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4.0
Thinking of signing up to family-focused Pickle & Squash? We put it to the test, covering the quality of the ingredients, recipes and delivery experience, as well as value for money.
Pickle & Squash was set-up by two mums, Laura and Alice, after being unable to find a recipe box that was also suitable for their young children. With professional backgrounds in recipe development and product planning, they teamed up and plugged this gap in the market.
Available from Pickle & Squash. Get a welcome discount of £10 off your first and second box with the code Squash10 at checkout.
Choose between a meat and fish or vegetarian recipe box, then tab across to “Upcoming recipes” on their website to see what will be inside. There isn’t the possibility to switch recipes in or out, but as each box contains three recipes there’s a strong chance you’ll be excited about at least one of them. In the veggie box we tried there was beetroot bolognese, tofu & chickpea korma with turmeric rice and chapatis, and manchego & red pepper tlayudas (Mexican pizza) with sweetcorn salsa.
Co-founder Alice has a degree in Food and Nutrition and worked as a recipe developer for 15 years before starting the business, and she’s clearly applied her experience to this offering. The vegetarian recipes were noticeably high in protein, and there was a good range of organic, fresh and canned vegetables in each recipe. The stock cube in one of the recipes was a very low salt variety. However, a nutritional breakdown would be a great addition.
Three recipes, delivered fortnightly on a set date.
First impressions of the box were great. There were lots of fresh ingredients and all were clearly sorted and labelled with coloured stickers.
You receive three numbered recipe cards and corresponding paper bags of ingredients. Perishable items came in ice packs and overall there didn’t seem to be much packaging. Ingredients were high-quality, all in date and appeared to be fresh.
Both the meat/fish box and the vegetarian box cost £45, which at £15 per recipe (to serve a family), offers pretty good value for money.
The recipes were very easy to follow – great for a tired parent! The ingredients were helpfully capped up throughout the method, all required equipment was listed, and the prep and cook times felt accurate. There were also storing and reheating pointers on each recipe.
None. Small packets of spices and fresh herbs meant everything was used.
No. For each recipe, most of the ingredients came in the same paper bag.
Of the three recipes in the veggie box we tried, two were a big success with the children and one recipe needed a lot of extra parmesan. It felt good to be offering the children a change from the usual recipe repertoire and broadening their knowledge of foods from around the world.
Each recipe is devised for two adults with four baby portions, or two adults with one toddler and two baby portions. We found it was enough for two adults and three primary-school-aged children.
Chopping boards and standard utensils like knives, saucepans, wooden spoons/spatulas, box grater, measuring jug, frying pan and oven.
Parents keen to broaden their children’s exposure to different flavours and cuisines. This would also be brilliant for taking on self-catering holidays.
The Pickle & Squash recipes had us eating together as a family without anyone feeling they had the short straw. It was a bit of a treat and a talking point for us all.
At the moment you can only sign up to a box every fortnight, but as they point out, they’re a small, mum-run company, and it’s likely this offering will grow in time.
Ease of cooking 5/5
Quality of the finished recipes 4/5
Packaging 5/5
Quality of ingredients 4/5
Value for money 4/5
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Try your first 5 issues for only £5 today and never miss our best recipes