{"id":20288,"date":"2016-07-07T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-07-07T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/?p=20288"},"modified":"2023-09-04T21:46:29","modified_gmt":"2023-09-05T07:46:29","slug":"review-digiorno-pepperoni-speciale-artisan-style-melts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2016\/07\/07\/review-digiorno-pepperoni-speciale-artisan-style-melts\/","title":{"rendered":"REVIEW: DiGiorno Pepperoni Speciale Artisan Style Melts"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"DiGiorno<\/a><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t ask much from frozen foods I have to prepare in a microwave. Here\u2019s the short list:\u00a0<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Be edible.<\/li>\n
  2. Don\u2019t have a microwave cooking time that\u2019s longer than an Adult Swim show.<\/li>\n
  3. Don\u2019t make a mess while in the microwave oven.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The DiGiorno Pepperoni Speciale Artisan Style Melt barely passed #1, passed #2 with flying colors, and completely failed #3.<\/p>\n

    The first step of the microwave directions says, \u201cRemove product from plastic wrap. Place product onto crisping tray and directly on the microwave surface.\u201d As you can read, there\u2019s no suggestion for a microwave-safe plate or a paper towel. Just put the flat crisping tray on the microwave surface and just spin it right round, baby, round round like a record, baby, right round round.<\/p>\n

    This is what happened after I followed the instructions on the box:<\/p>\n

    \"DiGiorno<\/a><\/p>\n

    Stupid box!<\/p>\n

    As you can see, the three types of mozzarella cheese and marinara sauce melted over the edges of the garlic and onion focaccia bread onto the crisping tray and then onto the microwave surface. Watching this happen was like watching lava flow into the ocean, except watching lava flow into the ocean is awe-inspiring and watching a fancy-sounding Italian bread pizza make a mess that I have to clean up is aggravating.<\/p>\n

    I scraped together whatever mess was salvageable on the crisping tray and plopped it back on the bread, but it didn\u2019t help it\u00a0from tasting too bread-y. I thought lack of toppings\u00a0skewed\u00a0its intended flavor, so I decided to heat up the second one in the box using the toasted oven directions. However, I did put it on a small sheet of aluminum foil so that I wouldn\u2019t have to clean my toaster oven too.<\/p>\n

    \"DiGiorno<\/a><\/p>\n

    Even though the toppings stayed on the second one, the bread continued to be the dominant flavor. So if you\u2019re thinking this will taste like\u00a0a DiGiorno pepperoni pizza, you need to lower your expectations. There were many\u00a0pepperoni bits, but they didn\u2019t pop with\u00a0flavor. <\/p>\n

    As for the \u201cthree types of mozzarella cheese,\u201d they sound exciting, don’t they? Maybe there\u2019s a garlic-infused mozzarella? Or an aged mozzarella? But alas, according to the ingredients list, the three mozzarella cheeses are mozzarella cheese, low-moisture part-skim mozzarella cheese, and reduced fat mozzarella cheese.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    Ooooh, low-moisture part-skim mozzarella cheese! The hyphens make it fancy!<\/p>\n

    Whether microwaved on the crisping sleeve or prepared in a toaster oven, the focaccia bread wasn\u2019t what I would call \u201ccrispy.\u201d But it also wasn\u2019t soggy or flat, so I guess it could\u2019ve been worse. Also, I thought the garlic and onion in the bread would enhance its flavor, but I didn\u2019t taste the usually pungent ingredients.<\/p>\n

    DiGiorno is promoting the Pepperoni Speciale Artisan Style Melt as a snack, but it\u2019s not a satisfying one. It\u2019s just a messy one.<\/p>\n

    (Nutrition Facts – 1 melt – 320 calories, 110 calories from fat, 12 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 25 milligrams of cholesterol, 440 milligrams of sodium, 40 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 2 grams of sugar, and 14 grams of protein.)<\/small><\/p>\n

