February 2016 Degustabox Review & Delightful Carrot & Caraway Seed Bread Recipe

Welcome to an exciting culinary journey as we dive into my detailed review of the February 2016 Degustabox. For those unfamiliar with this concept, Degustabox is a fantastic monthly subscription service that delivers a curated selection of food and drink products right to your doorstep. Each box is typically brimming with new brands, innovative products, or beloved classics with a fresh twist, offering an excellent opportunity to discover items you might not normally pick up at the grocery store. The true appeal lies in the element of surprise – you never quite know what delicious treasures await inside. This makes the unboxing experience genuinely fun and encourages a sense of culinary adventure, often introducing you to new favourites that offer significant savings compared to purchasing each item individually.

The beauty of Degustabox is that it pushes you out of your comfort zone, inviting you to sample products from diverse categories, ranging from snacks and beverages to cooking ingredients. This monthly surprise package is not just about convenience; it’s about expanding your palate and discovering new household staples. Whether you’re a seasoned food enthusiast or simply looking to add some excitement to your pantry, Degustabox provides a unique and engaging way to explore the vast world of food products.

If you’re intrigued and would like to experience the joy of a Degustabox yourself, you’re in luck! You can get a special discount on your first box. Simply enter the exclusive discount code BLDEG15 at checkout to receive a generous £6 off your very first order. It’s a wonderful way to treat yourself or a loved one to a monthly dose of gourmet exploration and taste testing!

My Top Picks from the February 2016 Degustabox

Every Degustabox brings a mix of hits and misses, but the February 2016 edition certainly delivered some standout products that quickly became firm favourites in my household. Here are my top three picks that truly impressed my taste buds and stood out among the rest:

1. Divine Caramel Chocolate Bars: A Truly Indulgent Treat

These Divine caramel chocolate bars were, without exaggeration, seriously delicious. From the very first bite, I was captivated by their rich, smooth texture and the perfectly balanced caramel flavour that wasn’t overly sweet but utterly decadent. They weren’t just good; they were among the tastiest chocolate bars I have ever had the pleasure of eating, offering a luxurious melting experience. Divine is renowned for its commitment to ethically sourced, high-quality cocoa, and these bars certainly lived up to that reputation, providing a truly indulgent and satisfying treat. This chocolate was a definite highlight of the box and disappeared far too quickly!

2. Nutribix Gold and Grains Cereal: A Wholesome Breakfast Upgrade

My second favourite discovery was the Nutribix Gold and Grains cereal. Imagine a sophisticated take on traditional wheat biscuits, elevated with a blend of wholesome, healthy grains such as sorghum, oats, and rye. What sets Nutribix apart is not just its impressive nutritional profile but its superior flavour and texture. Unlike some cereals that turn into a soggy mush almost instantly, Nutribix Gold and Grains maintains a pleasant texture throughout, providing a satisfying chew that makes breakfast more enjoyable. The subtle hints of coconut and honey add a delightful, natural sweetness that makes breakfast a more flavourful experience without being artificial. It’s incredibly filling, keeping hunger at bay until lunchtime, making it an excellent choice for a healthy, sustained start to the day.

3. Hartley’s 10 Cal Jelly Pots: Guilt-Free Nostalgia

Last but certainly not least on my favourites list were the Hartley’s 10 Cal Jelly Pots. It had been many, many years since I last enjoyed a pot of jelly, and I had completely forgotten how much I adored this simple, nostalgic treat! These particular jellies are a brilliant discovery because they contain only 10 calories per pot. This makes them an absolutely guilt-free sweet indulgence, perfect for satisfying a sugar craving without derailing any dietary goals. They’re incredibly convenient for a quick snack, wonderfully refreshing, and effortlessly bring back delightful childhood memories, proving that sometimes the simplest pleasures are the best and most appreciated.

Other Interesting Discoveries from the Box

Beyond my top picks, the February 2016 Degustabox included a diverse array of other products, each offering its own unique appeal and experience. While not all were instant loves, many provided practical utility or introduced new concepts worth exploring and discussing in more detail.

