Taste test: cinnamon raisin bread

By Kathy Saunders, Times Correspondent
In Print: Wednesday, February 1, 2012

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Serving size	One slice	One slice	One slice
Calories	100	80	80
Fat/Fiber	1.5g / 1g	1.5g / 0g	1.5g / 0g
Sugars/Sodium	7g / 115mg	5g / 100mg	5g / 110mg
Carbs/Protein	18g / 3g	15g / 2g	15g / 2g

Once in a while, I will pour cinnamon raisin mix in the bread machine on a weekend night to wake up to sweet breakfast and a kitchen filled with delicious smells. It's a treat that can be enjoyed every day with some of the new breads on local grocery store shelves. We sampled five brands of cinnamon-swirled raisin breads to see how they compared with homemade. It's safe to say, we may not need the bread machine as often.

Kathy Saunders, Times correspondent

Product/Score (out of 100)	Sun-Maid 81	Pepperidge Farm 69	Wonder 41
Judges' comments	Judges raved about the plump raisins and soft bread from Sun-Maid. "I love the hint of nutmeg," said one. "I would enjoy dipping this in a mug of hot chocolate." Panelists said the bread slices offered a good ratio of cinnamon to raisins. "Raisin and cinnamon jump from this light, buttery-tasting white bread," said one. "A slice of this will take to butter like pink slips to the Buccaneers."	"Very sweet and very raisiny" is how judges described this bread. They liked the homemade look of the slices and the bold cinnamon flavor. "It's a toasty white bread with sweet raisins — the kind of raisin bread I had as a kid," said one. "I like the swirls of cinnamon."	These bread slices were thinner than the others and less dense. Judges were pleased with the cinnamon flavor and number of raisins, but their general impressions weren't overly positive. They would buy Wonder's bread if the other two were not available. "I like that the raisins taste fresh — like they weren't doctored up with sugar or corn syrup," said one panelist. "This has a milder cinnamon taste that might appeal to some palates."
Would they buy?	Three of the four judges said yes.	Three of the four judges said yes.	One of the four judges said yes.
Shopping information	$3.23 for a 16-ounce loaf from Walmart.	$2.88 for a 16-ounce loaf from Walmart.	$2.78 for a 16-ounce loaf from Walmart.

Also Sampled: Sara Lee ($2.50 for a 16-ounce loaf from Walmart, 30 points) and Winn-Dixie ($2.99 for a 16-ounce loaf, 40 points).

Panelists: Kay Bell, personal chef; John Hehn, foodie and owner of All Brite Lighting & Power Design Inc.; Jeff Jensen, public information officer for the city of Treasure Island; and Wayne Conery, manager of the R Bar on Treasure Island. All foods were tasted blind.

Send suggestions for product testing to: Taste section, Tampa Bay Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731 or e-mail them to jkeeler@tampabay.com. Please put TEST SUGGESTION in the subject line. To read past Taster's Choice columns, go to food.tampabay.com.

[Last modified: Jan 31, 2012 03:30 AM]