Own-brand Cola

[TG]

barely anyone does cloudy lemonade

Both Tesco (own brand and Ben Shaws) and Asda (own brand - basic and Extra Special) do

and just while we're on Tizer, what have they done to it? It's vile now...

[Malpass93]

barely anyone does cloudy lemonade

Both Tesco (own brand and Ben Shaws) and Asda (own brand - basic and Extra Special) do

Tsk @ myself for being unclear. I did mean at restaurants, pubs and clubs etc. I do drink cloudy lemonade at home, a lot.

But there are far more soft drinks than that - what about Fanta, Tizer (I had some recently for the first time in a long while), Irn Bru?

And once again, tsk. Basically, if I missed it out, I'm not fond of it.

Strangely, I quite like peach ice tea. Sounds so weird, but it's bloody refreshing.

[Alexia]

Tsk @ myself .... I do drink ... at home, a lot.

Strangely, I ... Sound .. so weird

Couldn't resist it

[Malpass93]

Tsk @ myself .... I do drink ... at home, a lot.

Strangely, I ... Sound .. so weird

Couldn't resist it

OK, that one WAS good.

[Nini]

and just while we're on Tizer, what have they done to it? It's vile now...

Maybe it's my cloudy lemonade-like memory but I remember it always being vile and not really improving when they replaced the chemical lab with more natural flavourings.

[rdobbie]

Anyway, not that I would want to stir up conspiracy theories... but I wonder if there is in fact some important reason why supermarkets don't want to match the taste of Coke and Pepsi exactly. I can't think for the life of me what it would be, but I find it hard to believe that after all these years of development they just can't match the flavour.

I actually think there's something in that theory. I also think there must be some reason as to why no supermarket has ever come close to capturing the unique taste of a "real" Indian takeaway in its ready meals. There's no practical reason why they shouldn't be able to manage it. "Real" Indian cooking methods and recipes aren't secret or expensive, and there's no reason why they can't be recreated in bulk for microwave reheating. (Check out a fantastic book called The Curry Secret which shows you how to replicate that restaurant taste in your own kitchen). Yet even the premium retailers like Waitrose and M&S have only ever managed to produce curries which might be nice in their own way but are absolutely nothing like the real thing.

[nidave]

I thought coke zero was the taste of coke but no sugar, as opposed to the taste of diet coke.

Well, you're both right. Diet Coke was supposed to be that too, but they couldn't replicate sugar taste in those days - as they only had the carcinogenic Nutra-Sweet to work with.

Also, DC was considered "gay", and butch men wouldn't touch it.

I was under the impression that Diet coke was just coke with no sugar and sweeteners used in place. Exactly the same recipe as normal coke. Coke Zero is supposed to use different ingredients to try to get a taste closer to the Classic Coke.

Is that not what you just said?

[Gavin Scott]

I thought coke zero was the taste of coke but no sugar, as opposed to the taste of diet coke.

Well, you're both right. Diet Coke was supposed to be that too, but they couldn't replicate sugar taste in those days - as they only had the carcinogenic Nutra-Sweet to work with.

Also, DC was considered "gay", and butch men wouldn't touch it.

I was under the impression that Diet coke was just coke with no sugar and sweeteners used in place. Exactly the same recipe as normal coke. Coke Zero is supposed to use different ingredients to try to get a taste closer to the Classic Coke.

Is that not what you just said?

I think the main thrust of development for both Coke Zero and Pepsi Max was de-stigmatising the "diet" aspect - but they definitely taste more "sugary" than the diet branded versions.

Both Max and Zero heavily featured men in their campaigns (almost exclusively), where DC used women with male strippers.

Says it all, really.

[cdd]

Oh and "Tesco Premium Cola" when chilled to near absolute zero is pure yum.

I believe the supplier for Tesco Premium Cola and M&S Cola is the same. They both have that sort of hidden Vanilla taste to them as well as being a weird blood red colour when viewed against a light.

I would probably buy it more if 1) it was regularly stocked in my closest tesco and 2) it wasn't very nearly the same price as normal Coke.

On a slightly OT note, how come supermarkets never credit their suppliers in their packaging? It always says something like "Produced in (Country) for (Supermarket)".You would think the suppliers would want to put thier name on it somewhere.

[Dr Lobster*]

I actually think there's something in that theory. I also think there must be some reason as to why no supermarket has ever come close to capturing the unique taste of a "real" Indian takeaway in its ready meals. There's no practical reason why they shouldn't be able to manage it. "Real" Indian cooking methods and recipes aren't secret or expensive, and there's no reason why they can't be recreated in bulk for microwave reheating. (Check out a fantastic book called The Curry Secret which shows you how to replicate that restaurant taste in your own kitchen). Yet even the premium retailers like Waitrose and M&S have only ever managed to produce curries which might be nice in their own way but are absolutely nothing like the real thing.

i have also wondered this, the only reason i can think of is the salt, fat and calorie content for the real thing would be so high nobody would buy them.... but then i don't think indian food is that fatty really, certainly not as bad as chinese.

that said, even bombay potatoes which aren't covered in grease or salt anyway never taste as good from a supermarket, unless you know of somewhere they come close (tried all the main brands)

[jsm]

What exactly is squash? Is it like, a syrup of some sort that you dilute?