I had to go buy two packs of asdas sausages and shite bread yesterday to last me the month. £3.20 works out to 20 sausage sarnies. Sad I know but needs must
There were some granules left in the bottom of the jug of the essentials jug that were not whisked into the final pouring which could make the cheaper one thicker and more tasty. Love your presentation
Like most people, I only use granules for thickening the meat juices, so the slight difference in flavour will be lost. The price difference is so big I’ll be using the Asda granules in future. Thanks.
With the essentials there was a fair amount stuck to the bottom of the jug after you mixed it. A better contrast and compare would be the Meat Gravy Granules at 80p for 200g, as the red bisto is ment for red meat, while the essentials gravy is a general catch all type i believe. I use it for when i make onion gravy with real onions for pies etc, for me it is a standby for if i run out of the next level up 80p-£1 asda gravy granules. Cheap enough and good enough to keep afew in the pantry as a reserve. I like the asda peppercorn gravy and onion gravy mixed and poured over chips covered with grated mozzarella cheese for a cheats poutine. Dunno about elsewhere but almost all the asda branded gravy granules are out of stock at my local asda store. I like to mix different flavoured granules to different food i.e. meat/chicken/onion for pork or chicken/vegetable/peppercorn for chicken, started by accident when we where short on chicken gravy granules and added vegetable granules to make up the volume and evolved into 2 parts chicken, 1 part vegetable and 1 part peppercorn granules for our chicken gravy granule blend.
@@BaldFoodieGuy No problem m8 happens all the time to me. it was an interesting video and i found it enjoyable and informative. Take care God bless one and all.
I'm supprised by that. Last time I tried the cheapo brand granules they tasted a hell of a lot more salty than the next available brand up. Admittedly these days we rarely use granules. And just make our gravy from scratch or at the very least with a stock cube and thickener
Great channel. When making gravy , use the cheap gravy granules and mix it with the meat juices for awesome gravy. For really cheap gravy use corn flour as a thickener added to the meat juices and also use the water from the vegetables after they are cooked and boiled.
With the shocking price difference I'd use the ASDA gravy as a base and then embellish with a bit of your own salt/yeast extract/worcestershire sauce/whatever to customise it to your taste. Great review, Gareth - I always look forward to your "Foodie-off" videos!
Me too , as with everything so expensive today, I'd vote for the cheaper, Bisto may be nicer, but not as purse friendly, I'd save my money and spend on food, gravy is just a topping
Absolutely me too, but having said that even with Bisto I would. Bisto is too salty also. Food should be tasty too. With gravy you put a little oil and butter in a frying pan , gently fry the onion 🧅 until it is pearlised. Put a spoonful of Demerara or Muscovado sugar to caramelise it. Then put a little bit of tomato purée in to improve and sweeten it a little. Having added the water by the way to the frying pan or which ever pan you are using. I think I will order some of those gravy granules a good buy.
Yeast/anchovies (Worcestershire sauce) naturally contain msg. So do tomatoes, soy sauce and mushrooms. It's nothing to be scared of, people don't think twice about adding a good splash or three of Lee and Perrin's in a cottage pie but run a mile if they see E621 on a label. It's the same bloody thing to all intents and purposes! And it's damned tasty, 100% umani. Like everything else, just don't over do it.
My wife makes gravy the old way with à couple of stock cubes cornn flower the meat juices and veg water. Made nice and thick I usually have three slices of it. 😁😁
@@jimosullivan1389 Oh yeah I know those guys, everyone knows they're dogmatic UA-cam quacks, hell eckberg isn't even a real doctor he's a fucking chiropractor 🤣
Also can make your own gravy using meat juices from the roast, and instead of adding cornflour to thicken, add a couple of teaspoons of the bisto and the usual oxo cubes or whatever gravy granules your using. I also like to add a bit of mint sauce to mine if I'm having roast lamb. Just a little tip, maybe instead of mint sauce a little blob of brown sauce if having roast beef. Thanks for your review Gareth, I too prefer bisto but have also compromised by using co-op own granules.
I use gravy granules mostly for thickening other cooking sauces, not to make gravy with roast. They are easier to use than flour as they don't clump and add a small amount of flavour.
great review gareth, 2 big brands i cant change are this bisto for roast and only that reason,. also heinz tomato sauce cant be replaced. love from cornwall as always mate
I use Tesco Stockwell gravy granules. I find this gravy far superior to Bisto. Sometimes, I add have a sachet of Stockwell cuppa soup for added flavour and use the veg water.
Haven't got aldi nearby so ours would be Lidl and we find that quite ok although very often we make our own gravy from the meat stock. Nicely done young man, as always - spot on.
It also depends what your pouring it onto. When you put mint on a dinner it affects the taste and when you put vinegar on gravy and chips it affects the taste. We have both in the cupboard.
That said - great comparison. Maybe a lot of folk would be using meat juices and or vegetable water. I like Aldi brand and have used them for years. Thanks for your hard work Gareth.
i never watch food vidoes im mostly gaming and documentaries just randomly came across one of your videos now i cant stop watching and you just seem like a really nice guy keep it up
A tip from my daughter, maybe to thicken gravy made from stock is to whisk a fluffy cooked potato whilst bringing gravy gently to the boil....yum, delicious! 🥔
Hi Gareth just watched the video on the fray bentos pie and you mentioned a robust can opener I've had many over the years and I must say I've had one for many years and never failed is the ones that was issued with the compo rations
Top tip. Go with the essentials and put half a teaspoon of Bovril in it and it'll blow Bisto in the weeds for about 2p extra....desperate times calls for desperate measures...Just a small point, alot of the granules hadn't dissolved in the essentials jug. It may have swayed it a little...Great video
We had a UK family holiday in California USA. We swapped houses with an American family so we were self catering - after a fruitless search for anything gravy related in the local supermarket and the purchase of an American packet of "Gravy Powder" which turned out to be cornflour I decided to make what I could from the contents of my hosts larder. I swear I put all and anything in that gravy - and wonder of wonders produced a truly great gravy - unfortunately I actually had no idea how to repeat it - so sad!
