In future, you should put two identical dishes as Plate A and Plate B to see if there's a kind of placebo effect in these tasks. It'll be interesting to see if they taste differences in the dishes because they feel like they're trying to find differences.
How about a three-way test next time: Budget, Standard, and Premium? It seems like on the mayonnaise one it wasn't that one was more premium, it's that the other was too cheap. In most cases you seem to be testing Standard and Premium; but for many of us the question isn't, "Is premium better?" it's: "Is the budget good enough?"
Maybe four ways: Budget, Standard, Premium, and Home-made? The last one might not be suitable for produces, unless they decided it's funny to put something from Ben's garden in.
I would be partial to having three dishes but still just normal and premium. Two of the dishes would be the same and not only would they have to pick the premium but also whether it was the double or single so we can tell if they actually are noticing the difference or getting lucky.
I will say the fact that they both agreed B was more sour and “punchy” than A for the lemons proved that the higher value lemons really are sweeter and less acidic (as advertised). The problem is that we tend to use lemons for their acidity and so we naturally associate lemon quality with how effectively you get that sourness with less lemon. I don’t know what I would use sweet lemons for as opposed to using regular lemons but adding something sweet.
Completely agree. The same also applies to honey. As someone who loves it and uses if for all sorts of things, I cannot imagine using an expensive organic varietal for a dish like porridge where the unique flavor profile isn't going to stand out at all. Blended honey, such as orange blossom or clover, is going to give a more uniform flavor and the honey taste you're looking for without wasting money.
Although, Suzanne, tarte au citron (for me, the dessert to die for) and lemon meringue pie might well benefit from the use of Sicilian lemons and be worth the extra cost? That said, I have never, ever come across a Sicilian lemon in rural Wales. I wonder where they can be found in the UK, apart from London of course?
@@suzzanahbessette6989 I have to disagree about the Honey. Maybe it's because I'm Australian, but different blossom honey's have VERY different flavours so even in cooking that flavour can stand out and be noticed. The difference between wild blossom and Yellow Box is significant enough to be noticed for instance. Even the different varieties of Manuka tend to have noticeable taste differences and that is just different version of the same flower.
@@jens1924 I once got a load of sweet lemons delivered instead of the usual ones, and I had to adjust every single drink for the weekend service, it was a nightmare. Sweet citrus is not great for drinks unless you specifically build around it
@@bbhybris Here in the USA, for example, the amount of food packaged together is a great deal more than you find in a country like the UK, where Sorted is filmed and the meal pack recipes are developed. You buy less food, more frequently in the UK was my experience when I studied abroad for a semester. The US is all about buying bulk - so produce comes in larger packages, as does meat and bread, etc. You end up with a lot of food waste.
@@bbhybris uh, no, not niche. It makes the meal packs unappealing for anyone outside the UK. Unless you can buy exactly the quantity specified, you will have leftovers, likely in unusual quantities, and no idea what to do with them.
Yes, I was breathlessly vibrating with laughter by the end of that hat trick. My dog was concerned! Thanks, guys. I needed that! I'm sorry,Bazz. You look so sad. It'll get better. Sure can't get any worse.
Saaame. I just woke up too early and thought I'd quietly watch RU-vid on headphones until my wife wakes up. I'm now trying to explain to my wife that it's actually Sorted's fault that she's been woken by the squeaks of me falling to stifle a laugh.
I know everyone loves Pass it on and I totally get it and get excited about it too but my favourite formate of yours is definitely Pick the premium. I feel like it's the most practically useful for me as a consumer and I always learn so much that actually translates to the way I shop. Please, keep them coming! Btw - I've been doing a similar thing with my boyfriend (last time he judged like 11 different mozzarellas) and it's so much fun!
