Wong Redcurrant & Orange

Don't judge a Paneton by its cover...

What’s that you say? A Paneton aficionado going for a supermarket brand? Unheard of? Appalling? Insulting even? Well, shit... I have nothing to prove to you, which is why I will only prove to you the following:

1. I needed a nice big reusable container for my future Panetons (the tupperware ain’t cuttin’ it no mo’)
2. Oranges in any shape or form are the good stuff
3. It gave me a chance to burn off Bonus points on something “useful”

The redcurrant (which up until now I didn’t even know existed in the berryworld, thank you fruitcake addiction for expanding my knowledge) is an interesting addition. But really once it’s dried, who gives a shit... tastes just like a raisin, lacking that slightly sour punch that the cranberries in the Chocoberry deliver.

...judge it by the cross section

The aftertaste is orangey... but not the yum kind of Jaffa cake orangey, more like a miniature “oh my fucking god did I just eat orange flavored toothpaste?!” kind of orangey. Which you may be into... me, not so much.

Bread rating: Sigourney Weaver in Aliens. Rough, but gets the job done.

Overall, a very meh level of Paneton that you would expect from a supermarket brand. An interesting idea no doubt, but the execution falls short of delivering something memorable.

A sentence that goes something like “In a sea of choice, this would be one not to make” sums up the opinion of this humble observer... unless you need the metal box. 

I miss Jaffa cakes. Anyone got a hook up for these in Lima? Hit me up yo...

Paneton Bon Ton

bon ton [French : bon, good + ton, tone]
noun

1. Something regarded as fashionably correct.
2. A sophisticated manner or style.
3. The proper thing to do.

In the Peruvian Paneton world, putting butter on your delicious prize would be considered bon ton. But I like my Paneton the way I like my whisky - neat. Neatly stuffed into my face by way of hands. At this point, I will see your "este gringo no sabe nada peee" and raise you my "a quality Paneton is an experience in itself, which does not require any sort of supplement in order to be fully enjoyed by its own right", and I'll also throw in an "each to their own"... just because.

However I do enjoy a good experiment, and I have certainly experimented combining other foods with the big P. While I will omit the more deplorable combinations I tried, lest you judge me, I will tell you about my experience with Nutella. What seemed like an excellent idea, ended up being a battle of the flavours which Nutella eventually won, so I might as well have been eating it with ordinary bread and the taste would not be considerably different. Hence, Paneton neat wins. (Note: for an interesting Nutella combo you might want to go with this)

Now that we got that out of the way and established the fact that I know my shit, here are some useful tips that work very well for my needs. Or actually just one need: to enjoy a tasty fresh Paneton throughout the week.

1. After opening the packaging, store in fridge. Wrap it up in whatever package it came in or cut it up into slices and put it in Tupperware. Do whatever it takes to make sure there is as little air inside the package as possible. Don’t take this lightly, because prolonged air exposure is the death of a perfectly fresh Paneton.
2. Microwave for 30-60 seconds before eating. I even microwave a fresh one and especially the ones that I store in the fridge. You want to get it to that point where the bread is soft, sticky and warm and the filling (candied/dried fruit, chocolate, whatever) is not too hot. It may take a couple of tries to get the temperature that’s just right for you, but the end result is worth it.

Now you may think there’s not enough space in the fridge to fit a massive chunk of sweet bread pillow. But once you throw out all your other food (keep the proteins, you’ll need those), there will be plenty of space. If you’re not willing to do this and go all the way, then I must admit I find your lack of commitment disturbing and you should leave.

Bimbo Chocolate Paneton

This particular bad boy stood out in Vivanda for two reasons:

1. Chocolate
2. The brand name is just simply exceptional

It’s half the size of a normal package (450g) so I thought fuck it I’ll just squeeze it into my weekly Paneton Plan^TM.

Instead of going for the half-assed Chocoton approach, Bimbo here decided to kick it up to 11 and they not only substituted the dried fruit for bits of chocolate, but they also chocolatized their bread. ASU!

Bimbo (exceptional name) are a breadmaking powerhouse, so I was expecting an affair that would lean more towards bread than fruitcake. And that’s exactly what I got with the end result being... pretty fucking good!

I didn’t find the whole “chocolate with chocolate” approach an overkill at all, but I played it safe and skipped on my usual Paneton chaser which is a protein shake made with 0% Milk, Chocolate Whey and Coffee. Instead I kicked it down with some good old water. You can’t beat water.

Mind you, apart from the shape, this loaf doesn’t have a whole lot in common with our understanding of what a Paneton is and should be. But semantics aside, if you love chocolate you’ll do what’s good for your and shove some of these tasty carbs down your throat.

Of course no article would be complete without taking a deeper look into the etymology and intricacies which spawned that rather exceptional brand name - Bimbo. An unreferenced section on Wikipedia states:

The name was coined in 1945 when the company was re-branded from its previous name, Super Pan S.A. It is the mixing of the words "bingo" and "Bambi". The innocent, childlike name went well with the brand image they wanted to build.

Truly, exceptional.

D'Onofrio Chocoberry

Let's kick this off with something fresh. Paneton world heavyweights D'Onofrio (owned and operated by Law & Order veteran Vincent D'Onofrio) came out this year in full force with 2 new products: Pastelicia (relleno with custard) and Chocoberry (relleno with I'll let you guess what).

So far I've had the chance to try the Chocoberry, and while purists might consider it blasphemy, make no mistake that this is a quality fruitcake. Expectations were high (as is always the case when chocolate mixes with fruit) so I must admit that the initial face-stuffing left me a little underwhelmed. Nothing was really off, but I just wanted the taste to carry my mind away, to make me forget about my shoulder injury... a taste which once gone would make me a better person than I was before experiencing it. None of this happened, but IcyHot helped with the shoulder.

However, after a few more chomps spaced between a couple of days the bastard grew on me to the point that I'm considering a Round 2 before stocks deplete. The berries are a perfect combination of slightly sweet, slightly sour and balance very well with the chocolate. Vinnie sure wasn't stingy on the quantity of choc & berry bits, which are housed within the renowned soft D'Onofrio breadness. A complete experience.

The package is smaller (750g) and price higher than what you would normally pay (got this one for about 28 soles), so it's not exactly exceptional value. But if you're tired of the standard formula, give this one a try. It's the "thinking outside the box" kind of Paneton that transcends our every day expectations.