(upbeat music)
- Boys, in front of you, you have A and B each.
Tuck in.
(upbeat music)
- Oh. - Oh, hello.
- Both dishes have been created equally.
So the same weights, measurements, cooking times
and temperatures when required.
There is only one ingredient that has changed.
- Barry, do you have any idea what that is?
- Why am I eating coleslaw out of a martini glass?
(Jamie laughing)
Really savory, it's got like ribbons of
- [Jamie] Green.
- Green in it, yeah, it tastes really green.
It's all like cucumber, it's wet.
Should we switch to B?
- Oh, they've been carefully prepared by our food
team to showcase the one ingredient we've changed.
- Mm
I'm getting less green from that one.
- I'm getting more red.
(Barry laughing)
That feels more tomatoey to me,
to me, whereas the first one feels more cucumbery
- Tomatoes!
- Have we just got a salad in a martini glass?
- What you have is a gorgeous little starter of salmon.
- What?
- [Host] Tartare.
Some jelly, some cucumbers, some wasabi, some dill.
These are all ingredients involved,
but what ingredient has changed?
- I can't tell you what ingredient it is that's changed.
- Ah, there's something.
There is something in A that's packing and more of a punch.
- It's the soy sauce.
So what you are eating, is soy marinated salmon
with a soy jelly,
and a little bit of cucumber, dill, and wasabi.
One of those martini glasses has been prepared
with a more premium, and by that we mean more expensive,
soy sauce.
Which is it ,A or B?
You've both locked in an answer,
and now you can both remove your blindfolds.
I mean you've made a real hash of them,
- Oh, Barry!
'cause they were beautiful when we started.
- Barry!
- Oh my goodness.
- You messy pup.
- [Barry] Oh!
- The jelly is darker, and therefore
I would assume the soy is darker in A.
- Okay, so turn your answers over.
- One, two, three.
- You both went for A.
(Barry laughing)
And I can reveal that in this round,
the premium soy sauce
was in fact, A.
Absolutely correct.
- What of that?
Super tasters.
- A, our premium option, is Sanchi organic tamari,
whilst B is Aldi's light soy sauce.
So let's go back to soy sauce in general.
It is fermented soybean, and it's often
soybean paste
and roasted grain
combined with yeasts
that are fermented
and then put into a salt solution like a brine.
Tamari is a more refined version where it is just soybean,
and they're not mixing it with grain, which is cheaper.
It is why tamari is often the gluten-free option
and soy sauce rarely is gluten free.
- Interesting, though, I found that B, though
you said it was more, it felt balanced.
It felt like I was getting more of the flavors
from the salad than I was in A.
- You're completely right.
B, it was less harsh.
- It reminds me a bit of balsamic vinegar in that
I have a balsamic vinegar that I dip my bread into
or finish a salad with.
The premium version, I can see dipping my sushi into,
I chuck this in the rice.
- And I think that's a great shout.
There are lots of applications of soy sauce,
from marinades to seasonings in dishes
as you cook, or through broths or through stir fries.
They are both similar, but they have
gone through a different process.
I think the question here is,
without knowing its origins and its production methods,
do you think they made the noticeable difference?
- They definitely make a difference to a dish.
- And for me it's the application.
- Okay.
What if I told you that that light soy sauce
from Aldi worked out at three pounds 70 per liter.
How much per liter for our premium Sanchi tamari?
- 21 pounds.
- Holy polita!
- Eight pounds.
- It is in fact 30 pounds per liter,
so it is eight times the price.
- When you think about the application for each of them,
I don't have a problem with that price difference,
because throwing a cheaper soy sauce into a dish
that's going to be with a lot of other flavors,
balances everything out, fine.
If you know you've got something special for dipping,
and you're only gonna need a little bit of it at a time,
you're gonna use it in a particular place,
then I think you'll want to spend the money
on something that is more premium.
- Interesting and challenging start to the video.
- And yet you both got it right.
- Yeah.
- Let's see how get on in round two.
(upbeat music)
Round two.
- [Barry] Yes.
- [Host] Dig in.
