Store brands testing

[Polly Esther]

We quickly learned that anything shipped in here post-Katrina was better
than nothing.
Mostly.
Learned to be glad to have any brand of anything. I guess the worst,
not that it was a truly big deal, was the boxes of brown sugar. There was
nothing short of napalm that would have blasted them from their brick-like
composition.
With that preamble, I'm wondering what store-brands you have tested and
found to be as good as or maybe even better or at least acceptable.
I like to spend money; one of my favorite indoor sports. On the other
hand, I do truly hate to waste it. For example, I've found that my crispy
rice cereal for a quick breakfast is one dollar cheaper than the name brand
and is quite as charming if I have time to listen to my cereal bowl.
What have you found on store brands that is as good as? or truly awful?
Polly

[Janet Bostwick]

Kirkland (Costco) brand anything. I may have found one thing that I
didn't care for. It wasn't that it wasn't an excellent product, just
that I didn't care for the seasoning. Don't remember what the frozen
product was.
Janet US

[Dave Smith]

The President's Choice store brands, carried here by Zehr's, Loblaws and
No Frills, are quite good. I used to occasionally buy Frosted Flakes
and found the PC product much better, as are their version some of the
other brand name cereals. They also have a line of sauces and dipping
sauces that are quite good.

[jmcquown]

"Polly Esther" wrote in message news:a810l6...@mid.individual.net...

With that preamble, I'm wondering what store-brands you have tested and
found to be as good as or maybe even better or at least acceptable.
I like to spend money; one of my favorite indoor sports. On the other
hand, I do truly hate to waste it. For example, I've found that my crispy
rice cereal for a quick breakfast is one dollar cheaper than the name brand
and is quite as charming if I have time to listen to my cereal bowl.
What have you found on store brands that is as good as? or truly awful?
Polly

**************
I'm not about spending money. I'll pinch a penny until it cries ;) But
yes, I want to get quality for that penny. In my experience store brand
cereal is just as good as the more expensive name brands. I buy store brand
corn flakes, not just to eat as cereal. Crushed, it makes a nice crispy
coating for baked chicken :) It's much cheaper than buying a box of
Kellogg's Corn Flake Crumbs! I buy the store brand toasted oats cereal,
too. I've found store brand canned soups to be exactly the same as
Campbell's. Same thing with canned beans and the like. (I buy a lot of
these things at the dollar store.)

Publix premium whole wheat bread is great. I can't see paying $3
(guestimate) for a loaf of bread when I can get better (store brand) for
$1.63 a loaf. (I don't eat much bread so I buy a few loaves and stash it in
the freezer.) Publix brand natural peanut butter is fantastic.
Ingredients: peanuts, salt. (Unfortunately, the price of PB has
skyrocketed, regardless of brands. Wish I'd stocked up!) A few times a
year I buy a half gallon of Publix coffee ice cream. Good stuff! (It's
also a true half-gallon container.) Oh, and Publix canned cat food is the
same thing as Fancy Feast but costs much less per can. (Persia can't tell
the difference.) On the non-food side, I buy store brand paper towels at the
dollar store (it comes in select-a-size rolls). I'm sure there's more, I
just can't think of anything else at the moment.

Jill

[Tara]

I have been happy with just about everything from Aldi. I also buy a
lot of the store brand items at Kroger and Publix.

Tara

[itsjoan...@webtv.net]

Same here with the exception of Publix. There's not one near me.

[Nancy Young]

On 8/3/2012 12:47 AM, Janet Bostwick wrote:
> On Thu, 2 Aug 2012 22:59:31 -0500, "Polly Esther"

>> What have you found on store brands that is as good as? or truly awful?

> Kirkland (Costco) brand anything. I may have found one thing that I
> didn't care for. It wasn't that it wasn't an excellent product, just
> that I didn't care for the seasoning. Don't remember what the frozen
> product was.

You're right. I don't even think of them as 'store brand' but of
course, they are. I buy a lot of their products and I don't remember
having a bad experience.

nancy

[Janet Bostwick]

Did you ever get to try their ice cream bars? They were available
maybe 10 years ago. We still look in the ice cream case in hopes
they've brought them back. Those ice cream bars beat the socks off of
Dove , etc. Shame that they discontinued them.
Janet US

[S Viemeister]

On 8/3/2012 9:10 AM, Tara wrote:
> I have been happy with just about everything from Aldi. I also buy a
> lot of the store brand items at Kroger and Publix.
>

Aldi produce is good, but I won't be buying their 'cheddar' ever again.

[Nancy Young]

On 8/3/2012 9:57 AM, Janet Bostwick wrote:
> On Fri, 03 Aug 2012 09:45:46 -0400, Nancy Young

>> You're right. I don't even think of them as 'store brand' but of
>> course, they are. I buy a lot of their products and I don't remember
>> having a bad experience.

> Did you ever get to try their ice cream bars? They were available
> maybe 10 years ago. We still look in the ice cream case in hopes
> they've brought them back. Those ice cream bars beat the socks off of
> Dove , etc. Shame that they discontinued them.

No, I never did try them. When there's a coupon for the Haagen Dasz
bars, I buy those, but otherwise I don't buy ice cream there. Oh,
same deal with the Edy's fruit bars/coupon.

As far as frozen food goes, I buy their raw shrimp and I like their
panko shrimp, too. I don't really have freezer space for any big
boxes.

nancy

[Brooklyn1]

On Fri, 03 Aug 2012 09:45:46 -0400, Nancy Young

The "Best Yet" brand from Grand Union is as good if not better than
the big national brands.
http://privatelabelmag.com/issues/pl-nov-2010/packaging-design.cfm
And Walmart's "Equate" and "Great Value" brand products are
significantly better than the big national brand counterparts.