@Fanrabbit We swapped houses/cars with an American family in San Diego, California for one month. We ended up in a marina in Coranado and they came to Sutton Courtenay in Oxfordshire. It took a bit of organising on both sides of the pond, insurances, local tourist info etc. but it worked beautifully. Both houses remained unburnt, cars uncrashed and a good time had by all. We were fortunate I worked for an American company in England and adverised the idea in the US company magazine but there are web sites that arrange other contact methods. We didn't know the American family but it all went well.
For our family, we're both autistic so certain foods being Predictable is important, I've tried other gravy granules and just haven't found any we like as much as Bisto chicken (even the other Bisto varieties aren't as much to our taste tbh). We don't get through loads of the stuff (probably a tub that size will last at least a few months) so for me it's definitely worth paying the Bisto price (ideally on offer!) to get something I know we'll like, rather than trying yet another cheaper option that ends up being inedible, and possibly ruining meals (because sometimes it might seem okay just off a spoon, but then it's Wrong as part of a meal). I'd say we use about a third of the amount they tell you to make up, for one meal, and the Tesco website says that a pack of Bisto contains 57 portions (and it looks like the amount you made up is meant to do for six people) so that ends up probably being, like, definitely less than 10p a time. (Blimey, sorry for the essay!)
Oh we've tried other cheaper options of all sorts of stuff Staril. Some are keepers, some aren't and you end up binning them after a while. And I know 100% EXACTLY what you mean when you say "it might seem okay just off a spoon, but then it's Wrong as part of a meal" Our example is Heinz salad cream. The cheapo versions just don't taste right when you actually have it with a salad!
Always handy to have some instant gravy in the cupboard for meals that don’t have their own juices to make proper gravy. We don’t use a lot of it though so we’ve splashed out on the Bisto “best” which comes in a jar. We prefer the taste but I think it’s even more than the basic Bisto granules in a tub.
Regarding Gravy granules the ones I use normally sainsburys or teco own brand gravy ganules and one thing I find always enhances the result is the addition of a quarter teaspoon of english mustard or horse radish sauce when stiring the granules when used with beef or maybe a tiny bit of mint sause whenn using with lamb. I amm very glad you have done this video. For one meal I make about a mug full at a time .
It's so much money money buying bisto so I would go with buying the cheaper can buy 5 for same price as bisto and few pennies left over great video thanks
When I was a student my landlady took in a French exchange student. He came from the culinary country of the world. Within a week he became obsessed with eating a bowl of Bisto gravy from granules with cheap sliced white bread.
I would definitely go for the Asda just essentials one. It's all about saving money these days. I'd just add an extra spoonful of the granules to make it thicker 😊
ever tried the mayflower brand southern fried gravy , often found in freezer shops for a quid . just like kfc gravy and cracking . as is their curry sauces too. aldi onion gravy isnt bad at all either but , prefer as said a oxo and meat juices, onion and a bit of cornflour to thicken
Knorr cubes are what I used, beef, pork, lamb or chicken to go with whatever meat, veg water (I always cooked my veg early and reheated them in the microwave when dinner was ready) I cooked all my veg separately in the same water, and added the meat juices, the “concentrated veg water made the gravy tastier, I thickened it with Bisto gravy powder and cornflour. My niece said I made the best gravy in the world, I would always make a double amount when she was coming for dinner 😀
@@BaldFoodieGuy it was, I miss it, but not worth me cooking for one. Ohhh, I saw on a video recently, to put a teaspoon of cornflour into the drained potatoes and mix them to coat all of them, my daughter did me a roast dinner yesterday and she tried it, ohhhhh boy they were so crunchy! They were the best I’ve ever had in my 71 years!
erm but he has just said the bisto one is very salty and the asda one isnt and then added salt to it so it would be closer to the bisto one !!! , did you actually watch this vid ? lol .
I can't believe that you passed up the perfect opportunity, to test a product by dipping a chip butty into it. The 'Essentials' one is nice with some grated black pepper btw.....👍
I have both of these brands in my cupboard currently...i think the asda one is great for the low price but it definitely doesnt turn out as perfect as the bisto...ther are always little dots of gravey or miniscule clumps in my asda one where as the bisto one just mixes to perfection without overly mixing , great upload, thanks ! Sonique 😁
I just use gravy granules to thicken up the actual meat juices etc so you'd get the flavour from that too, not sure I've ever had just the granules and water before tbh. I've been using the GoldenFry granules for a fair while now instead of Bisto think it's usually a quid in most places for 300g and it's spot on. Think I might give the Just Essentials a try next time though I like onion so think it would be up my street and a decent saving
I’ll tell you who’s gravy granulas I like better for price flavour and volume by weight is Akdi ! I’m a Sunday dinner mam and nanna, and who just uses those to make a gravy ! I use the water from the veg, excess juices from mushy peas, and the meat juices plus balsamic mustard and pepper etc. if I’m making a chicken dinner a spoonful of aldi stuffing mix goes in my gravy too and my Yorkies mix! Sage And onion Yorkshire pudding. After all we just need a thickener really so I’d opt for the cheaper. But aldi quixo really is tasty and their stuffing 🥰
Great reviews and honest and with a winter the working class and people who depend on every penny they have are dreading ... thank u lad ull maybe save the a lot of people a few a quid and they'll spend it on their kids a at Xmas and a smile on a child means a lot in these dark days ..... keep up the good work lad .....
