Test date: June 2010
Testers: Michele and her husband Marc
Note: All products made according to package directions.
MICHELE'S OPINION: Full disclosure here that I've been a big fan of Jiffy for years, and I had Jiffy's as the winner for a few days. But I just kept thinking about the Trader Joe's bread! So I guess that means that it is the real winner. It was pretty sweet, but not too much so. It was just delicious. But, it is also considerably more expensive than the other three. So if you want to stick to your budget, you can't go wrong with Jiffy, which has a great price and good taste. Both the Arrowhead and Red Mill were really terrible, to be honest with you. Stay away from those two. Read on for more details on price, nutrition, and taste:
PRICE COMPARISON FOR 15OZ OF MIX (store first, then brand):
$2.69 Trader Joe's brand
$2.18 Whole Foods Bob's
$1.31 Whole Foods Arrowhead Mills
$0.86 Fred Meyer Jiffy
1. Arrowhead Mills Corn Bread & Muffin Mix: This mix was very watery, the wateriest of the group. They came out slightly undercooked and have a drab color and grainy texture. This cornbread is mealy and grainy, too dense, and a bit rubbery.
2. Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix: Jiffy has a golden yellow color. Light and fluffy consistency, mildly sweet, but a little bit of a gritty texture too.
3. Bob's Red Mill Stone Ground Cornbread Mix: This formed a nice muffin shape but also has a drab color and grainy looking texture. This is a super moist muffin, it almost tastes under cooked. The taste is of stone ground wheat. It is not cornlike and not sweet. It leaves a raw wheat flavor on your tongue. Marc actually spit this one out after taking a bite......
4. Trader Joe's Cornbread Mix: This mix does not give directions if you want to make muffins, like the other three options do. The bread comes out with a nice yellow color and a very crisp crust. This is the sweetest bread of the bunch, with a nice fluffy inside and dark crust. It is slightly less gritty than Jiffy. The funny thing about this mix is that it was the only one with actual corn pieces in it, but now that its cooked we can barely find them in the bread.
NUTRITIONAL NOTES: These mixes all have between 120 and 150 calories per serving (about 35g). Trader Joe's has by far the lowest sodium content with 178mg per 35g serving, while the other pack between 290mg and 340mg of sodium per serving. The fat content is also surprising, with three of the four products carrying 0-1g of fat per serving while Jiffy's has 4.5g! But that is before you add all of the other ingredients like eggs, oil, and milk. When everything is prepared, Trader Joe's is the most fattening product.
TASTE WINNER: Trader Joe's
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