[Arthur Shapiro]

In article <a810l6...@mid.individual.net>, "Polly Esther" <Poll...@cableone.net> wrote:

> What have you found on store brands that is as good as? or truly awful?

Here in Southern California, the Kroger chain is called "Ralphs".
Sporadically available is a Ralph's "Private Selection" hot dog that is
astonishingly good - enough for me to write the company and praise them the
first time I stumbled upon them. If the filling isn't quite as good as, say,
a Hebrew National hot dog, the delightfully crunchy casing makes the product
unique, as far as I can tell, among non-butcher-shop hotdogs.

I'm generally happy with store brands, with the exception of soap products.
But most of us don't eat those, so it's irrelevant to the newsgroup.

Art

[Nunya Bidnits]

I will agree that the Equate soluble fiber tablets have better ingredients
and work better than expensive stuff like Benefiber.

[Nunya Bidnits]

Having bought a few prepared food items with the Kirkland brand, I think I
would get better seasoned and more flavorful food in any random nursing
home. But for many goods their quality is decent.

MartyB

[Nunya Bidnits]

I find no difference in most sugars. For example, Best Choice granulated
white sugar is indistinguishable from Domino or C&H.

In general, Best Choice, a "house brand" which actually spans many grocery
chains, has pretty decent quality. For those not familiar, it is actually
the house brand of Associated Wholesale Grocers, a distribution giant. I
don't know if BC has market penetration nationwide. They have some flaws...
packaging for example. A spray bottle of bleach cleanser (knockoff of
Clorox) might leak or stop spraying before the contents are used up. No
prob, if that happens, I return it, and they give me a new, full one, for
free. By the same token they don't waste as much on foo-foo packaging as
name brands. Their paper goods are of decent to good quality, especially
considering the price differential. The one time I was unhappy with
something (don't even remember what it was) and contacted them about it, and
they sent me a $5 coupon for any BC item.

MartyB

[Kalmia]

I will sometimes buy the housebrand of:

kitty litter
oatmeal
a.p. flour
cornstarch
raisins
sourcream
yogurt
frozen veggies
cranberry sauce
pasta ( some )
dish liquid
all-bran cereal
honey
milk
sugar
brown sugar
MAYBE choc. chips if they're for, say, a pot-luck or kids.

I may be forgetting somethings -
I figure what I save by doing this is to splurge on stuff like Tree of LIfe peanut butter and some imported cheeses, fresh fruit and vegs.

[Gary]

Polly Esther wrote:
>
> What have you found on store brands that is as good as? or truly awful?

I buy many store brand items and they are just as good as the brand names.
One exception at my regular store is their store brand cheese....yuk

If you have a Food Lion store, their "Hot Dog Chili Sauce" is pretty
tasty.....better than the brand names. It's also good just to eat without
the hotdogs. There's no meat in it but it does include beef fat.

Here's something disturbing for sodium watchers though and actually I might
not buy it anymore after noticing this:

One 10.5 oz can
18 servings per can WTH?
Sodium 80mg per serving

So that's 1440mg sodium for only a tiny can?

It tastes good but I should have known something was wrong.

G.

[sf]

On Fri, 3 Aug 2012 09:09:07 -0400, "jmcquown" <j_mc...@comcast.net>
wrote:

> In my experience store brand
> cereal is just as good as the more expensive name brands. I buy store brand
> corn flakes, not just to eat as cereal. Crushed, it makes a nice crispy
> coating for baked chicken :) It's much cheaper than buying a box of
> Kellogg's Corn Flake Crumbs!

Not a big cereal eater here... but I've discovered that ground up corn
chips (doesn't matter what brand or what type) make a very tasty
coating for baked chicken. As a result, I've made more baked chicken
lately than I have in decades (two whole times). :)

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

[Brooklyn1]

>I figure what I save by doing this is to splurge on stuff.

All those housebrand items are fine, but not housebrand cat litter.

[Polly Esther]

"Arthur Shapiro" <> I'm generally happy with store brands, with the

exception of soap products.
> But most of us don't eat those, so it's irrelevant to the newsgroup.
>
> Art

Well, yes. Perhaps not relevant but interesting and usually part of our
grocery shopping bill.
You know who would say it is not logical but after DH's by-pass
surgeries, he was allergic to most bath soaps. ( Go figure.) We discovered
that he was just fine with the cheapest soap we could find at the Dollar
Store. No perfume, cream, additives, preservatives or magic claims, just
soap. Polly

[spamtr...@gmail.com]

Jewel Tea in Chicago carried President's Choice products for years, I guess until Supervalu took over.

Loblaw's used to own National Tea in Chicago, until they suddenly shut it down in the 1970s. Their logos closely resembled each other for a while. (Turn the LLL on it's side and it became an nnn.)

[George M. Middius]

l, not -l wrote:

> I checked when I stopped at the supermarket earlier today; the poor quality
> brand (not store brand) that some stores carry is ValueTime

Isn't that the brand in the dollar stores?

[Nunya Bidnits]

I don't think any litter is equal to Tidy Cats for odor control so the price
differential for the store brand isn't worth it to me.

> dish liquid

Dawn only for me, because it contains more actual cleansers and degreasers
than any other detergent, which is why it's used for wildlife oil spill
cleanup. No other consumer store or name brand dish liquid that I know of
can match it.

Otherwise I concur with most of that list other than the cereal, which I
don't buy. It usually comes down to a function of price, where something in
any of those given category is likely to be on sale. I'm not real big on
brand loyalty unless well proven.

