Tuesday 18 February 2014

McCain Ready Baked Jackets review

As some of you may know I am a BzzAgent which means I sometimes get items or vouchers free to review I was lucky enough to get McCain Ready Baked Jackets. Well I got a voucher to purchase them for free. 
 I was a little sceptical to try these as I love fresh, oven baked jackets. I enjoy cooking them but as I am a student and always in a rush I thought these would be pretty perfect for me. Mum went on her weekly shop to Asda but they never had any in stock, later that week she went back and they had them. I can't remember how much she said they cost but she said they wouldn't be worth it with the 50p off vouchers. I've looked around online and they seem to be about £1.65 and many stores are sold out.  

How to cook



If I am being honest I was a little surprised with the cooking guidelines and feel they make the packaging false. On the front it says 'microwave 5 minutes' when really there is only one microwave that does it in 5 minutes and the whole point of these is for them to be 'fast food' why would I buy these to oven cook them for 45-55 minutes when I could buy better for cheaper and cook them for that long knowing I've personally washed them and cooked them how I like them. 
  
On microwavable plate and fresh out the microwave.
I think you can agree it isn't the biggest or best looking potato in the world but I can confirm it tasted better than it looks. I do have to say that the picture makes it look bigger than what it honestly is. I decided to have one jacket for lunch with some butter, cheese and chicken/sweetcorn mix. It was delicious but this was more due to the stuff I added to it rather than the plain jacket. I wouldn't say there were "Baked to Perfection" but it was pretty good and totally worth it for when you fancy a jacket but don't want to spend an hour waiting for it to cook in  the oven.
 As you can see from above there was a half decent crispy skin and a fluffy center but once I started eating it there wasn't the amazing taste I was expecting, or hoping.

I'm not sure if it was due to the fact I took a picture but by the time I sit down (about 2/3 minutes after taking it out) it was warm and no longer steaming hot which can be an issue if you're baking more than one and cooking for a few people. The butter didn't melt too much (only the little bit you can see under the jacket) and the cheese didn't at all. 
I think I will stick to putting mine in the oven and having them fresher




Product: 3.5 out of 5
Packaging: 2.5 out of 5 which is due to the bulkiness
Quality: 3.5 out of 5
Overall: 3.5 out of 5
Would I buy it? I don’t think so.
 
Price: £1.65

I'm sort of sitting on the fence with this one and I know it is a really mixed review. I just can't give it a 5/5 when there are so many things I'd change. 
Have you tried these or are you a bzzagent?
| Facebook | Twitter | GFC | Bloglovin' | Youtube |

6 comments:

  1. Ahh I like these. So easy to do with some cheese and beans and these are great if you're a student or you work and you only have a microwave to use because it's basically just like *ZZAAAPPP* lovely jacket spud. But you're right, you can't beat a fresh jacket potato xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very apt review , I also prefer things fresh

    ReplyDelete
  3. I was just thinking today I'd really like a jacket potato but I didn't want to wait ages for it to cook so I can see the appeal of these, but fresh is always going to be better x

    ReplyDelete
  4. I totally don't get the point of these when you can buy 4 bigger, fresh for much less £! I'm not really a jacket potato person, but when I do them, I zap them in the microwave and then bung them in the oven on full whack to crisp up at the end. I can see the appeal when you're short on time though.
    I'm interested to find out more about this BzzAgent thing though, do you have a recommend a friend link for it? X
    http://thats-just-her.blogspot.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I do mine like yours, microwave then oven. Maybe if they were cheaper I'd be happier :)
      For some weird reason BzzAgent only lets you invite people via email. No link. x

      Delete