I've been eating a lot of chocolate spread recently, which is unusual for me, but I guess I got sucked in by the craze started with the newly launched Cadbury Caramel & Crunchie Chocolate Spreads. After posting about the Cadbury spreads I was contacted by Jim Jams, a company producing spreads with no added sugars, and was asked if I'd like to review their No Added Sugar Chocolate Hazelnut Spread. I'm notoriously moaning about quitting or reducing sugar, so I couldn't refuse to give it a try!
Rather than sugar this is instead sweetened with maltitol, which is a type of sugar alcohol that can have "unintended effects" if consumed in excess (and those who've tried it know what I mean!) This may be a blessing in disguise, as it's a further reason not to over-indulge. As well as maltitol, the spread contains 13% hazelnuts, cocoa, milk powder, whey powder and a mixture of palm and rapeseed oil. It's gluten free and contains 494 calories per 100g.
Opening the lid, it had a kind of swirly appearance with what looked like small chocoloate nibs in it.
I'm not sure what they are exactly, I thought maybe hazelnut bits, but they didn't taste any more hazelnutty than the actual spread.
This is a very tasty spread indeed, but very different from your regular chocolate spread. The sweetness is of course milder which means the flavours of cocoa and hazelnut can shine through a bit more, and the texture is a bit different from the likes of Nutella, it's firmer. I really enjoyed it, it's smooth and nutty and not throat-burningly sweet. However this meant that it was a little too easy to overdo it and eat more than a few spoonfulls...oops! I did indeed suffer the consequences from that!
Overall, is this better than Nutella? To be honest no, nothing will ever beat Nutella in terms of pure yumminess, but for something that's healthier and makes you feel virtuous while eating it this is a great option. It's rare to find a sugar free chocolate spread, so kudos to Jim Jams for catering for this increasing dietary need...I hope to see more flavours and varieties in the future!
8 out of 10.
