A little bit of smoothness in a bit of purple wax! (Mini Babybel)

Member Name: Holidaying

Product:	Mini Babybel
Date:	11/04/09 (167 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Smooth, satisfying snack.

Disadvantages: Not very cheesy.

I started buying Babybel for a light snack in between meals. I like cheese and I thought this would be a good way of having something that was small and tasty but would hopefully be enough to fill me up!

There are a few varieties of Babybel and for clarification the one I have here is the Cheddar flavour.

When you buy Babybel, you get a packet of six individually wrapped 20g cheeses (i.e. 120g of cheese in each packet) held in a netted 'bag', to which a purple, in this case, tag is attached.

The tag tells you about what is inside, and the relevant points on this one are the description of the flavour, which is 'mild', the best before date, a very short (in my opinion) ten weeks on this one (but others may differ) and the nutritional information.

Nutrition wise, it says that the Babybel are made with natural cheese, are free from aritificial colours and flavours, and are a natural source of calcium, and high in calcium! Each Babybel cheese has 75 Kcal in it. I think that the saturated fat count is high, at 21g in every 100g!

As I said above, the cheeses are individually wrapped. With the cheddar flavour I have here the cheeses are wrapped in a purple wrapper, and under the wrapper is what I first thought was a rather strange wax 'case'. This is easy to open because there are two white 'tags' to pull and when you pull one it opens half of the cheese, and when you pull the other it opens the other half of the cheese. Then the cheese is easy to get out by slightly squeezing the bottom half of the wax case.

The cheese is disc shaped, round but flat. I think they are about 3cm in diameter and about 1cm thick. I think they are very pale in appearance and when I first bought them I find this quite off putting as I am used to a darker colour for cheddar cheese. I also found off putting the fact that there were a few little droplets of water on the outside of the cheese. I assumed this to be condensation and it no longer bothers me.

These cheeses are very small and each one is probably three smallish mouthfulls. When I tasted the cheese the first time, I noted it's smooth and creamy flavour. I could taste the cheese but it was not prominent and so these cheeses certainly are mild.

I think the overall impression I get when I eat these is of the texture, which is almost rubbery. When you bite in to the cheese the texture is very soft and the bite is 'clean'. Unlike mature cheddar, there are no crumbly pieces. I think this would be good for children (or for parents who would prefer their children not to make a mess!) because there will be no bits on the floor, for example.

Although these aren't really cheesy, I keep buying them because there is something more-ish about them, because I like their smooth texture, and because one is surprisingly filling and is a nice mid-afternoon snack!

Sometimes Babybel cheeses are on offer and you can get two packets for the price of one which is a good. Otherwise they seem quite expensive, at £1.58 for a packet of six.

Overall I recommend these cheeses if you are looking for a light snack or for someone who does not like a strong cheese.

Thank you for reading :)

Summary: Babybel (cheddar).