Colman’s Instant Gravy Paste - Review

I do like a nice bit of gravy, whether it's poured on bangers and mash, or drizzled over Toad in the Hole, or accompanying a Sunday roast, loads of meals would be rather bland without it.  I like to make my gravy from scratch if we're having a roast but don't always have the time or energy to do that during the week.  I was really pleased when I was offered some Colman’s Instant Gravy Paste to try, as they assured me it was a new and superior instant gravy, and the fact that it contains real meat juices should mean it would be really flavoursome.

The new Colman’s Instant Gravy Paste  is available in three delicious flavours – beef, chicken and onion. The new paste format, a bit like a tube of tomato puree, replaces traditional gravy granules.  All you do is add water and you have homemade gravy in an instant. It's also free of nasty preservatives and artificial flavour enhancers. It is available in all major UK supermarkets with a RRP of £1.59 and it comes in 130g easy-squeeze tubes, which provide approximately 5 servings.

So what did we think?

Although I'm really into cooking, there are times when I just can't be bothered making my own gravy from scratch.  We tried the Chicken Gravy Paste with some roasted chicken pieces and it was really good, almost as good as making your own gravy from scratch with the juices from the chicken - just loads less faff.

We tried the Colman's Onion Gravy Paste drizzled over Toad in the Hole and that was really delicious too.

I only have one issue with it, the taste is fab but the gravy - even if you add more than the suggested amount of gravy paste - is a bit thin.  I just added a little arrowroot to thicken it up and it was fine but without it the gravy was a bit thin for my liking.

Going on taste alone though it is delicous, I would thoroughly recommend it for those times when you can't be bothered making gravy from scratch.