This shortcrust pastry scores 90/100 on Yuka

The packet sat half-open on the kitchen worktop, seeming to stare back as though it had a point to make. It was supermarket own-brand shortcrust pastry, nothing remotely luxurious. My friend Léa pulled out her phone, scanned the barcode with Yuka and stopped in her tracks. “Ninety out of a hundred? For pastry?” Her expression was equal parts sceptical and thrilled.

The oven was humming, children were calling from the lounge and apples were waiting in a mixing bowl. In an otherwise routine Wednesday, it felt like a small twist. A product normally picked up in a hurry had suddenly earned the status of a “good choice”.

On Yuka, this shortcrust pastry is not merely “not too bad”. It is classed as “excellent”, scoring 90/100.

That leaves a discreet but pointed question.

This shortcrust pastry that defies the processed-food aisle

Ready-made pastry is often seen as a guilty convenience: a trade-off accepted because everyday life is not styled like a food magazine. You unroll it, avoid dwelling on the ingredient list and simply hope it will do.

But when a shortcrust pastry appears with a Yuka score of 90/100 and the label “excellent”, that assumption starts to shift. Perhaps industrially made pastry is not all identical. Perhaps some brands have begun responding to what people genuinely want to eat.

A small green score on a phone can alter the way an entire supermarket shelf looks.

Consider this specific shortcrust pastry, which Yuka rates at 90/100. The app points to its low additive content, a respectable Nutri-Score and a comparatively limited amount of saturated fat. There is no intimidating string of E numbers, less sugar and rather more recognisable ingredients.

When Yuka users scan it, their reactions are almost astonished: “Finally a dough I don’t feel bad buying”, “Perfect for quick tarts”, “Nice composition for an industrial product”. “Relief” is a word that comes up repeatedly.

On an ordinary weekday evening, that feeling of relief carries more weight than any advertising claim. It changes the thought from “I’m cheating” to “I’m choosing smart.”

The principle behind that 90/100 is straightforward. Yuka assesses nutritional information, marking down high levels of sugar, salt and saturated fat, while rewarding simpler labels and fewer additives. A shortcrust pastry based mainly on flour, fat, water and perhaps a little sugar is therefore likely to achieve a better score.

Brands that have reduced palm oil, artificial colourings and superfluous preservatives consequently move ahead. They have not reinvented pastry; they have simply returned it to a more straightforward, honest version.

The rating acts as a quiet acknowledgement of that work: a green light for everyday bakers who do not want to make everything from scratch every time.

How to use this “excellent” shortcrust pastry honestly

The sensible approach to a 90/100 shortcrust pastry is not to put it on a pedestal. Treat it as a practical ingredient in your routine. With one pastry case and a few worthwhile toppings, you can make a dessert that balances comfort with common sense.

See it as base camp, rather than the entire expedition. A sound foundation gives you room to choose fresh fruit over industrial fillings, or homemade compote over ready-made custard.

The pastry gives you time back. How that time is used determines whether the finished dish becomes a lighter treat or a sugar-heavy dessert in disguise.

This is where it becomes genuinely useful. On a low-energy Sunday evening, with a half-empty fridge, one roll of this pastry can rescue supper. Press it into a tart tin, add a few ripe tomatoes, goat’s cheese and a drizzle of olive oil, and it becomes a rustic tart that still feels homemade.

We have all experienced guests arriving early, while we pile sliced apples and a spoonful of sugar onto the pastry and hope it browns quickly enough. That’s when the 90/100 score matters most. You are improvising without completely abandoning your nutritional boundaries.

It does not make the meal health food. It simply means the shortcut is not working against you.

From a more practical standpoint, this “excellent” pastry demonstrates how much scope there was for improving familiar products. Lower saturated fat, a better oil choice and perhaps slightly more fibre from the flour blend can lift the rating considerably.

What stands out is that flavour need not be sacrificed. Many users say they cannot detect a difference once it is served. The pastry still turns crisp, still supports the fruit and still softens just enough beneath a spoon.

Let’s be honest: hardly anyone makes pastry every day with farmhouse butter and organic flour sifted by hand. When a ready-made alternative is respectable and transparent, it allows us to let go of guilt and concentrate on the meal itself.

Reading Yuka’s green light without switching off your brain

With a 90/100 pastry, the simplest strategy is also the one dietitians regularly recommend: keep it uncomplicated. Use one portion of pastry, rather than two. Make a thin layer rather than a thick one. Bake with more fruit than cream, or more vegetables than grated cheese.

Let the pastry provide the frame, rather than using it as an excuse to cover everything in sugar, bacon and rich sauce.

A useful habit is to include at least one fresh ingredient that has not come from a packet, such as sliced pears, cherry tomatoes, leeks or onions slowly caramelised in a frying pan.

The problem is seldom the pastry alone. It is usually the extras that gradually accumulate: another handful of cheese, more cream, an additional spoonful of sugar because “it’s for the kids”.

Nobody is immune to this. On a tiring evening, our hands often act faster than our intentions. The dish may still appear innocent, but the calories quietly increase.

So, if you choose this excellent shortcrust pastry, use its strong rating as a prompt to keep the filling measured. It is not permission to forget everything else you know. Put plainly, the app does not erase our habits; it merely gives them a nudge.

There is an emotional aspect too, though people rarely say it openly. This pastry can make home cooks feel less harshly judged by their own expectations. You cook quickly and use a packet, but you are not “giving junk”.

“I stopped feeling ashamed of buying ready-made dough when I realised my kids mostly remember the smell of the tart, not the brand of the pastry,” confided a mother I interviewed in a supermarket aisle.

A few straightforward reference points can help anchor that feeling:

• Choose short ingredient lists containing words you can pronounce.
• Keep portions clear, rather than making XXL amounts “for later”.
• Serve this pastry with at least one fresh, colourful ingredient.

These small checks preserve the enjoyment while helping your choices remain consistent with what you quietly expect of yourself in the kitchen.

What this “excellent” pastry changes in everyday life

This Yuka 90/100 shortcrust pastry does not magically transform tarts into diet food. Its effect is more subtle, and perhaps more valuable: it makes the processed-food aisle feel less black and white, less divided into “good versus bad”.

For busy parents, students and overstretched professionals, it creates some breathing room. Being short of time no longer has to mean dropping every nutritional principle in a single decision. It is not a revolution, but at 7.30 pm in a cramped kitchen, it can feel like one.

It also raises a quiet thought: if a basic pastry can be improved in this way, how many other everyday products might be able to follow?