Pitango Breakfast Pots - Apple & Sultana Porridge product reviews

Normally, I prefer to make my own porridge - there's something about doing it from scratch that I find somewhat meditative and relaxing. That's true of all cooking really, as long as I am cooking for one. I can lose myself in the task, and all the other stresses and pulls on my attention slide away for a short while.

I found this little pot to be a bit of a godsend this morning, as I slept through my first alarm, and it was my 'backup' alarm that finally woke me. Having had a throat infection that has been hitting me hard on and off this last week, I also wanted something that was soothing and warm... and porridge ticks all the boxes for me. When it comes to heating the pot, instructions are clear - 90 seconds, stir, 60 seconds, stir, stand, eat. However, with my microwave I often find that longer times and lower power gives a better result, so I gave it 2 minutes at 70%, then a second stint of 90 seconds at 50% power, and left it to stand for just over a minute.

This turned out to be perfect for me - none of that overcooked, chewy rind around the rim - the whole bowl was soft, smooth and silky. But not sweet. This has a very traditional taste to it - the sweetness of the sultanas and apple do come through, but it's mild and a generous swirl of maple syrup was required for me to get it to the place I like having my porridge. This is actually great, as it means that you can tweak it to suit your tastes - it's not going to be sickly sweet.

Overall, this was great for a speedy morning breakfast, and proved to be set at a level of sweetness that allows it to fit in to anyone's tastes. And on that note - time for me to head out.

For the past week this has sat in my fridge taunting me, begging me to eat it but I had ear marked it for Sunday. The plan was, as I have worked non stop for the past six days that I had decided I would have a sleep in (sounds nice in theory) and lazily walk up stairs and have this on the couch while taking my time eating it. Instead I have just finished working six hours non stop at three different locations and I have come home with sore feet and starving, hubby and kids have eaten most things and I could not take it anymore and it became my afternoon lunch.

Reading the instructions seemed simple enough, break the tab after removing from the box and put in the microwave for 1.5 minutes, I put it in for 2 minutes as our microwave is just under 1000 watts. I paced back and forth praying that time would fly, it said that once heated to stir and as I didn't want to make any dishes I used the attached fork and stirred with this. I did find it collapsed a couple of times so I had to hold by force near the base and stir that way then back in the microwave for 1 minute.

It did say to stand for one minute and to be honest I might of skipped this stage. The first thing I noticed was how creamy it looked. I took a mouthful and yes, I can confirm it is very hot and you probably do need to give it a minute or two to cool down - but as I had already started I could not stop. I have always loved my porridge since a young kid staying at my dads mum. She would make me porridge with brown sugar and a Milo. My parents hated porridge and so does my other nana so I would only get it once, maybe twice a year when I stayed with her. Fast forward some many years later and during winter my husband, youngest daughter and I have microwave porridge regularly. We all love any porridge especially when cinnamon, brown sugar, apple or if sultanas are involved.

I liked the creaminess of this porridge and that it had lumps in it. I found there were lots of sultanas and I really enjoyed it. The flavour was spot on and I found the whole thing fantastic. I do have a sore tongue - but lets be honest that is my fault! The container/portion size was a little smaller than I would of liked. But I do like the convenience of it, not having to guess how much milk to use as it is all done for you. Even though I think the price is a little steep I did enjoy it and this would be perfect for me when I have a crazy day and not enough time to eat this is perfect as under a couple of minutes I have a yummy dish waiting for me.

Porridge is always such a great food to have for breakfast, especially in the cold winter months. When I saw the Pitango ready to eat porridge pots up for review I was really hoping to try them as they would be great for when I have early starts at work and also as a quick lunch if I didn't have time to pack anything. Miss 4 loves to have sultanas in her porridge, and me apples so this combination sounded like something that may just suit us both.

We had previously tried the Golden Honey variation and although Miss 4 and I both loved the creamy taste and the flavour of the honey we really weren't a fan of the steel cut oats which unfortunately were also used in this porridge. I decided to dish up a small amount for each of us to try just incase we may have changed our minds on the oats but sadly we had not. I didn't want to waste the remaining porridge and so instead I decided to do a wee experiment. I placed roughly a 1/4 cup of the porridge into a mug and then added in some flour and baking powder enough to form a thicker consistency and then heated this in the microwave on high for 3 minutes, my aim was to try and turn the porridge into mug muffins, something which I had been making myself for breakfast recently. I was most impressed with the result my plan had worked and I had a lovely mug muffin for breakfast that went down a treat served with a dollop of greek yoghurt and a chopped up banana.