@@SortedFood In the end it was Galbani (which was my guess before) and mozzarella from one small Italian business (if you ever come to Prague - can't recommend enough - Mozzarellart is what they're called) but by a much smaller margin than I expected. Zottarella (no idea if it's available elsewhere) did also great. Lactose-free was called "it's like it pretends to be mozzarella". :D What was great about this as an exercise is that I thought the Mozzarellart was much more expensive than the ones from the supermarket. And I found out it's only about 25% more which really isn't all that much so now I allow myself to shop there much more often. We also did parmesan (the verdict was very much that power is in the aging, not the brand - "fake" Czech parmesan - Gran Moravia - was blindly tested to be as good as Parmeggiano Reggiano, as long as it was aged for over two years. The youngest PR costs like double of the old GM and is not worth it at all. Highly recommend this as an activity, it's really fun. :) And you guys at Sorted Food inspired me to it.
@@JudyCZ Hello fellow Prague dweller! I gotta second the MozarellArt recommendation. I also quite enjoyed the 'Authenitic' mozzarella and burrata from Kosik delivery. Galbani is a safe supermarket pick. I've tried some of the cheaper brands too, but they tend to have a grainier texture when I'm not a fan of.
The lemons might be interesting for me. With honey I have a "buy regional" policy. I like to support the regional bee keepers and get a good quality product at a good price point. That´s a clear win win. My favourite shop sells 2.5 kg for around 25 €.
Likewise here in New Zealand, I'll try and buy local over imported wherever possible. You can buy cheap Chinese garlic in the shops here but I'd rather pay a little bit extra for New Zealand grown, and can better trust it hasn't involved any human rights violations or racked up hundreds of air miles to get here.
Local honey is very healthy, too! It can reduce allergies because the body gets used to the pollen in the honey. My doctor recommended it to me, and it cured my allergies. Just a teaspoon a day during allergy season keeps the sneezing away! (For my severe allergy friends, it helped them reduce from prescription meds to over-the-counter generic meds.)
@@fionaclaphamhoward5876 My brother actually met a lady who developed a garlic allergy! She suspects it's because most of the garlic she'd eaten was from China. :(
This has been a lesson that I think many people needed to be reminded of, including myself. Premium or more expensive doesn’t necessarily means better. It all depends on what the product is and wha is being used for in that particular occasion. I would definitely try to get a better tasting ingredient if it’s going to be the main flavor in a dish or eaten on its own. But it is ridiculous to spend an absurd amount of money on a premium ingredient that’s going to be masked or overpowered by other flavors. Also, who buys such expensive mayonnaise when you could perfectly create your own version at home?????
A lot of people would think that the premium is the one that has more of the distinct/characteristic flavour that we associate with that ingredient, yet that character may be because we're all so used to the cheaper (relatively speaking) stuff that has more of that flavour - not that the distinct flavour is actually any better.
its like whisky. some people will try and be pretentious and buy a $100 bottle and then mix it with coke. if youre going to mix it then buy the $30 bottle.
Also the question is if better equals more intense flavor. Instead the video shows that usually the cheaper product might be more intense, but less natural. We are so used to industry flavors that the real thing tastes bland. I once saw a show about children and food and they were disappointed that tomatos didnt taste like ketchup. Many of us lost the connection to the real taste of the unmodified original product. We should not think better means stronger taste. It rather might be more healthy, less crap inside or just regional and smaller sized production and less mass industrialized. What you might expect is flavor variation, the honey next year might taste different beacuse it is not normalized in the factory.
A lot of these products cost more because of how they are made. The flavor isn't really what sells them, it's the (often meaningless) marketing buzzwords they can throw around. Organic, non-GMO, etc. etc. Those words don't make a product better or premium, they just make it more expensive for no good reason.
Always try to buy local honey, it really helps maintain beekeeping, essential for agriculture. It does not need to be fancy either - just be prepared to pay a bit more.
If yall have farmer markets they tend to be a bit less since you buy directly from the source. At least where I live. Local honey tastes so much better!