OTOH some name brand stuff can suck horribly. One that comes to mind is
Farmland breakfast sausage in the 1 lb chubs. It only has a small
differential in the fat content listed on the label compared to a name brand
such as Jimmy Dean, but it cooks down to about half with the rest rendered
as grease. Nasty stuff. I think they paid someone off to get such a
favorable nutritional label.

MartyB

[Earl]

The Jill the narcissist count:

"I" 11
"I'm" 2
"I'll" 1
"My" 1
"I've" 1
"I'd" 1

Total is 17!

[Brooklyn1]

EarlTheFaggot wrote:
>
>The Jill the narcissist count:

Earl gotta be a faggot, wouldn't know what the fuck to do with a
"count"... you QUEER POS.

[Cheri]

"Nunya Bidnits" <nunyab...@eternal-september.invalid> wrote in message
news:jvhnem$76m$1...@dont-email.me...

> Dawn only for me, because it contains more actual cleansers and degreasers
> than any other detergent, which is why it's used for wildlife oil spill
> cleanup. No other consumer store or name brand dish liquid that I know of
> can match it.

Dawn only for me too, and Tide for laundry, otherwise most store brands are
fine. I think Western Family products are good, and also Sunny Select, but I
haven't found any store brand cheese that I like.

Cheri

[Polly Esther]

Earl wrote:
>> The Jill the narcissist count:
>>
>> "I" 11
>> "I'm" 2
>> "I'll" 1
>> "My" 1
>> "I've" 1
>> "I'd" 1
>>
>> Total is 17!

Oh good grief, Earl. She was invited to express her store brand findings.
What pronoun would you have preferred? Polly

[sf]

Earl's sole mission in life is to troll Jill.

[sf]

On Fri, 3 Aug 2012 18:51:50 -0700, "Cheri" <che...@newsguy.com>
wrote:

> I haven't found any store brand cheese that I like.

I like Safeway's Lucerne brand Colby-Jack cheese.

[jmcquown]

"Polly Esther" wrote in message news:a83kgv...@mid.individual.net...

The Royal WE, perhaps? TROLL

Jill

[jmcquown]

wrote in message
news:6db0064b-4be2-4cf1...@w8g2000vbx.googlegroups.com...

On Aug 3, 8:10 am, Tara <jarvi...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>
> I have been happy with just about everything from Aldi. I also buy a
> lot of the store brand items at Kroger and Publix.
>
> Tara
>
>
Same here with the exception of Publix. There's not one near me.


I know how you feel. Sorry, not one near me :) I do buy store brands where
available and don't usually have a problem with them.

Jill

[Kswck]

"Brooklyn1" wrote in message
news:urun18lfqvg86i2m1...@4ax.com...

On Fri, 03 Aug 2012 09:45:46 -0400, Nancy Young
<rjynly...@vverizon.net> wrote:

>On 8/3/2012 12:47 AM, Janet Bostwick wrote:
>> On Thu, 2 Aug 2012 22:59:31 -0500, "Polly Esther"
>

>>> What have you found on store brands that is as good as? or truly
>>> awful?
>

>> Kirkland (Costco) brand anything. I may have found one thing that I
>> didn't care for. It wasn't that it wasn't an excellent product, just
>> that I didn't care for the seasoning. Don't remember what the frozen
>> product was.
>

>You're right. I don't even think of them as 'store brand' but of
>course, they are. I buy a lot of their products and I don't remember
>having a bad experience.

The "Best Yet" brand from Grand Union is as good if not better than
the big national brands.
http://privatelabelmag.com/issues/pl-nov-2010/packaging-design.cfm
And Walmart's "Equate" and "Great Value" brand products are
significantly better than the big national brand counterparts.

Grand Union went bankrupt years ago

[Kswck]

"Polly Esther" wrote in message news:a810l6...@mid.individual.net...

We quickly learned that anything shipped in here post-Katrina was better
than nothing.
Mostly.
Learned to be glad to have any brand of anything. I guess the worst,
not that it was a truly big deal, was the boxes of brown sugar. There was
nothing short of napalm that would have blasted them from their brick-like
composition.

With that preamble, I'm wondering what store-brands you have tested and
found to be as good as or maybe even better or at least acceptable.
I like to spend money; one of my favorite indoor sports. On the other
hand, I do truly hate to waste it. For example, I've found that my crispy
rice cereal for a quick breakfast is one dollar cheaper than the name brand
and is quite as charming if I have time to listen to my cereal bowl.

What have you found on store brands that is as good as? or truly awful?

Polly

A local stupidmarket around here is called King Kullen. They got rid of
their King Kullen
Store brand and now sell Food Club brand. The labels tout them as a 'Food
Cooperative'.
The products are not too bad, except for their chicken and beef broths-they
are nasty.
But I don't buy the brand much, except for flavored club soda. Forty cents
a bottle
compared to Schwepps and the like for around $1.19.

[Gary]

Sqwertz wrote:

>
> On Fri, 03 Aug 2012 15:21:18 -0400, Gary wrote:
>
> > Here's something disturbing for sodium watchers though and actually I might
> > not buy it anymore after noticing this:
> >
> > One 10.5 oz can
> > 18 servings per can WTH?
> > Sodium 80mg per serving
>

> The serving size is 1 tablespoon since it's a "sauce", but a chilli.

>
> > So that's 1440mg sodium for only a tiny can?
> >
> > It tastes good but I should have known something was wrong.
>

> They have to match the saltiness of the hot dogs, otherwise it would
> detract from it's own flavor.
>
> -sw

And the stuff really does taste good. I heat up the leftover amount (after
chili dogs) and just eat it as regular chili.

