Artisanal Biscuits in a Can?

Published on Tuesday, February 9, 2010, by James Norton / Edit Post

Immaculate Baking Company Buttermilk Biscuits

Immaculate Baking Company Buttermilk Biscuits

I Paid: $4.79 for a 16-ounce tube of eight biscuits (prices may vary by region)

Taste: 3 stars

Marketing: 5 stars

If you’ve ever found the unwrap-and-pop Pillsbury cardboard tubes appealing but a little too déclassé, then—huzzah!—the Immaculate Baking Company has your demographic pegged. Its buttermilk biscuits (and various types of scones) come in a tube but proclaim themselves “all natural,” with old-timey fonts and a whimsical folk-art cow. It all suggests Grandma’s loving hands, rather than the steel claws of industrial machinery.

I tested Immaculate biscuits side by side against Pillsbury Grands! Flaky Layers Butter Tastin’ biscuits, and the difference was fairly dramatic. The Grands! pulled apart into neat, almost crêpelike layers; they had a bit of a greasy, buttery flavor to them; and they were a little sweeter than the Immaculate version. The Immaculate biscuits were heavier, denser, saltier, and didn’t have that layered structure. Neither biscuit, it must be said, stacked up against homemade.

My respect for the dour restraint of the Immaculate biscuits faded appreciably when I realized that, at $4.79, they were more than twice as expensive as their lowbrow competitors. Taste is a function of value, and while better biscuits are certainly worth more money, slightly better biscuits are probably not worth more than double the alternative.

Perhaps more importantly, there’s Immaculate’s “all natural” claim: While ingredients such as palm oil flakes and palm oil shortening may count as natural in a technical sense, they ain’t exactly from Grandma’s cupboard.

James Norton edits the Upper Midwestern food journal Heavy Table. He's also the coauthor of a book on Wisconsin's master cheesemakers. For his Supertaster column, he samples offerings from supermarket aisles and fast-food menus. You can follow him on Twitter and fan him on Facebook. His wife, Becca Dilley, takes the photographs for Supertaster. She specializes in weddings and food photography, and is the coauthor of and photographer for the book on Wisconsin's master cheesemakers.

ALLSupertaster
POST A COMMENT |9 Comments

COMMENT

  • @CulinaryKate: agoodbite is right. I always have some in my pantry for baking. It makes a world of difference in the results of gluten-free baking.

    To everyone else: I always make at LEAST and extra batch of biscuit dough, then cut them out, put them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and freeze for an hour or two. Then, pop the frozen biscuits into a freezer bag. remove the number you...+READ

    @CulinaryKate: agoodbite is right. I always have some in my pantry for baking. It makes a world of difference in the results of gluten-free baking.

    To everyone else: I always make at LEAST and extra batch of biscuit dough, then cut them out, put them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and freeze for an hour or two. Then, pop the frozen biscuits into a freezer bag. remove the number you need, put into tin about the same time you begin pre-heating your oven. They're ready to go into the oven in about 15-20 minutes. You can freeze already baked ones the same way, then wrap each frozen biscuit separately in paper towels and pop into microwave until heated through. (The paper towels keep them from getting soggy in the microwave) This is cheaper than any of the 'good' commercial biscuits and MUCH tastier.-COLLAPSE

  • i too find pilsbury to be a little sweet but at twice the price for the other i would rather make my own.

  • I didn't see a difference from Pilsbury and it costs almost 3 times as much! One and done.

  • I actually liked all of their products. I am a coop shopper, and was glad to see the Immaculate bisquits and scones. I make my own bisquits but sometimes it is nice to pull some out of the fridge and just bake them. We don't eat all of them in one sitting and the Immaculate's stayed fresh in a zip lock. The conventional ones (i.e. Grands) are only good when fresh. I would rather eat something...+READ

    I actually liked all of their products. I am a coop shopper, and was glad to see the Immaculate bisquits and scones. I make my own bisquits but sometimes it is nice to pull some out of the fridge and just bake them. We don't eat all of them in one sitting and the Immaculate's stayed fresh in a zip lock. The conventional ones (i.e. Grands) are only good when fresh. I would rather eat something that dosen't have a paragraph of ingredients. Cheap food is cheap food!-COLLAPSE

  • Grands are loaded with trans fat, I'm guess these don't have any hydrogenated oils?

  • CulinaryKate, I can understand your disdain for xanthan gum when it's used as a filler or shortcut in mass-produced food products, but it is not evil in and of itself. In fact, it is an essential component to gluten free baking. I've used it when baking for those with celiac disease.

  • Aren't scones more or less free form biscuits anyway?

  • I was given a can of the immaculate scones in a can... and think they just added some cinnamon chips to the biscuits. Not in anyway scone like it was pretty disappointing. And I agree with the bunk all natural claim... xanthan gum has never made itself a home in my pantry.

  • Points to Mr. Norton for bring into question the naturalness of palm oil flakes, but I still plan on having his job in a month.