@@BethyCaraBethy I've actually learned the exact opposite is true - I tried some raw Australian bush honey because I'd heard the same thing and spent 3 days desperately trying to figure out why I was breaking out in full body hives with some throat swelling before I realised it was the new honey I'd been drinking in my tea!! So be careful with local honey if you've got pollen allergies!
@@Ac3OfWands I believe I read somewhere that this is actually why the "squeezy bottle" brands mix their honeys. It lessens the chance of allergic reactions.
@@BethyCaraBethy My doctor recommended local honey to me, and it cured my allergies. Just a teaspoon a day during allergy season keeps the sneezing away! (For my severe allergy friends, it helped them reduce from prescription meds to over-the-counter generic meds.)
I think it is interesting how much nostalgia and what we are familiar with can affect preference and assumptions about taste. I really appreciate when the premium ingredients are "pantry staples" because seeing these play out helps me understand better some of the reasons why I choose premium for some things and cheaper for others. (Beyond budget constraints.)
I love the fact you chose staple, every day ingredients this round. Makes me appreciate each level of care that goes into food and its journey from growth and production to the trip to the market for consumers!
Excellent description of your meal packs app. Knowing that it generates a shopping list AND the recipes in a pack are grouped to use up all the ingredients is amazing!! These details should really help increase usage. You should include that clip in most/all of your vids. 🙂
Just recently discovered this channel and loving it! One thing I can think of to try is BUTTER!!! Think about how often we all use it and how we use it in different dishes. Keep up the great work!
I mean there's no real comparison is there? Truffles by their very nature are expensive but when you can get good lemons for a quarter of the price, there's not much reason to justify the posh lemons.
@@captainace1277 As well because lemon is almost like a spice, you don't normally want an eating lemon, you want a flavorful one. But if you are buying a lemon to eat it, of course you might want to consider a more specific variety.
Honey is so interesting, my sister in law is a bee keeper so we get amazing honey whenever we need it. I love seeing all the different colours of honey depending on what hive it has been. It is so much better than all of the normal honey we can buy in-store it’s probably comparable to some of the super expensive high UMF Manuka honey.
Manuka has an unmistakable aroma and taste (I tried a rather pungent version). So i would say it’s not the same as usual honey, it’s more like truffles and different mushrooms. It’s different, you can’t replace it, but you also don’t have that many uses for it.
@@drdrdrk because the manuka tree is so prolific in New Zealand a significant amount of our honey has some manuka in it, and we also tend to just eat manuka honey like elsewhere you would any awkwardly sweet runny honey. It’s possible we are just spoilt for choice.
The "non-EU" honey that we get here in the supermarket in many EU countries has glucose-fructose syrup in it which is not on the label. Several news sources have done investigations into supermarket honey and we are essentially paying for sugar syrup that has nothing to do with bees. Which is why it is so much cheaper than any EU honey that we get.
These standard vs premium videos are some of my favorites. I'd love to see an egg video. Compare regular egg vs free-range vs farm fresh in several dishes - scrambled, sunny side up, in a baked item, and in a sauce such as hollandaise. Also a comparison on fresh herbs such as Ebbers' home grown vs fresh from the market vs "fresh" from a squeeze tube, or fresh garlic vs that pre-chopped jar stuff on several dishes. Keep up the great work boys - this is my favorite RU-vid channel by far!
@@anne-marie9842 There's a big difference in taste, looks, and texture. I am fortunate to be able to buy directly from a farmer; I've been to their farm, and they raise free roaming healthy chickens with long lives. Nothing beats a farm fresh egg from happy chickens! 😄 When farm fresh isn't available, I agree with you that the next best is the healthiest option at the market.
@@stone5against1 lol. As someone who has both eggs from the supermarket and eggs from our own chickens, the eggs from our own chooks taste and look far better. Funny thing though, we often had a surplus of eggs from our chooks so I gave a box of eggs to my sister and she cooked fried eggs for her friend but the friend didn't want to eat them because the yolk was such a vibrant orange from the natural free range diet, supplemented with chook feed. Lol, she was used to pale supermarket egg yolks.
