oscar mayer, Recipes, & Food News

Are Name-Brand Foods Worth It?

by Jason Best, Posted Sep 8th 2010 @ 11:00AM

It's been a long time since store brands were relegated to the bottom shelf of the grocery store, saddled with those generic black-and-white labels ("Ketchup," "Pickles") that made them look like provisions in a Soviet commissary.

Still, despite fancier labels, a lot of shoppers are leery of anything that doesn't sport a name brand. "That's just plain silly," your penny-pinching grandmother might have said. "You're just paying for the name."

According to the findings of a recent study by Consumer Reports, it turns out that she might have been right.

The consumer watchdog that's better known for road testing cars and troubleshooting cell phones has turned its attention to the grocery store. The group had tasters sample 21 different food products and compare national brands with their store-brand equivalents.

The results?

Filed under: News

Best Hot Dogs: Our Taste Test Results

COMMENTS 0

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Sep 1st 2009 @ 4:43PM

Did your favorite frank lead the pack? Read on.

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Best Hot Dogs

Our intrepid pack of testers chomped their way through 50 different franks, hot dogs and wieners in hot pursuit of the top tube steak in all the land. Not a single chicken, turkey or tofu dog made the final cut, while beef and pork reigned supreme.

Did your favorite frank lead the pack? Read on.

Nathan Ellis Perkel

Getty Images North America

Best Hot Dogs

Our intrepid pack of testers chomped their way through 50 different franks, hot dogs and wieners in hot pursuit of the top tube steak in all the land. Not a single chicken, turkey or tofu dog made the final cut, while beef and pork reigned supreme.

Did your favorite frank lead the pack? Read on.

Nathan Ellis Perkel

20. DIETZ & WATSON NEW YORK BRAND BEEF FRANKS
(All Beef, Natural Casing)

The strong casing caused our panel to snap to attention, and the solid, beefy interior makes this a dandy, workaday dog.

Nathan Ellis Perkel

19. SABRETT SKINLESS BEEF FRANKFURTERS
(All Beef)

Our panelists were split on the subtly peppery aftertaste, but all sang the praises of the juicy, gently salted initial flavor experience.

Nathan Ellis Perkel

18. COLEMAN NATURAL UNCURED BEEF HOT DOGS
(Uncured, All Beef)

All tasters sang the praises of the smoky, bratwurst-like flavor or this firm, un-fancy frank.

Nathan Ellis Perkel

17. HILLSHIRE FARMS LIT'L BEEF FRANKS
(All Beef)

These wee wieners pack a lot of meaty, salty flavor into a bitty bite. The size allows for lots of skin crisping, and our panel deemed 'em a 'perfectly respectable cocktail frank.'

Nathan Ellis Perkel

16. WOLFE'S NECK UNCURED HOT DOGS
(Pork, Beef, Natural Lamb Casing)

Our tasters were in agreement that a pinch more salt would really make this pup pop, but still, the snappy, crunchy skin and juicy inside more than made up for it.

Nathan Ellis Perkel

15. OSCAR MEYER PREMIUM BEEF FRANKS
(All Beef)

On the other hand, this one got a teensy bit too silly with the salt shaker, but still nosed ahead with a distinctive smoky sweetness, and a snappy skin that crisps up beautifully over an open flame.

Nathan Ellis Perkel

14. OSCAR MAYER WIENERS
(Turkey, Chicken, Pork)

This childhood classic holds its own against the fancier franks, earning raves for its spicy, smoky flavor combo and sturdy casing. Oh, Oscar, we are still in love with you.

Nathan Ellis Perkel

13. BALL PARK BEEF FRANKS
(All Beef)

Every single tester waxed wacky over the satisfying juice jolt of this beefy stadium staple. The flavor may not be a grand slam, but it's a solid base hit.

Nathan Ellis Perkel

12. OSCAR MAYER MINI HOT DOGS
(All Beef)

This tiny dog has the heart of a champion, fetching maximum intense flavor per square centimeter. As one panelist suggests, 'Wrap some Pillsbury around these, and you've got a party!'

Nathan Ellis Perkel

Filed under: Taste Test

Free Oscar Mayer Franks - Get Yer Hot Dog Here!

COMMENTS 2

by Alex Van Buren, Posted May 20th 2009 @ 6:30PM

The phrase "free hot dogs" is music to some folks' ears any time of year, but particularly with Memorial Day weekend around the bend.

Oscar Mayer has stepped up to start the grillmania: if you hit the site right now (until midnight tonight, EST) you can click your way to a coupon for a free pack of dogs. Unfortunately, you can't waltz right into the store, coupon in hand: It's a wait-for-the-mailman dealio. But it's still a pretty grand deal for those who could eat grilled dogs all summer long.

[Via Newsday]

Filed under: Site Announcements, On the Blogs

Slashfood Ate (8): Great classic food commercials

COMMENTS 3

by Bob Sassone, Posted Apr 30th 2008 @ 1:54PM

Life cereal I'm a sucker for TV commercials. I even think they should be put on TV DVDs, though I bet some people would hate that idea.

But it got me thinking about all of the great TV commercials we've had for food over the years. After the jump, eight classics. I'm not saying that these eight are the "best" (though some could be), but they're eight that I really enjoy.

Filed under: Television/Film, Slashfood Ate, Retro cookery

Kraft expands Chicken Strip recall

COMMENTS 0

by Joanne Lutynec, Posted Feb 26th 2007 @ 10:31AM

If you recall, last week we wrote about the Oscar Mayer chicken strip recall which was aimed at a specific batch of the product. Kraft Foods has since expanded the recall to include ALL code dates, sizes, and flavor varieties of their Oscar Mayer/Louis Rich Chicken Breast Strips and Cuts. Though they state that no traces of Listeria have been found anywhere other than in the original contaminated sample, they are voluntarily removing all product that was made at that facility as a precautionary measure.

As stated in a "Market Action Notice" on their website: "Kraft's most important responsibility and highest priority is consumer and product safety. We have a number of processes in place to ensure that our products meet the quality standards we have set and our consumers expect. We would not allow any product to be sold if we believed it posed a health or safety risk."

The recall now includes any of the product with a "best used by" date of May 28, 2007 or earlier.

Source

Filed under: Business, Health & Medical, Ingredients