We Rate Dinner In A Box
We’ve been pretty busy lately, so we needed a quick idea for something to serve to The Spokesman-Review’s reader food panel.
What better, we thought, than the “home meal replacement” dinner kits - typically, packages of pasta and ready-to-reheat meat sauce - that have been showing up in supermarket coolers, aimed at frantic cooks.
Our samples matched Mallard’s, the market leader, against a similar Safeway Select product and one from an Illinois company called Land O’Frost.
We didn’t realize just how similar the Mallard’s and Safeway versions were (we bought them at separate stores, on separate days) until we got them side by side. The packaging, the printing styles, the list price (although the Mallard’s was on sale for $1 off), practically everything except the brand name was the same.
Indeed, it turns out Mallard’s makes the Safeway private-label line as well. (Guess supermarkets are looking for convenience, too).
They were both reasonably tasty, although Mallard’s spicy beef pepper steak, with its pepper-studded fettuccine, was a slight favorite over the salty Safeway stroganoff.
Mallard’s clearly had nothing to do with Land O’Frost. The mushy mixture of beef and precooked pasta in wine sauce was one of the few products in food panel history to receive straight “1” ratings across the board and may have attracted the most comments that can’t be printed in a family newspaper.
As an accompaniment, since it’s apple season, we decided to test some commercially prepared applesauces.
Actually, the idea came from a reader who wrote recently (well, last apple season, anyway) to ask: “Please do your older readers, who eat plain food, a favor and have your taste panel try to find a brand of canned applesauce that is fit for human consumption.”
Panelists weren’t particularly excited about any of the the jarred ones we tasted (cans are hard to come by), with S&W’s sweeter Gravenstein version a slim favorite over the Golden Delicious offering from Seneca in the sugar-added category.
The unsweetened Tree Top sauce won few fans, with most panelists saying it seemed stale. Or, as our resident retiree, Bob Bates, put it: “Tastes like it’s made from mature apples - for mature people.”
Mallard’s Cooking Made Easy, Beef Pepper Steak
Price: $4.99 for 24 ounces; makes 3 (1-cup) servings.
Nutrition: 290 calories (17 percent fat calories); 960 milligrams sodium per serving.
Taste: ****
Value: ***
Comments: “Not bad - spicy, real beef taste, excellent noodles. If you won’t cook from scratch, try this.” - Jim McGinty
“This has good flavor, but one should add their own salt and pepper (it has too much for my liking).” - Beth Kowal
Safeway Select Quick & Easy Beef Stroganoff With Noodles
Price: $5.99 for 24 ounces; makes 3 (1-cup) servings.
Nutrition: 380 calories (24 percent fat calories); 790 milligrams sodium per serving.
Taste: ***
Value: **
Comments: “Could use pepper but otherwise not too bad at all. Real meat and nice big chunks of mushrooms.” - Helen Span
“Beef is tender, noodles were firm. The sauce looks like gravy, however, it was very salty. And for the price, I’d rather go to a German restaurant.” - Emily Bush
Land O’Frost Express Meals, Burgundy Sauce and Noodles With Beef
Price: $2.99 for 22 ounces; makes 2 (1-1/3-cup) servings.
Nutrition: 350 calories (29 percent fat calories); 940 milligrams sodium per serving.
Taste: *
Value: *
Comments: “Predigested; hideous consistency and ghastly flavor.” - Karen Buck
“Beef-a-Roni on drugs … I don’t think my dog would like this.” - Jan Robison
S&W 100% Gravenstein Applesauce
Price: $1.49 for 25 ounces, or 6 (1/2-cup) servings.
Nutrition: 90 calories (no fat); 5 milligrams sodium per serving.
Taste: ***
Value: ***
Comments: “Tastes good, could be a little less sweet. Good texture.” - Jeannie Coffey
“Good flavor, a little watery.” - Helen Span
Seneca 100% Golden Delicious Applesauce
Price: 85 cents for 15 ounces, or 3 (1/2-cup) servings.
Nutrition: 100 calories (no fat); no sodium per serving.
Taste: ***
Value: ***
Comments: “Hey, this is real! Must be fresh or flash-frozen. Johnny Appleseed would be proud.” - Kathy Kelly
“Being thick and grainy, the texture could improve. I enjoyed the natural taste without being so sweet.” - Beth Kowal
Tree Top Unsweetened Applesauce
Price: $1.29 for 24 ounces, or 5 (1/2-cup) servings.
Nutrition: 70 calories (no fat); no sodium per serving.
Taste: **
Value: ***
Comments: “Slightly fermented taste - a little tart, chewy and chunky.” - Jim McGinty
“What an ‘earthy’ flavor. Tastes like really old apples.” - Beverly Smick
Products sampled by The Spokesman-Review’s reader food panel are prepared according to package directions. Panelists are not aware of a product’s brand name or price until after they have tasted it. Products are rated from one to five stars for taste and for value, based on quality compared to price.
, DataTimes