Tasting Party #2
Sydney, Australia
To read a firsthand account written by one of my gluten free guests and to view more photos from the party, click here
Feedback:
Most Popular 3 items at the party:
1) Banana Coconut Walnut Loaf-
2) Tripleberry Muffins
3) Apple Pie
Most Popular overall category:
Cupcakes
Most Popular Cupcake Flavour:
Devil's Food Cake
Least Popular 3 items:
Corn Muffins
Eclairs
Bagels
So far, I've learned that my cupcakes are LIKED across the universe- both my guests in the USA and in Sydney LOVED them. It is interesting to note other desserts that differ in level of preference between demographics. For example, when I was growing up, my dad ate a corn muffin for breakfast every morning. Corn muffins were sold at most major bakeries. I've never once seen a corn muffin in Australia. My guests weren't accustomed to the texture and related it more to an English scone than a muffin.
Since many of the gluten free attendees that live in my area are maintaining a gluten free diet for health reasons (as opposed to celiac disease), they preferred the options that they knew were healthier. My low fat carrot muffins and banana walnut loaf were a hit because they were tasty and not full of butter and cream.
My overall feedback on the bagels was "good flavour but too dry." This is because if gluten free bread is left out for more than a few hours, it gets dry and crumbly. It either needs to be eaten fresh or put into the freezer immediately. When re-served, it should be toasted for optimal flavour and texture. These bagels were a day old and weren't toasted. As I work on perfecting my recipe, I will experiment with different stabilizers to try to maintain a longer freshness in my bread.
1) Banana Coconut Walnut Loaf-
2) Tripleberry Muffins
3) Apple Pie
Most Popular overall category:
Cupcakes
Most Popular Cupcake Flavour:
Devil's Food Cake
Least Popular 3 items:
Corn Muffins
Eclairs
Bagels
So far, I've learned that my cupcakes are LIKED across the universe- both my guests in the USA and in Sydney LOVED them. It is interesting to note other desserts that differ in level of preference between demographics. For example, when I was growing up, my dad ate a corn muffin for breakfast every morning. Corn muffins were sold at most major bakeries. I've never once seen a corn muffin in Australia. My guests weren't accustomed to the texture and related it more to an English scone than a muffin.
Since many of the gluten free attendees that live in my area are maintaining a gluten free diet for health reasons (as opposed to celiac disease), they preferred the options that they knew were healthier. My low fat carrot muffins and banana walnut loaf were a hit because they were tasty and not full of butter and cream.
My overall feedback on the bagels was "good flavour but too dry." This is because if gluten free bread is left out for more than a few hours, it gets dry and crumbly. It either needs to be eaten fresh or put into the freezer immediately. When re-served, it should be toasted for optimal flavour and texture. These bagels were a day old and weren't toasted. As I work on perfecting my recipe, I will experiment with different stabilizers to try to maintain a longer freshness in my bread.
