For this week’s review we took a look at four different gluten-free foods. Two of which were pastas, and the other two were chocolate desserts.
For the past few years, due to a family member being unable to have gluten, gluten-free foods have been a staple of nearly every family get-together I’ve been to. Because of this, I have grown to like foods that have no gluten in them. Not that I favor them over gluten-filled foods, it’s just that I have no aversion to the normal substitutions these foods require.
The first pasta that we tried out was one made out of corn as opposed to wheat flour, by Deboles. Once again, Will prepared us dinner, serving the pasta with a simple mixture of olive oil and garlic. Looking at the pasta, what I first noticed was how yellow it was. I thought that this may have just been the olive oil, but then realized what the pasta was made of. After eating my dish, the only thing I could think of to say was that this pasta was just plain unremarkable. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t really shine either.
Next up was a corn and quinoa blend, brought to us by a company known as Ancient Harvest. (And as a personal side-note, I spelled quinoa right on my first try!) This pasta was a bit thicker than the corn-only pasta. April and Will both said that they could taste the quinoa in it, but I could not. I did notice that this dish had a bit more of a “chew” to it. During the test, Will mentioned how he was able to make this brand al dente, explaining what I was experiencing. He had tried this with the Deboles, but the pasta overcooked too quickly for him to achieve this goal.
I actually liked both of these pastas, and would not be opposed to trying either of them again. The olive oil and garlic really allowed me to get a sense of the pasta itself. Had we of gone with a thick red sauce, I don’t think I would have been able to discern a difference between the two pastas.
For the next part of our gluten-free review, we took a look at Udi’s Gluten-Free Double Chocolate Muffins and Amy’s Kitchen Organic Chocolate Cake.
Starting with the cake, we each had a thin slice. The texture reminded me of a brownie, and the taste of it was great. Seeing as how there is no gluten in chocolate itself, I wasn’t expecting the “chocolaty-ness” to be missing, but I know that some flour substitutes can have odd influences on flavors sometimes. This was one of those times.
My favorite part of this week’s review was the Double Chocolate Muffin. It wasn’t much to look at, though, and when I first saw it, it looked more to me like something I would find in a Tasty Cake box. The top of the muffin was almost completely flat, as if when the muffin had finished cooking it was immediately wrapped in plastic for preservation. Considering how the muffins were sold, I’m sure this wasn’t the case.
Biting into this muffin was one of the better experiences I’ve had all month. I think my eyes lit up while biting down and hitting an actual chocolate chip. (I get it now! Chocolate muffin with chocolate chips! Double Chocolate!) Without knowing beforehand that this was a gluten-free muffin, I would not have had any clue or reason to believe this wasn’t a normal muffin.
In the end, perhaps I’m not the best person to be reviewing gluten-free foods. I’ve been eating them on and off for nearly a third of my life, so to me there really is no distinction between gluten-filled and gluten-free. I’d like to think that I can tell the difference between good food and bad food, however, and I am happy to say that nothing that I tried with week fell into the bad spectrum.
For the past few years, due to a family member being unable to have gluten, gluten-free foods have been a staple of nearly every family get-together I’ve been to. Because of this, I have grown to like foods that have no gluten in them. Not that I favor them over gluten-filled foods, it’s just that I have no aversion to the normal substitutions these foods require.
The first pasta that we tried out was one made out of corn as opposed to wheat flour, by Deboles. Once again, Will prepared us dinner, serving the pasta with a simple mixture of olive oil and garlic. Looking at the pasta, what I first noticed was how yellow it was. I thought that this may have just been the olive oil, but then realized what the pasta was made of. After eating my dish, the only thing I could think of to say was that this pasta was just plain unremarkable. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t really shine either.
Next up was a corn and quinoa blend, brought to us by a company known as Ancient Harvest. (And as a personal side-note, I spelled quinoa right on my first try!) This pasta was a bit thicker than the corn-only pasta. April and Will both said that they could taste the quinoa in it, but I could not. I did notice that this dish had a bit more of a “chew” to it. During the test, Will mentioned how he was able to make this brand al dente, explaining what I was experiencing. He had tried this with the Deboles, but the pasta overcooked too quickly for him to achieve this goal.
I actually liked both of these pastas, and would not be opposed to trying either of them again. The olive oil and garlic really allowed me to get a sense of the pasta itself. Had we of gone with a thick red sauce, I don’t think I would have been able to discern a difference between the two pastas.
For the next part of our gluten-free review, we took a look at Udi’s Gluten-Free Double Chocolate Muffins and Amy’s Kitchen Organic Chocolate Cake.
Starting with the cake, we each had a thin slice. The texture reminded me of a brownie, and the taste of it was great. Seeing as how there is no gluten in chocolate itself, I wasn’t expecting the “chocolaty-ness” to be missing, but I know that some flour substitutes can have odd influences on flavors sometimes. This was one of those times.
My favorite part of this week’s review was the Double Chocolate Muffin. It wasn’t much to look at, though, and when I first saw it, it looked more to me like something I would find in a Tasty Cake box. The top of the muffin was almost completely flat, as if when the muffin had finished cooking it was immediately wrapped in plastic for preservation. Considering how the muffins were sold, I’m sure this wasn’t the case.
Biting into this muffin was one of the better experiences I’ve had all month. I think my eyes lit up while biting down and hitting an actual chocolate chip. (I get it now! Chocolate muffin with chocolate chips! Double Chocolate!) Without knowing beforehand that this was a gluten-free muffin, I would not have had any clue or reason to believe this wasn’t a normal muffin.
In the end, perhaps I’m not the best person to be reviewing gluten-free foods. I’ve been eating them on and off for nearly a third of my life, so to me there really is no distinction between gluten-filled and gluten-free. I’d like to think that I can tell the difference between good food and bad food, however, and I am happy to say that nothing that I tried with week fell into the bad spectrum.
RSS Feed