I still use Bisto powder with Oxo and meat juices (i use ice cube trays for the meat juices 1 cube for each dinner) but try 1/2 a Oxo cube in the cheaper granuals, the difference is amazing and just a few pence extra
A bit of a funny story involving Maggi. Back in the mid to late 70’s I was taking part in a twin town scheme which included home hospitality and my family had two German girls staying with us. At the dinner table my mother had just served our meals and the girls were speaking with each other ( in German ) and my mother thought that she overheard one saying to the other that she had found a maggot on her plate when she was asking her friend how to ask for some Maggi sauce ( like us asking for Heinz sauce). Unfortunately mother took affront thinking that she was being accused of not being a good cook until I managed to find a neighbour who was a fluent German speaker to translate and mediate between everyone at the table. Red faces all around.
Eh up Gazza hows tha doin. Thank you for doing the comparison. Dont you think if we can buy cheaper alternatives then why are the big players trying to squeeze every penny out of our pockets. I'm voting for you Gareth. You can get the economy going mate.
Hi Gareth. It's amazing how MSG enhances the flavour of food. It adds to the saltiness and richness of the flavour. I'd buy the essentials and add other flavouring to my liking. I hope you airfried some chips to soak up the gravys. BTW, the prices for gravy granules in Australia are just extortion. "What's that 💉? It's Gravy for the brain Jerry"... (Conspiracy Theory) Cheers Gareth 👍🤤😀
Hi Gareth. I think the richer,fuller flavour is coming from the monosodium glutamate, which is now a recognised NO! NO!. SHAME on them for still putting this into our food. Personally l would buy the Asda Essentials. So love your HONESTY in all your tast testing and comparisons " ACE". 💯🤩
Cheers Gareth great review mate. If you want some cheap instant gravy go for the 32 p one . No brainier. But you can’t beat the one your mom use to make . Everything was home made those days . Thanks again Gareth ❤👍❤️👍
Another tip to beefy meals and gravy stews etc two tablespoons oyster sauce. Delicious trust me. Into my mince in the slow cooker and braising steak etc very tasty
When you have a load of kids or you're on a limited budget then I think 32p is a cracking price! This 'cost of living crisis' isn't going away anytime soon. To kids gravy is gravy, they're not connoisseurs! To us 'oldies' of course we remember our mams gravy but needs must.
I've tried both in my opinion the Bisto is better but it's not 5x the price worth difference, and I always add an oxo to my gravy anyway so the difference in taste is even less noticeable.
Both of these are only ok for chips and gravy. Sausage and mash at a push. But I'd never use it on a roast dinner for example. My goto gravy granules are bisto best. The lamb one. Really nice. Buying the Asda one and adding a bit of black pepper would do the trick and be good for the price for pouring over chips.
I stopped using Bisto quite some time ago, because it tasted so extremely salty. I'm currently using Tesco own brand, but even it tastes a bit too salty for my liking. Surely it's not beyond the wit of someone to produce a flavoursome beef gravy without loading it with salt.
Hi Gary, i'm very glad i watched this video, because it confirms what i have known for over 20 years.........I swear by Morrisons own brand of beef/chicken/ turkey gravy granules, although i do not use them as a gravy only, i use them as a thickener for my own gravy stocks, which is of course the stock from whatever meat i'm cooking..........Bisto is a total rip off, and people should know this of course.........Try using the essentials as a thickener for any meat stews, yummy...........Thanks for more tips, take care. 😋
Got to agree Tom, morrisons own brand gravy granules are the best, ive tried several brands down the years but always revert back to Morrisons they are the best imo.
I once took almost 'TWO DAYS' making a 'Gravy', using the juices from the meat and water from vegetables, separating the fat from the liquid using a Kilner jar. The ingredients were : Duck fat, Turkey and Bacon drippings, the water from cooked, Celery, Peas, Potatoes, Cabbage, Broccoli, Sprouts, Carrots, Turnips Parsnips Tomato, Garlic and Onions. Salt, Pepper, mixed herbs and spices (it even had the juice of a Lemon in it).... It was like soup. Very tasty but I wouldn't recommend doing it.
Good old gravy with a beef joint is always the best, but I do draw the line on the cheap stuff at Bisto for a quick fix when I’m not roasting a joint. That Bisto wasn’t dripping of the spoon half as much as the cheap onion gravy, so when your talking a matter of pence for a quick gravy covering, well ahhhhh Bisto is the one for me 👍
Good video thank you. Perhaps try if you are boiling some veg use that water. It'll add the richness missing from the cheaper version, And your body will appreciate all the nutrients in the veg water :)
*A thorough review* 🙌👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 I have never enjoyed bisto but I I assume it was what I grew up with to be fair It was either proper homemade gravy or goldenfry. My favourite school dinner was chips and gravy and none of of those are similar to bisto. I do enjoy the asda essentials the best but as i said,lifelong influences. This is why it’s always good to watch these videos and you are thorough in finding out
ASDA is a bit too far for us so we shop at TESCO. Today they had their own cheap brand of Gravy Granules (Stockwell) also at 32p for 200g. Bought a box to try.
