We first heard about Pan's Jerky via one of our readers that pointed us to their twitter account. The whole idea of this jerky really called out to us thanks to its definitely plausible concept.I mean, mushrooms in general have been used to make plenty of very good meat substitute products (As a non vegetarian, I can attest to the yumminess): Portobello burgers, Chik'n products and more. They were nice enough to send us
some samples to review.
For some back-story about this product, this Mushroom Jerky recipe is a family recipe from the island of Borneo, Malaysia that's been prepared for 15 years by the Pan family. The recipe was recently brought over to the US, and we can happily say that it impressed all of us. There was some skepticism about how close to a beef jerky experience this variety would come, but we were pleased by the result.
If presented out of bag, you really cannot tell that this is a vegetarian product. The color, texture and general look are really reminiscent of any other beef jerky. This can probably be attributed to the usage of the mushroom stems to make this jerky. Their fibrous, meat like texture lends itself really well to making it fit in as a Jerky.
This jerky is damn good, with a tough consistency that is very easily chewed. There are a few things I noticed about this flavor wise off the bat: It’s more sweet than salty, and it has quite a pleasant aftertaste. The jerky also has a mildly moist quality to it, unlike most other dry jerkies. This could be thanks to the palm oil used in its preparation. I really enjoyed that aspect, because unlike other jerky products I wasn't reaching for a glass of water every few minutes.
The oddly appealing mix of mildly salty and sweet flavors kept us reaching into the bag until there was none left. We give this jerky a resounding awesome for pulling off a delicious vegetarian jerky that has the right mix of elements to appeal to any meat lover(Myself included!). Two thundering thumbs up for waaaaaay exceeding our expectations. Link below for purchasing a bag of this goodness($3.99!)-Sirio & Rachael
Buy this snack! :)
