Too Many Chefs

Barrett, not that we can get puff pastry where we are, but the wife and I were recently discussing the merits of this frozen wonder and the topic of health came up. Can you tell me what the package says about how bad these are for a person?

Well, it's CERTAINLY not health food. A serving size is 1/6 of a sheet (so there are 3 servings of puff in each of the puffs above).

Per serving of puff:
Calories per serving - 170, from fat - 100
Total fat - 11g, 17%
saturated - 3g, 15%
trans fat 4g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium, 200mg, 8%
Total Carb 14g, 5%
fiber - less than 1g, 3%
sugars - 1g
protein 3g

So it's an indulgence, to be sure.

I can't imagine even a professional saying puff pastry wasn't time-consuming to make (even "quick" puff pastry), but in addition to not having all the nasty stuff you list (trans fat, for instance), it really does taste worlds better than the Pepperidge Farm stuff.

Though in truth, if you can find (and are willing to pay for) Dufour puff pastry, it's hard to argue that homemade is so much better that it justifies the time to do it.

After recently finishing The Supper of the Lamb by Robert Farrar Capon, I have decided that I'm going to have to try to make my own puff pastry. He does such a great job of describing the mechanics of rolling one out and, more importantly, WHY it works...it just seems much less daunting. Incidentally, it's a very good read for anyone who loves food and enjoys amateur philosophizing. He reminds me a bit of Christopher Morley.