Tim Tam

Food · Grain · Food, Typed Supps

A genuine treat — worth enjoying as one, not mistaking for something more.

Stage by stage

Intake (Melts, softens): The chocolate coating melts and chewing softens the biscuit and cream filling.
Stomach (Fat & sugar digestion begins): Digestion of the refined flour, sugar and fat begins quickly, with little fibre to slow it.
Small intestine (Rapidly absorbed): Sugars absorb quickly, producing a fast rise in blood glucose; fat absorbs alongside it.
Bloodstream (Used or stored as fat): Glucose not used immediately is stored as fat; regular intake of the saturated fat load affects LDL cholesterol over time.

Timing

Best treated as an occasional food rather than a daily habit; no meal timing changes its nutritional profile.

Time to effect

Under an hour: Blood glucose rises within roughly 30 to 60 minutes of eating.

Allergens

Contains: Gluten. Derived from what this food is, not from a product label.

Eating patterns

Fits: Vegan, Vegetarian, Pescatarian, Halal, Kosher. Depends on the product: Low-FODMAP.

Satiety

73 on the satiety index, where white bread is 100 — low. Modelled from the Holt et al. (1995) measurements.

Environmental footprint

1.6 kg CO2e and 648 litres of freshwater per kg, matched to "Wheat & rye" in Poore & Nemecek (2018), Science 360.

Cost band

Cheap — roughly £2.5 per kg, as a band midpoint rather than a price.

Key nutrients

Saturated fat
Added sugar

Nutrition per 100g

Calories: 497.1
Protein: 5.4g
Carbohydrate: 63.1g
of which sugars: 44.7g
Fat: 25.4g
of which saturated: 14.4g
Fibre: 2.2g
Sodium: 168mg

Food vs. supplement

Not applicable — this is an occasional treat food, not a source of any nutrient worth supplementing around.

Kitchen tip

Try the Tim Tam Slam: bite off two opposite corners, use it as a straw for hot coffee or tea, then eat it quickly before it softens too far.

Common myth

"It’s just a chocolate biscuit, not much different from any other." In reality: The full chocolate coating and cream filling roughly double the fat and calories of a plain sweet biscuit of the same size — worth knowing before treating it as a light snack.

In the glossary

Blood sugar