- Oh dear, I'm nervous about the texture of this.
- Mm.
- That was the test tongue.
Always tongue it first, just so you know.
- Oh, I'm getting barbecue.
- Mm-hmm.
- I've definitely got a bit of meat there.
- I think it's pork.
- Yeah.
Really, really tasty.
Don't know what I'm eating.
- Something in the sauce has changed.
Oh I've got something completely different that time.
- Isn't it?
- I've got sour cream?
- There's a dollop on there,
but it really is the underneath we are looking at.
- Oh my goodness, I forget how hard this is.
- A has a sweetness to the sauce
that B doesn't.
- It's got, it's still got a tang to it.
Like a barbecue sauce should be.
- I'm gonna stick my neck out.
- [Host] Come, not very far.
- Goulash.
- [Host] Excellent shout.
This is a Hungarian goulash,
and one key ingredient has changed.
it is the paprika. - Paprika, yeah.
- You have locked in your answer.
I don't know whether visuals
would give you much more of a clue.
Turn your boards around in 3, 2, 1.
You both think A (Barry giggling)
- I think I'm only saying A because in B,
it tasted paprika.
I can really, it really jumping out.
This was offering something additional to it.
- With paprika, you either get sweet or you get smoky.
- [Barry] Yeah.
And I think with Hungarian goulash you're looking
for the sweet paprika, and because of that,
of that A was sweeter,
and therefore I felt - Mm-hmm.
like that was probably the premium paprika.
- [Barry] Yeah.
- In this instance you are both spot on.
A is
the premium.
So in this case, B is Sainsbury's smoked paprika,
whereas A is Menol spiced Hungarian.
- [Barry] Oh, wow!
- Smoked paprika, but it is smoked sweet.
- Get your nose in it, and it's they are worlds apart.
- Yeah, there's a couple of things when it comes to spices.
Number one is freshness.
If you have that in your cupboard for six months,
you won't be able to taste it as much
as you can if you have it when it's brand new.
- Yeah.
- Having said that,
buying a premium spice then takes that up another level.
- Yep.
You're spot on.
And if we think about what paprika is, it's quite
literally ground up capsicum, which originated
in North America
or central Mexico,
and was brought across
in the 16th century.
And the Spanish in particular,
a lot of the Mediterranean absolutely loved it.
And then in Hungary, it kind of found another home.
And that is the Hungarian word paprika that we use.
So we don't call it pimento, which is the Spanish word.
And the Hungarian paprika is argued to be some
of the best in the world now.
- I always wanna buy the premium stuff,
'cause I know how much difference it makes.
But it's so much more expensive because I can't buy in bulk.
- Even as a longer term investment,
I think it might still pay off.
- The Hungarian more premium option is made
by just using
the flesh of the capsicum,
whereas most throw in the stalks and the stems
and the seeds and all the, the pithy inside as well.
You get the whole pepper.
But by actually using just the flesh, you get
that super red color as well.
It's also protected in nice little cotton bag,
with what they call an aroma protecting bag
with metal strips.
But let's talk price.
- Yes (fist bangs)
- The Sainsbury smoked paprika.
We're gonna do this per kilo, 17 pounds per kilo.
- So it's about one pound 70 for that pot.
- [Host] Give or take.
How much for the Menol spiced Hungarian
smoked sweet paprika?
- 60 pounds.
- 80 pounds.
- The actual answer is smack bang
in the middle.
It is 70 pounds, or 69.99.
- [Both] Oh! (all laughing)
- So I win.
- By a half a pence, yes.
- Oh!
(fist bangs) - Damn right.
- That's not the game (fist bangs)
- But you both picked the premium,
and you both got the point.
So it is about four times more expensive.
- That is something that I would make at home.
That is something I'd get in a restaurant
in a restaurant and I'd go, "Why is that so good?"
(gentle music)
- So far you've both got both correct.
Let's see if we get three for three.
- What the hell?
- On the count of three.
1, 2 3.
- Face in foliage.
- Oh excellent mouthful Jamie,
you've got a little bit of everything.
