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Store brands vs. Brand names

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Jude
Post subject: Store brands vs. Brand names
Posted: Mon 02 Nov , 2009 5:53 pm
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This was inspired by a post I read on a blog: My Store-Brand vs. Name-Brand Blind Taste-Test Experiment. The writer recruited various relatives to undertake a blind taste test on some common foods, rating store-brand versus brand names.

So, what do you think? :poke:

Brand name or no-name?

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MariaHobbit
Post subject: Re: Store brands vs. Brand names
Posted: Mon 02 Nov , 2009 6:53 pm
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Unless it actually tastes different, or the texture is off or something like that, I use store brands.

Since I work for a small manufacturer floor sealers and concrete dyes, I see first hand how some of our customers want our product sent to them under their own label. We make the the stuff in one big tank, and bottle it off into the same containers, and then put *their* label on some of it rather than our own. Same exact stuff. I don't know why those customers want it under their own brand name, but they do. I think I can safely assume that lots of food manufacturing places do the same thing.

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Ara-anna
Post subject: Re: Store brands vs. Brand names
Posted: Mon 02 Nov , 2009 7:23 pm
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I think Maria is correct about the food manufacturing. For years I fooled my kids by buying the store brand cereals and put them in the name brand boxes. So instead of the $3 box of cereal they were getting the $1.99 cereal in the $3 box.

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LalaithUrwen
Post subject: Re: Store brands vs. Brand names
Posted: Mon 02 Nov , 2009 7:35 pm
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I almost always use the store brand. There are only a few things that we've tried over the years and found to be lacking.

A1 Steak Sauce comes to mind. :D I've never found a store brand that was quite as good as the name brand.

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Sunsilver
Post subject: Re: Store brands vs. Brand names
Posted: Fri 06 Nov , 2009 4:37 am
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There are a few products where I won't buy the generic brand. Chicken noodle soup for one. The local store brand (Compliments) has WAAAAYYY too much salt!

Heinz ketchup...I agree with the comercial: "Heinz is what ketchup tastes like!"

I can stomach some store brands of cola, but much prefer the Real Thing (Coke). And don't EVER try to give me Pepsi!! :P

Where cereal is concerned, I find the generic brand often tastes just as good as the name brand. And for years, I ate the No Name brand plain yougurt from Loblaws. It was about the ONLY yogurt not loaded with sugar and additives. The ingredient list read: milk, milk solids, bacterial culture PERIOD! Unfortunately, I can't get that yogurt anymore, as there's no Loblaws nearby, and Loblaws now only sells it in its fat-free version. I buy it when I can, but I preferred it when it still had some fat in it. I think it was 2%, or 1.5%.

Honey is one product where I see no reason to buy a name brand product. Honey is honey is honey, no matter what the label! Why pay more for Billy Bee? :confused:

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LalaithUrwen
Post subject: Re: Store brands vs. Brand names
Posted: Fri 06 Nov , 2009 4:47 am
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Actually, I buy my honey from local people. :drool: It's supposed to be better for you, too (boosts your immunity).

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MariaHobbit
Post subject: Re: Store brands vs. Brand names
Posted: Fri 06 Nov , 2009 2:26 pm
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A local honey producer around here makes the best honey I've ever tasted. There's a vast difference in honey flavors depending on what the bees are gathering from- and I really like whatever it is that these bees are taking in.

The worst honey I ever tried was some mesquite honey my parents brought back from somewhere in the southwest US. Nasty stuff. Honey made from pine blossoms is rather unpleasant, as well.

It's easy to make yogurt, Jude. :) Just scald the milk, let it cool to the right temp, add your starter in, and either put the containers in a yogurt maker or some other method of keeping the temp right at about 110 degrees. In four hours you have perfectly edible yogurt, if you had decent starter to begin with.

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Jude
Post subject: Re: Store brands vs. Brand names
Posted: Fri 06 Nov , 2009 2:33 pm
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I used to make my own yoghourt in Edinburgh. I left it overnight in the oven with just the oven light on - I guess it produced the exact right temperature.

I tried it a couple of times since moving back, but it never worked out as well.

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LalaithUrwen
Post subject: Re: Store brands vs. Brand names
Posted: Fri 06 Nov , 2009 4:24 pm
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I made some that worked well, but is there any way to flavor it?

