Frozen Food Test: Pacific Natural Fire-Baked Thin Crust Pepperoni Pizza

I was wandering through the frozen food isle the other day, thinking about how long it had been since I'd eaten anything from it. So I thought it might be an interesting idea to test the quality of frozen foods these days.

First on the list: Hal B. Klein eats a frozen pizza. I chose the Pacific Natural Fire-Baked Thin Crust, with pepperoni. If I'm going to eat a convenience food, it might as well start with a pizza, right?

Pacific Natural is an organic food company located in Oregon. They are known mostly for their organic soups & broths, and have now expanded into boxes teas/mates/nut drinks, as well as frozen pot pies & pizzas.

Pros:

• Good Ingredients: Pacific Natural's pizza is made with better stuff than you'll find in most frozen pizzas. Crust & sauce contain no high fructose corn syrup. Cheese is made from actual cheese.
• Pepperoni: Nitrate free pepperoni. Excellent flavor with a hint of spice. Exactly what you want in a pizza topping. (When you want a topping- I'm generally a purist!)
• Perfect amount of cheese

Cons:

• Topping to the edge: A pizza needs an edge. How am I going to hold it if you top it all the way?
• Not actually a thin crust: You can't call your pizza thin crust, and then not deliver on it. While we're talking crust- it didn't have any give. Too soft, for sure. This is the area that needs most improvement.
• Sauce too sweet.
• Took longer to cook than advertised: Box instructions suggest cooking for 12-14 minutes at 400 degrees.  After 12, the pizza looked very undercooked. At 14, it seemed edible, but still not perfect. I ended up leaving it in the oven for 16 minutes. That's a little too long for something meant to be convenient. One could have a pizza delivered in nearly the same amount of time.

Overall:

Not bad, but it didn't make me feel all giddy inside, either. Pacific Natural is trying to build a reputation for wholesome foods; however, unlike their soups, teas, and pies, the "artisan" pizzas contain no organic or sustainable ingredients. Also, they are factory made, which makes them not artisan at all, and I don't like cheeseball slogans.

Would I get it again? Too soon too tell. My frozen pizza experience is still too limited. It's a step up from Mama Celeste, at least. But is there really a frozen pizza that will ever satisfy my pizza obsession?