• Sarsons Malt Vinegar: Initially, my reaction was “Really? Malt vinegar?!” It felt like a rather mundane inclusion for a discovery box, likely due to its limited-edition label rather than being a truly ‘new’ or exciting product. However, serendipitously, I happened to have just run out of vinegar at home, so it proved to be surprisingly handy and useful after all! This just goes to show that sometimes, even the most basic and everyday items can find their moment of appreciation in an unexpected delivery.
• Mr Kipling Cranberry, Orange and Oat Slices: These slices offered a fairly pleasant taste, with a nice, well-balanced combination of cranberry tartness and orange zest notes. The flavour profile was enjoyable, but they were surprisingly tiny, especially when considering their calorie count for such a minuscule size. While they provided a quick, tasty bite, they didn’t offer the substantial or filling snack experience I often look for. They felt more like a mini-indulgence rather than a satisfying treat.
• Beloved Dates Cereal Bars: These stood out for their impressive commitment to natural ingredients and health-conscious design. Made with 100% natural components and bound together by rich date nectar, they contained absolutely no added sugar, making them a much healthier alternative to many other highly processed cereal bars on the market. They were very nice, providing a wholesome and naturally sweet energy boost, though similar to the Mr Kipling slices, they were a bit on the small side.
• VitHit Juice Based Soft Drink: This innovative drink claimed to pack 100% of your daily recommended allowance of eight different essential vitamins, all while boasting no added sugar and fewer than 35 calories per bottle. Crafted from a refreshing blend of natural fruit juices and carefully selected teas, it offered a quite pleasant and genuinely refreshing flavour profile. It felt like a smart and healthy choice for a quick hydration boost, especially for those looking for a healthier alternative to sugary soft drinks.
• Ritz Crisp And Thin: My expectations for these were quite high; I anticipated them to be thin, crispy, and subtly flavoured crackers – an ideal accompaniment to cheese, dips, or as a sophisticated snack. Unfortunately, upon tasting them, they tasted remarkably similar to regular crisps, which left me somewhat perplexed. If they’re essentially crisps, the ‘crisp and thin’ branding felt a little misleading, making me question the point of them when one could simply opt for traditional crisps. The concept felt a little lost in translation.
• J2O Spritz: These sparkling non-alcoholic drinks were pretty good! They provided a wonderfully refreshing and lighter alternative to traditional fruit juices, perfect for social occasions, as a celebratory drink, or simply as a bubbly pick-me-up during the day. The subtle effervescence and pleasant fruit flavours made them feel a bit more special and less heavy than a standard juice, offering a delightful twist.
• The London Crisp Company Sweet Chilli Crisps: While these crisps were perfectly enjoyable, offering the satisfying crunch one expects from a bag of crisps, they didn’t offer anything particularly groundbreaking in terms of flavour innovation. They were essentially regular crisps with a sweet chilli seasoning, and surprisingly, I found them to have a less intense or vibrant flavour compared to other brands of sweet chilli crisps I’ve tried in the past. A solid, if unremarkable, snack for crisp lovers.
• James White Drinks Carrot Juice: This was a product I approached with a significant amount of caution. I must confess, I’m generally not a fan of pure vegetable juices unless they’re heavily disguised with a significant amount of fruit juice to mask the earthy flavour. Consequently, I can’t fairly comment on its standalone taste as a beverage. However, this particular bottle inspired a creative culinary project, leading to the rather lovely carrot and caraway seed bread recipe I’m excited to share below. Sometimes, an unexpected ingredient from a subscription box can spark a fantastic and delicious new idea!

Baking Inspiration: Carrot & Caraway Seed Bread – A Recipe Born from Discovery

As mentioned, the James White Drinks Carrot Juice, while not my favourite to drink on its own, proved to be an invaluable ingredient in a new and exciting baking adventure. The result was this truly exceptional carrot and caraway seed bread – a perfect loaf for sandwiches that boasts an incredible texture and a surprisingly rich, nuanced flavour profile. Its beautiful, bright orangey-yellow hue, derived naturally from the carrots, makes it as visually appealing as it is delicious.

I incorporated both finely grated carrot and carrot juice directly into the dough, which works wonders for the bread. Interestingly, the bread doesn’t possess an overtly “carroty” taste; instead, these ingredients work synergistically to keep the loaf wonderfully moist, ensuring a soft crumb, and contribute significantly to its fantastic, vibrant colour. It’s also a clever and delicious way to sneak in a little extra vegetable goodness into your diet! The dominant flavour comes from the aromatic caraway seeds, which I personally adore for their distinctive, slightly anise-like warmth and subtle peppery notes. While totally optional, I highly recommend them as they truly elevate the bread’s character. If caraway isn’t to your liking, or you prefer something with a milder taste, you could easily substitute them with sesame or poppy seeds for a different, nutty flavour profile. This versatile bread can be baked as a rustic, free-form loaf, as I did here for a more artisan look, or in a traditional loaf tin for perfectly uniform slices, making sandwich preparation a breeze. For me, this bread is best enjoyed at lunchtime, generously layered with some sharp cheddar cheese and a dollop of tangy chutney – a combination that creates pure bliss in every bite!

Print

Carrot & Caraway Seed Bread

Author Domestic Gothess

Ingredients

• 170 g (6oz) carrot, finely grated
• 400 g (3 + ⅓ cups) strong white bread flour
• 100 g (generous ¾ cup) rye flour
• 10 g (3 tsp) fast action yeast
• 10 g (1.5 tsp) salt
• 1 tbsp caraway seeds
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 220 ml (⅔ + ¼ cup) carrot juice

Instructions

• Place all of the ingredients into a large bowl and mix to form a rough dough, turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic; it is quite a sticky dough so use a stand mixer if you have one; if not, try not to add to much extra flour.
• Place the kneaded dough into an oiled bowl, cover and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Knock back the risen dough and either shape it into a free-form loaf and place it on a floured baking sheet; or shape it into a log and place it into a large loaf tin lined with baking parchment. Cover with oiled clingfilm and leave to rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Dust the top of the loaf with a bit of rye flour then cut a slash down the middle of it with a very sharp knife. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the centre of the loaf reaches at least 94C/200F on a probe thermometer, it should sound hollow when tapped on the base. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely before slicing.

Conclusion & Sharing My Culinary Creations

The February 2016 Degustabox offered a truly delightful mix of familiar comforts and exciting new discoveries, reinforcing why these subscription services are such a popular and engaging way to explore the world of food and drink. From the utterly irresistible Divine caramel chocolate to the inspiring James White carrot juice that sparked a delicious and unique baking project, the box was full of memorable items. It’s always a pleasure to unbox, taste, and get creative with the contents. Don’t forget, you can grab your own Degustabox at a fantastic discount using the code BLDEG15 at checkout – I highly recommend giving it a try!

I’m always thrilled to share my culinary adventures and creations with fellow food enthusiasts and the vibrant blogging community. This review and especially the homemade carrot and caraway seed bread recipe are being shared with several wonderful online communities and link parties, where I find endless inspiration and connect with other passionate cooks and bakers:

• Saucy Saturdays hosted by The Flavour Bender, Take Two Tapas, La Petit Chef and Mid-Life Croissant
• Bake Of The Week hosted by Casa Costello and Maison Cupcake
• Fiesta Friday hosted by The Brook Cook and Little Sweet Baker
• Foodie FriDIY
• Foodie Friends Friday
• Friday Features