@@MaZEEZaM yeah I know what you mean, one of my brother has chicken in the summer and last year I spent a week at their place to watch the dog, and the colour was so different.. Same with other "homemade" eggs I've bought from coworkers who have chickens and too many eggs
I am so thankful for coming from a mediterranean country where you can get really good quality ingredients and the prices are not premium. I don't think I've ever had honey from a supermarket, since it's easy to buy it directly from the small-scale beekepers, and it was a real shock for me when I moved to Germany and even the tomatoes from the farmers market were watery and tastless compared to what I was used to.
You can definitely get honey from small local producers in the UK - I live in the North East and can think of several options I can find in local shops and markets ☺ and most are only a few pounds- honestly not massively more than a jar of supermarket honey, especially for how much better it is!
A lot of the time it depends like I’m from Michigan and we have a regional super market called meijers and there produce is very good a little more expensive but better because they have deals with a bunch of local farmers in the state where as places like Walmart the produce isn’t as great because it has to be shipped in from other countries and states
You should come up with a game where the Normals have to make a dish with a series of these ingredients and either try to stay under a budget or have their dish judged relative to the price per portion. As you have shown before, there is a good use for cheaper ingredients depending on what your cooking.
Would be a good idea, I never buy the stuff as I just make it myself. If you need it in a hurry it only takes a minute in an electric mini-chopper. Also means you can add any flavours that will match the dish while you're making it.
@@Getpojke I recently started doing this. I don’t use mayo on things so I never buy it. I don’t eat many eggs but I do use beans a lot. Turning the aquafaba into mayo takes seconds and then i have it for a week or so.
@@Sunny-ot1vo I eat a lot of beans too & if I don't have eggs in or have a vegetarian friend around I use the aquafaba. I was surprised the first time I tried it as it was really good. Both keep well too, I didn't think the aquafaba would be stable but it is.
It’s be interesting to throw in a round in one of these where the two dishes are identical and see if the placebo effect of looking for a difference would cause a ‘difference’ to be found or if the normals would say they’re the same.
That first test brought back memories of when I used to work for a premium fizzy drinks and cordial manufacturer and we had organic and non-organic lemonades. I always found the non organic lemonade was superior because they bought in these beautiful delicious lemons from an orchard in spain. Meanwhile the organic lemons did not look or taste so good, so in the organic lemonade instead of the juice from these amazing lemons you would instead be getting a lower quality lemon juice that fulfilled the organic requirements.
I love this series mostly for the fact that it’s changed the way I do my weekly food shop! I plan my dinners for the week to construct a shopping list, knowing what can be kept in the fridge or freezer and what can be bought fresh throughout the week, but also making me smarter with my spending, knowing where I should be spending more on premium ingredients to make dishes better and where to save money buying cheaper products that only complement the dish or are eaten for sustenance!
Pick the premium - maybe different cooking oils? - sunflower,olive,etc ..with cheap and expsensive of each and also comparing types to each other, i.e. is olive oil better for an english breakfast or is sunflower ??!
Called it on the first one. It seems like so many "premium" products seek to lessen the more defining characteristics of the product. This works when you're making a simple dish that allows the subtlety of the product to come through, but it doesn't quite work when you're looking to get the full effect of those characteristics (in this case, acidity).
Would really love to see a lactose vs lactose free vs battle. As someone with lactose Intolerance I find that recently the products have been getting much much better and closer to the originals.
Can you try simple vs premium spices or preground vs fresh ground spices? I have a preferred garlic powder I've found that's less grainy and more aromatic than others.
I already often use this channel to relax, so a friendly conversation amongst a bunch of knowledgeable people discussing whatever interests them is awesome. I'd love more of this format in the rotation, thanks!
