This will be the second home delivery box scheme I am reviewing. The first company was Abel & Cole and this time round it is Natoora.
Delivery
The box was dropped by Citilink. Only in London do they use their own transport. I hope they will branch out in the future.
Packaging
Since a third party was used to deliver the goods, the food was very well packaged. In fact, there was so much wrapping and plastic that I questioned how environmentally friendly Natoora’s shipping method is. A big box that only contained a small brown bag. With that being said, the food was in good condition. A list with more details about the contents would have been utmost useful.
But the biggest question of all is: how did it taste?
Asparagus
As you can see the asparagus was beautiful. It lasted all but 10 minutes after opening and made a great starter by being lightly boiled and drowned in butter. Confession: I ate two raw and they were fabulously crunchy, sweet and pea-like.
Strawberries
In terms of appearance they were one day past their best – their skins have lost their lush, glossy appearance we associate with strawberries and have turned uneven and dull. However, they were very sweet and tasted much better than what supermarkets sell these days.
Basil
When I saw the vibrant, green leaves I was in awe at how amazing they looked. I stored them in the fridge and one day later the leaves got grey spots over them, which was disappointing. I salvaged the rest by making a basil and pistachio nut pesto which was divine.
Loquats
I have never eaten these exotic fruits, know nothing about them and don’t know when or how to eat them. Some documentation included would have been very helpful – I resorted to reading more on the internet. They ended up being sweet, juicy and a bit tangy and quite pleasant.
Peas
I’m sorry to say these were a letdown for me. I am so used to plucking fresh pods from the plants off our plot that I have gotten spoiled with the addictive sweetness of this vegetable. Peas are like corn. The sugars quickly turn into starch and the longer you wait the duller the taste will be. On the upside there were no nasty grubs waiting to be discovered.
Cherry Tomatoes
What a lovely punnet of tomatoes these were. Sure, there were a rotten few but the good ones tasted as good as those picked fresh from the plant.
New Potatoes
After the potatoes were given a good scrubbing, boiled and dabbed with butter they had a nutty taste and got top marks.
FINAL CONCLUSION
Overall I am impressed with the quality of Natoora’s produce – they seemed to be delivered in their prime state which has one disadvantage; you have to eat them quickly!
P.S. The box isn’t available anymore but costs around £15.
All of that produce looks gorgeous! I wish we had better local options.
Jenn
i have loquats growing in my house…the tree is full of fruit nowadayz only i dont like them cause its too much hassle to eat them…your peel them first and the take out the seeds in the middle and youre hardly left with nothing for a fruit…but love the taste…i wish somebody could do all that for me
Those pictures are absolutely amazing – you’ve really done us justice! Thank you so much for the review. I really hope we can expand with our own vans outside London soon and we will certainly look into ways to deliver even fresher strawberries next time!