Forget what you thought you knew about bulk food bins, this stuff is is gourmet. Over the summer, I got to sample a few Alison’s Pantry goodies which I shared with anyone who would eat them with me. Funny enough, it’s not so hard to find friends to sample sweet and savoury tidbits. I even roped in a few strangers. Equally at home in your snack drawer or on platters for entertaining over summer.
Thanks to Alison’s Pantry, one of you will win a prize pack containing eight different platter products including both sweet and savoury options (Valued at $120). Due to logistics, this prize is only open to New Zealand locals and actual products may vary from samples pictured.
To enter, fill in the form at the bottom of this post, including a skill question.
Alison’s Pantry offer a bulk food range in New Zealand supermarkets. Great if you just want raw ingredients without the fancy packaging. Endorsed by Dame Alison Holst, the “Mother of New Zealand Cooking”, the range can be found in in the New World and PAK’n SAVE supermarkets across New Zealand.
Here’s a run down on the treats we tried…
Savoury
Savoury Sprinkle
Crunchy roasted chickpeas with a hint of garlic, Karengo (a New Zealand seaweed from the Deep South), Pumpkin and Sunflower seeds, almonds and goji berries. I was surprised by the rich savoury flavours in this. The Karengo was a wonderful surprise. NZ seaweed is rare in most New Zealand diets. This is a great introduction if you’ve never had New Zealand seaweed before.
Chivda
A traditional Indian snack, crunchy, full flavoured, spicy and salty. Reminds me of a lighter Bhuja mix, gets a bit spicy after a few handfuls. Great with beer.
Horopito Cashews
Horopito (also known as Pepper Tree) is a native New Zealand plant with peppery leaves which flavours these crunchy roasted cashews. An umami hit that reminds me a bit of Japanese furikake. My favourite. Super addictive. Great with a cold drink, first to be finished.
Sweet
Chai Chocolate Almonds
Milk chocolate almonds coated in a delicious combination of warm exotic spices with a delicious hint of sea salt. Tastes like Christmas.
Raspberry and Cacao Nougat
Soft European-style nougat, enchanced cacao nibs and tart raspberries. Generous pieces, creamy and delicious. The Koala loved these.
Maple Cashews
Cashews coated with a Canadian maple syrup crust. Pretty awesome. Exactly as I imagined.
Orchard Fruits
Orchard fruits are a blend of seasonal fruits. The pieces are super generous. The mix we got included nectarine, peach, apricot, apple, kiwi, sultanas and pear.
Everyday figs
Whole figs. Woohoo! Naturally sweet, great for baking, desserts or as a snack. Considering the short season and price of figs, this was a lovely treat. Could be used as a substitute for dates.
Terms and conditions
- This competition is open to New Zealand residents only.
- 1 entry per person.
- Prize may not be exchanged for cash.
- Entries close Wednesday 11 February 2015. Winner will be drawn on Thursday 12 February 2015. Winner will be contacted by email, announced here and on Facebook.
Skill question: Name an Alison’s Pantry snack that uses a native New Zealand plant.
This competition is closed.
Bunny Eats Design 
I love Alison’s Pantry! Was super ecstatic when PAK’nSAVE finally replaced their stale bulk bins with Alison’s Pantry. Think I’ve tried nearly all of those on your list except the Chai chocolate almonds :O Those sound pretty good.
Hi Tiffany, sounds like you are a great Alison’s Pantry fan too 🙂
Yum, these all sound freaking amazing, especially the Horopito Cashews! I tried the Maple Cashews recently – very intense in sweetness but delicious! I really want to try the Chai Chocolate Almonds too. Who am I kidding, I want to nibble all of these!
Me too Meagan. Me too.
That was so cool to read about all these new tasty raw snacks. and I love Alison’s Pantry products….mmm I did my email address wrong too oops meant to be gmail.com 🙂
Lovely to. See recipes for Alisons pantry goodies.I love the way she has kept up with all the trends too and continues to provide us with products info recipes that are healthy and do able
I know I can’t win but I just had to leave a comment. Sharing with strangers reminded me of a story: we were at the Taste of Chicago, a summer food festival held down at Navy Pier. We were walking through, stopping at various kiosks sampling their food and drink when a man holding a very large paper bowl of French fries steps out in front of my husband and without even a second thought, JT reaches in and grabs a few fries. The man was horrified and only then did JT realize it was a private serving and not a sampling. I have to admit we are still laughing about this event!
That is hilarious! I would have done the same thing.
Yummy! I just entered. I love the Alison’s Pantry bulk bin selections. They don’t have these in Aussie supermarkets. One thing I love about living in NZ 😉
I’m eating the Horopito Cashews as i read this – they’re so addictive, yum; I so love Alison’s Pantry products. 🙂
I wish I had more of those. They were my favourite. Must get to a Pak n Save stat!