What the hell happened to Cornettos?

[Ochtawa]

They used to be posh. If you bought a Cornetto you were a classy discerning customer with an edge of sophistication that Mr Whippy purchasers could only dream of. From the highly concentrated syrup, to the smooth and luscious ice cream, to the thick crisp cone, they were a portable culinary delight.

So when I bought a pack in Home Bargains I congratulated myself on having come so far in the world that I could acquire not only one but six of these beauties all for myself.

But what a disappointment. They're tiny, for starters. The tiny squirts of syrup are pale and taste like a cold vegan fruit pastille. The ice cream is like a frozen version of some dodgy grey-goods marshmallow. And the cone is pale and soft. The entire thing is an abomination.

This happens so often now - I buy something to eat that used to be nice and it turns out it's now rubbish. Who the fuck decided to make our food nasty?

Aldi own brand are MUCH nicer. I bought a packet of cornettos on some kind of deal from Iceland (yes, I’m classy), and my young adult children all turned their noses up at them. The Aldi ones, in contrast, vanish before I’ve managed to stash them behind the frozen veg so that I can eat them in the freezer.

The large food corporations buy up the brands and run them into the ground by relying on their name to ensure continuing sales. This only lasts so long, but still results in massive profits before people stop buying. You'll also always have a core of people who will still buy no matter how bad a product gets. This has what's happened to cadbury.

Never mind cornettos - they have completely fucked over Feasts! 😱

The Co op own brand ones are lovely. I have taste tested these vigorously for at least 3 summers. 😋

I always get my 'posh' shopping in Home Bargains as opposed to Iceland. Just gives it that special edge.😀

No!! What’s happened? Please tell me it’s not to do with that beautiful cheap chocolate centre?

The ice cream is now vanilla - the centre is either caramel or a tiny bit of chocolate that you can’t suck the ice cream around it off. It is very sad times

Cadbury really is garbage now, I think I’ve bought my last crème egg this year which is very disappointing (but not as disappointing as the crème egg)

I loved them as a kid, but I’m sure they’re much more upf now and shrinkflation is probably a factor too.
They were not better than MrWhippy, but I dread to think what’s in that these days!

The M&S version in a pack is nice.

Erm you're not allowed to mention that brand without doing the full: Gino o Gino Ginelli song lyrics. I don't make the rules sister, but come on.

are they unbranded? If so, yabu. If they aren’t, yanbu.

Treat yourself to a kinder cone, they are lovely! (But very expensive)

Iceland’s own mint cornettos are far superior to the branded ones.

Have you tried a Mr Whippy lately - they are absolutely vile

We have tested and tasted too much
Through a chink too wide there comes in no wonder.

Blame shrinkflation and also the sugar tax.

A lot of stuff got smaller when the permitted number of calories/sugar content for a single serving came in. It is also why certain chocolate bars that used to come as one big bar in the wrapper now comes as two smaller ones in the same wrapper, with a discreet '2 servings' listed somewhere on the packaging. You cannot call 1 large cornetto 2 servings... so they got smaller.

The soggy cones is either - crappy store management, they've slightly defrosted then refrozen, or cheap, shitty chocolate lining the inside so the moisture from the icecream makes the cone soggy. It is more apparent on the big brands as they're trying to decrease cost of making it/increase profit whilst keeping the product recognisable. The store own brand versions don't have the same limitations they can alter the recipe easily year on year as benefits their bottom line.

Ice cream has gone to shit. It doesn't even melt anymore. It turns to foam instead of liquid. Chris Van Tulleken has some interesting things to say about modern ultra processed ice cream. It's not worth buying. It's just not enjoyable.

Nostalgia's not what it used to be, thats for sure.

I see your "posh" cornettos and raise you a Viennetta. So posh we only had them as an occasional dessert after a Sunday lunch.

I have a cafe and often stock them in Summer. Sometimes they’re soggy, other times they’re not. I think it’s dependent on how they’ve been frozen.I do sometimes buy supermarket branded ones if I run out, and they are better.

🤣👏🏻

I realised when I lived in Italy that the gondolier is in northern Italy singing a southern aria. And cornetto means croissant. Now I can't eat them any more 🥸

Cornettos. Why an apostrophe?

They are very disappointing now. I miss the old days.

probably already mentioned but I don’t think they put the chocolate at the end of the cone anymore either!!