Here are the winners of the 2009 Taster's Choice tastings.
For our panelists, it ultimately comes down to taste. No matter - in the end, it's not about the label, and it's not about the brand. In fact, some growers may use the seeds, but most of these tomatoes are grown on domestic soil, which means they aren't the real deal. We also figured out that many tomato cans labeled as the high-end " San Marzano" variety are, well, not. We discovered that the baked goods carried at Trader Joe's are often winners, and that Safeway is a perfectly reasonable place to purchase condiments - we especially liked the store's cocktail sauce and bread and butter pickle chips. Look for a tasting on the fast-growing category of coconut water after the first of the year. We sampled fully cooked bacon (which requires just seconds in the microwave to cook and, surprisingly, wasn't all that bad), mochi ice cream balls, pickled asparagus and flat pretzel crackers. It was also a year for new - or at least new to us - categories. Two wholegrain baked goods even nabbed spots those who can't break away from processed refined flour should think again - these days it's all about complex carbs. These products are the best of bunch, and ranged from pre-grated Parmesan cheese to quinoa. A respectable 17 products made it to the Hall of Fame, an honor we reserve for those products scoring 80 or higher on our 100-point scale. It was another pretty good year for the panel. Not only can they be just as good or better, but most are much less expensive than their advertised counterparts. The lesson? Don't shy away from these products, even if the label isn't as eye-catching. In fact, in the 44 tastings from 2009, more than one-third of the winners were grocery store brands. Panelists are choosing generic brands from Safeway, Trader Joe's and Whole Foods almost as often as name brands. In the past decade alone, the popularity of these brands has grown immensely. (See the accompanying chart for all the winners.) Time and again, they find that grocery store brands come out on top. Our five experienced panelists - local chefs, cookbook authors and food professionals - test products blind, concentrating solely on texture, appearance and, most importantly, taste.
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