The first review for Lorissa’s Kitchen will be on a 2.25 ounce/63 gram bag of their Korean Barbecue flavored 100% grass-fed beef jerky. This flavor is described as a perfect blend of caramelized brown sugar, soy sauce, earthy white onion, and hints of garlic. The bag was purchased at a Shoppers Drug Mart store in Brampton, Ontario, Canada.
This Lorissa’s Kitchen brand name is distributed by LSI Enterprises Canada ULC , and is located in Mississauga, Ontario. In February 2016, this Lorissa’s Kitchen brand was launched. There is a real person named Lorissa, who was looking for a healthy snack that she could take anywhere. This private label company, who shall remain unidentified, created this Lorissa’s Kitchen jerky brand name for Lorissa’s purposes. Their jerky is advertised as having more moisture, and as a result, a more soft & tender texture. Today, this brand is available for sale in both the USA and Canada, which curiously have different ingredients lists.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Beef, Cane Sugar, Soy Sauce (Water, Soybeans, Salt, Sugar), Pineapple Juice, Sesame Seeds, Dried Beef Stock, Yeast Extract, Dried Garlic, Cultured Celery Extract, Sodium Bicarbonate, Black Pepper, Ginger, Red Pepper, Dried Onion, Roasted Sesame Seed Oil, Seasoning, Rosemary, and Green Tea Extract. Allergen Warnings: Soy, Sesame
100% grass-fed beef imported from New Zealand is used here. These cattle are raised ethically, meaning they are not fed growth hormones, or additional antibiotics. There is also some free range access for the cattle to roam about.
The liquid marinade consists of an average soy sauce, healthy roasted sesame seed oil, and pineapple juice. Roasted sesame seed oil offers a wide range of health benefits, but is an allergen to some people. Pineapples contain an enzyme named bromelain, which is used as a natural meat tenderizer in the food industry.
Some healthy ingredients used are black pepper, ginger, sesame seeds, and red pepper. People sometimes call black pepper the King of Spices.
The sugar level is somewhat high at 6 grams of sugar per 32 grams of jerky. For a sweet based flavor as we have here, our preference is 5 grams of sugar or less. The salt level is 440mg of salt per 32 grams of jerky, where our preference is 350g of salt or less per 28 grams of jerky. However, minimally processed sea salt is used, where salt levels are ignored.
This jerky does qualify to have no sodium nitrite. Instead, sea salt is the main preservative used. To a lesser degree, green tea extract is also used as a preservative. Admirably, this jerky does qualify to have no MSG added.
Very Good (9/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
These strips of jerky are small in size, and sliced to a medium thickness. The texture is somewhat soft & tender, which results in strips that are fairly easy to chew. There are little signs of fat present, and handling this jerky leaves no oily residue on your fingers.
No single flavor jumps out at first. There are light levels of soy sauce and black pepper. A moderate level of sweetness is present, which is arguably a bit too sweet tasting.
More than anything, the beef has a processed flavor that tends to mute all of the other flavors. Some flavors challenging to detect are the sesame, garlic, onion, and smokiness. Overall, where this jerky does a reasonably good job in capturing the essence of a Korean Barbecue flavor, it comes across as flat and nondescript tasting.
This 3 ounce/85 gram bag cost $6.29, which works out to $2.10 an ounce. That rates as an average price. Considering that 100% grass-fed beef is used, this is a cheap price. This jerky is recommended from an ingredient health perspective, and if you would enjoy a Korean Barbecue flavor that is not bold tasting.
Bag Review
This resealable plastic bag has everything imprinted on the bag itself, both on the front and back. A high resolution picture of jerky with sesame seeds, green onions, and tamari soy sauce is displayed in the background. The Lorissa’s Kitchen logo has a fork as the letter ‘i’ in Kitchen. As per Canadian law, French translations are provided on this bag.
There are no slogans displayed. Some facts provided are “Made With 100% Grass-Fed Beef”, “Gluten Free”, “12g Protein Per Serving of 1/2 Package (32g)”, “No Added MSG”, “No Preservatives Added”, “Beef Raised Without Added Growth Hormones”, “Steak Strips, Seasoned & Smoked Beef”, “New”, and “Made With Sea Salt”.
All bag categories are covered with this bag. Good blurbs are printed on the back about Lorissa’s Kitchen, and this Korean Barbecue flavor.
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