The Orgran brand is a good one to look out for if you want
vegan and/or gluten-free foods. Established in 1953 it offers a variety of
products, including pasta, breadcrumb alternatives – and now a pancake mix and
spaghetti in tomato sauce.
I was kindly sent a few samples to try.
First up was the buckwheat pancake mix. This doesn’t make
pancakes in the flat English/French way – these are more of your
Scotch/American style, but none the worse for that. The buckwheat flavour isn’t
strong thanks to a mix of buckwheat, rice, maize and tapioca. Initially I was a
bit surprised because the instructions on the back say you need an egg – but
then I read further down the packet and found how to do it the vegan way. I love pancakes, and
these were quick, easy and everyone enjoyed them with maple syrup. I also think
that by using extra liquid you could make them thinner if you like them like that.
Next up was the gluten-free and vegan spaghetti in tomato
sauce. My kids love those pasta shapes in sauce – the ones with cartoon
character shapes especially (what is is about Peppa Pig reimagined in pasta
that is so appealing?) So how would they react to the gluten-free version? I
liked the look of the ingredients - the pasta is made from rice and yellow
split peas, while the sauce is essentially tomato sweeted with pear juice and
thickened with cornstarch. One minute in the microwave later (obviously after I
had removed it from the can) and I was ready to try. It has slightly denser
texture than a standard pasta and the sauce was good. The kids liked it too… a
definite addition to my shopping basket as an option for a quick lunch.