Hard for every one these days . Milk seems to go up 10 p per week ! Not lot but it all ads up . As a pensioners we have to watch what we spend . Not exactly skint but we're careful with our money . I won't pay over the odds for stuff. Ridiculous prices in some shops for basic food . Keep up the good work . 👍
Also I think day time TV should have cooks on who's meals you don't need a bank loan to buy the ingredients ! All far too pricey and posh ! 🙄😳🙄 Jac Monroe I think is the best. She uses every day items every one has in their kitchen and makes delish meals out of nothing ! 👏👏
One must use 'Bisto Best' instant gravy. No compromise. Use some of the water from the boiled vegetables. Add a splash of mushroom ketchup. Microwave for a minute. Best instant gravy..
@@BaldFoodieGuy True. It is annoying that they brought the stuff out. There we were all used to the blandness of the normal Bisto gravy. Happy to have it. Then they release this other stuff where it makes it literally impossible to go back to what you had before it. I cannot go back to the other now I'm afraid. They've got my money.
You left a significant amount of powder stuck to the bottom of the jug of the essential, hence the saltness. Can we have a comparison on Ballantines, Johnny Walker and Aldi Whisky?
The gravy that beats Bisto gravy granules is Morrisons The Best brand and it is cheaper. I occasionally make gravy the old fashioned way if I have guests otherwise it is granules all the way for me.
I'm old school with gravy, an Oxo cube in hot water into the leftover juices in the pan. Thicken up with some corn flour in water...best gravy ever.
Sounds great!
Me too! You can make loads and freeze it too.
What messurment of water do you use?
way i learnt from my mum and add some onion when roasting the meat but in general thats the way i was taught too. beats granules hands down .
I agree, I also have a memory of the gravy being thickened with cornflour and small pieces of the joint floating !!
I'd definitely go with the 32p version and tweek it a bit. We are living in hard times. This is a great review for people on a budget.
You can add a dash of Worcester Sauce (or a copy) to it, or a tea spoon of Marmite/Yeast Extract. and sorted.
i add a bit of mustard
A big thumbs up and thank you to Asda for keeping the cost of shopping down in these hard times…👍
Cheers pal
Asda's normal gravy is only 80p for the same size btw
I had to go buy two packs of asdas sausages and shite bread yesterday to last me the month. £3.20 works out to 20 sausage sarnies. Sad I know but needs must
Wish there was an ASDA here in USA.
@@karenowens8287 There is - its called Walmart, ASDA's parent company which owns it
There were some granules left in the bottom of the jug of the essentials jug that were not whisked into the final pouring which could make the cheaper one thicker and more tasty. Love your presentation
yes my fault only human
@@BaldFoodieGuy It was aquite a large amount. Might be worth a revisit :) The price difference is bonkers
Like most people, I only use granules for thickening the meat juices, so the slight difference in flavour will be lost. The price difference is so big I’ll be using the Asda granules in future. Thanks.
Thank you
I've noticed branded and non-branded gravy has shot up in price. Great to see a much cheaper gravy out there. Cheers.
I’m old school. I much prefer the flour and gravy browning, mixed with the meat juices method. Any leftovers, freeze and reheat as needed.
Sounds great!
I’m really enjoying these down to earth comparisons, keep up the good work.
Cheers George
they are just essential in the current climate !
With the essentials there was a fair amount stuck to the bottom of the jug after you mixed it. A better contrast and compare would be the Meat Gravy Granules at 80p for 200g, as the red bisto is ment for red meat, while the essentials gravy is a general catch all type i believe. I use it for when i make onion gravy with real onions for pies etc, for me it is a standby for if i run out of the next level up 80p-£1 asda gravy granules. Cheap enough and good enough to keep afew in the pantry as a reserve.
I like the asda peppercorn gravy and onion gravy mixed and poured over chips covered with grated mozzarella cheese for a cheats poutine. Dunno about elsewhere but almost all the asda branded gravy granules are out of stock at my local asda store. I like to mix different flavoured granules to different food i.e. meat/chicken/onion for pork or chicken/vegetable/peppercorn for chicken, started by accident when we where short on chicken gravy granules and added vegetable granules to make up the volume and evolved into 2 parts chicken, 1 part vegetable and 1 part peppercorn granules for our chicken gravy granule blend.
Yes my apologies
@@BaldFoodieGuy No problem m8 happens all the time to me. it was an interesting video and i found it enjoyable and informative. Take care God bless one and all.
Was hoping someone else noticed. Perhaps weigh the granules in and the water so you know for sure. But like you say you wouldn't know once over food.
I'm supprised by that. Last time I tried the cheapo brand granules they tasted a hell of a lot more salty than the next available brand up. Admittedly these days we rarely use granules. And just make our gravy from scratch or at the very least with a stock cube and thickener
Great channel. When making gravy , use the cheap gravy granules and mix it with the meat juices for awesome gravy. For really cheap gravy use corn flour as a thickener added to the meat juices and also use the water from the vegetables after they are cooked and boiled.
thanks
With the shocking price difference I'd use the ASDA gravy as a base and then embellish with a bit of your own salt/yeast extract/worcestershire sauce/whatever to customise it to your taste. Great review, Gareth - I always look forward to your "Foodie-off" videos!
Cheers Dom , I appreciate it
Yes a bit or Marmite to spice it up.
