I (finally) made my pilgrimage to Trader Joe’s to re-stock my bare pantry full of gluten free goodness. While there, I picked up a package of TJ’s Gluten Free Pancake & Waffle Mix. Feeling all Betty Crocker (now that she’s gluten free!), I whipped up a batch of blueberry waffles to taste test.
Pros:
- Uber-simple to make. Even those distracted by shiny things (ahem, guilty as charged!) will be able to add the three ingredients to the mix.
- Mix is free from gluten, peanut, milk & dairy, soy, and corn.
- Reasonably priced at $2.99 for 18-ounce package (makes 12 waffles or pancakes).
- The package is purple – my favorite color!
Cons:
- The cooking instructions are for waffles OR pancakes using the entire contents of the mix. I wish they would offer instructions for 3, 6, or 12 waffles/pancakes. Of course, you could dump out the mixture, re-measure the contents and rework the recipe, but I am mathematically challenged, so this was not an option.
- The mix had a faint but slightly “off” odor (something I have found in many gluten free mixes).
- I found there to be a slight aftertaste to the waffles I prepared. It was a bit metallic tasting (not that I frequently lick metal objects, but this is the best way to describe the aftertaste).
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#1 by H.Peter on July 5, 2009 - 11:23 am
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Looks like a brilliant waffle to me!
#2 by Heather @ Life, Gluten Free on July 5, 2009 - 11:28 am
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it looks like a regular wheat-filled waffle. you said there was a slight metallic taste, does it have any garbanzo bean flour in it? that could be why
#3 by seamaiden on July 5, 2009 - 11:45 am
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I do not think the mix contains bean flour, although I could be wrong. I don’t object to bean flour in moderation, but I agree about the off-flavor of this mix as well as their brownie mix. Waffles are actually pretty easy to make gluten-free and allergen friendly, and this mix was not up to snuff for our house. We tried it once and won’t be buying it again. For those that can tolerate the ingredients (dairy, nuts etc) I recommend Pamela’s, and for those with multiple allergies, a good recipe or Namaste mix is probably the best way to go. I do appreciate the reasonable cost of this mix- too bad we didn’t like it.
A very fair review!
-Brenda
#4 by Blogger on July 5, 2009 - 2:35 pm
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I totally agree about lots of GF products having that ‘faint but slightly “off” odor’. What IS up with that? Is is the Xantham gum?
#5 by Elizaeth on July 5, 2009 - 6:46 pm
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By coincidence, I tried this same mix for the first time this morning, but used it for pancakes. I also wished they had instructions for making smaller servings without using the whole bag – I ended up cutting the recipe in half and making 6 pancakes (but I really only needed 2). The mix was easy to make, as you noted, and the pancakes cooked up well and looked great. I am very new to GF foods, but they were a bit bland and grainy (?) for my taste – though I like your idea of adding fruit. I’ll try that with my second 1/2 of the mix.
#6 by Melanie Sutherlin on July 5, 2009 - 8:20 pm
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Have you tried the brownie mix? It’s very good! I have a bag of the pancake mix but have not tried it yet. I’m sure I’ll taste metal in it now….teehehe…just kiding!
#7 by Maureen on July 6, 2009 - 12:43 pm
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The mix does contain Arrowroot flour… I’ve never baked with Arrowroot, so I’m not sure if there is an odor associated with that flour!? It’s weird – when I bake “from scratch” my waffles or pancakes never have an odd taste. Only when I’ve used pre-made flour mixes!
#8 by Dana aka Gluten Free In Cleveland on July 7, 2009 - 7:04 pm
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I’ve been meaning to try this for awhile and I’m sure for the price it would make a good addition to my pantry. Still, metallic aftertaste doesn’t sound too promising…
Beautiful waffle though! I think I might forgo the mix and save up for a waffle iron!
- Dana
#9 by Julia on July 14, 2009 - 7:15 pm
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Have you tried their frozen gluten free waffles yet? OMG THEY ARE SO GOOD!
Much like VANS but cheaper and you get more of them in the package.
#10 by Pete on July 21, 2009 - 11:54 am
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Hey Maureen… good post! The aftertaste in the waffles could also be the tapioca flour in the TJ mix. Certain tapioca flours come through strongly in GF flour blends, and some people are more sensitive (and averse) to that flavor than others. I don’t mind it (and don’t always taste it), but Kelli always tastes it and doesn’t like it. We’ve modified our own custom GF flour blend to eliminate tapioca for this reason.
Cheers, Pete