TASTE TEST
G R E A T E S T
Putting Your White Bread Life to the Test by Kipp Whittaker
W
hite bread is probably as plain as it gets, even often used as a slang of sorts for profound cultural naïveté and blind consumerism. We were interested in how this generic food item became the
April Gourmet White Toast (RMB 8.5) “A little too much like a sheet of roofing insulation filled with asbestos for my taste.” “The crust is a little dry like tree bark, not the first thing I look for in white bread. But if you filled it with meat, cheese and condiments, there wouldn’t be any complaints.” “Smells like wheat, but there’s an odd moistness, like it has been spritzed with tap water.”
40
December 2014
Bimbo Original Taste White Bread (RMB 10.9) “Super sweet, like it was made by Care Bears on a sugar mountain.” “Extra fluffy and filled with sweetener, like cotton candy clouds floating between technicolor rainbows.” “Tastes like there’s a little squirt of condensed milk in the mix.” “There’s no doubt that the largest bakery in the world should have the correct formula for white bread.”
photo: photo: joey guo Ken
Paris Baguette White Bread (RMB 11.7) “It’s inch-thick, which is rarely something to boast about but I’d wake up and scarf this down on any morning of the week quite happily.” “Another dessert bread, sweet and thick, making it ideal for French Toast or to wipe up a nasty coffee spill.” “This bap’s got bounce. Lay these tiles down like a winter rug and watch the cockroaches pile in.”
most widely available sliced bread option in China. What seemed bound to be a rather crumby experiment, ended up being quite a penetrating view into China’s rendition of mass-produced baked goods from America.