Jack’s is one of those former little brands, started as the food equivalent of a garage band, in Little Chute, Wisconsin (outside of Appleton. Near Neenah. Kinda by Menasha. Before you get to Green Bay). Started in 1960. Grew around the state, then the region, bought by Kraft when they were rolling up frozen pizza brands, and then Kraft spun off their pizza division to Nestle. I can’t say why. (Jack’s, DiGiorno, California Pizza Kitchen, and Tombstone are all part of this group.)
Jack’s sits in the ‘value category’, you’re probably not going to pay more than $4, and often they are on sale at 3 or 4 for $10.
Jack’s doesn’t list the ingredients on their website, but there is a mess of them, including my least favorite “….mechanically separated….. bird of some kind.” The company says one of their points of pride is ‘real Wisconsin cheese.’ I would think the Swiss owners would have something to say about that, but I guess not. Nutritional info says a serving size is 1/4 of the pie, for 380 calories, 160 of them from fat, and 37 grams of carbs. Seems low, but it is an ultra-thin crust.
The brand is kind enough to have the warning “do not eat without cooking.”
Directions call for 11 – 13 minutes at 425, center shelf. The pie curled in the oven. Not sure why some frozen pizzas do that and others do not.
Verdict:
Crust: ultra thin, cracker like
Sauce: a little towards the sweet side, but ample
Cheese: a fair amount, good flavor, nice “pull”
Pepperoni: not bad
Sausage: very small bits, no flavor at all. I’d prefer larger pieces and a little fennel and/or garlic.
Verdict: To my unsophisticated palate, most of the brands in the ‘value pricing category’ taste about the same. With the exception of the “ultra-value” like Totino’s or Jeno’s,which you can sometimes find for 10 / $10 – and they are truly awful. Would I buy this one again? I’d probably keep a few around if I ran into another 3 or 4 for $10 deal. Product locator.
After a year of extensive study (there are a lot of frozen pizza reviews on the site), my favorites remain Chicago’s Vito and Nicks II, and the Screamin’ Sicilian Brand from Milwaukee manufacturer, Palermo.
We’ve talked about value and ultra value here; I think there needs to be an ultra premium category of frozen pizza. Probably in the $12 – $15 range.
Below is the publicity photo from Jack’s website, and my photo of the pie just out of the oven. Waddya think? Do they look the same?
Prior to baking
Promotional Photo
Just out of my oven
Jacks Pizza Review