An incident with a hamburger bun bugged me. I had experienced the same situation in the past with other buns, but this time I contacted Pepperidge Farm to see what they had to say about it…
Dear Bun Bakers:
Are hamburgers just a practical joke conspiracy being played on the American public by food companies? Bad enough there’s no ham to be found in hamburgers, but what’s going on with the buns? The top halves are always nice and fluffy … but the bottoms are always thinner, harder slabs that often turn into wet tissue paper once the burger fluids soak in.
Who hasn’t had the bottom of a bun disintegrate into mush in their hands as the burger juice and condiment liquids scurried down their arms? Before you know it, you’re balancing the burger between five pieces of bun and your goop-covered dripping fingers. At a barbecue, that can be quite embarrassing — all you can do is wait for the right moment and inconspicuously toss it into the garden when no one’s looking so people don’t think you eat like a slob. That’s probably not what the hamburger industry had in mind when they came out with the concept of garden-variety burgers.
Buns should not react to burger juice as if it were acid. It’s time buns were made the way they were meant to be — firm, tight, round, a little fluffy and enough to grab on to! Is anyone currently working on this?
A Pepperidge Farm Consumer Services Representative responded with:
Thank you for contacting Pepperidge Farm regarding our Pepperidge Farm Hamburger Rolls.
As a leader in the premium baked goods industry, we are committed to providing the highest quality products to delight our consumers. From your description, it appears that our slicing machine may have sliced this particular product in a manner that does not meet our standards for quality and appearance. We understand that a product in this condition is difficult to use, and we are sorry if you were dissatisfied with the product.
Your comments are important to us and we will pass them along to the appropriate people at Pepperidge Farm. Pepperidge Farm conducts ongoing quality reviews of our products, and the information you provided will help ensure that our products continue to meet the high quality standards you expect from us.
I am enclosing a coupon redeemable for any Pepperidge Farm item. I hope you will give us another opportunity to delight you and remember, with Pepperidge Farm products, “Good is in the Details.”
Final Thoughts: The disintegration of soggy hamburger buns is not limited to Pepperidge Farm. It’s a widespread issue. I’m going to give Pepperidge Farm another chance. Aside from the fact that they enclosed two coupons, one “Save up to $3.00″ and one “Save up to 50¢” on any Pepperidge Farm products, they do make some very tasty breads and snacks. Also enclosed were 12 recipes using Pepperidge Farm products, including: White Chocolate Mousse Pastries, Salmon Dip, Squash Casserole and Continental Stuffed Mushrooms.
When you purchase something that falls apart in your hands, don’t just wash your hands of the situation, get to the bottom of it and Write The Company.
