Sam Mills has a fairly good selection of corn pastas. In this case, I am looking specifically at the Lasagne corte, which is essentially tiny lasagna noodles.
I am picky when it comes to GF products. I am an insatiable consumer of bread and pasta products before going GF and I am not satisfied by products that are close to the real thing. I am not so unrealistic as to think that I will aways find products that can match their glutenated counterparts, but I expect food, even GF food, to taste good, have an appropriate texture, and not be visually unappealing. It's a lot to ask, but I will continue to ask for this - we deserve nothing less!
Pasta in the GF world is one of those sticking points with me (like donuts). I have yet to find a rice pasta that actually tastes good and cooks properly, although I've found a few that I can tolerate. I was excited when I first learned about corn pastas last year. They are generally thicker and tougher than wheat pasta, but have good flavor and cook nicely (although they do require extra cooking time).
I purchased several Sam Mills' corn pastas on the same day, but I wanted to start my reviews with this one because it fits a very specific need that I had.
Like most corn pasta, this is a somewhat thick pasta. Although the noodles are only only about 1/2" wide and 1" long, they are close to the thickness of a full sized lasagna noodle. The flavor is mild but pleasant. They have a good mouth feel although they are not as pliable as I would like (probably due to thickness). They are durable when cooking and they work well with a little marinara and cheese over the top. I am sure they would do well in a lasagna casserole (which I plan to try). I was really surprised that I enjoyed them with just butter. Like eating an untoasted slice of GF bread, it is rare to find a GF noodle that is tasty with nothing but butter.
What made me truly happy with them was that they make a great noodle for soups. They don't cook apart and keep their texture in the soup. The corn flavor is a nice compliment to most soups I've tried. Although I wish they were not quite so thick, or they were larger to offset the thickness, overall this is a good product. I give it 3 1/2 stars (out of 5) only because the noodles are tasty just buttered. This is currently my favorite brand of GF pasta and I have several other forms that I will review some time in the future.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Friday, January 25, 2013
Review: Franz Bakehouse 7 Grain sandwich bread
I have sampled and experimented with gluten free foods of all sorts from many different manufacturers, but I chose to launch my reviews with Franz's new GF sandwich bread. I've been eating this since it was first released last year. This bread comes in two styles: Mountain White and 7 Grain. I have tried both and while I generally find the 7 Grain to be moister and to have better flavor, but when I get a Mountain White loaf that is extremely fresh, I actually prefer it to the 7 Grain.
If you have been GF for more than 10 days, you have likely suffered through eating many foods that are labeled "bread" but in reality are some dry, terrible-tasting concoction that is impossible to stomach without being toasted. Franz's has rescued us from this fate. Of the dozens of different kinds of "bread" I have tried, this is the only traditional sandwich bread I've found that is actually worth eating. It actually tastes better untoasted!
Pros: The bread is moist but it is not gooey or excessively brittle. The scent and the flavor are both excellent. For me, the ultimate test for sandwich bread is a PB&J and Franz passes the test with flying colors. It is widely available in the Pacific Northwest (Franz is based in Portland, Oregon) and I now see it in virtually every grocery store that sells Franz products. The 7 Grain has a little nuttiness to it and has an excellent mouth feel. It also makes excellent bread crumbs.
Cons: Like most GF sandwich bread, the loaf is very small and quite expensive (Market of Choice = $6.50, Walmart = $5.48). I find it is a little tough as toast, but that doesn't stop me from toasting it. It is so good that it can be scarce sometimes, although it looks like Franz has finally worked out their distribution challenges.
Overall: I strongly recommend this bread. Can't buy it in your area? Find a friend in the Northwest who will ship some to you! Call the company and see if they ship!! Yes, it really is that good. I've only found 3 GF bread products that I really like and this is one (Against the Grain bagettes and Chebe Bread being the others). I give Franz Bakehouse GF 7 Graind sandwich bread a solid 4 1/2 stars. It's probably as close to perfect as we GF eaters will ever have.
-Carl
If you have been GF for more than 10 days, you have likely suffered through eating many foods that are labeled "bread" but in reality are some dry, terrible-tasting concoction that is impossible to stomach without being toasted. Franz's has rescued us from this fate. Of the dozens of different kinds of "bread" I have tried, this is the only traditional sandwich bread I've found that is actually worth eating. It actually tastes better untoasted!
Pros: The bread is moist but it is not gooey or excessively brittle. The scent and the flavor are both excellent. For me, the ultimate test for sandwich bread is a PB&J and Franz passes the test with flying colors. It is widely available in the Pacific Northwest (Franz is based in Portland, Oregon) and I now see it in virtually every grocery store that sells Franz products. The 7 Grain has a little nuttiness to it and has an excellent mouth feel. It also makes excellent bread crumbs.
Cons: Like most GF sandwich bread, the loaf is very small and quite expensive (Market of Choice = $6.50, Walmart = $5.48). I find it is a little tough as toast, but that doesn't stop me from toasting it. It is so good that it can be scarce sometimes, although it looks like Franz has finally worked out their distribution challenges.
Overall: I strongly recommend this bread. Can't buy it in your area? Find a friend in the Northwest who will ship some to you! Call the company and see if they ship!! Yes, it really is that good. I've only found 3 GF bread products that I really like and this is one (Against the Grain bagettes and Chebe Bread being the others). I give Franz Bakehouse GF 7 Graind sandwich bread a solid 4 1/2 stars. It's probably as close to perfect as we GF eaters will ever have.
-Carl
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