Musings: The PC Black Label Collection

           

Black Label - that sounds like a classy collection. PC says to "Satisfy your inner foodie", and I couldn't agree more.  "The PC Black Label Collection brings our exceptional array of fine foods and flavours from around the world and here at home to the grocery store - all with the value and convenience you expect from the PC brand. Not only are they our extraordinary selection of products. They're the very best we've ever tasted."

 It looks like grocery store chains are starting to open their markets to appeal to foodies and people that want to start eating like foodies. I recall a similar grocery brand with a very similar collection (I’m really not hinting at anything, I just can’t remember). The products all sound really good, but that could just be the work of an excellent advertising department. Just because something is made with exotic sounding ingredients and labelled with a fancy name does not mean that it’ll taste good. I don’t think I’d eat something for the sake of it being fancy if it wasn't good. Well, that's what I tell myself anyway. I’ve seen a few of these products on store shelves and they are expensive! Of course that is to be expected but it just makes you wonder if it really is worth it.

But I do enjoy reading the descriptions for the products in their Black Label Collection. Take for example, the PC Black Label Black Cherry and Vanilla Food Spread. "A sultry combination of sweet, juicy, black cherries and fragrant Madagascar vanilla..." Food should always sound this luxurious.

I should also note that the packaging is gorgeous. The labels are plain black with clean colour accented text accompanied by mood-evoking black and white pictures of rustic looking backgrounds. Again, this may be a case of supreme advertising over taste but anything that looks this good should at least be comparable to ‘normal’ grocery store products.

Actually I don't know, but I'm willing to go the lengths to find out! Starting with the PC Black Label Salted Caramel Ice Cream (I got salted caramel gelato once at a gelato shop down by the harbour – hands down the best frozen dessert I’ve ever had). This collection certainly makes things easier for freshmen foodies (like me)! Here's the website for more foodploration - http://www.pc.ca/blacklabel/

Images

http://www.pc.ca/blacklabel/pcBlackLabel_product_recipe.jsp?productId=prod1910025#discover

http://www.pc.ca/blacklabel/pcBlackLabel_product_recipe.jsp?productId=prod1910023#discover

http://www.pc.ca/blacklabel/pcBlackLabel_product_recipe.jsp?productId=prod1390021#discover

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with President's Choice. I just picked up the 2012 Holiday Insider's report when I went grocery shopping at Loblaw’s. 

Eating: Cereal Granola Bars

I have love/hate relationship towards granola bars. I love that I can sneak one (or three) in my pencil case and discreetly snack during class. Most of the time, I get hungry within an hour after eating, and granola bars are the only thing that can sustain me. However, some packaged granola bars are seriously gross. You know, like those ones with this sickeningly sweet coating of corn syrup or something similar.

My mother brought these cereal bars home from work. They were homemade, and tasted great. The bars had the right amount of sweetness and were really soft and chewy. Are cereal bars considered granola bars? Granola can be defined as cereal so I'm just going to say yes. These bars were made of some brand of cereal flakes (possible Kellogg?), with some seeds, raisins, and dried cranberries. I don’t imagine that cereal bars such as these would be too difficult or time consuming to make. You just put whatever you want in a bowl and stir some sugar binder in it. I think I might try to make my own cereal/granola bars sometime...when I have the time...

Also, I am desperately trying to take better pictures. I find it best when I have natural light, but seeing as that is not possible most of the time, I do try my best to edit the pictures so that they aren't overly YELLOW.