Me too , as with everything so expensive today, I'd vote for the cheaper, Bisto may be nicer, but not as purse friendly, I'd save my money and spend on food, gravy is just a topping
Absolutely me too, but having said that even with Bisto I would. Bisto is too salty also. Food should be tasty too. With gravy you put a little oil and butter in a frying pan , gently fry the onion 🧅 until it is pearlised. Put a spoonful of Demerara or Muscovado sugar to caramelise it. Then put a little bit of tomato purée in to improve and sweeten it a little. Having added the water by the way to the frying pan or which ever pan you are using. I think I will order some of those gravy granules a good buy.
Yeast/anchovies (Worcestershire sauce) naturally contain msg. So do tomatoes, soy sauce and mushrooms. It's nothing to be scared of, people don't think twice about adding a good splash or three of Lee and Perrin's in a cottage pie but run a mile if they see E621 on a label.
It's the same bloody thing to all intents and purposes! And it's damned tasty, 100% umani. Like everything else, just don't over do it.
My wife makes gravy the old way with à couple of stock cubes cornn flower the meat juices and veg water. Made nice and thick I usually have three slices of it. 😁😁
Cheers Brian yes making your own is better.
I reckon if you added either of these to the meat juices, using water from the veg you're cooking you'd really struggle to tell the difference at all.
@@jimosullivan1389 Sources? That's a bold claim matey.
@@jimosullivan1389 Oh yeah I know those guys, everyone knows they're dogmatic UA-cam quacks, hell eckberg isn't even a real doctor he's a fucking chiropractor 🤣
I always add a splash of Lea & Perrins & Dunns River hot Jamaica sauce to liven up gravy granules. The ASDA vegetable gravy granules are V good too.
Also can make your own gravy using meat juices from the roast, and instead of adding cornflour to thicken, add a couple of teaspoons of the bisto and the usual oxo cubes or whatever gravy granules your using. I also like to add a bit of mint sauce to mine if I'm having roast lamb. Just a little tip, maybe instead of mint sauce a little blob of brown sauce if having roast beef. Thanks for your review Gareth, I too prefer bisto but have also compromised by using co-op own granules.
yes homemade is best James
I use gravy granules mostly for thickening other cooking sauces, not to make gravy with roast. They are easier to use than flour as they don't clump and add a small amount of flavour.
Nooooo you just need plain flour beaten into the pan juices.
No brown sauce or whatever. The boiling water from your vegetables and maybe a stock cube
At 32p you can afford to put an extra teaspoon or two in to make it a bit richer.
great review gareth, 2 big brands i cant change are this bisto for roast and only that reason,. also heinz tomato sauce cant be replaced. love from cornwall as always mate
cheers Matt
I use Tesco Stockwell gravy granules. I find this gravy far superior to Bisto. Sometimes, I add have a sachet of Stockwell cuppa soup for added flavour and use the veg water.
Glad I seen you review this, been meaning to try it. For that price the Asda J.E. Will do.
Haven't got aldi nearby so ours would be Lidl and we find that quite ok although very often we make our own gravy from the meat stock. Nicely done young man, as always - spot on.
spot on
It also depends what your pouring it onto. When you put mint on a dinner it affects the taste and when you put vinegar on gravy and chips it affects the taste. We have both in the cupboard.
That said - great comparison. Maybe a lot of folk would be using meat juices and or vegetable water. I like Aldi brand and have used them for years. Thanks for your hard work Gareth.
Thank you
A small test but look at the price difference and how you have help people make an informed decision.👍
Yes mate great recommendation
i never watch food vidoes im mostly gaming and documentaries just randomly came across one of your videos now i cant stop watching and you just seem like a really nice guy keep it up
cheers Paul
I wasn't aware of the monosodium glutamate in Bisto. Thank you for these reviews.
You're welcome
A tip from my daughter, maybe to thicken gravy made from stock is to whisk a fluffy cooked potato whilst bringing gravy gently to the boil....yum, delicious! 🥔
Great tip!
Hi Gareth just watched the video on the fray bentos pie and you mentioned a robust can opener I've had many over the years and I must say I've had one for many years and never failed is the ones that was issued with the compo rations
yes I remember them, they do the job
Top tip. Go with the essentials and put half a teaspoon of Bovril in it and it'll blow Bisto in the weeds for about 2p extra....desperate times calls for desperate measures...Just a small point, alot of the granules hadn't dissolved in the essentials jug. It may have swayed it a little...Great video
Great tip thank you.
A little onion powder too
We had a UK family holiday in California USA. We swapped houses with an American family so we were self catering - after a fruitless search for anything gravy related in the local supermarket and the purchase of an American packet of "Gravy Powder" which turned out to be cornflour I decided to make what I could from the contents of my hosts larder. I swear I put all and anything in that gravy - and wonder of wonders produced a truly great gravy - unfortunately I actually had no idea how to repeat it - so sad!
@Fanrabbit We swapped houses/cars with an American family in San Diego, California for one month. We ended up in a marina in Coranado and they came to Sutton Courtenay in Oxfordshire. It took a bit of organising on both sides of the pond, insurances, local tourist info etc. but it worked beautifully. Both houses remained unburnt, cars uncrashed and a good time had by all. We were fortunate I worked for an American company in England and adverised the idea in the US company magazine but there are web sites that arrange other contact methods. We didn't know the American family but it all went well.
For our family, we're both autistic so certain foods being Predictable is important, I've tried other gravy granules and just haven't found any we like as much as Bisto chicken (even the other Bisto varieties aren't as much to our taste tbh). We don't get through loads of the stuff (probably a tub that size will last at least a few months) so for me it's definitely worth paying the Bisto price (ideally on offer!) to get something I know we'll like, rather than trying yet another cheaper option that ends up being inedible, and possibly ruining meals (because sometimes it might seem okay just off a spoon, but then it's Wrong as part of a meal). I'd say we use about a third of the amount they tell you to make up, for one meal, and the Tesco website says that a pack of Bisto contains 57 portions (and it looks like the amount you made up is meant to do for six people) so that ends up probably being, like, definitely less than 10p a time.
