“There are many consumers who prefer to buy it already made, and even if it is tasty, the flavor has little to do with a home-made gazpacho: even though the label says that it is homemade, traditional, fresh… packaged gazpacho is not like home”. With these words the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) begins its new report on the best gazpachos that can be found this summer on supermarket shelves.
Obviously it is not the same to prepare it at home with very ripe tomatoes, chives, green pepper, cucumber, garlic, breadcrumbs, salt, virgin olive oil and vinegar (as the original recipe says); but it is true that some brands do it better than others. The OCU ranking this year is headed by Lidl’s Chef Select Gazpacho Tradicional (with 83 points), followed by Alvalle Gazpacho Tradicional (81 points) and Ifa Eliges Gazpacho Tradional (80 points).
The OCU also warns in its new report about the fashion of boasting on the label that gazpacho is made with fresh vegetables. “Behind the adjective “fresh” we find gazpachos with the same recipe and subjected to the same conservation process as other gazpachos that do not indicate it,” they explain.
Also remember that packaged gazpachos contain less fiber and energy than homemade ones, so it’s important to check the label. The reason is because the energy intake of gazpacho depends above all on the bread and olive oil it contains, since the rest of the ingredients are low-calorie vegetables. “A homemade gazpacho provides an average of 110 kcal per 200 ml portion. Compared to a homemade gazpacho, packaged gazpacho supposes between 10% and 65% less energy, depending on the manufacturer. This normally occurs due to the absence of bread and, in some cases, because the manufacturer includes less oil than is desirable”, they explain from the OCU.
Another thing they say to look at is the thermal process to which the drink has been subjected: “In the supermarket you can find gazpachos subjected to pasteurization (less than 85 ºC for about 20 seconds) or a “flash pasteurization” or HTST (treatment for a few seconds at 88 ºC), but also products that have not undergone any heat treatment. The treatment to which gazpachos are subjected is not always clearly specified. Even those that indicate “unpasteurized” do not mean that they are They have not undergone any conservation treatment”.
Below, we detail which are the 5 best super gazpachos for this summer according to the OCU.
