The Sausage Roll wars are back on today! To add to my DS/Schar, No.G mix is the contender from M&S! Being a ready to eat sausage roll meant I could just pick these up and tuck in, which is exactly what I did!

Retailing at £3 for a pack of two these rolls are slightly more expensive than Schar, but you do not have to cook them, which I would argue would cost more than 50p, yet  they are cheaper than No.G, as you get two in a pack although they are smaller! I actually got mine for £1.80 as they were on their use by date, which is great as I ate one for lunch yesterday and one today and saved a few pennies!

The pastry was flakey in texture, beautifully light and airy, I microwaved them to eat and they kept a good dry texture and did not go soggy, lets face it, soggy pastry is never good! This pastry is very comparable to the No.G pastry and leaps and bounds above the Schar pastry in my opinion. Schar use much more of a short crust, which is delicious, but flakey is the way to go when it comes to sausage rolls!

In terms of flavour, the sausage meat is seasoned nicely, much more plain than the No.G comparative but that's clearly where the price difference comes into play. These sausage rolls are much more of a basic sausage meat, which are still very flavoursome and perfect for everyone as there are no strong flavourings,  but if you are after something which has a slightly richer, more peppery flavour I would pick the No.G as they feel slightly more luxury.

The M&S sausage rolls are a lot more accessible to me though, as although M&S Foodhall and Sainsbury's are right next-door to each other where I shop, Sainsbury's does not stock any No.G products and has very limited gluten free options, so in this respect I would be more included to have the M&S ones, purely because I have to order a minimum of £40 on Ocado to get hold of them, and I don't always need that many groceries.

Being around 100 calories less than the No.G, the M&S rolls are around 300 calories with 21.1g of fat. Obviously being a smaller roll, I would feel the macros of the comparable weight would be about the same, so there is nothing better for you in terms of lower calories or fat, other than the M&S sausage roll is smaller so makes for a smaller portion. Although you can cut these sausage rolls into party sized and limit your intake that way, if that is something that concerns you!

Overall I think the M&S Sausage rolls are wonderful, but having the rare novelty of being able to compare two great gluten free products, I had to take the opportunity, as it wasn't too long ago we barely had one option of each item! If I had to choose which sausage roll I enjoyed best, it would be very hard to make a decision as I enjoyed them both, but I feel the M&S is more of a lunch box treat products, whereas I would use the No.G as part of a buffet cut down or when I was having guests as I feel the sausage meat is slightly more luxury!

If you have tried both I would love to know which one you prefer, or if you are just excited that more and more free from products are hitting the market!

Hannah x

I know I have only just done a post on the No.G pork pie, but these are fresh foods and I really want to get these reviews up before Christmas, so you have time to get hold of them for the festive season, as lets face it, pastry is what Christmas food is all about!

Like the pork pie, this is a good sized sausage roll, suitable for lunch or even with some mash and beans for dinner! It would also be fab cut into bitesize pieces on the boxing day buffet table. With seasonings such as ground white pepper, lemon juice, ground coriander, mushroom extract, ground nutmeg and ground clove, the sausage meat is very flavoursome and very well seasoned, but not overpowered by spices.

Like all pastry products, these are quite calorie laden, one roll is 410 calories with 28.6g of fat of which 12.5g are saturated. But if you can't indulge at Christmas, when can you? In comparison to  the DS/Schar sausage rolls I would certainly pick these as firstly they are fully baked so will not take as long to warm up, they also they have a much more flakey pastry, representative to a true mainstream sausage roll. Nevertheless they are both great products just No.G top the convenience factor and also are larger so at 2 for £5 are a much better value.

The pastry is something that particularly stands out to me. So light and flakey, like a true puff pastry, which is something all other brands creating sausage rolls I have tried have not quite mastered. It's buttery and light and just such a beautiful texture. The taste is also as you would expect. When I saw the pastry looked perfect, I was certain the taste would be compromised, as it seems to me a lot of the time one or the other has to be lacking, even if it is only slightly. But I was wrong, there was not dryness on the back of my throat or powdery taste or any bitter aftertaste. So it was an all round fantastic pastry recipe!

Two of these rolls were sent to me to try, so I decided to try one hot and one cold and they were lovely both ways and it is honestly down to preference to how you wish to eat this, rather than having to heat it to make it change to a more pleasant texture, which is something we sometimes have to do with breads and pastry.

If you have a Sainsbury's locally who stock No.G or ordering from Ocado, I'd recommend popping these in your basket quickly!

Have a fab Christmas

Hannah x

*This product was sent to me to try, all thoughts an opinions are my own

Since DS and their sister company Schar have combined, I have taken the opportunity to give some more of their products a go! I think I had these a few years back, but wasn't too impressed. But I think that was partly down to me over baking!

So I gave them a second go, and I am pleased to say I am much more impressed this time, they are fantastic, I also baked them differently. As I have been taking these to work I have been baking the night before in the oven and then when at work I microwave for a minute or so on a plate with a paper towel on to absorb any condensation, keeping the pastry crisp!

The flavour of this product is lovely, the sausage meat is succulent and flavoursome, with a seasoning that brings the flavour to life. The pastry is quite understated, which I find in terms of gluten free is a good thing, countless times I have had pastry with the oddest aftertaste, which has ruined it's accompaniments. I am pleased that this pastry is just a crisp coating for the sausage meat.

I would certainly buy these again and as they are frozen it allows you to just have them on hand if you need a quick lunch or as Christmas is getting closer, those who drop in and you need to find something to feed them, cut into four or five pieces these could even be part of a buffet!

For around 232 calories I find that these sausage rolls are quite filling and I have either had a side salad or a fruit pot, sometimes even both afterwards! There is 13g fat per roll, but with pastry and sausage meat, this I feel is to be expected. So although quite low in calories, there is a considerable amount of fat. Something which is fine in moderation, just don't make it part of your daily diet!

For two sausage rolls, these retail at £2 per pack, there is always coupons to be found at shows and online, which tends to mean you can buy them in bulk once coupons have been circulated. I had a £2 coupon in the post recently, so you could even get them free! Even if you do not have a coupon, £1 per pre-made sausage roll isn't too bad considering it is a convenience food. Also with these higher price points to gluten free food, I find I tend to eat much healthier too, as I bulk out everything with fruit and veg!

I would love to know what you have tried from Schar, I have to say I have had some of the biscuits and have been very impressed too!


Hannah x