Sorry about the delay in transmission from me but the uptake of the Ambrosia rice pudding goodies has been rather slow in our household! Think it's only fair to point out that we are not really big on puddings here and I had this naive thought that that this generous product review would refresh the pudding parts that have yet to be reached in our family. It has not entirely proven to to be the case!
Overall, did you enjoy the Ambrosia rice pot range?
The children were not keen at all even on the children-oriented chocolate and jam pots. Sorry - they just seemed to dislike the texture of rice and milk together.
DW and I were altogether a lot easier to please and enjoyed trying them all out. We very much liked the variety of flavours (although some more than others), the different sized pots and the big family 'tub'.
Would you buy any of the pots again? If so, which ones?
It's a difficult one. They would be an ideal lunch-box staple especially given that they don't need to be kept refrigerated, but of course the children weren't keen.
I would certainly happily eat the apple or Devon custard variety again and would be happy to have a supply at work for snacking purposes especially during the winter months. I could see myself eating one for breakfast instead of cereals. I personally think that the 190g pot-size is a good adult sized portion
Do you think you would recommend the range to your friends and family (if it came up in conversation)?
I would recommend the range to families with children who like rice pudding or are generally keen on puddings. It is a good semi-sneaky way to get dairy products into growing kids!
I do think they are a good store-cupboard standby, particularly when you need comfort food (when you are ill) and would happily encourage DW to stock up in the same way that we do with Baxters Soups!
Did you enjoy the taste of the rice pots? Did your children enjoy the taste of the rice pots?
The children weren't keen at all but then they're not even keen on home-made rice-pudding - Sorry!
DW and I particularly liked the Devon Custard variety and the standard Ambrosia Rice Pudding was tasty. I did however get a strange texture feeling as if there were starch flakes added? It definitely wasn't the rice part and to start with I thought that it was very fine shavings of apple, checked the pot and I wasn't eating the apple-flavoured one.
The jam one aside I didn't feel that the flavours were over-sweet at all which can only be a good thing!
Did you or your family / children have a particular favourite flavour? Which was the most popular? Which was least popular?
The chocolate one didn't really taste of chocolate - it tasted artificial and a bit ersatz.
The jam one was a bit too sweet and think that raspberry would have worked better.
DW didn't like the 'light' variety and felt that the calorie saving wasn't really worth the compromise on flavour (it had a strange after-taste).
The grown-ups in this house loved the Devon custard variety!
Which size pot did you prefer?
The Sharing Pot offers the best value for money and the opportunity to apportion rice pudding according to appetite and size/age! But really only if the whole family would be eating the Ambrosia.
The 190g pot suits an adult appetite and the 115g more suitable for children. There would in our opinion be a place for small toddler yoghurt sized portions (40g or 50g) to buy in trays of six.
When would you / your family be most likely to eat the rice pots?
As an energy boosting snack or possibly as a treat and vaguely anarchic alternative to porridge in the winter.
Although our children wouldn't have them in their lunchboxes I think they would be a welcome alternative to yoghurts for most children.
Would you include a rice pot in your child?s lunchbox or on a picnic?
Not sure about picnics as we like to produce 50s style home cooked/prepared stuff in our picnics.
Sort of thing you could have in an emergency supplies box in the boot of your car though for if you get stuck somewhere and need food/drink to hand.
Would you say that the range is good value for money? (recommended prices are: 500g Sharing Pot, £1.39, 190g Rice Pots in Devon Custard, 65p, 120g Rice Pots in Apple and Chocolate, 45p, 115g Light Rice, 49p, 145g Rice + in Strawberry Jam and Raspberry Jam, 69p)
Not entirely as I'm pretty sure you could rustle up a rice-pudding for a family for £1.00. However, as an indulgent treat I don't think that 65p per pot for the Ambrosia Devon Custard ones is breaking the bank....And I would indulge in those!
Have you bought or do you think you will buy any products from the range following the test?
We've only just finished trying them so haven't really had time to consider buying more. I am not sure that DW would go out of her way to buy them as it's only she and me who would be eating them and we are not really pudding monsters! However, I think if I was shopping with her and saw them I could use my charms to persuade her to get in a stock of the Devon Custard ones ;-)!
Thank you for choosing us to do the product review and I'm sorry that I can't report back that we've converted the children! But it certainly has put Ambrosia products back on our radar and I for one will keep an eye out for them on the shelves!