| Brownie
connoisseur rates grocery-store mixes
By Holly Adams
November 14, 2006 | To many a brownie
is just a dry piece of chocolate cake with an inch of
artery-clogging frosting that the elderly woman wearing
a muu-muu brings to church parties.
To me a brownie is a delicacy. It
is like the crème bruleé in a world of Jell-O.
Because brownies are so important,
I have decided to help those who aren't so educated
in the art decide which brand of brownie mix to buy.
It is also important to note that no homemade brownie
will ever be as good as a store bought -- and then baked
at home -- brownie.
The focus of this column will be
three brands of brownie mix available in most grocery
stores. The three we judged were Duncan Hines Chocolate
Lover's Brownies with double fudge, Ghirardelli Chocolate
Syrup Brownies and Betty Crocker Original Supreme Brownie
mix. The price of the Duncan Hines was $1.65, while
both the Ghirardelli and the Betty Crocker mixes were
$2.99. All three brands came with a chocolate syrup
pouch. The Duncan Hines included a no-name brand of
syrup, Ghirardelli has its own brand and the Betty Crocker
came with Hershey's syrup.
All three brownie mixes were made
using the instructions provided on the back of the box.
All of the instructions were about the same with 1/3-cup
vegetable oil going in each and one egg going in both
the Duncan Hines and the Ghirardelli, and two in Betty
Crocker. They were then baked for the time specified
in the same cream-colored oven. After all three were
done baking and all had cooled, I began a blind test
with three judges. Each judge was given three pieces
of brownie labeled 1, 2 or 3. The judges were then instructed
to give each brownie a ranking in three different categories:
appearance, texture and taste. After much deliberation,
the judges decided on the following results.
Betty Crocker was given the highest
ranking for appearance, followed by Ghirardelli and
then Duncan Hines. In the category of texture, Betty
Crocker also dominated, once again, followed by Ghirardelli
and then Duncan Hines. But in the taste test -- and
in my opinion, the most important test -- the Ghirardelli
mix won, followed by Betty Crocker and then Duncan Hines.
Although the Duncan Hines wins the
price contest with a $1.34 price difference between
it and the other two brands, it is obvious that you
get what you pay for. The Duncan Hines brownies consistently
got the lowest score in all of the categories used to
judge them.
The problem in judging these three
brownie mixes came when trying to compare their nutrition
information. They aren't required to include the information
after they have been baked, so they all brag somewhere
between 1.5 and 3.5 grams of fat per 1/16 or 1/20 of
the "mix and syrup" or just "in the mix." So it is really
unclear about which is best after the egg(s), oil and
water are included. That isn't what most people are
worrying about when eating brownies, but those who are
can feel good about the 6 to 8 percent of the iron they
need daily in each serving.
And so, when going to the store to
pick up your next box of brownies, the answer is clear
-- if you are worried about the presentation and that
texture on your tongue, go for Betty. But if taste is
your main priority, Ghirardelli won't let you down.
If your purse is a little tighter this month, go with
Duncan Hines and their no-name syrup. And remember to
leave the frosting and the muu-muu at home.
NW
JP
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