Testers Find No Primo Primaveras
Come on, admit it. Now that you’re out on your own, and Mom isn’t cooking for you anymore, you’re subsisting on frozen pasta and veggies, washed down with some diet cola.
Well, at least you’re getting your vegetables. Or reasonable facsimiles, anyway.
In the spirit of the season, we fed The Spokesman-Review’s reader food panel three brands of frozen pasta primavera, which translates to “spring style.”
The basic Birds Eye and Green Giant versions finished in a dead tie, taste-wise, though neither was particularly peppy. Based on the price tag - especially for you swinging singles - you might as well go with the Birds Eye (it’s also lower in calories and fat grams).
The higher-class (we’re talking tortellini), higher-priced Rosetto offering was a bland disappointment. As panelist Helen Span put it: “Now we finally have enough sauce! (Too bad the sauce tastes like I would imagine bathroom tile caulking to taste like.)”
As for the diet colas, we decided to find out if the new, improved Diet Rite lived up to its hype: “The first diet cola that doesn’t taste like one.”
While that may be a bit of an exaggeration, the slightly lemony Diet Rite got grudgingly good grades, even fooling some tasters into thinking it was a nondiet drink.
In the also-ran battle of the big boys, Diet Coke was a slight favorite over Diet Pepsi.
Since we served all three of them blind, the real fun was watching people try to guess which brand was which. “That’s what I drink at home, and this isn’t Diet Coke,” one panelist proclaimed, sipping his Diet Coke.
Birds Eye Pasta Secrets, Primavera
Price: $1.50 for 1 pound; makes 2-1/2 (1-cup) servings.
Nutrition: 230 calories (39 percent fat calories); 430 milligrams sodium per serving.
Taste: ***
Value: ****
Comments: “Veggies are crisp, sauce could be a little creamier.” - Ken Peters
“Needs cheese. Flavor harsh.” - Larry Kelly
Green Giant Pasta Accents, Primavera
Price: $2.13 for 1 pound; makes 2-1/2 (1-cup) servings.
Nutrition: 320 calories (34 percent fat calories); 530 milligrams sodium per serving.
Taste: ***
Value: ***
Comments: “Not enough sauce, but the noodles are almost firm enough.” - Helen Span
“It’s kind of shiny and it is making my plate shiny … needs more variety of vegetables … doesn’t taste natural.” - Meagan Coffey
Rosetto Pasta Primavera
Price: $3.53 for 18.5 ounces; makes 3 (1-1/2-cup) servings).
Nutrition: 270 calories (39 percent fat calories); 840 milligrams sodium per serving.
Taste: **
Value: **
Comments: “Very thick, bland sauce with floury taste, bland vegetables but nice variety.” - Karen Buck
“A gummy sauce covering gummy noodles covering gummy vegetables. Blecch!” - Emily Bush
Diet Rite Cola
Price: $2.09 for six (12-ounce) cans.
Nutrition: No calories (no fat); no sodium per can.
Taste: ***
Value: **
Comments: “A touch of lemon, good for a diet cola.” - Madilyn Hutchison Foco
“A diet drink? Surprise! For diet, it’s not bad. But I still wouldn’t buy it.” - Helen Span
Diet Coke
Price: $1.99 for six (12-ounce) cans.
Nutrition: No calories (no fat); 40 milligrams sodium per can.
Taste: **
Value: ***
Comments: “No bubbles. Somewhat sweet. OK taste.” Emily Bush
“There is only one Coke - ‘Classic Coke.’ The others should not be called Coke.” - Bob Bates
Diet Pepsi
Price: $1.99 for six (12-ounce) cans.
Nutrition: No calories (no fat); 35 milligrams sodium per can.
Taste: **
Value: **
Comments: “Awful aftertaste, no cola taste.” - Karen Buck
“This one has an instant diet taste. Too much aftertaste! Yuk!” - Sandi Kessler
, DataTimes MEMO: 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.