    Purchased Price:<\/b> $2.99
    \nSize:<\/b> 8.1 oz\/2 pieces
    \nPurchased at:<\/b> Target
    \nRating:<\/b> 4 out of 10
    \nPros:<\/b> Edible. Doesn’t have a microwave cooking time longer than an Adult Swim show.
    \nCons:<\/b> Following instructions led to a messy microwave. Bread is the dominate flavor. Three mozzarella cheese aren’t anything special. Onion and garlic in bread not noticeable. Stupid box!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I don\u2019t ask much from frozen foods I have to prepare in a microwave. Here\u2019s the short list:\u00a0 Be edible. Don\u2019t have a microwave cooking time that\u2019s longer than an Adult Swim show. Don\u2019t make a mess while in the microwave oven. The DiGiorno Pepperoni Speciale Artisan Style Melt barely passed #1, passed #2 with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1440],"tags":[1746,1571,1747],"class_list":["post-20288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-digiorno","tag-frozen-food","tag-pizza"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":20169,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2016\/06\/09\/spotted-on-shelves-digiorno-artisan-style-melts\/","url_meta":{"origin":20288,"position":0},"title":"SPOTTED ON SHELVES: DiGiorno Artisan Style Melts","author":"Marvo","date":"June 9, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"DiGiorno Pepperoni Speciale Artisan Melts DiGiorno Artisan Melts (Chicken Bruschetta and Spicy Sausage Pomodoro) There's also a Quattro Formaggi flavor. Each box comes with two snack pieces that I bet, if you combine them, would make one decent sandwich. (Spotted by Jason W at Treasure Island Foods and Amanda Y\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Spotted on Shelves"","block_context":{"text":"Spotted on Shelves","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/category\/spotted-on-shelves\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"DiGiorno Pepperoni Speciale Artisan Melts","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm8.staticflickr.com\/7290\/26918937084_fe2953dd71_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm8.staticflickr.com\/7290\/26918937084_fe2953dd71_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm8.staticflickr.com\/7290\/26918937084_fe2953dd71_z.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11340,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2012\/02\/16\/review-digiorno-three-meat-pizza-pizza-dipping-strips\/","url_meta":{"origin":20288,"position":1},"title":"REVIEW: DiGiorno Three Meat Pizza Pizza Dipping Strips","author":"Marvo","date":"February 16, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Pizza Hut did it! I couldn't help but yell those four words and rip off South Park when I saw the DiGiorno Three Meat Pizza Pizza Dipping Strips. As you can imagine, this frightened my fellow shoppers in the frozen food aisle and caused them to scurry themselves and their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"DiGiorno Pizza Dipping Strips Three Meat Pizza","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm8.staticflickr.com\/7040\/6885618957_94a2f0a5cd.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":72,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2004\/11\/02\/digiorno-microwave-rising-crust-pizza\/","url_meta":{"origin":20288,"position":2},"title":"REVIEW: DiGiorno Microwave Rising Crust Pizza","author":"Marvo","date":"November 2, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Phew. Thank goodness it's over. We decided to lift the self-imposed ban on food reviews here at the Impulsive Buy, because we would like to get rid of all these empty boxes and bottles of food products that we couldn't review because of the stupid ban. So that means food\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50652,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2022\/03\/28\/digiorno-stuffed-pizza-bites-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":20288,"position":3},"title":"REVIEW: DiGiorno Stuffed Pizza Bites","author":"Jenna","date":"March 28, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Tearing open my two bags of DiGiorno Stuffed Pizza Bites (which I keep wanting to call pizza rolls \u00e0 la Totino's), I was hit with the powerful feeling that I'd just gotten home from fourth grade soccer practice and was racing to prep my afternoon snack before my favorite cartoon\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/digstufbites3.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/digstufbites3.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/digstufbites3.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/digstufbites3.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/digstufbites3.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":22883,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2017\/06\/07\/review-digiorno-pepperoni-pizza-buns\/","url_meta":{"origin":20288,"position":4},"title":"REVIEW: DiGiorno Pepperoni Pizza Buns","author":"Marvo","date":"June 7, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"DiGiorno's Pizza Buns are like mini cinnamon buns. 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But that's based on my experience with a similar product -- Target\u2019s Market Pantry Pizza Spirals.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"DiGiorno Pepperoni Pizza Buns","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/DiGiorno-Pepperoni-Pizza-Buns.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":37072,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2019\/06\/10\/spotted-frozen-food-edition-6-10-2019\/","url_meta":{"origin":20288,"position":5},"title":"SPOTTED (FROZEN FOOD EDITION) – 6\/10\/2019","author":"Marvo","date":"June 10, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Here are some interesting new frozen food products found on store shelves by your fellow readers. If you've tried any of the products, share your thoughts about them in the comments. (Spotted by Leonard G at Giant.) 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