The cheapest panettone is the most convincing in the "Kassensturz" test
19.12.2024
Translation: machine translated
Panettone is considered the highest school of the baker's art. The fact that this statement is no coincidence is confirmed by a test carried out by "Kassensturz". None of the panettones tasted by the expert jury were met with enthusiasm.
"A panettone is the most difficult product in a bakery," says jury member Giuseppe Piffaretti in "Kassensturz". Our cookery and culinary pope Simon Balissat would not disagree. He tried his hand at panettone - and failed miserably.
As the panettone test by "Kassensturz" shows, Simon is not alone in his failure. At least he didn't charge any money for his baking attempt!
The great panettone munchies
Eleven traditional Milanese panettones were tested by "Kassensturz", most of which were industrially produced. An expert jury - which included our guest author, podcaster and blogger Judith "Streusel" Erdin - tasted them and rated them according to the following criteria: Flavour, texture, smell, appearance.
Source: SRF / Kassensturz
The jury's verdict is sobering. Only one panettone scored "good" with a Swiss rating of 4.8, namely the one from Lidl. With a price of 70 cents per 100 grams, it is one of the two cheapest panettones tested, which should give other manufacturers pause for thought.
The rest range from mediocre to "better not". Seven Panettoni are "sufficient", such as the one from Globus, but also the two from bakeries. The remaining three are simply "unsatisfactory" according to the "Kassensturz" jury. Among them, the Manor panettone is by far the most expensive. Its price is a hefty 5.39 francs per 100 grams.
This road will not be an easy one
What makes a good panettone? The "Kassensturz" expert jury agrees on this: a good traditional panettone must be airy and moist at the same time, buttery and melt-in-the-mouth and you must be able to taste the flavour of the candied fruit. Sounds like a tightrope act and many hours in the bakery, which the initiator of the Panettone World Championship and jury member Giuseppe Piffaretti promptly confirms: "It takes a lot of experience to make it a success."
Is there the recipe for the perfect panettone? The "Pizza Pasta Bros" claim to have it. Our colleague Simon also used their recipe as a guide for his first and so far only panettone attempt. As we all know, it didn't help. Maybe you can do better?
And if it doesn't work out or you want to save yourself the work right away, we also have a few panettoni of a more special kind in our range - without quality judgement, so buy at your own risk.
Which panettone do you swear by? Or do you have the ultimate recipe for baking it yourself? Write it in the comments.
Header image: SRF / Kassensturz
I'm a full-blooded dad and husband, part-time nerd and chicken farmer, cat tamer and animal lover. I would like to know everything and yet I know nothing. I know even less, but I learn something new every day. What I am good at is dealing with words, spoken and written. And I get to prove that here.
Cooking
Follow topics and stay updated on your areas of interest
Christmas
Follow topics and stay updated on your areas of interest
38 comments
later