Speaking of regular chili...time to make that soon too. Haven't made it in
2-3 years. The only time I make cornbread is when I make chili. Goes
together well.

gary

[Nunya Bidnits]

Sqwertz <swe...@cluemail.compost> wrote:

> On Fri, 3 Aug 2012 18:38:58 -0500, Nunya Bidnits wrote:
>
>> OTOH some name brand stuff can suck horribly. One that comes to mind
>> is Farmland breakfast sausage in the 1 lb chubs. It only has a small
>> differential in the fat content listed on the label compared to a
>> name brand such as Jimmy Dean, but it cooks down to about half with
>> the rest rendered as grease. Nasty stuff. I think they paid someone
>> off to get such a favorable nutritional label.
>

> Or the product has been changed since they first got USDA approval for
> the label. AFAIK, products are never audited afterwards to see if
> they match their nutritional info.
>
> I buy their Pork and Bacon Sausage when I don't have any of my own
> home ground stuff. Both that and their regular/hot breakfast sausage
> do expel a lot of grease, but they cost half the price ($1.47) of
> their Jimmy Dean and Smithfield counterparts.

I will buy it once in a great while for a breakfast scramble, when the sale
price goes below a buck. At ninety cents it's at it's true value.

> I like the texture of
> the JD stuff better, too.

Either JD original (forget what they call it) or sage formula are great when
rolled in a barbecue rub and smoke roasted or slow cooked. I tend to run
them a little hotter, around 300F. We have other comparable brands to JD, in
particular Oldham's and R.B. Rice, but you may never see those in Austin.
Smithfield brand is rare around here. Tennessee Pride is a more recent
offering, almost as expensive but not quite as lean.

(Confession: I bought a can of Spam yesterday to run through the smoker.)

> Why are frozen chubs of sausage so much cheaper than fresh, BTW? I
> couldn't really care less if my sausage chubs are frozen. They thaw
> out really quick in a big bowl of warm/hot water.

Maybe it's like chicken where a substantial portion of production is frozen
at some point. I agree it doesn't matter if it's been frozen.

MartyB

[sf]

On Sat, 4 Aug 2012 03:37:50 -0400, "jmcquown" <j_mc...@comcast.net>
wrote:

> I do buy store brands where
> available and don't usually have a problem with them.
>

I'm always surprised by how good store brands are and don't think
twice about buying them.

[sf]

On Sat, 04 Aug 2012 09:56:48 -0400, Gary <g.ma...@att.net> wrote:

> The only time I make cornbread is when I make chili. Goes
> together well.

Same here! The only time I make cornbread is when I make chili and I
don't make chili very often. I got away from the dogmatic type of
chili this year and have made it a couple of times with beans and "not
beef" for meat. I've decided I really like chili with a mixture of
pinto and black beans... and using the canned variety is super easy.
Hmm. I should make some soon.

[Polly Esther]

Two more items I've found to be as good as or even better are the no-brand
jellies and jams, and the non-stick spray for bread pans is even better. I
was hoping someone had found a cheese that was okay but reckon that's just
not going to happen. Polly

[sf]

On Sat, 4 Aug 2012 10:18:56 -0500, "Polly Esther"
<Poll...@cableone.net> wrote:

> I
> was hoping someone had found a cheese that was okay but reckon that's just
> not going to happen. Polly

I guess you must not have Lucerne back East.

[George M. Middius]

sf wrote:

> I'm always surprised by how good store brands are and don't think
> twice about buying them.

Store brands of cookies and crackers tend to be horrid.

[Brooklyn1]

On Sat, 4 Aug 2012 10:18:56 -0500, "Polly Esther"
<Poll...@cableone.net> wrote:

>Two more items I've found to be as good as or even better are the no-brand
>jellies and jams,

Walmart's Great Value jams/jellies are actually Smucker's... even the
jars are exactly the same but minus the Smucker's name in the
embossing. They cost about 30% less, I like their raspberry,
blackberry, and apricot pineapple.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Apricot-Pineapple-Preserves-18-oz/10315450

>I was hoping someone had found a cheese that was okay but reckon that's just
>not going to happen.

Walmart's Great Value packaged sliced cheeses are as good as any;
Swiss, pepper jack, and provolone are favorites... packages open and
reseal easily and slices are easy to separate:
http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?search_query=great+value+cheese+sliced&ic=16_0&Find=Find&search_constraint=0

[Nunya Bidnits]

Sqwertz <swe...@cluemail.compost> wrote:

> On Sat, 4 Aug 2012 09:08:50 -0500, Nunya Bidnits wrote:
>
>> (Confession: I bought a can of Spam yesterday to run through the
>> smoker.)
>

> I have an open can of the artificially smoked version - "Bacon
> Flavored SPAM". I made a SPAM Reuben last week. The shit is just too
> salty. I buy the "less salt" version once or twice a year.
>
> -sw

Yeah, I'll have to mix a no-salt rub to go on it.

Right now I'm eyeballing a boneless leg of Halal lamb that's been in my
freezer for too long. IMO lamb cooks a little too hot for Spam, based on my
limited Spamsperience, so it may have to wait.

