From Roy’s Candied Orange Raisin Panettone

Coming in right behind the Manresa version was the San Francisco panettone baked by the company that caught Oprah’s attention. Her folks liked his Banana-Caramel Panettone, but we found his non-traditional Orange Raisin version at local stores and gave that a whirl. Tasters overall gave this one high marks. One called it “wonderfully zesty and bright,” and others loved the airy texture and citrus bits. One dinged this cake for being “boring and bland.”

PRICE >> $29.99 to $49.99. The lessexpensive one is a 1.2-pound version found at select Whole Foods stores. The pricier one is the 2.2-pound cake on the baker’s website, ThisIsFromRoy.com.

Rustichella’s Panettone Classico

This is what most panettone fans would consider a solid traditional version, with a silky dough studded with candied citrus and raisins. Our tasters’ adjectives were mostly positive but ran the gamut: “light,” “melty,” “a bit thick,” “buttery,” “not too fruity” and “more fruity than the others.” One

Filippi’s Caramelo Salato (salted caramel)

You can’t blame this Italian company for reaching out to a younger generation with new flavors. Our panel members either loved or hated this polarizing panettone. Some called it “decadent and rich; candy meets panettone” and “indulgent” while others decried it as “very one note” or “meh” or said they missed the fruity bits. The snarky ones were in rare form. One said, “This is great, unless you wanted panettone.” Another wrote: “Some trends should not find their way to panettone.”

PRICE >> $33.95 at the Rockridge Market Hall, Oakland

Chiostro’s Crema al Pistacchio

Oh, the visceral reactions! This pistachio one really divided the panel. First, there was the color: green coated in chocolate. “Visually? Kind of disgusting,” one taster said. And then the messy blotches of liquid pistachio. “Hard to get past the green goo. Not something you want to slurp up,” another said. However, others thought this was the “best choice” for those who don’t like fruit in their bread and one said, “I’m fine with the green goo and would eat this daily.” The bottom line: Pistachio lovers were adamant that there just wasn’t enough pistachio flavor.

PRICE >> $5.95 at Big Lots in San Jose; you can find at Amazon and elsewhere for prices around $11.

Filippi’s Struca Amarena

OK, we threw a curve to our panel. This year, the Market Hall at Rockridge in Oakland is stocking loaves of an Italian sweet bread called struca, and it’s made with olive oil instead of butter. This one featured candied morello cherries. Our tasters missed the dome shape. “Not bad, but the shape is an insult to proud tradition,” said one who signed himself #TeamRome. Another liked the almonds; a couple liked the level of sweetness or the crust. But overall, tasters found this version “too dry” and the cherries “too fruitcakey.”

PRICE: >> $26.95 at the Rockridge Market Hall, Oakland

WHERE TO BUY

You’ll find various brands and flavors of panettone at Bay Area grocery stores and specialty shops, including Berkeley Bowl, Bi-Rite, Draeger’s, Emerald Market, La Villa Deli, Lunardi’s, Market Hall Foods, Rockridge Market Hall, Williams-Sonoma, Zanotto’s.