"taste test" news and stories

The Wendy's vs. McDonald's french fry war is heating up. You've probably read the latest pronouncement: "In a national taste test, consumers said Wendy's fries taste better than McDonald's. When asked which they thought taste better after sampling both, 56% of participants chose Wendy's Natural-Cut Fries with Sea Salt. Only 39% preferred the taste of McDonald's."

Go ahead; be skeptical. That info comes straight from Wendy's website -- it's a part of their new ad campaign to topple McDonald's long-running reign as "America's Favorite Fries (McDonald's trademark phrase, by the way). And although that claim is on the pompous side, it's not without clout -- enough people have raved about them over the decades that McDonald's very identity is synonymous with those fried spuds. While some may disagree with their claims, there's no denying that McDonald's fries have set the standard that others in the fast-food industry aim for. Burger King has been trying to dethrone the Golden Arches for years, once even claiming victory after their own taste-test survey.

Wendy's claims their nationwide French fry survey was conducted by an independent research firm in eight American cities. However, there's some question about whether their resulting data is skewed -- it's their marketing campaign, after all.

We figured it was time for an unbiased review:

The Claims (From Their Websites): Wendy's latest fries are "made from 100% Russet potatoes and sliced 'natural-style' with the skin on for additional texture and taste, then cooked in proprietary oil that has 0 grams trans fat per serving. They are finished with a dusting of natural sea salt to further enhance the flavor." (Medium size: 420 calories.)

McDonald's "World Famous Fries" are "golden on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside. Made with quality potatoes and cooked in our canola oil blend for zero grams of trans fat per serving." (Medium size: 380 calories.)

"Peanut butter and chocolate just got better!" claims the promo for the new Snickers Peanut Butter Squared campaign. But did they? We Slashfooders ran out for a bag of the new candy bars (each a 1.78-ounce square) as soon as they hit the store shelves today. I mean, it's a Snickers, the classic chocolate bar. What's to improve?

Turns out, not much. "I'm not getting the peanut," said one editor. "The nougat flavor is overwhelming." "I wanted more peanut butter," said our resident candy fanatic. "I feel like I've been duped!" And our resident candy curmudgeon said, "It's kind of a mess."

The verdict? Keep it classic, Snickers, with just the peanuts (singular) or up the ante on the peanut butter. But we still love you.

With more than 45 taste tests under our belt for 2010, both Slashfood and KitchenDaily editors have had their share of food, from the great to the downright awful. From fast-food to peppermint bark, from potato chips to fried chicken -- supermarkets, casual restaurants and fast-food chains have dished out some interesting products (and by "interesting" we mean bad), but they've also given us some new favorites such as Late July Peppermint Bark Cookies, Pumpkin Pinkberry, Dirty All-Natural Sea Salt & Vinegar Potato Chips and the Denny's Fried Cheese Melt.

Below, the 10 most popular taste tests of the year:

1. Vanilla Ice Cream Taste Test
2. Chocolate Ice Cream Taste Test
3. Taco Bell's XXL Chalupa Reviewed
4. BBQ Potato Chip Taste Test
5. Salt & Vinegar Potato Chip Taste Test
6. Papa John's Double Bacon & Cheese Pizza vs. Domino's Wisconsin 6 Cheese
7. Wendy's Natural-Cut French Fries Reviewed
8. Sour Cream and Onion Potato Chip Taste Test
9. KFC vs. Popeyes - A Blind Taste Test
10. Best Boxed Red Wines

What can we say about fruitcake that hasn't already been said? The key to making one that won't be regifted ad infinitum is to use best-quality moist dried fruit. No, fruit that is both dried and moist is not a contradiction. This recipe is the one that will change your mind about fruitcake: it's chockfull of candied orange peel, and dried cherries, apricots, pineapple and currants.

At KitchenDaily, we also put 11 packaged fruitcakes to a "mom-approved" taste test. (That's right, our moms were the tasters -- they genuinely love fruitcakes.) Click here to see the results, and find out how to mail-order the winner.

More fruitcake recipes from KitchenDaily.

In our last installment of potato chip taste tests, we take on the potent sour cream and onion flavor. We gathered more than 10 of the most popular brands (found in most Tri-State-area supermarkets) and separated them into three categories: regular, kettle and an alternative.

In the end, we chose an overall winner for each category and one loser (which was clearly the worst chip of the bunch). After the jump, find out which big supermarket brand flunked our taste test.