[rosie]

On Aug 3, 6:38 pm, "Nunya Bidnits" <nunyabidn...@eternal-
september.invalid> wrote:
> Kalmia <tweeny90...@mypacks.net> wrote:

> > I will sometimes buy the housebrand of:
>
> > kitty litter
>
> I don't think any litter is equal to Tidy Cats for odor control so the price
> differential for the store brand isn't worth it to me.
>
> > dish liquid

>
> Dawn only for me, because it contains more actual cleansers and degreasers
> than any other detergent, which is why it's used for wildlife oil spill
> cleanup. No other consumer store or name brand dish liquid that I know of
> can match it.
>

> Otherwise I concur with most of that list other than the cereal, which I
> don't buy. It usually comes down to a function of price, where something in
> any of those given category is likely to be on sale. I'm not real big on
> brand loyalty unless well proven.

>
> OTOH some name brand stuff can suck horribly. One that comes to mind is
> Farmland breakfast sausage in the 1 lb chubs. It only has a small
> differential in the fat content listed on the label compared to a name brand
> such as Jimmy Dean, but it cooks down to about half with the rest rendered
> as grease. Nasty stuff. I think they paid someone off to get such a
> favorable nutritional label.
>

> The Kirkland brand that Costco has , has been a winner for me. Also Hill Country for HEB .

[Cheryl]

On 8/2/2012 11:59 PM, Polly Esther wrote:

> What have you found on store brands that is as good as? or truly awful?

With raw ingredients (not necessarily raw as in uncooked, but raw as in
something to use in something else) I don't find store brands to be much
different from major brands. My only exceptions off the top of my head
are peanut butter, American cheese, prepared spaghetti sauce if I use it
instead of homemade, and not much else I can think of.

Speaking of homemade spaghetti sauce, I used the baking soda suggestion
for the first time today and what an amazing difference! It really
almost explodes in the acid and then calms down while stirring and the
sweetness of the tomatoes comes alive all on its own.

[Earl]

Since there is no "we", that wouldn't work. It's not all about YOU, Jill!

[sf]

On Sat, 04 Aug 2012 21:45:41 -0400, Earl <earl...@hotmail.com>
wrote:

Give it a rest, Earl.

[jmcquown]

"Polly Esther" wrote in message news:a84sr3...@mid.individual.net...

I don't know what stores are near you. I buy Publix (supermarket) blocks of
cheese all the time. Swiss, sharp cheddar, colby, colby-jack. It's every
bit as good as any name brand cheese.

Jill

[Cheryl]

On 8/4/2012 1:54 AM, Sqwertz wrote:

> Why are frozen chubs of sausage so much cheaper than fresh, BTW? I
> couldn't really care less if my sausage chubs are frozen. They thaw
> out really quick in a big bowl of warm/hot water.

I don't know where I've been but I've never heard the term "chubs"
before. It makes me giggle.

[Janet Bostwick]

On Sat, 4 Aug 2012 23:15:22 -0400, "jmcquown" <j_mc...@comcast.net>
wrote:

I think those are generally cut from huge blocks of name brand cheese.
The price is lower to you because it was lower to the supermarket
because of bulk buying. Just like the bulk bins where you get name
brand items poured from 50 pound sacks and you get to buy a scoop
full. Or did I misunderstand you, and you meant that the cheese you
bought was Publix branded?
Janet US

[sf]

I understood it to be Publix branded cheese. Although I understand
the bulk bins... I'm ignorant about what you're referring to with the
cheese.

[Janet Bostwick]

They are cut blocks of cheese with a label that indicates the variety,
size, price per pound, price and the store name. The blocks are in
packages similar to what you get when you use a Food Saver. The
label is just what you would see if you were buying a chuck roast --
It would say Publix without implying that it was a Publix brand chuck
roast.
Janet us

[jmcquown]

"sf" wrote in message news:08pr18pifjin5rb48...@4ax.com...

He won't. I have no idea why he's obsessed with me. John will laugh (yes
there is a "we") when I tell him about this fidiot.

Jill

[jmcquown]

"George M. Middius" wrote in message
news:tukq189icnkbs242g...@4ax.com...

I guess that depends on the store. I don't have any problem buying Publix
brand "triscuits", cheese crackers or saltines. They're always just as good
as the name brand.

Jill

[Gary]

jmcquown wrote:
>
> Store brands of cookies and crackers tend to be horrid.
>
> I guess that depends on the store. I don't have any problem buying Publix
> brand "triscuits", cheese crackers or saltines. They're always just as good
> as the name brand.

Speaking of saltines and crackers, here's a funny:

Long ago, when my daughter was young (maybe 10 years old), she was eating
some soup and wanted to put some crackers in it. She asked me if we had any.
I told her we had no saltines but try some of the oyster crackers that we
had.

Her reply: "Oh that's sick, dad."

Turns out that she thought they contained oysters in the ingredients.
I laughed and explained that the name comes from the rounded shape and that
they were NOT oyster flavored. She didn't believe me and still refused to
try them. heheh

Gary

[Krypsis]

On 4/08/2012 2:16 PM, sf wrote:

> On Fri, 3 Aug 2012 22:50:52 -0500, "Polly Esther"
> <Poll...@cableone.net> wrote:
>
>>
>> Earl wrote:
>>>> The Jill the narcissist count:
>>>>
>>>> "I" 11
>>>> "I'm" 2
>>>> "I'll" 1
>>>> "My" 1
>>>> "I've" 1
>>>> "I'd" 1
>>>>
>>>> Total is 17!
>> Oh good grief, Earl. She was invited to express her store brand findings.
>> What pronoun would you have preferred? Polly
>

> Earl's sole mission in life is to troll Jill.
>
sounds like a familiar scenario oft repeated in RFC.

