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One of my favorite school-age memories was coming home and finding my mother's chocolate pudding chilling in the fridge.
I have tried to give my children the same homemade treat, but they are unimpressed. That's probably because of all the pudding options at their fingertips today.
Taster's Choice enlisted the help of 12-year-olds in finding a chocolate pudding they could pack in their lunch boxes. Our middle school panelists labored through nine varieties of the chocolate dessert to find their favorite.
The winner scored 99 out of a possible 100 points, putting it in the Taster's Choice Hall of Fame. The seventh-graders loved Hershey's tubes of chocolate pudding $2.24 for a box of eight at Wal-Mart.
"It's like melted chocolate and real pudding," said one judge. "It's smooth, rich and I love it."
Another said, "This is the way pudding should look. I give it a giant star!"
The handy, Go-GURT-like tube was a plus too. The students figured they could keep the dessert chilled until lunchtime. And, the tubes were easy to open.
The Hershey's pudding was one of three that required refrigeration, although all of the samples were chilled for our tasting.
Another cold pudding, Swiss Miss, ($2.39 for six at Publix), placed second in our survey with 83 points.
Judges liked the texture - smooth and not chunky - and the rich color.
"This is the perfect balance between sweet and chocolaty," said one judge. Three of the four said they want these for lunch.
One panelist complained that the Swiss Miss containers were hard to open.
Kraft's Handi-Snack (four for 97 cents at Publix) was their third choice. Judges gave it 79 points and raved about its rich taste.
"It tastes like fudge with the perfect amount of sugar," said one panelist.
"It's smooth and silky and I wouldn't change a thing," said another judge.
Also sampled were puddings by Jell-O ($2.45 for six at Publix); Hunt's (99 cents for four at Publix); Albertson's ($1.39 for four); Market Pantry (94 cents for four at Target); Great Value (88 cents for four at Wal-Mart); and Kozy Shack ($2.17 for four at Publix).
Panelists were seventh-graders Kayla Kawalec, Luke Nunnelly, Nick Nunnelly and Joey Saunders. All foods were tasted blind. Send suggestions for product testing to Taste section, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, or e-mail them to jkeeler@sptimes.com Please put TEST SUGGESTION in the subject line.
CHOCOLATE PUDDING RANKINGS
1. Hershey's
2. Swiss Miss
3. Kraft Handi-Snack