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Putting groceries to the test

By JANET K. KEELER
Published December 28, 2005

Looking back over a year's worth of Taster's Choice columns, I have nothing but admiration - and pity - for chief taster Kathy Saunders and her merry band of guinea pigs.

They must have cast-iron stomachs. This year, tasters faced down 11 canned tomato sauces, 12 turkey gravies, 13 bottled spring waters and a whopping 17 honey mustards.

The slice-and-bake chocolate chip cookies made up for some of the pain.

Since we introduced Taster's Choice in the St. Petersburg Times' food section in July 2004, the goal has been to assess popular grocery products.

Sometimes you agree with us, and you let us know when you don't.

Readers often e-mail their own top choices, purchased out of state or at specialty stores. In general, we limit our choices to what is readily available throughout the Tampa Bay area.

In two cases, rotisserie chicken and birthday cake, we tasted a product from an independent store for purposes of comparison. Mostly, we buy products at Publix, Albertsons, Kash n' Karry, Wal-Mart, Winn-Dixie and GFS Marketplace (formerly Smart & Final), as well as health food stores when applicable.

We continue to be surprised by how well store brands do in the taste test.

Usually, four judges taste four to five products at each session. Each can give up to 20 points.

The most perplexing test was biscotti. The winning sample came from a Publix bakery, but readers had a difficult time finding the Italian cookies at their stores.

Apparently, biscotti is not always available, and ours were labeled tea cookies, which they clearly weren't. Nounis, which came in second, is a good substitute.

We continue to be surprised by how well store brands do in the taste test. In fact, when we tested toaster pastries, Kash n' Karry, Albertsons and Publix finished 1-2-3, beating out Pop Tarts.

For the top finishers for each product tested this year click here.

-- Janet K. Keeler can be reached at 727 893-8586 or krieta@sptimes.com

For the full stories and more information about where winning products were purchased, go to www.sptimes.com/food and click on Taster's Choice. As always, we welcome your ideas for testing. Send them to Taste section, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731 or e-mail to krieta@sptimes.com Please put TEST SUGGESTION in the subject line.

Taster's Choice panelists are giving their taste buds a rest. The column will resume Jan. 11.

[Last modified January 19, 2006, 08:22:39]