--

Krypsis

[Krypsis]

On 3/08/2012 11:10 PM, Tara wrote:
> I have been happy with just about everything from Aldi. I also buy a
> lot of the store brand items at Kroger and Publix.
>
> Tara
>
Found Aldi to be a bit ifish... Found it's a case of try it and then buy
again if it turns out to be ok. For example, wife bought bananas there
the other week, dreadful... Local shopping centre greengrocer had
better. Trouble with something like bananas is that the next batch at
Aldi might be perfect.

--

Krypsis

[Krypsis]

On 5/08/2012 1:13 AM, sf wrote:
> On Sat, 4 Aug 2012 03:37:50 -0400, "jmcquown" <j_mc...@comcast.net>
> wrote:
>
>> I do buy store brands where
>> available and don't usually have a problem with them.
>>
> I'm always surprised by how good store brands are and don't think
> twice about buying them.
>
>

We will be getting a Costco locally in the near future. There is only
one so far in this city and that's too far away to be convenient. We
will see if this new Costco shakes up the local supermarkets a bit. They
sorely need some stiff competition.

--

Krypsis

[Krypsis]

I found store brands of asparagus spears to be dreadful, way too
stringy. I quite like my asparagus spears but not the store branded ones.

--

Krypsis

[Krypsis]

On 4/08/2012 6:57 AM, Polly Esther wrote:
>
> "Arthur Shapiro" <> I'm generally happy with store brands, with the
> exception of soap products.
>> But most of us don't eat those, so it's irrelevant to the newsgroup.
>>
>> Art
>
> Well, yes. Perhaps not relevant but interesting and usually part of our
> grocery shopping bill.
> You know who would say it is not logical but after DH's by-pass
> surgeries, he was allergic to most bath soaps. ( Go figure.) We
> discovered that he was just fine with the cheapest soap we could find at
> the Dollar Store. No perfume, cream, additives, preservatives or magic
> claims, just soap. Polly

That's me too. Plain old soap, totally unadulterated. Anything else
gives me grief, including most brands of hair shampoo - not that I have
a lot of hair left anyway. Just about wash my hair with a facecloth
these days! ;-)

--

Krypsis

[Krypsis]

On 4/08/2012 6:37 AM, Brooklyn1 wrote:

> On Fri, 3 Aug 2012 12:02:15 -0700 (PDT), Kalmia
> <tween...@mypacks.net> wrote:
>
>> On Thursday, August 2, 2012 11:59:31 PM UTC-4, Polly Esther wrote:
>>> We quickly learned that anything shipped in here post-Katrina was better
>>>
>>> than nothing.
>>>
>>> Mostly.
>>>
>>> Learned to be glad to have any brand of anything. I guess the worst,
>>>
>>> not that it was a truly big deal, was the boxes of brown sugar. There was
>>>
>>> nothing short of napalm that would have blasted them from their brick-like
>>>
>>> composition.
>>>
>>> With that preamble, I'm wondering what store-brands you have tested and
>>>
>>> found to be as good as or maybe even better or at least acceptable.
>>>
>>> I like to spend money; one of my favorite indoor sports. On the other
>>>
>>> hand, I do truly hate to waste it. For example, I've found that my crispy
>>>
>>> rice cereal for a quick breakfast is one dollar cheaper than the name brand
>>>
>>> and is quite as charming if I have time to listen to my cereal bowl.
>>>

>>> What have you found on store brands that is as good as? or truly awful?
>>>

>>> Polly
>>
>> I will sometimes buy the housebrand of:
>>
>> kitty litter

>> oatmeal
>> a.p. flour
>> cornstarch
>> raisins
>> sourcream
>> yogurt
>> frozen veggies
>> cranberry sauce
>> pasta ( some )
>> dish liquid
>> all-bran cereal
>> honey
>> milk
>> sugar
>> brown sugar
>> MAYBE choc. chips if they're for, say, a pot-luck or kids.
>>
>> I may be forgetting somethings -
>> I figure what I save by doing this is to splurge on stuff.
>
> All those housebrand items are fine, but not housebrand cat litter.
>
Do you eat the housebrand kitty litter before or after it's been used??

--

Krypsis

[Jim Elbrecht]

Gary <g.ma...@att.net> wrote:
-snip-

>Speaking of saltines and crackers, here's a funny:
>
>Long ago, when my daughter was young (maybe 10 years old), she was eating
>some soup and wanted to put some crackers in it. She asked me if we had any.
>I told her we had no saltines but try some of the oyster crackers that we
>had.
>
>Her reply: "Oh that's sick, dad."
>
>Turns out that she thought they contained oysters in the ingredients.
>I laughed and explained that the name comes from the rounded shape and that
>they were NOT oyster flavored. She didn't believe me and still refused to
>try them. heheh

A friend wouldn't eat Fish sticks for years because she mis-heard it
as "fish dicks".

And the gizzards of the turkey were known as 'salamanders' in our
house because my little bro remembered the name had something to do
with lizards-- forgot that it was a rhyme-- not a similar species.

Overheard after Thanksgiving telling an uncle that mom made the best
"Salamander Gravy".

Jim

[Gary]

Krypsis wrote:
>
> On 3/08/2012 11:10 PM, Tara wrote:
> > I have been happy with just about everything from Aldi. I also buy a
> > lot of the store brand items at Kroger and Publix.
> >
> > Tara
> >
> Found Aldi to be a bit ifish... Found it's a case of try it and then buy
> again if it turns out to be ok. For example, wife bought bananas there
> the other week, dreadful...