YouTube has.
The foliage on top is
a nice big mound of watercress.
Under that you've got a cream cheese,
or kind of ricotta filling.
You've got beetroot under that and a pastry base.
There's a little bit of Szechuan pepper
in the candied beetroot.
- Oh, yeah.
- [Host] And you've also got obviously,
the pepperiness of watercress.
Well, try B.
There we go.
You got the ne (coughs and laughs)
Very brave.
Which bit's changed?
- Isn't the cream cheese you're talking about?
- It is indeed the ricotta.
- Oh a lot of cream cheese.
Oh you creamed on me!
- Oh no, I didn't mean to.
B looks good adjective here.
Splittier.
Whereas A, it looks like it's all one.
- [Barry] Yeah.
- [Host] More homogenous.
- Yeah.
- Whereas B looks like it's got different elements to it.
I'm not very confident.
- I'm confident, but less certain.
- In 3,
2, 1.
You've both scribbled B
- You're such a friend.
- Is that what it is?
- Yeah.
- B looks more natural.
Looks like it's been less, is less processed.
- That the premium ricotta
in this round is
B.
- Yes.
- [Host] Spot on again.
- Come on.
Turns out these premium ingredients do make a
difference, even with a blindfold on.
Do you wanna see 'em?
- Yeah.
- Have a little taste of the two ricottas on their own.
A is Ocado Italian ricotta.
So certainly not the cheapest of the cheap.
But compared to our premium,
which is a rich ricotta heart made by
Gioella.
Well that's got a lot of vowels in it.
(both laughing) - G-O-E ella.
- It's, it's more, it reminds me a bit of
(both) egrata.
It's what egrata is filled with or-
- Egrata.
Darling.
Yeah, it's a very
different texture. - Mm.
And also
A, it tastes of milk.
- So ricotta is basically translates to
to "cooked again" or "re-cooked."
- Yeah, okay.
- It is often the whey of mozzarella making.
So the byproduct of making mozzarella
gives you whey,
that is then
left out
to slightly acidify, and then it is heated up
up so it denatures and becomes ricotta.
So it's often made from the whey.
However our premium product, they skip
that process of using the byproduct
and goes straight in with the quality milk.
This however, is made with milk that comes
from native brown cows that graze
in a semi-wild environment across the valley in Puglia.
- The two things I do it in all the time
are bacon sarnies with chili jam and ricotta.
It's incredible.
- Ooh, Barry, that's (indinstinct)
- I know.
And the other is tiramisu.
- And I think obviously ricotta can be aged
and dried out
and it can become incredible in that sense.
But typically in this form it's a fresh cheese.
It has a relatively short shelf life.
So it is one of those things that actually fresher is best,
unless you're doing the very dried, aged variety.
The Ocado Italian ricotta, five pounds per kilo,
a perfectly good product, whip that
into all sorts of things.
Whether it is sauces, salads like this whipped up,
it goes in sweet or savory.
How much do you think for the Gioiella rich ricotta hearts?
- 30 pounds.
- I'm trying to think of the past cheeses
I've bought in the past.
- 15.
- Jamie, you're much closer.
In fact, you're spot on.
30 pounds a kilo.
It is six times more expensive.
- It's a different ingredient.
Completely.
Like if I was buying ricotta
to serve as ricotta, that makes no sense.
If I'm buying ricotta to bury it in tiramisu
or in a sandwich, or something like it's hidden.
I don't think you to spend that much money on it.
But if you want it as the hero of the dish.
- Yeah.
- Make any sense?
- Well you've got another one right, each.
Each that's three points apiece.
Round four.
- Still close.
I've won every price round so far.
- Irrelevant, that's not the game.
- It comes down to a tiebreaker,
what we gonna use?
(upbeat music)
- Same rules as always.
You have A and B.
This is definitely finger food.
- Oh.
Dig in.
Honestly if you ate this with cutlery,
people will be fuming.
Oh don't tickle the tip like that.
- What is that?
(Both yelling indistinctly)
- Why is it so wet?
