Pasta Like Hard Plastic

Feedback
1

Please please please for the love of god can you guys replace the pasta pieces contained within some of the Hot & Savoury Meal Packs with either a different type of pasta that softens a lot more easily in hot water at a standard kettle boiling temperature or with something else entirely.

No matter how hot the kettle boils, or how much I stir it up, or how long I wait, there’s always a bunch of pasta pieces that have either only partially softened or have barely softened at all and it’s like crunching through hard pieces of plastic in my food. It sometimes causes pain in my back molars which are fairly sensitive and I just can’t enjoy eating it at all. I have to either choose between raw dogging my way through it with a grimace on my face, or take my time to remove the problematic pieces from my mouth and put them into a discard pile.

I thought my kettle was inadequate and actually bought myself a new one just for the sake of trying to make the pasta more edible. It didn’t work.

Also I didn’t want it to have to come to this because everything else about these meals I liked, but I also unsubscribed from my fortnightly deliveries because of this plasticy pasta problem. For a premium product at such a price point, this is not acceptable.

Please make changes improve this product to make it more enjoyable and edible.

Hasta la pasta :spaghetti:

2

Ow, this isn’t good at all!

All very valid feedback so thank you so much for sharing this with us.

Even this is a dedication to the cause!

When it comes to making Huel Hot & Savoury, it’s easy for me to ask, “Did you follow the instructions?” but there are a few little things that can make a difference.

For example:

  • How long did you leave it to stand?
  • Did you give it a good stir halfway through?

If you could just talk me through exactly how you’ve been preparing it, I’ll see if there’s anything we can suggest to improve the experience.

Also, has this only just started happening, or has it been the case ever since you started using it?

3

Believe me when I say that if you’re eating something every day that has the potential to cause discomfort, you will experiment in every which way in order to try and find ways of making things work.

How long did I leave it to stand?

The instructions say 5 mins. Naturally this is the first thing I tried.

After encountering the problem I’ve tried waiting 10+ mins or even 20+ mins and found it still persists in some pieces.

Did I give it a good stir half way through?

The instructions simply say to stir the boiling water into the cup and then cover it loosely. This was the first thing I tried.

After encountering the problem I now stir the cup thoroughly on multiple occasions, even going as far as to get my fork into the very bottom corners where sometimes some powder may elude the water and still the problem persists in some pieces.

Furthermore

The problem is not with my ever evolving technique of preparation for I have already gone above and beyond everything that the instructions plainly say. This is not a new problem either, but a long standing problem that happens with some of the pasta pieces in these meals and has been present for as long as I know.

Before you doubt me or my methods/techniques, please actually try this for yourself. Take one of these packets, specifically the ones containing pasta. Boil a kettle and then follow the instructions for the “just add boiling water” method. Whilst some of the pasta softens, you’ll always have some pieces that still remain hard.

Alternative

The only thing I haven’t tried yet is the alternative microwave method, simply because I don’t own a microwave. One may have more success when preparing this way instead, but this doesn’t take away from the “just add boiling water” method still being mentioned as a valid preparation method both on the packets instructions and on the websites own description of this product where a microwave isn’t ever mentioned.

Conclusion

If this problem could be prevented in future packets, I’d be happy to subscribe to them again some time because everything else about them I was happy with. It’s just this one problem with the pasta letting them down.

4

This probably isn’t the answer you are looking for, having just invested in a kettle, but it works for me. I never use the supplied Huel pot but a thermos food flask (I have two - one in my work office and one at home - and different brands which both work well).

So I tip in the sachet and add the boiling water - I never measure the water now as I’ve been making it so long it is easy to eyeball, and once stirred, leave for about 15 minutes with the lid on. After that time give it another stir and the pasta is perfectly cooked. I NEVER get any hard pieces of pasta.

You can but a decent one for less than 20 quid. The Thermos brand one I bought most recently was about £14.00 and comes with a foldable spoon, although as I only use them in situ rather than out an about I just use a regular household spoon. Both my flasks are 470ml and that is just right size for a sachet of Huel pasta.

5

I’m glad you found something that would seem to work for you Hunzas and I may purchase myself a thermal flask to try that at some point in the future and post my findings here.

Regardless of that however, I’m simply sharing my genuine experience here with my feedback because if I’m experiencing this then there’s most likely a number of other people who might be having a similar experience, especially when following the standard set of instructions by the book alongside the pot provided by Huel.

Often gaps like these where a few potential customers may fall through can go unnoticed for years and from a business standpoint information like this is generally useful to know.

6

You’re absolutely right that feedback like this is useful for us, particularly when you’ve been following the preparation instructions and using the pot provided.

Ultimately, you shouldn’t need to find your own workaround to get the product to prepare as intended. I’ll make sure your feedback around the pasta remaining crunchy, the standard preparation method and the pot itself is passed back to the relevant team. Even if it only affects a proportion of people, it’s still something worth us being aware of and looking into.

Really appreciate you sharing your experience with us!

7

My 2 cents since I don’t have this problem with the chicken & mushroom that has pasta in it.

I use the supplied pot, I put the pasta first and the water after. Doing it this way you realise the water wasn’t enough and it goes below the line as soon as you stir it. I stir thoroughly, clockwise and anticlockwise, and keep adding water. I make sure the water is at the line and no pasta is poking out before closing the lid. I close the lid screwing it half way. Wait 15 minutes, bring the goodies from the bottom to the top so the first bites are not watery, and I rarely find any hard bits of pasta.

I agree, though. The instructions are not good enough.

8

I now use a microwave in combination with the boiling water just for 1 minute or so after stirring and from this method I’ve found that I’m able to yield much better results. If anyone is running into the same dilemma, this is something I would recommend trying. I just thought I’d throw this out there as a bit of an update.

9

So for my own peace of mind, I’ve dug out the Huel pot and this week have had pasta Bolognese, chicken and mushroom, Mac and cheese, and carbonara (I was actually away in Aberdeen and took these and the pot with me, as lighter weight than my thermos so I guess for my own peace of mind isn’t quite right but I was curious). I had no problem at all with crunchy pasta with any of them and the chicken and mushroom in fact seemed a little overdone, maybe I left it a bit longer without realising it. I used kettle not microwave.