Irresistibly Gluten-Free

One day while walking down the aisles of my nearby Metro a small shelf catches my eye. What do I see? A whole shelf of gluten-free products and these aren’t just any kind of gluten-free products. These are Irresistables Gluten-Free, the store brand for Metro and its sister companies.

While Metro’s Irresistables line isn’t as far reaching as Loblaw’s President’s Choice, this is the first time I saw a store brand gluten-free product in North America. Whenever I’m in England I get excited when I see a Tecso or Sainsbury product that’s gluten/wheat-free and never encountered the same thing here. But I digress.

For a store brand, it is impressive how many products there are and all gluten free: breadcrumbs, pancake mix, macaroni and cheese (another post), pasta, vegetable rice, and cake mix. Even some of the store brand sausages are GF! Like the name, I couldn’t resist trying a few products.

The pancake mix was the first test. Normally I’m not into pancakes from a box or bag but I thought of a cousin has never made pancakes from scratch and so picked it up (it’s funny to me because she’s a baker). I thinned out the batter a little more than in the directions because I wanted to try crepes. The batter is easy to work with and tastes like regular pancakes. I’d recommend using a non-stick pan (they didn’t work well on my mom’s plain Jane frying pan) and butter or margarine for the pan. It’s a good alternative for those who don’t want to make them from scratch.

The white cake mix was decent. It had a nice flavour and was light in texture and taste. It wasn’t gummy or dense. If I made this again, I’d either use two small pans and layer it or use a bundt pan. In the recommended 9x13” pan it was too short as it doesn’t rise too much. It’s a nice cake and what you imagine when you think of a white cake.

The penne pasta is a rice-based pasta and cooks quite quickly. I had expected the long length the mac & cheese took, but it was ready in no time flat. It had decent texture and held onto tomato sauce. While it isn’t my favourite pasta, I’ll still pick it up if I’m in a pinch.
 

The mac & cheese is a nice alternative to KD and make the Honey happy. It’s just as easy and tasty (and yes, the cheese is bright orange too!). The only criticism is that the macaroni takes quite a long time to cook, longer than usual, but is something you can get used to. We’ve begun keeping a few boxes of these in the cupboard for those ‘I don’t feel like cooking’ nights.

I’ve seen many people buying the products so they must be happy as well. A cashier at my local Metro was amazed with a conversation the woman behind me and I had regarding the products. The woman was picking up the vegetable rice and really likes it. The products go on sale once in a while and usually with bonus air miles too (whohoo!). Regardless, the Irresistables Gluten-Free products are a decent price.

I’m pleased and impressed with the Irresistables Gluten-Free product line. It’s great to see a grocery store moving towards another target customer; one that seems to be growing. The quality of the products overall are impressive, especially after trying more expensive products that disappoint. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this line of GF goodies remains on their shelves for years to come. And who knows, maybe the line with grow with time and feedback.

If you have tried the products, drop Metro a line and let them know. It’s always nice to hear positive feedback.