Here's a pic of bananas in a grocery store that a friend sent me this past
week. Whether true or not, I still found it funny. ;-D

http://i45.tinypic.com/2hi9quh.jpg

Gary

[Krypsis]

They look a whole lot better than the Aldi ones we bought. Cheaper
too.... Maybe someone couldn't spell bananas?

--

Krypsis

[Gary]

"l, not -l" wrote:
>
> I agree, the store brands can be just as good as the name brands. Aldi's
> store-brand crackers (Savoritz), in all varieties I have tried, are
> indistinguishable from the name equivalent.

And of course, over-the-counter brand name medicines are often the same
exact thing as the cheaper store brands. Just compare ingredients and many
contain the exact same ingredients and potency for at least a few dollars
less for the same amount.

Same as asking your doctor to prescribe generic brand (whenever possible).
If it's not a very new drug, those generic brands are exactly the same for
quite a bit less.

Gary

[Nancy Young]

On 8/5/2012 9:03 AM, Gary wrote:

> And of course, over-the-counter brand name medicines are often the same
> exact thing as the cheaper store brands. Just compare ingredients and many
> contain the exact same ingredients and potency for at least a few dollars
> less for the same amount.
>
> Same as asking your doctor to prescribe generic brand (whenever possible).
> If it's not a very new drug, those generic brands are exactly the same for
> quite a bit less.

The problem is that they aren't exactly the same, they have different
fillers and those affect some people differently. If they work for
you, great.

nancy

[Nancy Young]

Heh. There are advantages. I'm so over bar soap, if I didn't have
any in the house it wouldn't bother me in the least. I use body
wash (Kirkland brand, of course! ... it's nice to your skin and it's
all plant extracts) and recently I switched to Kirkland Borghese face
wash I like better than the expensive brand I was using.

nancy

[James Silverton]

On 8/5/2012 10:08 AM, Andy wrote:
> An uncle always brought his specialty, chopped chicken livers, as a
> Thanksgiving appetizer. Too many guests meant too many side dishes so he
> was counted upon for that.
>
> It looked so gross, but after my first taste, I had to be chased off with
> fly-swatters. "Save some for the guests!" was my often heard life or death
> warning from everybody!
>
> As picky an eater as I was, they let me live dangerously one day of the
> year.
>
> Uncle Mark never did share his recipe. The BUM!!! Or Mom didn't want us to
> grow up and out like him.
>
> Then there was Underwood's canned Devliled Ham. Truly evil stuff, so I
> thought.
>
> Andy
>
Funny! For a long time I thought that was "viled" ham until someone
spelled it "devilled"! :-)


--
Jim Silverton (Potomac, MD)

Extraneous "not" in Reply To.

[jmcquown]

"Krypsis" wrote in message news:jvllr8$lii$3...@dont-email.me...

Ah, but I don't buy canned aparagus. That stuff is nasty. Doesn't matter
if it's Green Giant or store brand, yuk!

Jill

[Gary]

No. I compare the ingredients and only buy if they are exactly the
same...active ingredients and inactive ingredients. What I buy *is* exactly
the same and at a better price.

If there's a slight difference, I'll pay for the brand name that I know and
trust.

Gary

[Gary]

Andy wrote:
>
> An uncle always brought his specialty, chopped chicken livers, as a
> Thanksgiving appetizer. Too many guests meant too many side dishes so he
> was counted upon for that.
>
> It looked so gross, but after my first taste, I had to be chased off with
> fly-swatters. "Save some for the guests!" was my often heard life or death
> warning from everybody!
>
> As picky an eater as I was, they let me live dangerously one day of the
> year.

Oh yeah.... I absolutely love chicken livers. Either tempura battered and
fried or cooked in a frying pan with onions and some gravy made at the end.
Eaten along with mashed potatoes and some applesauce with a bit of brown
sugar mixed in. Bread and butter too...required for a killer meal.

They are very cheap too but I rarely eat them. There are many foods that I
love but rarely eat. Sure is a nice day though when I DO eat them. Most
people eat thinking about their body but sometimes you have to throw the
tastebuds a treat too....they seem to prefer food that's not so good for
you. eheheh ;)

Gary

[Gary]

Isn't good ol' Ivory soap pretty plain?

G.

[Ed Pawlowski]

On Sun, 5 Aug 2012 12:48:35 GMT, "l, not -l" <lal...@cujo.com> wrote:



>>
>> I guess that depends on the store. I don't have any problem buying Publix
>>
>> brand "triscuits", cheese crackers or saltines. They're always just as
>> good
>> as the name brand.
>>
>> Jill
>

>I agree, the store brands can be just as good as the name brands. Aldi's
>store-brand crackers (Savoritz), in all varieties I have tried, are
>indistinguishable from the name equivalent.

When I buy bacon, it is either BJ's brand or what is on sale at the
supermarket. Yesterday I picked up Great Value at $2.50 a pound. It
really was! Made it this morning and it is as good as any.

Thee are many items that are pretty much equal no matter the brand.
butter, sour cream, cream cheese, bottled water, most sodas, most
chips.

[Ed Pawlowski]

On Sun, 05 Aug 2012 21:31:44 +1000, Krypsis <kry...@optusnet.com.au>
wrote:

>>
>Found Aldi to be a bit ifish... Found it's a case of try it and then buy
>again if it turns out to be ok. For example, wife bought bananas there
>the other week, dreadful... Local shopping centre greengrocer had
>better. Trouble with something like bananas is that the next batch at
>Aldi might be perfect.

Rarely go there. The produce seems to be second quality, my grandson
does not like the milk, and the meats are all that injected crap. For
the few other items, it is not worth making an extra stop.

