouthful.
What are you getting?
- Am I getting all the dish?
- Well you're getting a fair chunk of it.
Move on to B, see if there's any difference.
- Ribbon cucumbers. That's not a dish.
- Is there more to the dish than cucumber and salt?
- There are a number of ingredients in there.
You do have cucumber.
You also have watermelon, chive, a dressing
and some pine nuts.
It's a pretty salad.
- Oh
- Here we go again.
Do you like it?
- I love this.
This is a very refreshing, exciting salad.
- I feel like I'm just, just eating cucumber.
- So what do you think we're trying to
spot the difference on?
- Cucumber, but it's not.
- Why have you ruled cucumber out?
I don't know.
Cucumber is the item that has changed.
One of them.
- That's so hard.
- Why is that hard?
- Because I buy posh cucumbers at home.
I was moaning that I can't taste the difference.
- Cucumber is always that thing as an afterthought
it's, it is a garnish and a drink.
It is chopped up for a salad
because you can't think of anything else to add to it.
Where actually, increasingly we are doing some
wonderful cucumber ribbon salads
in and around midweek cooking.
Cause it's such an easy,
delicious side dish to go on a plate.
Stand out difference? Zero difference?
Subtle difference?
- I really can't work out the difference.
Any difference.
- Come on Baz.
- No, wait a minute.
Try and work out how natural these are.
- How natural?
- Because the non-organic cucumbers
usually have less watery bit in the middle.
- What?
- 50/50.
I'm gonna say B is the premium.
- Okay.
- I'd say the wetter one's better.
So let's go for B as the premium.
- You've locked in your answer.
You can remove your blindfold.
- I think I've nailed that.
- With sight back in play.
- Based on my ridiculous logic of there being
the inside of these cucumbers having more seeds
and also that's a unusually shaped cucumber.
One you don't see on supermarket shelves as often.
- I can reveal that in this round,
the premium cucumber is...
B.
That is Natora ridged cucumber.
To give you a more intense experience.
And it is, no their words, not mine.
Their words, not mine.
Whereas A is an Ocado, cling wrapped cucumber,
much more affordable.
- Without all the dressing
(Crunch)
- I mean we audibly heard the difference.
- It just tastes more like cucumber.
- We thought as a food team, stand out difference.
If you take slice for slice
that is as a cucumber should taste.
Whereas A is kind of, almost
like a diluted, that'll do cucumber.
(Barry) That's lovely.
[Ebbrells] A is fifty-nine pence each.
- Do you know why?
I think it's entirely down to application
because that does taste a lot better.
In usage, in combination with other things.
I couldn't really taste much of a difference.
- How much for the premium cucumber?
- Let's go one pound twenty, let's go double.
- We buy posh cucumbers at home though.
The ones I buy don't look is wild.
So say, say one pound.
- It is one pound sixty.
So it is nearly three times,
two, two point seven times as much.
- If you care about how your food has grown
and where it comes from
you would be willing to spend more money on this cucumber.
- Which does on its own taste better
and have a different texture.
- Absolutely.
- If it, if cucumber is the only thing that you want
to jump off the plate, then spend quite a lot more.
Don't think you'll regret it.
- Three for three.
Can you make it a hundred percent?
[Ebbrells] We'll see. Let's move on to round four.
(upbeat music)
- Okey dokey.
So far Barry, three for three.
- Yes.
- All to play for in the last round.
Can you pick the premium?
- Oh, they're on boards.
Soft, sticky.
And it shouldn't be touched.
(Barry laughing)
- What the heck is that?
This is not handheld.
[Ebbrells] I think you'd have more comments
saying you were odd
if you eat it with a knife and fork.
- Well, why is it so sticky?
- [Ebbrells] I said keep thumbing it.
- Well it feels like a croissant.
- Yep. Named off its shape.
Present.
- I'm nervous.
Please just be a croissant.
- Elevated from a, you know good croissant
that has had something added to it.