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Jude
Post subject: Re: Store brands vs. Brand names
Posted: Fri 06 Nov , 2009 4:39 pm
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What do you want to flavour it with?

I sometimes use my home-made jam to make fruit yoghourt. I can do that because I like to make my jam a little less solid than the store-bought.

Or, just purée some fruit with some sugar and add it.

I also like to add a couple of spoonfuls of ginger syrup, from the preserved ginger I like to make.

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LalaithUrwen
Post subject: Re: Store brands vs. Brand names
Posted: Fri 06 Nov , 2009 4:46 pm
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When you add the puréed fruit or jam, do you just mix it in with the yogurt or do you blend it?

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Jude
Post subject: Re: Store brands vs. Brand names
Posted: Fri 06 Nov , 2009 5:17 pm
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I get a bowl full of yoghourt, stir in a few spoonfuls of jam and mix until it looks right.

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LalaithUrwen
Post subject: Re: Store brands vs. Brand names
Posted: Fri 06 Nov , 2009 5:29 pm
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All right, gotcha. I'll try the yogurt again soon. Thanks!

(I just kept mine warm in the oven, btw. I can post the directions I followed if anyone cares.)

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MariaHobbit
Post subject: Re: Store brands vs. Brand names
Posted: Fri 06 Nov , 2009 6:35 pm
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I really liked the flavor of yogurt grown with this brand of starter: http://www.amazon.com/Yogourmet-Freeze- ... 483&sr=8-2

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LalaithUrwen
Post subject: Re: Store brands vs. Brand names
Posted: Fri 06 Nov , 2009 6:46 pm
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That looks good! I just used some plain yogurt from the store to start mine.

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MariaHobbit
Post subject: Re: Store brands vs. Brand names
Posted: Fri 06 Nov , 2009 8:55 pm
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I've tried that, but the flavor usually isn't as good- I guess it's all in what strains of bacteria are there. When I got that starter, I kept making new batches with some old yogurt so I didn't have to open the new packets. The plan was to start new with the new packets if the culture ever shifted and start tasting not quite so good anymore. But, I stopped making yogurt for a couple of years and when I tried to get back to it, the packets had gone dead. So there's a limited shelf life on them, for sure. Refrigeration probably would have helped longevity a bit.

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Crucifer
Post subject: Re: Store brands vs. Brand names
Posted: Sat 07 Nov , 2009 3:40 pm
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To get back on topic, I bought some Tesco brand bacon the other day and tried to cook it. It went a sort of unpleasant pale pink with black splotches...

So never ever buy Tesco own brand bacon. Everything else is better.

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LalaithUrwen
Post subject: Re: Store brands vs. Brand names
Posted: Sat 07 Nov , 2009 7:09 pm
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Catsup is another thing we buy name brand. Forgot about that.

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Jude
Post subject: Re: Store brands vs. Brand names
Posted: Sat 07 Nov , 2009 8:25 pm
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I tried Presiden'ts Choice organic ketchup (Loblaws' store brand) but it separates in the bottle - so that when you invert it over your hamburger, liquid comes out before the thick stuff. Not good!

I'll buy Heinz next time. Although, the best ketchup I tried was some a co-worker made and brought in. I need to learn to make my own, too.

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Pippin4242
Post subject: Re: Store brands vs. Brand names
Posted: Sun 08 Nov , 2009 4:43 am
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I'm trying pretty hard to buy unbranded food at the moment, but I can't help but keep opinionated on a few things. Orange juice - it's got to be Tropicana or nothing. I'm so sick of the chemical taste in cheap orange. I wait until there's a special offer on Tropicana and drag a bunch back to the flat. Ketchup - it's got to be Tesco's own brand. I seriously don't like Heinz. I guess maybe it's because I grew up with the own brand stuff? :scratch:

And Maria, I was totally going to chip in on the honey conversation too - to say how amazing pine blossom honey is. :P I've got a jar at the moment from Greece, and I love it. It's very strongly flavoured though, so I guess I can see why people might not like it. You just have to not expect it to taste quite the same as cheap honey, I figured. Anyway, in porridge, or with lemon, it's gorgeous. *drools*

*-Pips-*

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