Tinned bird droppings mixed with white emulsion paint (Nestle Extra Thick Tinned Cream)

Member Name: GentleGenius

Product:	Nestle Extra Thick Tinned Cream
Date:	06/04/09 (395 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: None other than the memory of it being zillions better than it really is

Disadvantages: The taste!!!!!!

COST: 69p for a 170g tin at my local village grocer

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION (per 50g serving):

Calories: 118
Kj: 487
Protein: 1.4g
Carbohydrate: 1.8g
- of which sugars: 1.8g
Fat: 11.7g
- of which saturates: 6.5g
Fibre: Nil
Sodium: Trace
Salt equivalent: Trace

INGREDIENTS:

Cream (99.8%), sodium citrate

DIETARY INFORMATION:

Suitable for vegetarians

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From what I've seen, Nestle Extra Thick Cream seems to now be in red & white tins, similar to Carnation Evaporated Milk - but the one I recently bought and used was in a largely cream and blue coloured tin with a ring-pull opening device on the top. The back of the can contains nutritional information, ingredients and dietary information, plus Nestle's quality claim and contact details.

I can remember eating tinned cream a lot when I was a child and we'd go to my aunt's once every few weeks for a "high tea". It seemed to be the norm, even somewhat of a treat, back in those days to be served a couple of teaspoonfuls of tinned cream with our jelly, blancmange and canned fruit cocktail. Spurred on by the good memories of long ago, I bought a tin of this cream the other day to see if my recall was accurate, and if through my lifetime, my tastes had changed - as I used to find it a delicious treat.

Mimicking the jelly/blancmange/tinned fruit part of those long-ago teas provided by my aunt as closely as I could, I decided to make a raspberry flavoured jelly and blancmange, open a small can of fruit cocktail, and indulge myself in my childhood memories, with the addition of Nestle's Extra Thick Tinned Cream.

The tin needs to be shaken vigorously before use, otherwise the cream inside is rather watery and unpleasant. Pretending I was dancing around the kitchen shaking a single maraca for a few minutes, I decided I'd had enough - opened the ring-pull, and examined the contents of the tin.

There was what I can only call a clod of dull coloured thick stuff inside, that had a slightly greyish tinge to it...resembling bird's droppings somewhat which, unless you are even weirder than I am, is not very appetising....but the smell emanating from the clod did seem almost as authentic as real cream. I spooned the cream into a dish for keeping in the fridge, as I only wanted to use a little......and found it took quite a long time to get it all from the can - lots of scraping around the sides was needed.

The consistency of the cream wasn't unlike that which we find in a carton of fresh double cream - maybe slightly thinner though. I plonked a couple of dollops onto my serving of jelly, blancmange and fruit cocktail, noticing that the cream stayed in place well and didn't dribble down over the rest of the food. It still retained that greyish tinge though, which I wasn't keen on - and it did put me off eating it a little.

Hoping that my taste buds would be delighted in the way that they were 50-odd years ago, I tested the water with a spoonful containing a bit of everything. The first thing I noticed was how horrible the cream felt in my mouth - cloying, greasy, and a little grainy here and there. The flavour bore hardly any resemblance to real cream, and it felt as though I were eating ear wax mixed with something that I can best describe as the fluid which is expelled from a male during the act of reproduction. There was a definite under- and after-taste from the cream....one which I can't describe, as it is a flavour that is nothing like anything else.

I asked myself the question - had my taste changed that much over the course of my life from early childhood to date, or had the overall quality of Nestle's Extra Thick Cream in a tin deterioriated? My answer to that question is a resounding no, there has been no deterioration in quality - and yes, my tastes and what I liked back in those days is not necessarily what I like now. I found that I actually don't like this cream any more, and I doubt if I shall be buying it again. Part of the problem possibly could be that it is made with sterilised milk.

My overall verdict is that from the point of it being tinned cream, it's fine if you like that sort of thing - but its resemblance to the taste and colour of real cream is less than marginal. It does work out to about half the price of real cream in a carton though, and if you do like the taste of this product, then it is well worth buying and using. Not for me though!

Thanks for reading!

Summary: Solid proof that our tastes do change during our lifetime