(Blimey, sorry for the essay!)
thanks very much no apologies needed, its good to talk.
Oh we've tried other cheaper options of all sorts of stuff Staril. Some are keepers, some aren't and you end up binning them after a while. And I know 100% EXACTLY what you mean when you say "it might seem okay just off a spoon, but then it's Wrong as part of a meal" Our example is Heinz salad cream. The cheapo versions just don't taste right when you actually have it with a salad!
Always handy to have some instant gravy in the cupboard for meals that don’t have their own juices to make proper gravy. We don’t use a lot of it though so we’ve splashed out on the Bisto “best” which comes in a jar. We prefer the taste but I think it’s even more than the basic Bisto granules in a tub.
Cheers 👍
Regarding Gravy granules the ones I use normally sainsburys or teco own brand gravy ganules and one thing I find always enhances the result is the addition of a quarter teaspoon of english mustard or horse radish sauce when stiring the granules when used with beef or maybe a tiny bit of mint sause whenn using with lamb. I amm very glad you have done this video. For one meal I make about a mug full at a time .
Thanks for sharing!
another great video thanks. I use the glass jars of Bisto but that's even more expensive.
Cheers Tom 👌👌
It's so much money money buying bisto so I would go with buying the cheaper can buy 5 for same price as bisto and few pennies left over great video thanks
What a price difference! I will definitely be giving the ASDA version a try.
Love your channel…. And my 14 year old has started watching you and thinks your brilliant 🤩
I always make too much gravy so i can eat the unused with a spoon. One of lifes little guilty pleasures. Great review Gareth me old mate.
You and me both!
Bought the Asda essential gravy the other day. Haven't tried it as yet.
But always use the water from the veg I have cooked.
Cheers Gazza
When I was a student my landlady took in a French exchange student. He came from the culinary country of the world. Within a week he became obsessed with eating a bowl of Bisto gravy from granules with cheap sliced white bread.
spot on cheers
I would definitely go for the Asda just essentials one. It's all about saving money these days. I'd just add an extra spoonful of the granules to make it thicker 😊
Cheers Angie
ever tried the mayflower brand southern fried gravy , often found in freezer shops for a quid . just like kfc gravy and cracking . as is their curry sauces too. aldi onion gravy isnt bad at all either but , prefer as said a oxo and meat juices, onion and a bit of cornflour to thicken
Yes it's a good one that
I only use bisto turkey gravy but buy them reduced after Christmas. My Dads favourite it Aldi onion gravy. For 32p always worth a try.
Great tip!
We always got Bisto Turkey gravy& it went with everything, but since tried Aldi beef or meat one stuck with it as less calorie’s & very tasty. 👍
Cheers Gareth for trying it,still have a full tin of bisto but will give the Asda tin a try next time.
Cheers Bill, yes try it, it's not as rich in flavour as bisto.
I do sometimes use a cheaper one, for thickening stews and casseroles
For richness dissolve a beef Bovril stock cube or 2 in boiling water and add the essentials granules to thicken.
Knorr cubes are what I used, beef, pork, lamb or chicken to go with whatever meat, veg water (I always cooked my veg early and reheated them in the microwave when dinner was ready) I cooked all my veg separately in the same water, and added the meat juices, the “concentrated veg water made the gravy tastier, I thickened it with Bisto gravy powder and cornflour. My niece said I made the best gravy in the world, I would always make a double amount when she was coming for dinner 😀
Sounds great!
@@BaldFoodieGuy it was, I miss it, but not worth me cooking for one. Ohhh, I saw on a video recently, to put a teaspoon of cornflour into the drained potatoes and mix them to coat all of them, my daughter did me a roast dinner yesterday and she tried it, ohhhhh boy they were so crunchy! They were the best I’ve ever had in my 71 years!
Great review but the only gravy I like is Bisto because the cheaper ones are tasteless & very salty 🙁👎
in your opinion
even though his results show the complete opposite of what you just said
@@BaldFoodieGuy fair enough 👌
erm but he has just said the bisto one is very salty and the asda one isnt and then added salt to it so it would be closer to the bisto one !!! , did you actually watch this vid ? lol .
I can't believe that you passed up the perfect opportunity, to test a product by dipping a chip butty into it.
The 'Essentials' one is nice with some grated black pepper btw.....👍
Haha yes
Hi love your videos. I buy the really budget one & an own brand one and mix them together. Add a red wine pot & voila beautiful gravy x
you're welcome
I have both of these brands in my cupboard currently...i think the asda one is great for the low price but it definitely doesnt turn out as perfect as the bisto...ther are always little dots of gravey or miniscule clumps in my asda one where as the bisto one just mixes to perfection without overly mixing , great upload, thanks ! Sonique 😁
Thank you 👍
@@BaldFoodieGuy 👌🤗
If you crush up the cheaper ones to a powder before adding water they mix perfect - I use a stick blender to do it when I first open the tub !!
@@colinblythe3710 That's clever!! 👌🙏Thanks Colin!😁
I just use gravy granules to thicken up the actual meat juices etc so you'd get the flavour from that too, not sure I've ever had just the granules and water before tbh. I've been using the GoldenFry granules for a fair while now instead of Bisto think it's usually a quid in most places for 300g and it's spot on.
