321569 Tue Aug 29 01:52:26 -0700 2006 13 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1839598 I'm a big fan of store brands. I practically live off President's Choice (Loblaws) and Merit Selection (Loeb), not to mention the Trader Joe's stuff now that I'm in the States. But once in a while, I come across a really crappy product, one that screams "inferior." Some recent cases: -America's Choice (A&P) instant pudding: tastes like chemicals and chalk -Pathmark yogurt and veggie baked beans: both were bland and runny -ShopRite cereal (the Cheerios knockoff): has the texture of packing foam Any store brand products you stay away from? Tue Aug 29 01:52:26 -0700 2006 10681 piccola 1 1839844 Compliments (IGA, Sobey's) is no good. Everything I've ever tried from them was disappointing. The quality goes from terrible to mediocre and the packaging is ugly and confusing. I had a short love affair with Selection Merite (Metro, Loeb) cereals, but I'm off them now. I don't find most Merite prepared foods or baked items very good, though. The condiments and canned foods are generally very low quality. Presiden't choice (Loblaws) is almost always good. I like their tangy salsa. Their prepared foods are always handy in a pinch. These days I'm addicted to Blue Menu (also Loblaws) low-fat granola. The Blue Menu brand in general hasn't let me down yet. Trader Joe's is really good. I wish we had them up here. Tue Aug 29 04:18:35 -0700 2006 1839598 18488 SnackHappy 2 1844664 Sélection Mérite makes fabulous frozen yogurt, for which I forgive it any other mistakes. You're right about Compliments, though. I've yet to find any redeeming qualities. And in my view PC can do no wrong. Thu Aug 31 01:09:16 -0700 2006 1839844 10681 piccola 1 1839939 Most A&P stuff I've gotten is pretty bad. Store brand sugar is often beet sugar, not cane sugar, so watch out. Tue Aug 29 05:54:48 -0700 2006 1839598 11577 Pei 2 1840567 Watch out for what? From the web site www.sucrose.com: "White sugar is essentially pure sucrose and there is no difference between that derived from cane and that from beet." Unless there are political reasons for avoiding it. Tue Aug 29 16:19:00 -0700 2006 1839939 13136 Loren3 3 1840619 Beet sugar works in coffee, not to bake with. There has been a thread on the two on another board within the last 2 weeks. Not sure which board. Tue Aug 29 16:35:29 -0700 2006 1840567 10921 Janet 3 1841312 Check out this article in the SF Chronicle: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/03/31/FD91867.DTL Most supermarket chains' house brands of sugar are beet sugar, although a few package cane sugar. If the sugar is cane sugar, it will almost always be identified as such on the front of the package. Tue Aug 29 20:11:18 -0700 2006 1840567 10644 Nancy Berry 1 1839957 Consumer Reports often includes store brand products in its reviews. The results vary considerably: often they are high in the ratings, bur more often low. Tue Aug 29 06:20:10 -0700 2006 1839598 17958 Jefferson 1 1840179 We don't have any of those stores here in San Antonio. HEB Grocery Stores has their brand,Hill Country Fair.The majority of their products are very good.They have canned soups I have tried,which are okay,but I haven't tried their chunky soups.They maybe made by Campbells or some other company.Even the cookies you can buy in a package from HEB are decent. I think they try to keep their brand products as high quality as they can get. But yes some store brands are'nt very good. I think it depends on who they have manufacture the stuff for them.They may try to use cheaper manufacturers. A friend's son in law is a trucker.He told me he picked up some of HEB's catsup from a Hunts plant once. For those not in Texas,HEB stands for Herman E.Butt,who founded the company in Kerrville Texas in the early 1900s.They have HEB Central Market which is upscale groceries,and now HEB PLus,which is their answer to Walmart.They are even into mexico and are mentioned in wickpedia.com Tue Aug 29 13:23:06 -0700 2006 1839598 28392 HollyDolly 1 2822202 Yes, I suspect this will sound weird, but I just got frustrated with a President's Choice "Blue Brand" Raisin Bran because it had TOO MANY raisins. I ended up cutting it with a plain bran cereal becasue I was tired of spoonfulls of raisins (like 6/8 in every spoonfull-way too much chewing for that hour of the day!) Tue Aug 07 12:04:51 -0700 2007 1839598 24738 LJS 1 2823335 I love store brands too but the one type I've always been disappointed in is store brand "Cheerios". The General Mills Cheerios are always so much better. The store brands are too bland and airy and not as toasty-tasting as the real Cheerios. Tue Aug 07 16:48:01 -0700 2007 1839598 16322 swissgirl 2 2823632 For the most part, generic cereals aren't the same... Frosty Flakes aren't the same, nor are Corn Drops, Apple Jackeroo's, or any other homonymic imitation. Kroger waffles aren't as good. Lucerne/Von's yellow mustard has an iffy taste (mustard shouldn't be tough to replicate, right?) Also, the fat free mayo has a decidely chemical, not remotely similar to Kraft FF, taste. It's even worse than Smart Beat brand fat free (for those of us that like the fat free sweetness). On the flip, I prefer generic Kroger or Lucerne cottage cheese over Knudsen. Tue Aug 07 18:28:45 -0700 2007 2823335 15572 Emme 3 2921662 One exception: I actually like the TJ's shredded wheat better than the original. Fri Sep 07 20:08:13 -0700 2007 2823632 10681 piccola 1 2923564 For what it's worth on the beet versus cane sugar argument: my former mother-in-law was a terrific candy maker (I'm not). She refused to use anything but cane sugar for candies - and she was from Idaho where sugar beets were a major source of income, including for members of her own family. She used beet sugar only for baking. Sat Sep 08 20:29:00 -0700 2007 1839598 111345 rexsreine