Mishry’s List Of Disappointing Products This Year

A year of disappointments and unexpected speed bumps, this year gave us some brilliant products and viral food trends. With over 150 products reviewed this year, a few made a lasting impression on us, while some were downright avoidable. When we say disappointing, we mean that there are certain things about these food products that simply did not work for them; either the flavors were not up to the mark or the entire purpose of the product was futile. Here is our list of the most disappointing food products and products in the home & kitchen space that we reviewed.

When we review food products, our prime parameters include taste, texture and the overall experience. Depending on the product and their target audience, we also consider if it would be appreciated among the selected group of people. After careful selection, these food products emerged as the most disappointing products we reviewed in this year.

The prime reason one buys cake mixes is because of their convenience. But what if convenience is all they provide and the taste is far from what you expect? That is what happened when we reviewed the Food Solutions Eggless Vanilla Cake Mix. When you think of home-baked vanilla cakes, you think of a spongy result and a home that is drenched in the fragrance of vanilla. Sadly, even though the aroma was prominent, the texture of the cake itself was not up to the mark. It was dry and dense, and we do not see ourselves buying another pack again.

We ordered two variants of the Hey Grain Cookies – Besan & Chocolate Chip and Chocolate & Oats Cookies. We really liked the besan cookies which, surprisingly, worked well with the chocolate chips. The Chocolate & Oats Cookies on the other hand were incredibly hard that people could use them to advertise for strong teeth. We could not bite off the cookie in one go (or two). Moreover, they tasted of burnt flour. This is completely avoidable and we do not recommend it at all.

Did you know that almost 75-95% of people from American, African, and Asian ethnicities are lactose intolerant and don’t even know about it? Most lactose-free products in the Indian market are either too expensive or loaded with sugar and preservatives. Which is exactly why we like to look for lactose-free products, especially milk, in the Indian market. We had our hopes pinned on the So Good Almond Fresh Vanilla Flavor milk, but they were dashed to the ground because the beverage was extremely watered down. The almond nuttiness you expect out of almond milk was completely missing. We could not get a bold vanilla flavor. Maybe this would work as a base for another recipe like overnight oats, but definitely a no-go to consume as is. 

Papads or poppadoms are flavorful additions to any meal that lacks a little crunch. And the papad fills that gap perfectly. And there’s so much to choose from – from the sabudana papad and aloo papad to rice papad, dal papad and more. We tried our hands on two of the variants by Mother’s Recipe Papads – Udad Papad and Punjabi Masala Papad. Even though we tried making them using multiple methods – deep frying, roasting them over a flame and in a microwave, both the variants failed to impress us in any form. The aroma we normally associate with udad papads was completely missing, and the papad had a bitter aftertaste and did not add anything, flavor-wise, to our meal at all! Thumbs down from Team Mishry.

While reviewing packaged ready-to-eat meals, we do not compare them to fresh, homemade or restaurant quality meals. What we expect are flavors that are true to their claim and quality ingredients. Tata Q’s Spicy Chicken Biryani had a lot of little factors that did not work for it. The aroma typical to a biryani was completely missing and the spiciness in the biryani was a little uni-dimensional. Even though there was enough chicken in it, they became dry and chewy. If not for the biryani tag, this could work as a chicken and rice combo that you can carry while travelling.

Over the past year we have reviewed a lot of frozen food snacks from ITC. Their Vada Pops, Falafel, and Caribbean Chicken Pops were phenomenal and were loved by Mishry. The one thing that is common across all ITC products is how well they are packaged and how uniformly shaped they are. The ITC Rajmah Galouti, like all other ITC products, was uniform in shape but lacked flavor, was dry, grainy and coarse. Rajmah Galouti, even when made at home, is almost melt-in-the-mouth delicious, but these ones from ITC were disappointing. If you are looking for a vegetarian kebab, we would recommend that you rather try out the ITC Hara Bhara Kebab.

Chocolate chip cookies imply decadence and a buttery texture. These cookies can be the perfect partner for your evening coffee if made the right way. So, it was obvious we were looking for something rich, smooth and packed with chocolate chips. Unfortunately, the Chaayos Choco Chip Cookies were crumbly, messy, brittle and expensive. For the quality these cookies offer, the pricing is certainly not justified. We expected a better product from Chaayos.

Ching’s Secret gave us one of the most lip-smacking schezwan chutneys this year that we have been using personally as well. Ching’s Secret also gave us an avoidable chowmein masala, which reminded us more of a garam masala than hakka noodles. Even though the pack specifies, one sachet is not enough for two packs of Ching’s Hakka Noodles and we had to add a lot of seasoning on our own to make it taste better. We definitely have had better chowmein made with simple salt and pepper at home.

Chole chawal, like rajma chawal and kadhi chawal, are a popular and much-loved rice-curry combination in India. Nothing comes close to homemade flavors, but packaged food has come a long way when it comes to nailing wholesome flavors. Few ready-to-eat meals that we reviewed have been as bad as the Fazlani Foods Chickpeas Curry With Basmati Rice. From the sticky, rubbery rice to the undercooked insipid chickpeas curry, there was no saving grace. The entire team couldn’t even finish a single portion.

During summers or hot days in general, iced teas are much-needed. There have been a couple of brands of iced teas that have been ruling the Indian market since long, so we were looking forward to trying out the Wagh Bakri Ice Tea – Lemon and Orange flavor. We absolutely loved the lemon ice tea Wagh Bakri Ice Tea as it is refreshing and tasty. On the other hand, the orange flavor mimicked the taste of a medicine. The sweet, tanginess you expect from an orange-flavored ice tea was missing and we do not recommend it at all.

Again, these weren’t particularly bad products. We just feel that the use of these products is extremely limited and even if needed, there are better products out there that can do the job more efficiently. Three products we expected more from are:

A nation obsessed with their round rotis, buying a roti casserole seems like an intelligent investment for the kitchen. Doesn’t it? Wrong! Sure, the roti casseroles did keep the rotis from getting wet and soggy like they do in regular casseroles but all of them failed to keep the chapatis warm. So what is even the purpose of buying one if the rotis aren’t warm when you finally sit down to eat? We felt that this is a utensil you can avoid. 

Now this is an interesting product but with limited potential in a home kitchen. This finger guard will be of great use in a professional kitchen where chefs have to chop for hours at a stretch sometimes and even a moment of haste or carelessness can cause deep cuts and injuries. Chopping small batches of veggies at home would not require this finger guard. In fact, it will slow you down. 

Popular nationwide, the medu vada is a deep-fried urad dal fritter that is best enjoyed when dunked in sambar and/or chutney. This medu vada maker was a disappointment because it wasn’t sturdy at all, and couldn’t make the round donut-shaped vadas. This appliance could not do the one thing it claimed, and it also led to wastage. We were better off making the vadas by hand. Plus the sharp handles, even with little pressure, can make deep cuts.

As we say goodbye to this year, here’s hoping that the next year brings in a wave of better products, and a sudden end to this pandemic (Well, we can hope!). Did you try any new product that failed to impress you? Tell us about the most disappointing home, kitchen or food product that you tried in this year, in the comments section below.

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