- Is the texture the same?
Ah, what have I put my finger in?
- Hopefully that doesn't get taken outta context.
- It's got chocolate on the inside as well.
- And that's B.
- We're, we're talking about the,
a chocolate sauce here.
- We're talking about chocolate spread.
Yeah. Pretty, pretty much spot on.
- To B, it tastes like every chocolate spread that I know.
It's quite oily.
It's incredibly sumptuous.
Whereas A, has got something else.
- Less of the hazelnut vibe, but more of the chocolate.
- B
- B is the premium.
Are you quite quite definitive on that one?
- A is the premium.
- Blindfold off.
You're not allowed to change your mind.
Would you?
- That looks ultra processed.
That looks more firm and chocolatey.
- Texture's amazing on that.
It's so smooth.
Very happy with my choice.
- In that case, I can reveal
that the premium chocolate spread is...
A.
- Oh my goodness.
(Barry celebrating)
- That is, Refuge Chocolate.
Chocolate spread with 42% Belgium dark chocolate.
B is Sainsbury's basic range chocolate spread
for only 8% cocoa powder.
Primary ingredient: sugar at 49%
and palm oil and rapeseed oil
both as they state sourced from well managed plantations,
making up majority of that spread.
- I went purely on texture and that is silky smooth
and yes, perhaps oily more processed
or more emulsifiers.
- And probably what we are used to.
It has also got a little bit, a tiny, tiny bit
of hazelnut flavouring from natural sources.
- This has everything going for it.
Better looking, has more flavour.
It has more texture.
It's definitely better for the world,
but it's not as pleasurable as something filthy and naughty.
Right? This is something that I shouldn't do
but I can't help it.
- Something about Refuge Chocolate.
They've been operational since 2017
and they exist to help give people a brighter future
through their support of Flourish Northern Ireland.
Which is the Northern Irish based anti human trafficking
charity.
- There are certain products or ingredients, like chocolate
that I've had to completely reclassify my thinking of.
And sometimes you have to do the right thing
and act the right way because of what you know,
and this is one of those prime examples.
So if I were to buy it, if I did have the expendable cash
to, to buy it, then I would go for this with
with everything that I've learned recently.
How much it is, however, is something I would like to know.
- It does come at a premium price,
but the basic version works out at
twenty-nine pence per hundred grammes.
How much for A?
Premium option.
- Well just on the amount of chocolate in it alone,
it should be, quadruple the price.
- Do the math.
What's four times twenty-nine?
- Ebbrells! Don't be a ***
(loud laughter)
When I look at the jar
I see four pounds staring back at me.
But again, this is proper chocolate,
up at a bit Barry.
Because we should be doing.
So let's say that's three, three pounds per hundred grammes.
- I'm gonna say one pound seventy-five per hundred grammes.
- The answer is two pounds fifty-eight.
So it is nine times as expensive.
- That's completely fair for top quality chocolate spread.
- From everything we know about chocolate,
for the company and for the sake of progression,
I would always go to this.
- Go out and buy the best chocolate you can.
You won't regret it.
- But you prefer B
- Every day.
Not every day, every night.
(Barry laughing)
(upbeat music)
- You both had a pretty good day.
Even with blindfolds on,
you could pick the premium more times than not.
- That's good.
- Good.
- However, I can reveal that today's winner is Barry
with a hundred percent correct.
Four outta four, I think in the dishes,
the creme fraiche and the cucumber
struggle to stand out for the pair of you.
You both pulled big differences out of the wasabi
and the chocolate spread.
So over to you guys, I hope you enjoyed that
but please comment down below.
We've done loads of these now
but there must be more ingredients you want us to test
and see if our Normals can pick the premium.
Let us know which ones.
That is a Natora ribbed cucumber
for a more intense experience.
Ridged.
(Barry laughing)
I mean I think
if you look at either word a dictionary
they are synonyms.
Ridged, ribbed, whatever.
Now you're making me blush.