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Cheese sticks melt panelists' hearts

By Kathy Saunders
Published January 31, 2007

For an instant party, Taster's Choice panelists will be popping fried cheese sticks from the freezer to the frying pan.

We sampled six brands of the mozzarella sticks found at local grocery stores. All of the cheesy snacks got high marks. One of the brands required frying, but the others could be heated in the oven. Although we originally preferred the oven option, after sampling the refried sticks, we decided we had to fry the others as well.

Cheese sticks by Moore's $5.99 for a 2.5-pound bag from GFS Marketplace got the highest score, 84 out of 100 points. All four judges said they will buy the Moore's snacks for their upcoming Super Bowl gatherings.

"These are a pretty brown color with nice herb flecks in the breading," said one judge.

"If you are going to eat a cheese stick, this is the gold standard," said another. "They are yummy and necessary."

Judges liked the crisp and tender mixture in the texture of the sticks. Moore's also didn't skimp on the size.

"I love the mess they make," said another panelist.

Gordon Food Services' store brand was our panelists' second choice. They awarded the GFS sticks ($6.89 for 2.5 pounds) 82 points.

"The cheese on these is elastic, velvety and bursting out all over," said a judge who ate the whole sample.

Another described the GFS sticks as "stringy, but way okay."

Again, all four judges plan to buy the GFS cheese sticks.

In fact, they will pick up all three types of the snacks in the GFS freezers. Their third pick also was from the store. Judges gave the Brew City brand ($11.99 for a 3-pound bag) 80 points.

Two of the panelists liked the strong, buttery flavor of the Brew City sticks.

"These are nice and salty too, like a gentle pirate," said another judge. "They are thin sticks, but they look good and taste great."

Judges liked all of the cheese sticks they tasted. Also sampled were fried sticks from: Farm Rich ($9.88 for 4.5 pounds from Sam's Club); TGIF ($2.97 for 11 ounces from Publix); Publix ($2.49 for 10 ounces); and Coles ($3.49 for 15 ounces from Albertsons).

Panelists were Nan Jensen, registered dietitian with Pinellas County Cooperative Extension; Bob Devin Jones, artistic director of Studio@620 personal chef and mother of four Julie Overton; and Gary Kawalec, chef-owner of the Tampa Bay Supper Club in Safety Harbor. All foods were tasted blind. Send suggestions for product tasting to Taste section, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731 or e-mail them to krieta@sptimes.com Please put TEST SUGGESTION in the subject line. To read past Taster's Choice columns, go to www.sptimes.com/food.

RANKINGS

Fried cheese sticks

1. Moore's

2. Gordon Food Service

3. Brew City

[Last modified January 30, 2007, 12:03:22]