[Nancy Young]

Okay, I was just responding to what you said, that 'those generic brands
are exactly the same' ... I'm one who is prone to weird side
effects of medications and I'm leery of generics. Other people have
no problems, it's just something to watch for.

nancy

[Nancy Young]

On 8/5/2012 10:43 AM, Gary wrote:
> Nancy Young wrote:

>>> That's me too. Plain old soap, totally unadulterated. Anything else
>>> gives me grief, including most brands of hair shampoo - not that I have
>>> a lot of hair left anyway. Just about wash my hair with a facecloth
>>> these days! ;-)
>>
>> Heh. There are advantages. I'm so over bar soap, if I didn't have
>> any in the house it wouldn't bother me in the least. I use body
>> wash (Kirkland brand, of course! ... it's nice to your skin and it's
>> all plant extracts) and recently I switched to Kirkland Borghese face
>> wash I like better than the expensive brand I was using.

> Isn't good ol' Ivory soap pretty plain?

It seemed like something you'd want when I was a teenager.
I found it to be very harsh and drying, it's the last bar soap I'd
buy. Irish skin, what can I tell you.

nancy

[Brooklyn1]

Earl <earl...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> The Jill the narcissist count:

Last I looked Jill is all female... yoose into Counts, Earl of
Faggotry! LOL-LOL

[Brooklyn1]

On Sun, 5 Aug 2012 12:48:35 GMT, "l, not -l" <lal...@cujo.com> wrote:

>

>On 5-Aug-2012, "jmcquown" <j_mc...@comcast.net> wrote:
>
>> "George M. Middius" wrote in message
>> news:tukq189icnkbs242g...@4ax.com...

>>
>> sf wrote:
>>
>> > I'm always surprised by how good store brands are and don't think
>> > twice about buying them.
>>
>> Store brands of cookies and crackers tend to be horrid.
>>
>>

>> I guess that depends on the store. I don't have any problem buying Publix
>>
>> brand "triscuits", cheese crackers or saltines. They're always just as
>> good
>> as the name brand.
>>
>> Jill
>
>I agree, the store brands can be just as good as the name brands. Aldi's
>store-brand crackers (Savoritz), in all varieties I have tried, are
>indistinguishable from the name equivalent.

Most are manufactured in the same batch as the National brands but
placed in different packaging.

[Brooklyn1]

Not always, with meds the coatings, delivery systems, and time release
differ (store/generic can enter ones system differently), the active
ingredients are chemically the same but they don't work the same. It's
best to have a serious discussion with ones provider/pharmacist
regarding this topic. Often medical professionals are only interested
in patient's pockets same as they are their own pockets, not their
health.

[sf]

On Sun, 05 Aug 2012 21:33:58 +1000, Krypsis <kry...@optusnet.com.au>
wrote:

> On 5/08/2012 1:13 AM, sf wrote:
> > On Sat, 4 Aug 2012 03:37:50 -0400, "jmcquown" <j_mc...@comcast.net>
> > wrote:
> >
> >> I do buy store brands where
> >> available and don't usually have a problem with them.

> >>
> > I'm always surprised by how good store brands are and don't think
> > twice about buying them.
> >
> >

> We will be getting a Costco locally in the near future. There is only
> one so far in this city and that's too far away to be convenient. We
> will see if this new Costco shakes up the local supermarkets a bit. They
> sorely need some stiff competition.

I don't view them as being in competition here, but it might be
different where you live.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

[George]

Their thing seems to be saving money on refrigeration. I have only been
in one that seems to be pretty new and all of the produce was on wire
racks in an aisle with no refrigeration. Some looked good some looked
pretty sad. As you pointed out the meats are all walmart style embalmed
"fresh" meat.

[sf]

On Sun, 05 Aug 2012 10:43:48 -0400, Gary <g.ma...@att.net> wrote:

> Isn't good ol' Ivory soap pretty plain?

It's plain, but drying. If you have eczema, the Dr. says to use Dove
or one of the other similar types on the shelf.

[sf]

On Sat, 04 Aug 2012 23:37:34 -0600, Janet Bostwick
<nos...@cableone.net> wrote:

>
> They are cut blocks of cheese with a label that indicates the variety,
> size, price per pound, price and the store name. The blocks are in
> packages similar to what you get when you use a Food Saver. The
> label is just what you would see if you were buying a chuck roast --
> It would say Publix without implying that it was a Publix brand chuck
> roast.

Thanks. No Publix here and I've never seen that at Safeway or Lucky.

[George]

On 8/3/2012 10:49 AM, Andy wrote:
> "Polly Esther" <Poll...@cableone.net> wrote:
>
>> What have you found on store brands that is as good as? or truly
>> awful?
>
> I once bought theACME store brand of cream cheese. When I opened it up it
> was streaked with mold. I never bought a store brand again.
>
> From their online product database, ACME has done an amazing job of
> muscling brand names off the shelves.
>
> The Giant supermarket is exactly the opposite, having no store brands o
> it's own. It's a small but growing regional chain with fairly decent
> prices. Their selection is a little limited. For example they sell Boars
> Head hot dogs but not Hebrew National.


Their store brand is "GIANT". You can see "GIANT ketchup", "GIANT
applesauce" etc on all of the typical stuff that would be a store brand.

GIANT is anything but small. It is one of the names used by the large
Dutch company Ahold:

https://www.ahold.com/


>
> Their frozen food aisles are a little chaotic. They're arranged by food
> type, not by brand, so all the pot pies are all shelved together, same
> goes for lasagnas, etc. Maybe it's a slick way of making the customer
> look at other brands but my brands are well established so it only slows
> me down.
>
> Andy
>