It's a hot dog with the sauce
and the bread isn't it, you (beep)?
Oh, that is good.
You know what?
Frankfurters get a hard rap sometimes.
But that is delicious.
- There's a lot of effort going into this.
It is a cheese-stuffed hot dog-
- [Jamie] Oh!
- [Host] Wrapped in bacon - Oh, spicy.
Topped with kimchi and a mayonnaise in a soft pretzel bum.
- The kimchi the difference.
- Correct.
- The kimchi of B
is definitely spicier.
- Yes, a little bit.
- A is more sour.
- Yeah, it is, you're right.
- I think I've got an answer
- I am the least certain on this one.
- Okay, boards down.
- Oh no wonder we made a mess.
- Look how loaded they are.
- Well you've both scribbled an answer.
- Yeah.
Turn around your boards
in 3,
2, 1
- Pow. - Pow.
- Oh!
Same again. - Boring.
- Even without a blindfold, there are
noticeable differences in taste alone.
The question is in this instance,
have you picked the premium?
- I was trying not to give too much away,
because when I tasted B, I was tasting kimchi,
but it was so much more fragrant than kimchi.
- Yeah.
There was spice and nose was going bonkers.
- Well I can now reveal
that the premium, more expensive kimchi,
is B.
- Wo ho!
- Four out of four correct.
So here's what you've got.
A
is Jongga,
Korean kimchi.
And B, our more expensive premium,
is Cultured Collective classic kimchi.
So both of these are naturally fermented,
unpasteurized kimchi.
B, our premium, that is
all the things you'd expect.
Cabbage, mooli, which is a radish,
spring onion, carrot, onion,
it's got anchovy in it.
And then chili, garlic, salt, ginger,
and a little bit of sugar.
Whereas A is something we picked up
from an Asian supermarket, is an authentic Korean kimchi.
And if you look at the front of the bag, it's quite
literally almost the entire whole cabbage that's rubbed
and seasoned and put in.
Both are live,
and both have all that goodness
of being a fermented item.
A, the cheaper option, made in Korea.
We bought it in Malaysian supermarket.
B is more of a brand we're perhaps more familiar with,
made in Switzerland.
- The strange thing is,
it wasn't the quality
of the cabbage
that made that delicious.
It was the additional flavors added to it.
- Yeah.
- So you wonder whether or not
what spices or flavors we could add
to our dish to get that a little bit closer.
- Yes.
It's thrown me 'cause I'm a bit perplexed.
'Cause this is the traditional, authentic kimchi,
and yet,
the more expensive one,
which we're calling premium,
is not a traditional, authentic kimchi.
- Still loved and crafted with similar ingredients.
It's a London-based company.
But you're right,
it's not the authentic, traditional one.
- I'm still nervous of kimchi,
in terms of I use it sparingly.
I use it almost like a seasoning,
like a little dollop on top of something.
Which I know isn't the traditional way of using it.
- The cheaper option there, the Jongga
kimchi from Korea, is seven pounds per kilo.
How much do you think for the premium?
- What do you think?
Winner takes all on this one?
Well no, because it's three-nothing at the moment.
- Yeah, well, we need to decide.
25 pounds
- 30 pounds.
- [Host] It's 21 pounds, 80.
So it is three times more expensive.
- I'm gonna use a word called appropriation.
This feels like it's taking something that is traditional
and authentic, and then putting our own spin on it
and charging more money for it
because we put a nice brand on it.
And I know it happens.
- But, at the same time,
it's made something I love more accessible
to the way I use it
as well.
- It is also quality.
The company Culture Collective,
they do a number of fermented items.
This is one of them.
They know how to do quality ferments,
but they are not necessarily traditional,
authentic like the A you've got in front of you.
Boys, four out of four.
- But then three-one.
- Really impressed.
And Jamie, you're a bit closer
on the prices, but hey-
- Wasn't the game. (all laughing)
- I think you both did very well.
- Thank you Uncle.
- Over to you guys.
Do you use any of those four at home?
And if so, which end of the scale do you tend to buy?
Which one makes a difference?