With the remaining porridge I decided to try out another idea which I had which was to turn it into pancakes. Just as I had done previously to make mug muffins I added some flour to the mix and a wee bit of sugar and mixed it until combined. I then placed spoonfuls of this mixture into a heated frying pan with some butter and cooked them on each side until they were golden brown and cooked through. Again the results came out great and both Miss 4 and I ate the porridge this way no complaints at all, it goes to show that if you may not enjoy something in which the way it is intended for that it doesn't hurt to try it out in a different way as you may just love it!

The flavours in all 3 ways which I tried it were great the smell of cinnamon as I cooked was strong and the taste and balance of the apple and sultanas was perfect, Miss 4 was happy to have sultanas in her breakfast. While I won't personally be buying these ready to eat porridges again myself I can see that they would make an ideal breakfast, snack or meal option for those who need something quick and easy or on the run, a great idea for a product.

I was not sure how far this product would stretch, but I was hungry and had little time to spare before setting out for work, so decided to heat the lot. The packet said it contained one serving so I chose to believe it and within minutes I had a hot and highly aromatic dish ready to eat. I could smell the apples and the cinnamon, and my mouth was watering.

It was a good sized helping. I ate the lot myself, and was very full when I had finished. The portions are generous, much more so than other brands offer, so are more than adequate to satisfy the biggest of appetites. There was no need to add anything - the milk was already included and the combined sweetness of the apple and sultanas made the result highly palatable. The cinnamon intensified the effect of the different flavours, adding its own unique tang.

Oats are one of the original superfoods. Ever since I was a child I have enjoyed oatmeal for breakfast in one form or another. Other cereals don't have that sustainability factor; half an hour after eating a non-oat based cereal, I am usually hungry again! Oats are high in fibre and are so versatile that they can be used in dozens of recipes, all unique and tasty in their own way. But it is hard to beat a plate of hot porridge on a cold morning, cooked the traditional way with the possible addition of fruit or a little spice.

I do like the idea of packaging the product in a pottle. It provides more protection than a simple paper or foil packet, which is the way many single serve breakfast foods are packaged, and can double as a bowl if you are away from home. There is even a small spoon included for travellers, although it is not really suitable for the job - it is a bit small, and has little tines which are not really designed for liquids.

It is hard these days to find prepared foods that are free of artificial additives although more manufacturers seem to be coming on board as the demand increases. I prefer natural products any time, so am happy to support firms that think the same way. The pitango products I have tried to date all feature unadulterated ingredients which rely on robust processing and storage systems to prolong shelf life. They also advise that their products should be kept in the fridge to extend their freshness. I like these systems! They make sense both nutritionally and ecologically - a bonus all round.

Another breakfast variety, and while cooking it, the aroma is much stronger than the golden honey product. This is good, as I really want a nice strong flavour. The blandness of porridge/oats is usually the reason why I avoid it in the first place. I also have the problem where I will sleep in until the latest possible moment before going to work; I still get to work early, because I aim to miss traffic, but between getting out of bed, and getting in the car, there is no time for breakfast. So finding something tasty, that is easy to prepare at work, could be the solution that allows me to eat breakfast (which I am told again and again that it is the most important meal of the day), and maximise sleep.

As with the other breakfast varieties, the packaging is thicker than the meal-for-1 varieties, and has a solid tab that must be broken in order to remove the lid. This means it doesn't need the plastic film, and removes one step from the already simple instructions. Unlike the Golden Honey variety, this Apple and Sultana variety did not come close to spilling over during the heating stage. Which is great, obviously. That gives me time to focus on other things, such as making a hot drink, or work.

The flavour still ended up being rather subtle. It was much stronger than the Golden Honey flavour, but didn't come across as anything overly strong. I suppose this is due to the reasonably low calorie count, which would have increased dramatically if too many flavour enhancers were added. The flavour was nice, and the sultanas give a nice little burst of flavour. WARNING: THE SULTANAS HOLD THE HEAT. Biting the first sultana, I could clearly tell there was a large difference in temperature between the inside of the sultanas and the porridge. So it's definitely important to follow the directions and allow it to stand for the appropriate amount of time. If you are feeding to a child, maybe leave it to cool for longer. Just in case.

But for $4.49, it's a pretty good deal. 250 grams, and it was filling. Reasonable flavour, without going overboard in the calories. Easy to transport, easy to heat, and easy to eat.