Kaweka - Field Mushroom Risotto product reviews

This was my lunch today and I must say I didn't like it at all!! I think the look of it put me off a wee bit as we have had a tummy bug thru the house, but it left a bitter taste in my mouth. To get a fair opinion I gave some to hubby who eats almost anything, but he spat his mouthful in the bin. Hopefully the other flavours are nicer.

On a positive note, the meal was a generous size and very easy to cook.

"Serves 1-2 people?" Yeah, right! I thought, envisioning having one for a starter, another for a main and perhaps something else to finish off.

I am glad to say I was wrong. This pack will serve one as a main meal, and two as a side dish easily.

I love Risotto and I am also vegetarian, so to be given the chance to try this was first an exercise in reading all the ingredients - Parmesan with no rennet - was clearly a good start for me. I tend to find that many Kiwi manufacturers have no concept of vegetarian an tend to stick the words 'vegetarian' ignoring fish sauce, rennet or other animal products. So yes, you can assume that when this (and these) products say they are vegetarian you can be assured that they really are. Top marks to this aspect already.

The smell was divine - probably a little a little of the white wine escaping when being heated in the microwave, but not overpowering. The odour of the mushroom was pronounced and earthy - excellent. It passed the nose test - now for the taste.

Taste, again was excellent (probably being compounded by a lousy muhroom risotto I had in London a few weeks ago) - I was looking for rice with a bit of 'bite' without being stodgy, but not so soft that it would pass as a congee (rice mush). Again - top marks here.

Probably the only thing I would say against it, is that it was probably a little salty for my liking - but that is easily overlooked in balance with the rest of the taste.

All in all, an excellent dish (especially for vegetarians) with excellent flavour and mouth-feel. Hearty and nutritious meals that taste good and are vegetarian are hard to come by. I look forward to trying the rest of the range - and I sincerely hope to see more vegetarian dishes being added to the range.

Having enjoyed all my previous meals of Kaweka's range i popped this into the microwave with eager anticipation, after nuking it for the requisite amount of time I removed it from the microwave and fully opened the package. The first thing I noticed was the smell of the white wine, which was a tad off putting for me, however in the true nature of unbiased testing I ignored the smell and dived in and boy am I glad I did. Whilst not as tasty as some of the other meals I have sampled this was still quite a nice meal.

The portion size was perfect for a nice lunchtime meal.

So while not one of my most favourite meals this is still one I would get again.

This was my lunch today - and I have to say well done to Kaweka for getting the portion sizes just right, this was just enough without making me feel like I'd overindulged - and I quite enjoyed it.

Having nuked it for 3 minutes - after having decided that 2 minutes just isn't enough - the smells out of the microwave were lovely.
Pouring it into my bowl, it looked a little brown and sludgy, but what else is one to expect of field mushroom risotto?
Eating this, I didn't get any of the chemical taste that I have had with some of the other flavours, which is a very good thing. The flavour of the meal itself was subtle and pleasant, with real mushroom depth to it. So often mushroom flavoured products just don't cut it in my book - though I eat a lot of real mushrooms so I'm a little fussy when it comes to this...

The brown rice was fulling and tasty, the sauce worked well with the flavours of the meal and it left me full for the whole afternoon...
Thank you Kaweka :)

I placed the sachet in my microwave after reading the instructions (thoroughly, I thought). Setting the timer I sat back to await my meal. It wasn't until the timer had finished that I saw a sizable mess. The bag had split and sprayed the inside of my nukebox with mushrooms, rice and sauce. (I had forgotten to tear the hole to let out steam.)

The portion size of this meal is generous. From the first bite I thought the flavours all combined well. The use of brown rice in the risotto gave it an extra bit of bite that other rice risottoes, especially store bought kinds, just do not have. The mushrooms kept their shape well.The vegetable stock and white wine sauce worked well. It had a good consistency and helped to keep the whole thing together.

I look forward to the next time I have to look for something for my dinner. This meal has been added to my top five.

Well done, folks at Kaweka Foods.