Where to buy the best koeksisters

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!