With warmer weather finally here and the recent demise of my old grill, I once again find myself considering one of the great debates of all time: Is a gas or charcoal grill better?
When it comes to the question of grilling with propane or ...
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The 5 Worst Store Brand Grocery Products
Yes, buying store brands is a great way to save money on your grocery bill -- but the truth is, sometimes you're better off sticking with the name brand product.
Long-time readers who have been following my blog probably know that, since my first ...
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Blind Taste Test: Does Bottled Water Really Taste Better Than Filtered Tap?
Does bottled water taste better than filtered tap? You'd certainly think so, based on the number of people who drink it today.
And that's too bad because, compared to tap water, the bottled stuff is absurdly expensive. It also generates a lot of ...
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Why Premium Gasoline Is a Lot Like Male-Enhancement Drugs
The things I do for this blog in the name of personal finance.
One day last month I got into a lunchtime conversation at work with a contractor who tried to convince me he had good reasons for putting premium gasoline in his Toyota Corolla, the ...
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The Great Paper Towel Test: What Brand Is Your Best Value?
The paper towel is one of the greatest inventions ever and, frankly, I think too many of us take them for granted.
Think about it: They're not only invaluable for cleaning up spills and other messes, but the best ones can also handle tough jobs ...
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My Peanut Butter Taste Test: What 8 Choosy Mothers Really Chose
Before the average American kid gets his high school diploma he or she will supposedly eat 1500 peanut butter sandwiches. That being said, most Americans' passion for peanut butter doesn't stop after childhood.
And in case you're wondering, a ...
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Approximate Energy Costs of Your Home Appliances
Our homes today are loaded with more electronic media and electric appliances than ever before. According to data published by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), US household electricity consumption is expected to grow about 29% from now ...
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The Best Personal Finance Book I’ve Ever Read
It seems like every week I get at least one note in my inbox asking me about personal finance books and a suggestion for which one to buy.
Well ... The other day somebody asked me to recommend a personal finance book they could give to their ...
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My Cola Taste Test: Is Coke Really Better Than Pepsi?
People have been enjoying cola-flavored soft drinks ever since 1886 when the first glasses of Coca-Cola were being served up for five cents each (about $1.44 in today's dollars) at a local Atlanta pharmacy.
Today, soft drinks are a key part of a ...
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Are Gas Clothes Dryers Worth the Extra Money?
People looking to save money on appliances quickly learn that gas dryers typically cost between $75 to $150 more than their electric counterparts, primarily because the components are more expensive; for folks on tight budgets, that price premium can ...
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8 Store Brand Items That Are Superior to Their Name Brand Twins
Even though buying store brands is a great way to save money on your grocery bill, many people refuse to try them because they believe they're automatically inferior to their name brand counterparts.
That can be a costly assumption.
Since my ...
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My Ice Cream Taste Test: Are Haagen-Dazs and Ben & Jerry’s Overrated?
Did you know ice cream has been around since at least the 18th century? It has. And today, the ice cream industry is bigger than ever, churning out hundreds of flavors each year.
In case you're wondering, the four most popular ice cream flavors ...
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My Margarine Taste Test: Which Brand Tastes Most Like Butter?
Did you know margarine was invented in 1869 after a challenge from Emperor Louis Napoleon III, who was looking for a satisfactory low-cost substitute for butter that could be used by commoners and his military? It was.
Over the years, butter ...
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The Honeybee Helps Me Review Blue Apron’s Home Delivery Meal Service
This is a product review for Blue Apron.
Product Overview: Blue Apron is a fresh ingredient and recipe delivery service designed to help home chefs of all skill levels cook creative and tasty meals at home. Each week, Blue Apron does the menu ...
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Taste-Test Experiment: 11 Kids Evaluate Name-Brand vs. Generic Cereals
When it comes to breakfast, kids can be real cereal killers. Unfortunately, for those of us trying to lower our grocery bill, name-brand cereals can be a very expensive proposition.
That got me thinking: Can kids really tell the difference between ...
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My Potato Chip Taste Test: Are Lay’s Really Worth Paying More For?
Potato chips are big business. According to AIB International, over $7 billion of the salty snacks were were consumed in 2009.
It's been reported that over 1.2 billion pounds of potato chips are consumed annually; I know I'm probably good for ten ...
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My BBQ Sauce Taste Test: My Family Bucks Conventional Wisdom (Again)
Depending on who you talk to, barbecue sauces have been around since the days of the American colonies.
Wikipedia claims that the first commercial barbecue sauce appeared around 1909. I know; please don't grill me on my source, folks.
