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By: Hormel Foods
I Paid: $2.69 for a 10-ounce package (prices may vary by region)
Hormel has done a good job building excitement with its shelf-stable, microwavable chili meals. The brightly colored containers feature big, shiny, glistening piles of meat; the titles of the dishes use n instead of and; and the packaging proudly proclaims “Ready in 90 Seconds.” So when you dig into Chili’n Mac, Chili’n Penne, or Chili’n Spuds, you’re in for a rude surprise.
I tasted Chili’n Penne with my wife, and her first words—spontaneous, impassioned, instantaneous—were: “It’s like eating dog food.” This wasn’t a situation where she was cracking wise, or going for shock value. The gelatinous texture, washed-out flavor, and horrible orange color of the foodlike substance in Hormel’s Chili’n Penne, in fact, far more resembles pet food than your worst fears imagined.
Chili’n Mac, by comparison, is good. Don’t misread that: The words by comparison are absolutely key. It’s a bowl of low-grade meat and short noodles that has been spiked with chili powder, on a par with or slightly below the typical Chef Boyardee offering in terms of quality and sophistication.
In conclusion: When lunchtime arrives and you only have 90 seconds in which to prepare your meal, consider eating a turkey sandwich.
By: Galaxy Nutritional Foods
I Paid: $3.29 to $3.39 for a 7-ounce bag of shreds (prices may vary by region)
Few gastronomic concepts could be more horrifying to a true cheese-lover than the prospect of bags of preshredded faux cheese (whose main ingredients include soy, oil, and starch) passing themselves off as the real thing. But for the lactose intolerant, the ability to enjoy the warm, melted goodness of a grilled cheese sandwich, nachos, or pizza must be an alluring thought.
Veggie Shreds are marketed as the gluten- and lactose-free stand-in for shredded cheese: same meltability, same flavor (the product comes in “cheddar” and “mozzarella” varieties), and similar calcium-providing benefits. It’s cheeky, but it’s also surprising how close these things come to their mark.
Make no mistake: Veggie Shreds are pale imitations. They lack the flavor and fullness of real cheese. The pieces melt a bit more slowly and not quite as completely. That said, they form a warm, gooey layer in a grilled cheese or on nachos that is a pleasant echo of the real stuff, and they provide a bit of that salty flavor you look for in a supermarket-grade melting cheese, without an unpleasant aftertaste. If Veggie Shreds fall short of the mark, they do so without committing any grave crimes.
The Cheddar Flavor doesn’t really echo actual cheddar’s sharp/funky umami taste, but neither does it resemble anything off-kilter; it is, in fact, a decent approximation of American cheese. Meanwhile, the Mozzarella Flavor has some trademark mozz stringiness. Veggie Shreds won’t be replacing real cheeses in the typical American kitchen anytime soon. But for what they are—a cheese-esque product—they’re surprisingly admirable.
Not widely available yet, but Daiya is a great vegan cheese that comes already shredded in both cheddar and mozzarella flavors.
Like for vegans, unfortunately for those of us who keep kosher, and would like a "cheese"burger, most "non-dairy " cheeses have dairy like casein.
The dairy in the "veggie" cheese is odd. I gather their market is people who want to feel more virtuous but don't want to spend time reading ingredient lists. I think that is a fairly large market.
I'd also like to point out that some lactose intolerant people drink raw milk in the morning as a sort of lactose-digesting bacterial bolus, and this allows them to consume pasteurized dairy products through the day.
Mr Taster
Using lactose intolerance as a reason for using faux cheese is not a valid excuse, for the following reasons.
I'd like to point out that cheese made from raw (unpasteurized) milk does not cause those uncomfortable digestive reactions in lactose intolerant people. (In pasteurized milk, these helpful lactose-digesting bacteria have been killed.)
Also, most aged cheeses have very little or no...+READ
Using lactose intolerance as a reason for using faux cheese is not a valid excuse, for the following reasons.
I'd like to point out that cheese made from raw (unpasteurized) milk does not cause those uncomfortable digestive reactions in lactose intolerant people. (In pasteurized milk, these helpful lactose-digesting bacteria have been killed.)
Also, most aged cheeses have very little or no lactose to speak of. The lactose is consumed in the cheesemaking process. Fresh, young cheeses like brie, cottage cheese, etc. would still contain a lot of lactose and should be avoided by lactose intolerant people (unless they are made with raw milk... but in this country raw milk cheeses must be aged 6 months before they can be sold legally)
www.organicpastures.com (my wife and I visited this farm last year and drink their products regularly)
www.raw-milk-facts.com
etc.
Mr Taster-COLLAPSE
dmd_kc, unfortunately, most soy cheeses contain those ingredients and are off-limits for vegans. I learned the hard way (I'm not vegan, just a pretty strict vegetarian who doesn't eat industrially produced dairy). I don't know why they make them either! If you're a vegan, you learn pretty quickly to scrutinize ingredients. They aren't fooling anyone!
I tried two of the Hormel Chili Meals a few months ago--they were on clearance, two for $1.00. I can't remember which one was more wretched, the penne or the mac, but they each offended multiple senses.
I haven't tried Purina's Beneful Prepared Meals for dogs, but I'm guessing they would be preferable in a taste test.
How about it, Mr. Norton?
StrawbrrtF, that is absolutely amazing. What on Earth, then, would be the target audience of this stuff? The lactose-intolerant can eat a lot of cheeses -- so why make this? Weird.
You left out of your review what many folks who would consider soy cheese are wondering: if it is vegan. It isn't. It contains a number of milk-based ingredients, such as casein, butterfat and the cheese flavor. Just wanted to spare others the internet search or confusion.
This review gets Two Paws up.
Woof! Woof!
I can't count the times I've had a package of Veggie Shreds in my hand at the grocery, and I always reluctantly put them back thinking they'll be inedible and I'll have wasted my money. I really appreciate this review!