Gluten Free Tamales: Primavera White Corn and Zucchini Tamales

PRODUCT NAME:                    White Corn and Zucchini Tamales

COMPANY NAME:                    Primavera Tamales

COST:                                     $9.99

SIZE:                                       18 oz

COST PER OZ:                        $.55                                   

CERTIFIED GLUTEN FREE:      NO

CERTIFICATION AGENCY:       N/A

ORGANIC:                              YES

CERTIFICATION AGENCY:       N/A

VEGAN:                                  YES                         

GLUTEN FREE FACILITY:        NO

LOCATION OF FACILITY:        N/A      

SHELF LIFE:                           1 Week Refrigerated

*These statements are based on the information printed on the product packaging.  We cannot verify the accuracy of this information.  For verification of the statements above, please contact the manufacturer.               

REVIEW:

Taste:  The tamale is, in my opinion, a wheatless gold mine. It is almost always free of those little gluten buggers that make us sick, and its probability for deliciousness is through the roof. That being said, it is extremely difficult to find tamales that use ingredients that I consider healthy, and ones that are also vegan. In steps the lovely saviors at Primavera Tamales, a company out of Agua Caliente, CA.

Karen Taylor, owner of Primavera Tamales, has clearly made a commitment to the excellence of her product. Her website reveals that she has gone to many lengths to synthesize the authentic (traveling to Oaxaca, Mexico City, and Michoacan to take cooking classes) and the political (she uses only local and organic produce and eschews hydrogenated oils and shortenings.)

These White Corn and zucchini tamales are absolutely awesome. Despite the vegan-ness of them they are nowhere near being the  dry, crumbly, and bland corn pocket you might imagine. Primavera's tamales are moist, well formed, and tasty. The masa is flavorful, delicately spiced with hints of garlic and cumin. The white corn creates a textural nuance that surprised and delighted me, while the zucchini was marinated in a slightly spicy red sauce that rounded out the creamy texture of the outer encasing. There was no dairy present in my tamale but a milky mouthfeel was created just by the melding of fats and corn. Although Primavera DOES indeed offer a variety of dairy filled tamales, it almost seems completely unnecessary to imagine adding anything to the beautiful simplicity that is the vegan version.

Calorically, I was pleasantly surprised by Primavera’s facts. Each tamale clocks in at 250 calories (which is very little for a tamale, probably because there is no added cheese). When paired with a simple salad and some salsa, I find one (maybe one and a half if you’re really hungry) to be a perfectly sufficient meal. Although they are indeed high in fat (how do you think they get so moist?) the product ultimately satiates and keeps a consumer full for quite a while so in the end, it all seems worth it.

Labeling:

I found labeling of this product to be very sufficient. All the nutrition information was very clear and concise which I particularly appreciated as Primavera is a small scale company and many of those do not bother to glean nutrition information of their products.

Packaging:

Packaging of this product was a double plastic bag wrapped with a zip tie. It seemed appropriate for the freshness of the product and could easily be frozen without having to transfer containers.

Reader’s Reviews:

Please share with us your review of this company’s other products + where you purchased the product + how long you have been using this product. Please no review from the family + friends of the company producing the product…

RATING:

Texture:         5

Taste:             5

Value:            4

OVERALL:      4.5

Reviewed by Lacy D.