And while most, but not all, barbecue sauces include some secret blend of ketchup, mustard, vinegar, sugar, onion, and garlic, in the United States there are a multitude of different barbecue sauce styles. For example, there's Kansas City, Memphis, Texas and Alabama styles. There's also South Carolina Sauce, East Carolina Mustard Sauce, and even something called a Lexington Dip, which if you ask me, sounds more like a dance move than a barbecue sauce.
Obviously, it's a matter of personal preference, but one thing is certain: there are as many barbecue sauces out there as there are opinions as to which one reigns supreme. If you don't believe me, walk down the barbecue sauce aisle at your local supermarket.
With that in mind, I figured what better reason to conduct yet another of my completely unscientific blind taste-test experiments?
How the Test Was Conducted
As with most of my other taste tests, I recruited a bunch of hungry family members for my expert panel. This time everyone convened in San Diego for a summer cookout at my cousin Kevin's house.
With the panel in place, Kevin and I barbecued up a whole bunch of chicken wings and the candidate sauces were applied from unmarked bowls.
After tasting a slathered barbecue chicken wing, the experts were asked to rank each sauce on a simple four-point scale -- four points for their favorites or as few as one point for those they didn't like at all. The panel was also free to note any accompanying comments they had regarding each sample.
The Expert Panel
Before we get to the results, let's once again meet our distinguished panel of experts:
Aunt Doris
Birthplace: London, England
Age: Unless you're the Queen, it's none of your darn business.
Best advice ever given to her: Shut up! (Doris only gives advice nowadays.)
Dad
Birthplace: Youngstown, Ohio
Age: 74
Best advice ever given to him: Know what your first priority in life is.
Tony
Birthplace: New Haven, Connecticut
Age: 68
Best advice ever given to him: If it sounds too good to be true, then it is.
.
Mom
Birthplace: Youngstown, Ohio
Age: 70
Best advice ever given to her: "I'm so old I don't remember."
Rose
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California
Age: What Aunt Doris said.
Best advice ever given to her: Don't ever get old. (Good luck with that. Right, Mom?)
Kevin
Birthplace: Youngstown, Ohio
Age: 58
Best advice ever given to him: Read the four Gospels. (And for you atheists: measure twice, cut once.)
Chris
Birthplace: Hemet, California
Age: As old as her tongue, but not as old as her teeth.
Best advice ever given to her: Obey God and leave all the consequences to Him.
The Honeybee
Birthplace: Whittier, California
Age: 43
Best advice ever given to her: Your husband Len is always right. (Okay, you got me. I made that one up.)
Evan
Birthplace: Escondido, California
Age: 32
Best advice ever given to him: Never quit!
Matthew
Birthplace: Fontana, California
Age: 14
Best advice ever given to him: Get off the Xbox and go play outside.
Nina
Birthplace: Fontana, California
Age: 11
Best advice ever given to her: Remember to wash your hands.
By the way, for the first time ever, my dog, Major, was unceremoniously left off the tasting panel. Don't worry; he'll get over it.
Introducing The Barbecue Sauce Competitors
While my supermarket had a score of barbecue sauces to choose from, I selected the "Original" varieties of the following seven brands: Bull's-Eye, Hunt's, KC Masterpiece, Jack Daniel's, Tony Roma's, the Albertsons store-brand and, my family's personal favorite, Sweet Baby Ray's.
Here now, in reverse order from worst to first, are the completely unscientific barbecue sauce blind taste test results, based upon the inputs of my expert panel:
7. Sweet Baby Ray's Original Barbecue Sauce
Price per ounce: $0.21
Panel Scoring: 23 points
Average Score (4-point scale): 2.1
Judges Who Gave It a Top Rating: 0
Judges Who Thought It Stunk: 1
Well, this is embarrassing. Apparently, our so-called family favorite isn't quite as good as we thought it was. Even more surprising, not a single panel member ranked this as a top sauce, which is problematic considering it was the second most expensive brand sampled. Ironically, the Honeybee, who usually swears by Ray's, complained that, "it didn't have much flavor." Another self-proclaimed Ray's fan, Kevin, gave it demerits for being sugary. My cousin Evan suggested that the poor rankings were because Sweet Baby Ray's sauce goes better with pork.
6. Albertsons Original Barbecue Sauce
Price per ounce: $0.17
Panel Scoring: 27 points
Average Score (4-point scale): 2.5
Judges Who Gave It a Top Rating: 1
Judges Who Thought It Stunk: 3
Nina was the only member of the panel to give the store-brand sauce a top mark, noting it was "tangy and addictive." You know what? I'm moving on -- I'm still in shock Ray's came in last place.
