Review by Mike Eberhart, author of the Gluten-Free Blog, and the cookbook "Gluten-Free & Wheat-Free Gourmet Desserts"

I have just tackled their Semisweet Chocolate Chips that are GF (of course) and dairy-free too; in fact they only contain: Evaporated Cane Juice, Chocolate Liquor, and Non-Dairy Cocoa Butter. They tasted just fine, and I began by eating them plain (as a snack of sorts) just to see how decent the chocolate was. I am a huge fan of chocolate in general, and these chips were plenty acceptable. The main difference compared to normal chips like Nestle's Toll House Semisweet Chocolate Morsels is that the Nestle's will contain milk fat. If you need to avoid dairy/casein, these Enjoy Life chips are certainly a good way to go - and, they are made in a dedicated facility and certified gluten-free and allergen-free.

But, let me get back to servings and such for a minute. My only complaint with the Enjoy Life chips has nothing to do with the quality of the product, but rather the quantity of the product per bag. Whereas many major brands of chocolate chips (like the Nestle Toll House ones) contain 12 ounces per bag - which is/was more or less a "standard" for bags of chocolate chips - the Enjoy Life brand has only 10 ounces per bag. I find this a bit annoying mainly because quite a few chocolate-chip cookie recipes will call for what is essentially assumed to be an entire bag of chips - i.e., 2 Cups, or a 12-ounce bag. Sure, it won't matter too much if you reduce the number of chips in your cookie recipe by 17%, but still, why does the bag have to contain less than the "normal" amount (12 ounces) just because it is GF/CF?

In all fairness though, I have noticed that manufacturers of mainstream baking chips have quietly been trying to shrink their packaging from 12 ounces, to 11.5 ounces, to 11, to... yep, 10 ounces! Although Nestlés traditional chips are still in a 12-ounce package, all their newer "swirled morsels" are 10-ounce packages, and their milk-chocolate morsels are 11.5, their PB/Choc combo is 11-ounces, and so on. So, the days of having a bag of chocolate chips be 12-ounces may be over as all the bean-counters running the show at these corporations decide to shrink packages in order to up profits (presumably without us noticing or caring). One would think that standardization of package-sizes, production-machine settings, box-sizes, etc. would save as much as reducing the amount of product in a pack, but what do I know. So, Enjoy Life isn't too far from the rest of the pack in not going with a 12-ounce bag.

One last point I noticed - Enjoy Life seems to use these dairy-free chips in their own "Not Nuts!" product if you want to see how they combine with other things in an unbaked fashion. And, they use them in their chocolate-chip cookies.

Where to Purchase:  Enjoy Life’s many gluten-free and food allergy friendly products are widely distributed throughout the US and Canada.  See their website for a store locator.  If you are having trouble finding this trail mix,  it is readily available from their online store.

Be first to comment this article

Write Comment

Please keep the topic of messages relevant to the subject of the article. Personal verbal attacks will be deleted. Please don't use comments to plug your web site. Such material will be removed. Just ensure to *Refresh* your browser for a new security code to be displayed prior to clicking on the 'Send' button. Keep in mind that the above process only applies if you simply entered the wrong security code.
Name:
Homepage
BBCode:
Comment:
Code:*
	I wish to be contacted by email regarding additional comments

Powered by AkoComment Tweaked Special Edition v.1.4.6
AkoComment © Copyright 2004 by Arthur Konze - www.mamboportal.com
All right reserved

---