I always buy premium honey because (in the US) several honey brands have been shown to mix their honey with corn syrup. I always make my own mayo because it just tastes so much better. I thing we all have different ideas of what we would rather spend more on and what we forgo.
Have you done eggs yet? I know Britain/EU has different environments for production than the US does. That'd be interesting. Maybe even a Pick The Premium Dairy edition. Cream, butter, cheese (gotta use Mike on that), eggs.
I love this series because it shows that just because something is "premium" or "artisan" doesn't necessarily make it better and I just imagine it knocking some pretentious slags down a few pegs
You know, when James comes back around, I'd love to see this format turned on its head. See how delicate the chefs' tastes are, and do a Pick the Premium, except instead of A vs B, they have to find it A v B v C. Conversely, take the A v B format, but give them an unlabeled lil spice bowl of the key ingredient and see if they're able to utilize it effectively just off sniff and taste alone. Make it a Gambler's Duel.
There are so many different kinds of honey I am never sure what kind I should get… it’s like a wall at the Store of different textures and flowers and stuff in those honey and I never really know what would be the best for what I want to do and I don’t have a „go to“…
I'd love for you guys to do comparison videos on basic supermarket ingredients rating them from best to worst and generally giving opinion (working through common brands and supermarket own brands). As well as "what is in season in uk and to cook with it" having supermarkets stocked year round - takes a lot of knowledge and research knowing what is in it's best from local produce.
I’ve done a few honey tastings (in New Zealand and in Tasmania) and it’s always surprised me how different the flavour of honey from different trees and bees can be! I’m still not a huge honey fan but I can appreciate a good one
This was an exceptional episode, Rip to [spoilers] for the clean sweep. Except a clean sweep in being wrong. Also! For future videos, would love seeing you all going back to kitchen essentials / kitchen tech / etc recommendations =D I loved the old comparisons between knives, cutting boards, tea towels, etc; and as a home cook who doesn't necessarily know where to optimally put the bucks for upping their cooking game, those videos have always been super helpful =] Thanks again for being rad, and sorry barry.
Honey is one of those interesting ingredients where you don't necessarily have to go expensive to get different flavors. Most supermarkets carry a supermarket brand of both clover honey (very sweet, what most people associate with honey flavor) and wildflower honey (usually a bit more amber, much more floral of a taste). Specialty stores/chains (like Whole Foods in the US) also usually carry things like orange blossom honey (not my favorite but people love this on toast), acacia honey, manuka honey (delicious but super expensive) along with a smattering of local options. A favorite of mine that I've found at a store is Trader Joe's Mostly Mesquite honey (from Mexican mesquite trees), it's much more earthy than clover honey and has almost an agave-like aftertaste and reminds me of the time when I used to live/visit family in Arizona when I was a kid.
Have you guys done butter yet? I can't remember... I just bought some Bordier and well,it's certainly a different experience from the stuff at the store!
I find it hard with Honey to Pick the Premium because Honey always depends on the region where where its from. Even the same Brand of Honey does not always taste the same everytime.
It would be fun for them to taste the dish, pick A or B, *then* get to taste the ingredient on its own. If they stay with their original choice, they get a full point, if they switch, and they are right, they get a 1/2 point. Sometimes it seems the preparation leads them astray unfairly.
Honey is always a really interesting ingredient for me because it can taste so wildly different for being the same thing. I try to buy local honey whenever I can, just feel like it's a better idea if I actually know where it comes from.
Think the honey would be the most interesting for me, since I'm trying to cut down on refined sugar. On a side note : It seems to me you lot need to go out and do something silly/fun, since you broke one of your Normals today.
The freshness of harpist is the time from when it cut/crushed to eating. Not so much when it harvested. As garlic when still in the Peel last very well.
