of Christmas, and its mystique far exceeds that of the other king of sweets at this time of year, nougat. Coming from the French tradition and wrapped in a halo of legend of the bean, the crown and the hidden surprise, the price of it skyrockets year after year in pastry shops. Supermarkets offer a much cheaper option – prices can be halved, depending on the establishment – although popularly not as reliable for its quality. However, this Christmas cake invites us to consider some alternatives that pass the test with expert palates.
In a study of nine cream-filled roscones for sale in the main supermarkets in the country, Dia’s stands out as the best valued, labeled as “very good quality” and scored with 73 points. This packaged roscón has one of the most attractive prices on the market, at 9.95 euros. The second best is that of the Eroski chain, which achieves a score of 62 and costs 10.95 euros.
In the independent report carried out by the Organization of Consumers and Users, the nutritional quality, that of the fats used and the tasting of a panel of confectionery experts have been taken into account. The tasters have taken into account the texture of the dough, the distribution and creaminess of the filling, the citrus flavors of orange and lemon, the presence of orange blossom in the preparations and the quality of the almonds, sugar and fruits that are traditionally used in the decoration of the roscón.
Thus, the Dia and Eroski packaged buns have received a better rating for being the only ones that only use butter, which is the basic fat component in the traditional recipe. In all other cases, the butter is mixed with other vegetable fats or these oils completely replace the dairy product.
Those from Alcampo and El Corte Inglés, despite being the most expensive in this selection -13.95 and 13.55 euros, respectively-, only get an approved scratch
The cream of the filling of this Epiphany sweet is the second ingredient in which the report has put the magnifying glass. Milk cream without any other additive is recognized in the products for sale in Dia, Eroski, Alcampo and El Corte Inglés. in Salvamás, Mercadona and Lidl it is mixed with other vegetable fats. In Aldi or Carrefour it is even completely replaced by an amalgamation of vegetable oils.
Mercadona’s roscón has been especially badly valued in this study, which qualifies it as “poor quality”, with 47 points and a price of 8 euros. This one doesn’t have a drop of butter in its recipe. The Savings, Aldi, Carrefour and Lidl are also boxed in the bottom of the table. Those from Alcampo and El Corte Inglés, despite being the most expensive in this selection -13.95 and 13.55 euros, respectively-, only obtain an approved scraping in points and the consideration of “average quality”.
Roscón de Reyes filled with cream from Dia supermarkets.
And already put to value the roscón de Reyes, the annual investigation of the OCU has included this year in its inquiries the hot chocolate as the almost obligatory companion of the epiphanic snack. From a selection of nine ready-to-heat chocolates in tetra-briks, experts have concluded that none of the most popular brands falls into the pit of low quality.
Those of La chocolatera and Reny Picot, with 70 points, emerge as the best valued. The brik from the prestigious Valor brand remains in third position with a score of 62. Those from Eroski, Alipende and Paladín achieve approval, as does that from Mercadona (brand Hacendado), which has to settle for a 55 on the scale .
The main criticism of the panel of experts regarding drinking chocolate points to the taste of cocoa, which is insufficient due to the low content of this product of Aztec origin – between 2 and 5%, when it is recommended that it reaches between 8 and 10%-.