Put a ring on it: Top 8 shop-bought barmbracks to enjoy this Halloween
Which shop-bought barmbrack fared best in our taste test?
Boo! It’s that time of year – Halloween trick or treats, scary monsters, black hats, fat orange pumpkins with compromised dentitions, nuts, apples, jellied ghoulish sweets. But one of the oldest traditions in Ireland is our bairm breac, a speckled, enriched bread with warm spicy flavours of nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. Autumn has arrived.
Barmbrack has about 7% protein from eggs and butter in the best of them, which means keeping hunger away longer than other snacks. Dried fruit has fibre and micronutrients such as potassium, selenium and iron, vitamins B and A.
The concentration of natural sugars makes it desirable as an energy boost. Dried fruit is mainly preserved with sulphur dioxide which can trigger reactions in some. Organic dried fruit tends not to use it.
This year we had a new set of tasters who were generally disappointed with the selection of barmbracks from supermarkets and rejected many. However, the lowest scorers benefit from toasting and smearing with butter.
Try toasted/dry-fried crumb leftovers on ice-cream, or sprinkled as a topping for stewed/baked fruit crumbles and to warm up and thicken winter stews.
There were serious contenders for the top position, but this sizeable brack got full marks from all tasters for the second year in a row. Complete with ring, it has 43% sultanas, 5% cherries, rapeseed oil, egg, and milk. Adults loved its richness which hardly needed butter.
Available nationwide and online at hickeysbakery.com (a good one to send as a gift). Stockists include Hurleys Midleton, Garveys Dungarvan.
10
With over 50% fruit – raisins, sultanas, currants, cherries, lemon zest – soaked in cold brew tea and Jameson whiskey from the nearby distillery in Midleton, it had a boozy hint of Christmas in the aftertaste. Popular with adult tasters, classically enriched with egg and butter adding to its moistness, it was spiked with just the right amount of mixed spice. Substantial with a natural texture, tasters loved it.
9.75
A moist texture, light with a fresh bread bounce, this has deliciously generous 6% cherries in addition to 30% sultanas and 3% mixed peel. A little honey is added for sweetness and there’s an attractive sugar-glaze finish. Spices were soft and mild, ideal for first-timers and children. A ring can be added on request at stalls. Good value. At English Market, Cork, and in selected Dunnes Stores.
8.75
A natural bread texture and taste, though a little dry for some (and better toasted), it was lightly spiced with cinnamon and well balanced with 28% sultanas and 9% mixed peel. Butter, milk and eggs gave it a comforting mouthfeel. Children particularly liked it.
8
With eggs, milk powder, mixed fruit jam 3%, apple purée concentrate, 15% apples, 8% apple purée from concentrate, red plum purée concentrate, there is no mention of dried fruit content. It was low enough, and the texture was dry despite the apple. Cheaper than last year when it was €4.70.
6
The cheapest of the selection, 26% sultanas, 3% mixed peel flavoured with low-key coriander, cassia, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves, fennel, nutmeg. The crumb didn’t have a naturally moist mouthfeel. Not a favourite of tasters, despite the price.
6.5
With 30% sultanas, 7% raisins, 2.5% glacé cherries and 1.5% mixed peel, fruit is generous. Whiskey, dark brown sugar, and allspice add richness. The crumb is soft with added malted barley flour, and soya flour keeps it spongy to the touch but doesn’t have a natural bready mouthfeel.
7
With 12% sultanas and peel one of the last on the list of ingredients, fruit content is low. There are eggs, but also palm oil with no mention of sustainable source, along with rapeseed oil, soya flour and additives aimed, like other supermarket brands, at extending shelf life. However, we tasted a week before the best-before date, and it was very dry.
6
