In general, I'm not a fan of rice cakes. At least any of the plain ones. They usually taste remarkably bland--similar to what I imagine packing "peanuts" would. There have been a couple that were okay--the ones sprinkled with powdered cheese, or one that had a decent apple flavor. But even these weren't especially dazzling or anything--they were just mediocre enough to eat when I was trying to lose weight. And sure, you can put toppings on a plain rice cake, but that seems to defeat their purpose. Doing so would result in more calories, and/or more fat, so if you're going to do that, you might as well use a cracker or bread base that tastes better itself. Anyway, explanatory rant over. This was just to illustrate my usual feelings about rice cakes. However, I am willing to risk trying something I don't traditionally like if it's from another country, or has something else atypical about it. So that's why I tried these rice cakes today. Which are technically "thin puffed cakes," but since their main, or at least one of their main base ingredients is rice, who are we kidding here? These were made by the Suzie's brand. I tried their lightly salted brown rice thin puffed cake kind, and their multigrain thin puffed cake one.
Those hoping for an extensive paragraph or two about the Suzie's company are in for a disappointment. Yup, it's that time again--the company that reveals little to nothing about its founders, company history, etc. The official company website just includes a product list, and their "about us" page is incredibly vague. Although, other business-related websites like LinkedIn weren't much help either. Possibly because "Suzie's" is such a generic company name. Therefore, about all I can tell you is that Suzie's may have been founded by a Marty Sokoloff. (I know, right--not a person named Suzie, or Susan?) And the company's headquarters seem to be in Huntington Beach, California. Also, their website mentioned that the brand is made by factories and by suppliers around the world, including Spain, Greece, and Italy. They do admit that the company started in 1983. But that's about all I could learn. One of my cake packages read that it was exclusively imported by Good Groceries Company, Inc., out of Brooklyn, NY, and even provided a website address. Which when I checked, didn't include Suzie's on its product list of crackers. So I don't know what's going on. It's like the most boring conspiracy theory in the world, to deny some basic information about a baked snack food company. If you're curious, aside from the thin puffed cakes (i.e. rice cakes), Suzie's also makes other crackers, flatbreads, and some quinoa combos. And, unusually for the products I report on, some of their wares contain soy, tree nuts, and even gluten. Both of my cake labels did note that they were a "Product of Belgium." But that's all--maybe I'll never learn who the mysterious Suzie is/was. Perhaps humans were never meant to know, and it hides a great secret which would destroy the Earth, or even the entire universe. Or the Solokoffs are just publicity-shy, and Suzie was Marty's wife or mom. Either way.
Suzie's lightly salted brown rice thin puffed cakes: These were squares, about 8 cm.(or about 3 inches) to a side, and about .125 of an inch (about .3 cm.) thick. Mostly white in color, although some grains were brown or yellow. The texture was typical for a rice cake--slightly crunchy, but mostly soft. And like most rice cakes, when eaten plain the taste was lacking, almost none. With fig spread applied to them they did taste better, but that was only the spread--the cake was only the transport vehicle. Almost like it was a utensil. So I can't say this cake tastes good, but maybe if you're one of those folks who actually like rice cakes, you might like these?
Suzie's multigrain thin puffed cakes: These were the same size, shape, and approximate color of the previous. And despite the different ingredients the texture, and taste were also the same. Plain, or with fig spread on them. So, same deal as before--incredibly bland, no appreciable taste to speak of. Unless you're really into rice cakes, I can't imagine recommending these to anyone.
Also, I'm pleased to report that I recently heard back that a story of mine will be a part of a horror anthology due out in the late summer of this year, or maybe only 3 or 4 months from now. Much more info to follow, including an interview with the publisher (and possibly other contributing authors), an author list, blurbs, the cover, where to buy it, etc. Stay tuned!
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