Progresso Panko

For those of us who LOVE Japanese foods, Panko is nothing new. I’ve been using Panko for many years. The biggest problem has been FINDING it in the grocery store. Most of the time I’ve had to go to a specialty store or one of the natural food stores in order to find these wonderfully crunchy, course bread crumbs.

Thankfully, Progresso has FINALLY come out with two versions of Panko. Now I can go to my neighborhood SuperMarket (Publix) and find Panko right beside all of the other bread crumbs (plus I won’t be paying an arm and a leg for them).

Having used panko for many years, I was eager to try Progresso’s variety. My Blog Spark recently sent me a sample of Progresso panko, a carton of Progresso broth, a measuring cup, slotted spoon, soup ladle and a sheet pan for baking. Since I gave Cook a leave of absence recently (the recession has hit the mansion – but only temporarily), I’ve been working on honing my cooking skills.

I decided to make a simple breaded chicken breast for dinner (along with the “usual” accouterments). I was interested in seeing if Progresso’s panko was as good as the Japanese varieties that I had been buying. My findings?

Progresso Panko is every bit as good as what I had been purchasing. In fact, Progresso also comes not only in “plain” but also in “Italian Style” panko, which is something that I had been searching for and never found. If you’ve never cooked with panko before, you treat them like any other breadcrumb – dip in flour, then beaten egg and coat both sides in Panko before frying or baking.

One of the best things about using these vs. ordinary breadcrumbs is the CRUNCH. The texture of foods breaded with panko is much crispier and I find that I can BAKE vs. FRYING and get better results than I would have using the traditional breading.

If you’d like to try them for yourself ProgressoFoods.com is offering a coupon for $1.00*off any two Progresso products. While you’re there, be sure to check out the great recipes by Chef Michael Chiarello of the Bottega Restaurant in Napa Valley.

I’d like to thank My Blog Spark and Progresso for providing this information as well as a free package of Progresso Panko, Progresso Broth as well at the measuring cup, slotted spoon, soup ladle and a sheet pan for baking so that I could test this new product. They’re also giving a set like I received to one of Champagne Living’s lucky readers.

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