The burst of ginger should always be pleasingly strong because a ginger biscuit is just what you reach for when you’re in need of a sweet spicy crisp hit! With its wholesome gingery hues, it’s a biscuit that somehow always feels less “naughty” when compared to other popular biscuit varieties.
The best ginger biscuits should be a little fiery with obvious peppery ginger notes, sweet and rich with luxurious notes from butter and golden syrup, and of course, wonderfully crunchy. The crunch should be satisfyingly crisp but perfectly crunchable, moreish in fact, as you undoubtedly reach for another ginger biscuit out of the open packet!
Due to their crisp nature, good ginger biscuits or ginger nuts have always been a teatime favourite! The ginger biscuit has reportedly been enjoyed with a fresh cup of tea in Britain since as early as the 1640s.
The teatime treat has since gained popularity worldwide, with seemingly plentiful ginger biscuit options available on the South African market today. But even with the endless options available, only one brand stands out as a constant at all retail stores across South Africa – Bakers Original Ginger Nuts®. As a crowd favourite, is it clear Bakers Original Ginger Nuts® has set the “crisp ginger” bar high when it comes to ginger biscuits in SA.
So, we decided to look closely at all the ginger biscuit offerings, along with their varying price points, to see which ginger biscuits stand out from the pack and which get a fiery fail from the Food24 taste team.
After tasting many ginger biscuits, the results were extremely close; three brands all with the most similar biscuit appearance tied for a three-way share of the first spot and only a mere few decimals separated the first, second and third spots.
Results
De Vries Ginger Biscuits 3.5/5
This sample left tasters dreaming of teatime! It was gingery, sweet and crisp – all the makings of a perfect ginger biscuit. The typical crinkle-top appearance was also pleasing to the eye.
Comments tasters left: “Just enough crunch (I often struggle to bite into ginger biscuits!) and a nice balance between sweet and fiery,” and “Nice snap to the biscuits and had a fiery ginger aftertaste with a slight burn. I enjoyed this sample a lot, actually,” and lastly, “Crisp, compact, flavourful… Where’s my cup of tea?”
Cost: R20.99 for 200g
Bakers Original Ginger Nuts® 3.5/5
It’s not surprising that SA’s favourite ginger biscuit is tied for tops with two other brands. This was the sample that brought back fond childhood memories and most importantly, it brought the perfect amount of fiery ginger crunch!
Comments tasters left: “This ginger biscuit reminds me of my granny’s – a good sign! The sample is crispy and gingery without being too overpowering. I like that appearance as well,” and “Crispy and tastes good. Perfect ginger biscuit,” and lastly, “Really enjoyed this one. Had a nice snap to it! Ginger comes through and the sample is sweet but balanced.”
Cost: R29.99 for 200g
Checkers Ginger Biscuits 3.5/5
While the Checkers brand ginger biscuits were slightly less crisp when compared to the other top scorers, they were praised for bringing the fiery ginger heat. They also had that classic ginger crinkle-top appearance and for just under R20 that’s an absolute steal!
Comments tasters left: “The sample was slightly less crisp but the ginger was fiery – loved it, just what I want from a ginger bikkie. Sweet but hits the spot!” and “A strong ginger flavour but still has the sweetness to balance the little kick of heat,” and lastly, “The ginger boldly comes through here but the biscuit was a bit soft.”
Cost: R19.99 for 200g
Woolworths Homestyle Ginger Biscuits 3/5
While tasters absolutely adored this sample, both on flavour and looks, it ultimately was marked down for its lack of fiery ginger-ness! Tasters felt it was buttery and utterly luxurious but it was more reminiscent of a caramel biscuit than a ginger biscuit.
Comments tasters left: “Tastes more like a caramel biscuit than a ginger one,” and “I think it wasn’t spicy enough for me but I did like this one the most,” and lastly, “Did I like this sample, yes. Was it a ginger biscuit? That’s debatable… It was buttery and you could taste the golden syrup but there wasn’t much ginger flavour to it.”
Cost: R49.99 for 230g
SPAR Ginger Biscuits 2.8/5
While tasters thought this sample was nice, it lost some points because tasters felt they took crisp to new extremes and some tasters also found that it lacked a bit on the ginger front.
Comments tasters left: “It’s too hard and I can barely taste the ginger,” and “This one had more of a clove flavour to it… maybe some ginger aftertaste bite to it, very average,” and lastly, “This wasn’t so bad, but wow, why was it so hard to bite? It was like a rock.”
Cost: R22.99 for 200g
Pick n Pay Ginger Biscuits 1.5/5
Tasters, unfortunately, found this sample bland and noted that it lacked that crisp crunchy bite and that crinkle-top appearance so characteristic of a good ginger biscuit.
Comments tasters left: “I really don’t like this one. No ginger taste, not sweet enough and too soft,” and “This is far too thick to be called a ginger biscuit. No real ginger flavour to speak of and the appearance lacks the quintessential ‘crackle’ on top.”
Cost: R19.99 for 200g
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The rules of Food24 Taste Tests:
– All tasters tasted and scored all samples. Each individual taster’s preference impacts the score they give.
– The samples were tested without packaging and were not easily identifiable.
– The samples were not labelled and were tasted in random order.
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