Sunday Times Food Awards 2018
Where to buy the best koeksisters
Our taste testers have spoken: here's which SA supermarket to head to when you want to pick up a sweet treat for tea
HOW WE CONDUCTED OUR TASTE TEST
IT'S FREE AND FAIR!
Chefs-in-training make excellent tasters. They're curious about food; they have a well -developed sense of taste; and when it comes to rating a product, they pull no punches.
For this reason, we asked students from the Johannesburg Culinary and Pastry School to join us for a blind tasting of koeksisters from leading supermarkets.
All products for the tasting were purchased, stripped of their packaging and numbered by the Sunday Times team in the school's kitchen. Auditor Jade Craig monitored the process and added up the scores.
THE RESULTS
FIRST PLACE: SPAR
12 cocktail koeksisters
Price: R24.99
What the judges said:
- Mpumelelo: Sweet and oily but nice.
- Yolanda: Amazing, the best.
- Mangaliso: This one does it for me. Soaked very well.
- Gugulethu: I love them, they look fresh, with moderate crispness.
SECOND PLACE: CHECKERS
12 bites of love koeksisters
Price: R24.99
What the judges said:
- Sharon: A bit hard and too sweet.
- Mpumelelo: The taste and texture are nice.
- Mandy: Not overly sweet and not as hard as some samples.
- Yolanda: It's just OK.
THIRD PLACE: WOOLWORTHS
12 mini koeksisters
Price: R32.99
What the judges said:
- Sharon: Just too sweet and hard.
- Mpumelelo: Quite nice and original, little dry.
- Mandy: Very sweet but soft.
- Gugulethu: Appearance not appetising and too dry.
FOURTH PLACE: PICK N PAY
10 cocktail koeksisters
Price: R29.99
What the judges said:
- Rose: It's hard, too much sugar, and fatty. Cheap oil was used to fry.
- Mpumelelo: Very hard and way too oily. I could hardly taste the koeksister.
- Yolanda: So dry on the outside.
- Busisa: Hard rock!