Hello,

Most of you will have heard the term ‘gently-cooked dog food’ — or something similar like ‘gently-baked’ or ‘slow-cooked’. It’s commonly associated with brands that began life in someone’s kitchen and are therefore similar to home-cooked dog food recipes.

But what does gently-cooked mean and why do it? We spoke to Bridget Meadows, Head of Food at Ollie. Here’s what she said.

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What does gently cooked mean when it comes to dog food?

It means it's cooked at the lowest temperatures necessary to eliminate pathogenic bacteria, in a time/temperature combo that more closely mimics a home kitchen — like baking, steaming, sauté, sous vide. It’s not cooked at what’s known as “commercial sterility” - i.e. retort [a processing method that uses heat and pressure to sterilize food] or other methods that are high heat, high pressure, and intended for making shelf-stable products that last forever.

What’s wrong with those methods?

They’re convenient because you can store cans in your pantry. However, the product is usually heated up to levels that can degrade vitamins, discolor and break down proteins, and requires lots of ingredients like gels and stabilizers to keep the product from breaking down under heat and pressure.

Why gently cook dog food?

There are several reasons. As I mentioned, it ensures food safety by eliminating pathogenic microbes. It also softens vegetables and fruits to allow for better absorption of the nutrients, and retains the nutritional quality of the raw materials without the need for stabilizers, gums, gels, etc. Ultimately, it’s closer to human preparation, allowing the quality of our ingredients to shine through without gimmicks or tricks like flavor coatings or fillers.

How is it different to freeze-dried dog food?

Freeze-dried foods or ingredients are extremely low moisture, may or may not have a cooking step that eliminates all bacteria, and usually require some amount of rehydration or handling to minimize “dustiness” — so those ingredients are not treated as gently as ours.

Why not just cook your dogs’ meals at home?

Cooking your own blend of meats, fruits and veggies at home is very similar to Ollie food. The biggest difference is that we make sure every one of our recipes is complete and balanced, using supplemental ingredients like vitamins and minerals, taurine, or fish oil that adds Omega 3 fatty acids. So you can be confident every single meal is 100% of the nutrition your dog needs, with the convenience of not having to cook or portion it yourself.

If you want to try Ollie, you can get 60% off and a free gift with your first order. You can also read our unbiased review of Ollie here.

We’d also like to hear about your personal experiences with Ollie — good, bad or indifferent.

And please remember, we’re not paid to promote any dog food brands — each one is reviewed in exactly the same way.

Best wishes,

The Dog Food Advisor Team
Saving Good Dogs From Bad Dog Food

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