Think I might give the Just Essentials a try next time though I like onion so think it would be up my street and a decent saving
Spot on pal thanks
Gravy add onion and enjoy yum . Bisto pricey but best .
I’ll tell you who’s gravy granulas I like better for price flavour and volume by weight is Akdi ! I’m a Sunday dinner mam and nanna, and who just uses those to make a gravy ! I use the water from the veg, excess juices from mushy peas, and the meat juices plus balsamic mustard and pepper etc. if I’m making a chicken dinner a spoonful of aldi stuffing mix goes in my gravy too and my Yorkies mix! Sage And onion Yorkshire pudding. After all we just need a thickener really so I’d opt for the cheaper. But aldi quixo really is tasty and their stuffing 🥰
cheers Tracey x
Great reviews and honest and with a winter the working class and people who depend on every penny they have are dreading ... thank u lad ull maybe save the a lot of people a few a quid and they'll spend it on their kids a at Xmas and a smile on a child means a lot in these dark days ..... keep up the good work lad .....
cheers Paul thankyou
I still use Bisto powder with Oxo and meat juices (i use ice cube trays for the meat juices 1 cube for each dinner) but try 1/2 a Oxo cube in the cheaper granuals, the difference is amazing and just a few pence extra
Hi Gareth if you like cottage cheese get the 30% less fat and full fat cottage cheese you should review it
cheers pal
This made me think to buy one of each and mix them together 👌
When the asda gravey was poured into the bowl a good amount of undisolved mix was at the bottom of the jug so it needed a bit more mixing,
Given the price difference I'd buy the Asda and add a bit of Maggi seasoning [MSG]
A bit of a funny story involving Maggi. Back in the mid to late 70’s I was taking part in a twin town scheme which included home hospitality and my family had two German girls staying with us. At the dinner table my mother had just served our meals and the girls were speaking with each other ( in German ) and my mother thought that she overheard one saying to the other that she had found a maggot on her plate when she was asking her friend how to ask for some Maggi sauce ( like us asking for Heinz sauce). Unfortunately mother took affront thinking that she was being accused of not being a good cook until I managed to find a neighbour who was a fluent German speaker to translate and mediate between everyone at the table. Red faces all around.
Eh up Gazza hows tha doin. Thank you for doing the comparison. Dont you think if we can buy cheaper alternatives then why are the big players trying to squeeze every penny out of our pockets. I'm voting for you Gareth. You can get the economy going mate.
Cheers pal 👍👍
I sort of remember a small tin of gravy salt powder maybe bisto or oxo in the pantry mother thickened with cornflour and meat juice and cabbage water
Hi Gareth. It's amazing how MSG enhances the flavour of food. It adds to the saltiness and richness of the flavour.
I'd buy the essentials and add other flavouring to my liking. I hope you airfried some chips to soak up the gravys.
BTW, the prices for gravy granules in Australia are just extortion.
"What's that 💉? It's Gravy for the brain Jerry"... (Conspiracy Theory)
Cheers Gareth 👍🤤😀
haha yes msg works wonders lol stick some in the cheap one
Cracking honest review Gareth 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
thanks 😊
What your tasting is the flavour enhancer monosodium glutamate in the bisto gravy.Which is also used in Chinese food and can cause migraine headaches.
Cheers Pip
Hi Gareth. I think the richer,fuller flavour is coming from the monosodium glutamate, which is now a recognised NO! NO!. SHAME on them for still putting this into our food. Personally l would buy the Asda Essentials. So love your HONESTY in all your tast testing and comparisons " ACE". 💯🤩
Yes msg for rich flavour.
Where are you getting your MSG info from? It's not a no at all, very safe, very common and great for flavour.
Cheers Gareth great review mate. If you want some cheap instant gravy go for the 32 p one . No brainier. But you can’t beat the one your mom use to make . Everything was home made those days . Thanks again Gareth ❤👍❤️👍
Cheers Steven 👍can't beat homemade
Another tip to beefy meals and gravy stews etc two tablespoons oyster sauce. Delicious trust me. Into my mince in the slow cooker and braising steak etc very tasty
Sounds great!
A lot left in the bottom of the Asda ones jug wasn't stirred properly so left some of the flavour behind
When you have a load of kids or you're on a limited budget then I think 32p is a cracking price! This 'cost of living crisis' isn't going away anytime soon. To kids gravy is gravy, they're not connoisseurs! To us 'oldies' of course we remember our mams gravy but needs must.
Yes I agree Kim
I've tried both in my opinion the Bisto is better but it's not 5x the price worth difference, and I always add an oxo to my gravy anyway so the difference in taste is even less noticeable.
Both of these are only ok for chips and gravy. Sausage and mash at a push. But I'd never use it on a roast dinner for example. My goto gravy granules are bisto best. The lamb one. Really nice. Buying the Asda one and adding a bit of black pepper would do the trick and be good for the price for pouring over chips.
Absolutely agree except for the gravy on chips bit, just wrong😂😂😂✌️👍
@@martindunstan8043 chips cheese and gravy mate. Don't know what you're missing.
cheers both
I bought Tesco Salad cream the other day (450ml) for 75p and it's quite nice. I normally go for the OXO cube for gravy.
I stopped using Bisto quite some time ago, because it tasted so extremely salty. I'm currently using Tesco own brand, but even it tastes a bit too salty for my liking. Surely it's not beyond the wit of someone to produce a flavoursome beef gravy without loading it with salt.
