Bland Bites From The Sea
Warning: You might wonder if there’s something fishy going on here.
The Reader Food Panel wondered that and more when we dished up three commercially-prepared frozen grilled fish fillets. The distinct lack of fish flavor in all three samples had several members of the panel recalling fish stick stories from their youths.
All three — Van De Kamp’s Lemon Butter Fish Fillets, Gorton’s Grilled Fillets Lemon Butter flavor and Captain’s Choice Grilled Lemon Pepper Fish Fillets — scored relatively low on both the taste and value categories.
Only fractions of points separated the three in the both categories, but Gorton’s squeaked by the other two in taste. Van De Kamp’s came in second and Captain’s Choice brought up the rear.
In value, Van De Kamps inched ahead of Captain’s Choice, followed by the third-place winner, Gorton’s.
Food Panel members were a little more satisfied by the trio of salad dressings served to them in clear plastic cups.
All three were Wishbone varieties, including regular Italian, Just 2 Good Italian and Fat-Free Italian.
The company’s new Just 2 Good variety (“just 2 grams of fat”) pulled away as the winner, followed by the regular variety. And, as with so many fat-free products, the Wishbone Fat-Free Italian fell to last place.
A few members of the panel thought it was possible that the company created the Just 2 Good variety simply by combining the regular and fat-free versions. An unscientific experiment by former food editor Rick Bonino, however, concluded that the mixed blend was close but not quite there.
Gorton’s Grilled Fillets-Lemon Butter
Price: $3.49 for 2 (108 g) fillets
Serving size: 1 fillet
Nutrition: 120 calories, 6 grams fat (45 percent fat calories); 380 milligrams sodium per serving
Taste: ***
Value: **
Comments: “A nice smoky flavor, much moister than others, with a wonderful, light, lemon-butter sauce. Leave the boat in the driveway and save yourself the frustration.” - Skip Hubbard
“Blah - has a burned taste.” - Hilde Schoonover
Van de Kamps Lemon Butter Fish Fillets
Price: $5.59 for 4 (105 g) fillets
Serving size: 1 fillet
Nutrition: 120 calories, 6 grams fat (45 percent fat calories); 190 milligrams sodium per serving
Taste: **
Value: **
Comments: “There’s something nonfishy here. It doesn’t smell like fish or taste like fish … but it looks like fish.” - Tina Johnson
“Needs more seasoning, tastes pretty processed. Are you sure this is real fish?” - Dorey Fairchild
Captain’s Choice Grilled Lemon Pepper Fish Fillets
Price: $2.79 for 2 (108 g) fillets
Serving size: 1 fillet
Nutrition: 100 calories, 3.5 grams fat (31 percent fat calories); 380 milligrams sodium per serving
Taste: **
Value: **
Comments: “Better, but still not good enough to get me to shop in the frozen fish section.” - Larry Inman
“Very salty, rubbery texture. Punish your spouse with this, and you’ll never have to cook again.” - Donald Clegg
Wishbone Just 2 Good Italian Dressing
Price: $2.69 for 16 ounce bottle
Serving size: 2 tablespoons
Nutrition: 35 calories, 2 grams fat (51 percent fat calories); 480 milligrams sodium per serving
Taste: ***
Value: ***
Comments: “Surprising that this light salad dressing is better than the regular. A strong garlic taste makes this a winner.” - Mike Connelly
“Strong garlic flavor. Tangy aftertaste. Excellent salad pick-me-up.” - Dorey Fairchild
Wishbone Italian Dressing
Price: $2.69 for 16 ounce bottle
Serving size: 2 tablespoons
Nutrition: 80 calories, 8 grams fat (90 percent fat calories); 490 milligrams sodium per serving
Taste: **
Value: **
Comments: “The oil coated my lips, my fork and the sides of the plastic cup - too much for me. Quite a tang on the flavor side.” - Skip Hubbard
“A little goes a long way; nice blend of seasonings. Good!” - Larry Inman
Wishbone Fat Free Italian Dressing
Price: $2.69 for 16 ounce bottle
Serving size: 2 tablespoons
Nutrition: 20 calories, 0 grams fat, 390 milligrams sodium
Taste: **
Value: ***
Comments: “Good garlic flavor. Bold flavor without an artificial taste.” Jenny Whittaker
“If you just want to reach in the fridge for a dressing, this would do.” - Donald Clegg