Sunday Times Food Awards
Sausage rolls to samoosas: where to buy the best snacks for a party platter
Our taste testers have spoken: here's which supermarkets make entertaining easy with irresistible savoury snacks
HOW WE CONDUCTED OUR TASTE TEST
It's free and fair!
Taste is a subjective thing, we know, but if you gather a group of people together — as we did with Sunday Times readers — and ask them to blind-taste a range of readymade snacks from four of the big retailers, you are bound to find winners and losers.
The readers were asked to score the snacks according to appearance, taste, suitability as a cocktail snack, generosity and whether they would buy the item.
To be sure of fairness, auditor Jade Craig oversaw the event, tallied the scores and gave the tasting her stamp of approval.
We discovered that although the variety of savoury, store-bought snacks available has increased, convenience comes at a price — plus a mountain of packaging that is discarded. Come on guys, surely you can come up with packaging that is more environmentally friendly?
THE RESULTS
CHICKEN CHIPOLATA SAUSAGES
FIRST PLACE: Checkers
Price: R49.99 for 250g
Judges's comments:
- Roy: A really good sausage.
- Despina: Appearance, taste, flavour and texture excellent. Would recommend it.
- Joy: Well-seasoned, texture good
SECOND PLACE: Woolworths Chicken Chippos
Price: R45.99
Judges's comments:
- James: Looks pale and undercooked.
- Yvette: Very dry and unappealing.
- Nthabi: Too light in colour, tastes bland and oily.
BBQ PANCAKES
FIRST PLACE: Pick n Pay Mini BBQ Chicken Pancakes
Price: R17 for 4
Judges's comments:
- Shantal: The pancake part was perfect but I'd have liked more filling.
- Rory: Doughy pancake but nice filling.
- Nigel: A little sweet for a savoury.
SECOND PLACE: Woolworths BBQ Chicken Pancakes
Price: R69.99 for 16
Judges's comments:
- James: Distinct aftertaste.
- Nthabil: Too thick and filling not nice.
- Cheryl: Filling grainy and soft and no real chicken flavour.
CHICKEN SAMOOSAS
FIRST PLACE: Checkers Chicken Samoosas
Price: R39.99 for 270g
Judges's comments:
- Despina: Excellent taste and texture. These are recommended.
- Joy: Flavours good, crispy & spicy.
- Yvette: Nice and golden on outside but little filling.
SECOND PLACE: Pick n Pay Chicken Samoosas
Price: R48.90 for 13
Judges's comments:
- Nthab: Yummy, great taste.
- Caroline: Very spicy.
- Andrea: Pastry too thick, little filling.
- Nyakallo: Small but good flavour.
THIRD PLACE: Woolworths Mini Chicken Samoosas
Price: R52.99 for 16
Judges's comments:
- Liz: Pastry was floppy, not crisp.
- Cheryl: Pastry and filling were dry. Filling looks like sawdust.
- James: Bland, not a real samoosa.
SAUSAGE ROLLS
FIRST PLACE: Woolworths Beef Sausage Rolls
Price: R59.99 for 24
Judges's comments:
- Yvette: The filling is quite compact but the flavour is good.
- Laura: Pastry is nice and crispy.
- Caroline: Good size, oily, but tasty.
SECOND PLACE: SPAR Mini Sausage Rolls
Price: R34.99 for 12
Judges's comments:
- Joy: A meaty, moderate attempt.
- Anita: Good texture but too salty.
- Santal: I would buy these.
- Caroline: Very meaty, needs less fat.
THIRD PLACE: Pick n Pay Beef Sausage Rolls
Price: R34.90 for 12
Judges's comments:
- Puleng: Neatly folded, tastes okay.
- Yvette: Good flavour.
- Linda: Tasty filling, too much pastry.
FOURTH PLACE: Checkers Cocktail Beef Sausage Rolls
Price: R44.99 for 400g
Judges's comments:
- Joy: Looks dry, poor value for money.
- Laura: The pastry is quite nice but dry.
- Liz: Doesn't rock my world.
MINI CHICKEN PIES
FIRST PLACE: Pick n Pay Roast Chicken Cocktail Pies
Price: R49.90 for 9
Judges's comments:
- James: Looks great. The filling is tasty but there's not enough.
- Nthabi: Delicious but a bit too salty.
- Shantal: Too little filling for the size of the pie.
SECOND PLACE: Checkers Mini Chicken Pies
Price: R49.99 for 350g
Judges's comments:
- Rory: Decent filling, doughy pastry.
- Liz: Yuck! Chicken drowning in sauce.
- Nyakallo: Looks fair, bland filling.
THIRD PLACE: Woolworths Chicken Puffs
Price: R42.94 for 8
Judges's comments:
- Puleng: Too salty and flakey.
- Cheryl: How can it be called a pie when it's more like a biscuit?
- Nigel: It's quite flat and greasy but it tastes good.
BEEF CURRY VETKOEK
FIRST PLACE: Pick n Pay Beef Curry Vetkoek
Price: R49.90 for 12
Judges's comments:
- Wynand: Sweet bun, good curry.
- Despina: Delicious.
- Puleng: Sweet taste, looks good.
SECOND PLACE: Woolworths Beef Curry Vetkoek
Price: R69.99 for 15
Judges's comments:
- Liz: Quite greasy.
- Yvette: The filling is nice and fragrant.
- Joy: The curry powder was not cooked sufficiently with the mince.
THIRD PLACE: Checkers Beef Curry Vetkoek
Price: R44.99 for 350g
Judges's comments:
- Kathryn: Too big and too much dough. Little filling.
- Nyakallo: Generous portion with lots of flavour but you taste the yeast.
- Betsy: Very doughy, sweet taste.