9bar Peanut bar
9bar, made by Wholebake Ltd, are so-called because the hemp seeds they put into their creations contain all 20 amino acids, including the 9 essential ones. The bars have been around for a while, but we are reviewing them because they have introduced a sixth member of their family, the Peanut bar – “yummmmmeeeeeeeee!” shrieks one taster! Needless to say we HAD to sample all six, just so we could give the Peanut one a balanced review.
Original: lovely, seedy, quite sweet but not off-puttingly so, and the thinnest layer of carob on top.
Pumpkin: delicious and green, this one really tastes of pumpkin seeds, and doesn’t have any carob on top.
Flax: Where the Pumpkin is chock full of pumpkin seeds, this one is chock full of flax seeds, so will be loved by those with a set of flax-appreciating tastebuds.
Nutty: This one is just like the Original, but full of nuts: cashews, pistachios, almonds and hazelnuts, and it is nice, solid and chunky if you feel like you need more than a seed to fill you up.
Organic: This one is just like Original, except that all the ingredients that can be are organic. It also contains lemon juice, which I couldn’t taste, so I wonder what it does?
All the bars above are sweetened with both honey and raw cane sugar, which makes them slightly on the sweet side. The new Peanut bar on the other hand is sweetened with golden syrup and raw cane sugar, giving it a whole new level of sweetness. However with added salt it manages to create a perfect peanutty sweet/salty balance. We felt that it was a tasty modern take on a peanut brittle bar – and one that wouldn’t break your teeth…
These bars are all wheat, gluten, dairy, lactose, yeast and egg free, but even where nuts are not in the recipe, they cannot be guaranteed nut free as nuts are used in the factory.
All are available from their website, as well as from supermarkets, healthfood stores and delis nationwide. They cost approximately 99p for a 50g bar.