Hi Gary, i'm very glad i watched this video, because it confirms what i have known for over 20 years.........I swear by Morrisons own brand of beef/chicken/ turkey gravy granules, although i do not use them as a gravy only, i use them as a thickener for my own gravy stocks, which is of course the stock from whatever meat i'm cooking..........Bisto is a total rip off, and people should know this of course.........Try using the essentials as a thickener for any meat stews, yummy...........Thanks for more tips, take care. 😋
Cheers Thomas
Boys name is Gareth...
Got to agree Tom, morrisons own brand gravy granules are the best, ive tried several brands down the years but always revert back to Morrisons they are the best imo.
32p ohhhhh wow a great prepping item and with a £1.55p difference i know which one i'd buy,Thanks for the review BFG.......Bless
Thanks for watching!
I once took almost 'TWO DAYS' making a 'Gravy', using the juices from the meat and water from vegetables, separating the fat from the liquid using a Kilner jar.
The ingredients were : Duck fat, Turkey and Bacon drippings, the water from cooked, Celery, Peas, Potatoes, Cabbage, Broccoli, Sprouts, Carrots, Turnips Parsnips Tomato, Garlic and Onions. Salt, Pepper, mixed herbs and spices (it even had the juice of a Lemon in it).... It was like soup. Very tasty but I wouldn't recommend doing it.
Brilliant thank you
I use the cheaper granules but also add an oxo per pint, makes it richer but still on a budget
Never thought of doing that.
Good idea..
I just love your video's ordinary food for us ordinary people. Having tried doing an oxo tube comparison.
thanks 😊
Great review
Add meat juices and pepper, what an amazing price difference
Totally agree!
Bistro granules don't desolve properly in boiling veg water. They use to so l don't know what they have done to the ingredients
I always get the Southern style American gravy from B&M Bargains 89p... It's well nice mate.
Yes that's a good one that
Good old gravy with a beef joint is always the best, but I do draw the line on the cheap stuff at Bisto for a quick fix when I’m not roasting a joint. That Bisto wasn’t dripping of the spoon half as much as the cheap onion gravy, so when your talking a matter of pence for a quick gravy covering, well ahhhhh Bisto is the one for me 👍
Great tip!
Love the review but in this day and age £1.89 v 32p means you can buy 6 Asda gravy granules to 1 of Bisto. No contest I choose ASDA.
Me being a skin flint very rarely buy branded goods so I may give this a go next time I buy instant gravy
Good video thank you. Perhaps try if you are boiling some veg use that water. It'll add the richness missing from the cheaper version, And your body will appreciate all the nutrients in the veg water :)
Thank you
Another great review mate, hopefully 50k subs for Xmas 🤞🏻
Cheers Matt 👍👍
I am the same Andrew,same with sauces can't beat homemade
*A thorough review* 🙌👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I have never enjoyed bisto but I I assume it was what I grew up with to be fair
It was either proper homemade gravy or goldenfry. My favourite school dinner was chips and gravy and none of of those are similar to bisto. I do enjoy the asda essentials the best but as i said,lifelong influences.
This is why it’s always good to watch these videos and you are thorough in finding out
Thank you 👍👍
ASDA is a bit too far for us so we shop at TESCO. Today they had their own cheap brand of Gravy Granules (Stockwell) also at 32p for 200g. Bought a box to try.
Hi Gareth my mother always always used the vegetable juices and a bit of BISTO ahhhhhhhh
yes pimping the gravy up is a must
would have been nice for u to try it out on some potatoes or meat but good comparison review of the both!
Cheers pal yes should of
I just bought this Ahh Besto, good video with comparision, Asda products all are not giving exact taste
aah Gaz, available in OZ (Bisto) in the English section at certain supermarkets. 🙏🇦🇺🇬🇧
Hard for every one these days . Milk seems to go up 10 p per week ! Not lot but it all ads up . As a pensioners we have to watch what we spend . Not exactly skint but we're careful with our money . I won't pay over the odds for stuff. Ridiculous prices in some shops for basic food . Keep up the good work . 👍
Cheers, all the best, Gareth 👍👍
Also I think day time TV should have cooks on who's meals you don't need a bank loan to buy the ingredients ! All far too pricey and posh ! 🙄😳🙄 Jac Monroe I think is the best. She uses every day items every one has in their kitchen and makes delish meals out of nothing ! 👏👏
Not that I watch day time TV ! 😂🤣😂
One must use 'Bisto Best' instant gravy. No compromise. Use some of the water from the boiled vegetables. Add a splash of mushroom ketchup. Microwave for a minute. Best instant gravy..
not everyone can afford that pal
@@BaldFoodieGuy True. It is annoying that they brought the stuff out. There we were all used to the blandness of the normal Bisto gravy. Happy to have it. Then they release this other stuff where it makes it literally impossible to go back to what you had before it. I cannot go back to the other now I'm afraid. They've got my money.
Hi great review as always but a lot of the cheap one was left unmixed in the jug it might of tasted better if fully mixed just a thought.
Yes my mistake apologies
The whisk doesn’t get to the edge’s, you need to use a fork before you use the whisk.
You left a significant amount of powder stuck to the bottom of the jug of the essential, hence the saltness. Can we have a comparison on Ballantines, Johnny Walker and Aldi Whisky?
Yes my apologies. I've had the balantyne whiskey I did a burns night home cooking playlist. Will look at the Aldi one. Cheers
The gravy that beats Bisto gravy granules is Morrisons The Best brand and it is cheaper.
I occasionally make gravy the old fashioned way if I have guests otherwise it is granules all the way for me.
Big price difference, I remember trying Morrisons Savers … it was really lack lustre and tasteless, the Asda sounds like it maybe notably better.