Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Frozen lasagnas get a chilly reception

By KATHY SAUNDERS
Published April 19, 2006

If that's true, it's a shame.

Taster's Choice put 12 brands of meat lasagna to the test with pretty sad results. We included large family-style dishes along with single-serving portions.

Marie Callender, probably most famous for her pot pies, won our survey with 54 out of 100 possible points. The lasagna $2.99 for a 21-ounce portion didn't look exactly like the lasagna on the package, but it did look good compared with the others. Marie Callender's meat lasagna was nicely layered with ruffled noodles, mozzarella and ricotta cheeses and marinara sauce.

"This has a great cheese flavor and it stays together well,'' one judge said. "The sauce is kind of sweet.''

Panelists said they would buy Marie Callender's lasagna, if they didn't make their own. One judge said he would buy it "perhaps for a shut-in friend'' that he didn't know very well.

The second choice got nods from two of the four judges as well. With 40 points, the judges said the lasagna by Healthy Choice ($1.79 for a 9-ounce serving) had the sweetest sauce of all the samples.

"My kids would probably like this but I wouldn't,'' said a panelist who described the dish as "cheesy.''

Other judges were disappointed.

"It looks fancy with lacy noodles but doesn't deliver on flavor,'' said one. He also thought the noodles were too chewy.

A 36-ounce dish of meat lasagna by Michael Angelo ($5.99) was the third choice with 38 points. One judge said he would buy this brand if he had to provide a last-minute contribution to a potluck event. The three others were unimpressed, saying the meat tasted like liver and the food was salty and gritty.

The Michael Angelo brand had the most potential, with obvious flecks of oregano and spices.

"It's soggy and metallic tasting,'' one judge said.

Also sampled were frozen meat lasagna dishes from: Publix ($5.59 for 40 ounces); Prego ($6.49 for a 40-ounce dish); Stouffer's ($2.45 for 11.5 ounces); Hungry Man ($2.99 for a 16-ounce portion); Stouffer's Lean Cuisine ($2 for 10.5 ounces); Michelina ($1.50 for 8 ounces); On-Cor ($3.99 for 32 ounces); Albertson's Essensia ($11.99 for an 80-ounce dish); and Boston Market ($1.99 for a 12.5-ounce serving).

Panelists were Nan Jensen, registered dietitian with Pinellas County Cooperative Extension; Bob Devin Jones, artistic director of Studio@620 personal chef Julie Overton; and Gary Kawalec, chef/owner of Tampa Bay Supper Club in Safety Harbor. All Foods were tasted blind.

[Last modified April 19, 2006, 08:04:13]