Not ready for this brek (Tesco Instant Hot Oat Cereal)

Member Name: jensterc

Product:	Tesco Instant Hot Oat Cereal
Date:	07/10/09 (105 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Price

Disadvantages: Yuk

In attempt to reduce the current huge price of my weekly food shopping bill I have tried to drop down a brand on certain items. I have tried to step down from the premium brands and instead try the supermarket own branded equivalents. I have given both my girls Ready Brek since they were babies and I think that it's a great breakfast for them as it's warming and gives them the energy that they need to do all their running around and crazy behaviour. I think it also tastes great, it's really creamy and satisfying and both my girls absolutely love it.

I spotted the Tesco's equivalent - Instant hot oat cereal during my last shop and as it was significantly cheaper than the Ready Brek, costing only £1.08 for a 500g box. It was definately worth giving this one a go, so I popped in my trolley, hoping that my girls wouldn't be able to taste the difference.

Next morning I made a pan of the hot oat cereal on the hob, just adding milk to the flakey and powdery cereal. It probably took around 5 minutes for the cereal to be heated through and have the right consistancy. I do struggle getting this type of cereal to have the right consistancy sometimes, it does have then tendancy to be either to thick or too sloppy but that is purely down to my lack of skills in the kitchen.

When it was made, it did look fairly similar to ready brek, perhaps not quite as creamy in it's appearant but it certainly didn't look bad. I served it up to my girls, and while my youngest gobbled it up relatively happily, my elder daughter wasn't convinced, she didn't know it was a different brand of cereal but she did say that morning that she didn't like it. I had a spoonful just to see what she meant and I then could completely see where my little angel was coming from. It was just really quite unpleasant, it had a really strange consistancy and quite a powdery taste. The flavour was quite bland, and it just didn't even come close to the real deal.

So while it might save some pennies, this is one compromise I'm not going to be making again.

Summary: Not a great version of a old classic