Need to know
- We included gluten-free products in our 2019 and 2020 taste tests of hot cross buns, white bread, yeast spreads and premium ice cream.
- All products are tasted blind, so test participants don’t know which brands they are tasting
You often pay a premium for a gluten-free product, so at the very least you want it to taste good. For Coeliac Awareness Week we take a look at the gluten-free highlights from our blind taste tests.
Coles Gluten Free Fruit Hot Cross Buns
Woolworths Free From Gluten Choc Hot Cross Buns
Hot cross buns
This year we included gluten-free hot cross buns from Coles and Woolworths in our taste test – the traditional fruit and chocolate offerings from each brand.
While, overall, gluten-free buns scored poorly compared with regular versions, the following – both with a CHOICE Score of 56% – are the best tasting, according to our expert judges:
Traditional fruit:
- Coles Gluten Free Fruit Hot Cross Buns $3.50 per 3-pack ($1.17 per bun)
Chocolate:
- Woolworths Free From Gluten Choc Hot Cross Buns $4.50 per 4-pack ($1.13 per bun)
Aldi Has No Gluten Free Sliced White Bread
Coles Gluten Free White Bread
White bread
There's a decent range of gluten-free alternatives to this grocery list staple in supermarkets. So which is best?
Our expert judges tasted and scored 30 sliced white breads, six of which were gluten-free. Of these, the following came top, both with a CHOICE Score of 77%:
- Aldi Has No Gluten Free Sliced White Bread $3.99 per pack ($0.80 per 100g)
- Coles Gluten Free White Bread $4.50 per pack ($0.90 per 100g)
They both have their selling points – the Aldi bread is a little cheaper, but the Coles bread contains a higher proportion of Australian ingredients (63% compared with 58%).
AussieMite Yeast Spread
Vegemite Gluten Free
Yeast extract spreads ('mites')
In our blind taste test of nine vegetable or yeast extract spreads, 31 CHOICE staff voted for their favourite.
Five of the products on test were gluten-free, and of these the following were voted as best tasting, both with a CHOICE Score of 55%:
- AussieMite Yeast Spread ($2.20 per 100g)
- Vegemite Gluten Free ($2.09 per 100g)
They might both taste equally good but, if it's the Aussie factor you're after, the Vegemite product contains more Australian ingredients (97% compared with 37%).
Sara Lee French Vanilla ice cream
Premium ice cream
Taste-testing 11 premium vanilla ice creams was a tough job for our expert judges, but they dedicated themselves to the task.
Six of the products either made a 'gluten-free' claim on the label, or didn't include gluten/wheat in their ingredients list or in their on-pack allergen declarations (including 'may contain' precautionary statements). Of these, the best tasting, with a CHOICE Expert Score of 79%, was:
- Sara Lee French Vanilla $9 per litre ($0.90 per 100mL)
Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