Apparently a lot of "mystery blend" honey actually contains some sort of sugar syrup with a percentage of honey added. They're not really allowed to market the sugar syrup as honey, but often times food testing can't detect the syrup (producers keep changing the ingredients, as soon as a test can detect it, they'll find something new). It does keep the price down and thus makes the honey blend more accessible to everyone. There's a lotttt more demand for honey than there is 100% pure honey being produced by our lovely little bees :D
Watching Barry fail to pick all the premium ingredients was amazing! He's generally more familiar with those sorts of things. Watching Jamie learn that subtlety can be a sign of quality while Barry missed that entirely was also hilarious.
I would love for you all to have a look at smoked garlic, but maybe more as a food trend then as a pick the premium. As someone living in more Northern Europe but with Mediterranean root, I love this ingredient but could never get it more Northern. It has now spread and is popping up in more Northern countries too, and I think it deserves some love.
One of the great things about honey in the US, is that local honey is often readily available. Ever since I tasted a local wildflower honey in my early 20’s I’ve been a bit of a honey snob. And you can find local honey in many places in the US, from farmer’s markets to your local grocery store. My local farm and feed store even carries a good selection. And American beekeepers encourage the purchase of American honey (plus there’s been some scandals with imported honey here in recent years, particularly Chinese honey) so a lot of people look for US Grade A Honey label and if it doesn’t have it, they won’t buy it.
Beekeeper here. Just want to clarify that honey will naturally crystalize. Ben said it as if it were something unusual or that quality honey wouldn't do, but in fact if it doesn't, it's because it has been diluted with high fructose corn syrup, which many squeeze-bottle honeys have been. The reason the supermarket one wasn't as good quality was because it was a mix of honeys from different places. Also, quality honey may come with a bee leg or wing, as it's really hard to keep bees away from the extraction machine and some get sucked into it. And because the honey is not processed or filtered, you'll get the pieces. Honey is antiseptic so just remove them and enjoy your honey.
The lemon is an interesting test because for anyone who has grown their own they learn that lemons don't travel that well - so premium lemons can suffer with distance. However, these two lemons have different uses. I made lemon pasta the other night with lemons straight off our young tree. It is just an ordinary lemon, but wow, what a difference!
Vinegars and olive oils in salad dressing; vanilla flavorings in ice cream or baked goods; bouillon cubes vs canned broth in soups; store-brand vs name-brand peanut butters on sandwiches; dairy butters on toasted English muffins; Club soda vs high-end sparkling water.
You should consider a “Guess the Diet” episode where you make a dish from a popular diet and obviously they have to guess the diet. Would be a bonus to include the recipes and cooking instructions. Just an idea. Love the videos.
For the taste test on mayonnaise, I wish they’d tested a well known mayo brand (beginning with “H”) against Japanese Kewpie mayo. I believe there would have been a world of difference between them - in favour of the glorious Kewpie. This is made entirely from the yolk of the egg, not the albumen as well….
When Mike said "It's not made for a beard" I laughed because in my household we sometimes refer to foods based on how difficult they are for me to eat when I have a beard. "That's not beard food" we say.
I remember subscribing to this channels when you guys had under 100k subs. I haven't kept up with your content. Loved the thumbnail and it brought me in. Honestly, this video was super fun! Hope you guys are doing well!
This video taught me that lemons are lemons and garlic is garlic; it's not about what is premium or fancy, but what my palate likes. Also, that Barry's palate is becoming budgeted. That's not a bad thing Baz
I think the first comparison with the lemons proved something else... the value of premium ingredients is also in how you use them. All that subtlety of flavor was actually a detriment as a pie ingredient, but tasting it fresh made a huge difference.
In the EU, a large portion of non-EU honey (where there isn't a clear disclosed location, e.g. Vermont honey) isn't actually honey, but rice syrup with some honey added.
Good lesson on where the expensive ingredients would be showcased better and where economy is just fine. Butters would be another ingredient that would be interesting in the taste tests, but with several variants.