5. Tony Roma's Original Barbecue Sauce
Price per ounce: $0.19
Panel Scoring: 27 points
Average Score (4-point scale): 2.5
Judges Who Gave It a Top Rating: 4
Judges Who Thought It Stunk: 4
Four members thought enough of Tony Roma's to give the sauce top marks; Chris thought it had a "great barbecue flavor" and Mom praised its "really good taste." But just as many panelists thought otherwise. Kevin ribbed the Tony Roma's barbecue sauce for tasting "artificial, although not bad for colored gelatin." The Honeybee piled on by remarking that it tasted so much like ketchup that it was better-suited for a weenie roast. Then you have my handyman father-in-law, Tony, who summed it more succinctly: "It sucked."
4. KC Masterpiece Original Barbecue Sauce
Price per ounce: $0.19
Panel Scoring: 28 points
Average Score (4-point scale): 2.5
Judges Who Gave It a Top Rating: 1
Judges Who Thought It Stunk: 2
KC Masterpiece is generally recognized as one of the better mainstream barbecue sauces. However, for this test it ended up looking more like, well, just a decent lithograph. The Honeybee was the only panelist to give KC Masterpiece top honors, but Kevin enjoyed the sauce too, noting its pleasing "woody aroma." In a dissenting opinion, however, Chris beefed that the barbecue sauce simply tasted too much like ketchup.
3. Bull's-Eye Original Barbecue Sauce
Price per ounce: $0.19
Panel Scoring: 30 points
Average Score (4-point scale): 2.7
Judges Who Gave It a Top Rating: 2
Judges Who Thought It Stunk: 1
This barbecue sauce got blue ribbons from both my kids. Matthew, in particular, thought the Bull's-Eye brand hit the mark for its "smokey flavor."
2. Jack Daniel's Original Barbecue Sauce
Price per ounce: $0.22 (the most expensive of all brands tested)
Panel Scoring: 30 points
Average Score (4-point scale): 2.7
Judges Who Gave It a Top Rating: 5
Judges Who Thought It Stunk: 3
Jack Daniel's barbecue sauce is manufactured by Heinz, and it got more top-scores than any of the other competitors. Nina noted that she would give it a higher score if she could. Meanwhile, both Aunt Doris and the Honeybee -- who coincidentally happens to a big fan of Jack Daniel's whiskey -- praised JD's barbecue sauce for its distinctive hickory flavor. Interestingly, those who didn't like the Jack Daniel's sauce dinged it for being just a bit too hickory flavored.
1. Hunt's Original Barbecue Sauce
Price per ounce: $0.11 (the least expensive of all brands tested)
Panel Scoring: 32 points
Average Score (4-point scale): 2.9
Judges Who Gave It a Top Rating: 4
Judges Who Thought It Stunk: 1
Ah, the grill of victory! Incredibly, as with my ketchup taste test, the least expensive brand in the survey once again came out on top. Evan thought the Hunt's had a delicious sweetness to it. Rose agreed, giving it top marks for being "sweet, but not overly so." Dad liked Hunt's savory mix of spices, Kevin thought it was "perfect," and Tony thought it had a "great BBQ flavor." The only one who flat out didn't like the Hunt's was Nina, who remarked that the flavor was "just wrong."
I Know What You're Thinking ...
Hunt's barbecue sauce? Are you kidding me?
Say what you will about this experiment's unscientific methods, but it was a fair fight. After all, the blind taste test goes a long way toward eliminating preconceived notions and biases that would otherwise subtly influence the panel members' decisions.
Is Hunt's barbecue sauce "sexy?" Um, no. But in the end, Hunt's was not only the least expensive brand of all those sampled, but my expert panel also found it to be the best tasting barbecue sauce of them all -- and that's good enough for me.
Photo Credit: Public Domain Photos ...
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My Ketchup Taste-Test: Upset! Guess Which Brand Topped Heinz
Ketchup is the most popular condiment in the United States, and if you ask one hundred people what their favorite brand is, ninety-nine will usually say Heinz. As for the other guy, he'll simply say he doesn't like ketchup, period. It's true.
Then ...
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My Store-Brand vs. Name-Brand Blind Taste-Test Experiment #3
Okay. If you are a regular reader here you know the drill by now, so feel free to skip to the juicy parts!
Are name-brand groceries really worth the extra cost when alternative cheaper store-brand groceries are available? More specifically, when ...
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My Store-Brand vs. Name-Brand Blind Taste-Test Experiment #2
Are name-brand groceries really worth the extra cost when alternative cheaper store-brand groceries are available? More specifically, when it comes to edible products, does the quality and taste of name-brand products always justify the price premium ...
Continue reading My Store-Brand vs. Name-Brand Blind Taste-Test Experiment #2