Milk Chocolate
Flavor and creaminess defined our favorites among 10 brands.
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Potato Chips
There are endless chip varieties and flavors, but which bag of plain chips should the purist reach for?
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Barbecue Sauce
In one supermarket, we found more than 30 varieties of barbecue sauce. In the end, we found a few brands that came pretty close to homemade.
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Salsas
Can jarred salsas make a decent alternative to homemade?
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Orange Juice
High-end orange juices claim to taste better and fresher than ordinary
not-from-concentrates. At twice the price, are they a sweet deal?
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Jarred Pasta Sauce
Just as important as what our tasters did like—good tomato flavor and a chunky texture—was what they didn't like: overpowering dried herb flavor.
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Cheddar Cheese
Supermarket cheddar cheeses can be pale imitations of authentic farmhouse cheddars, but they are cheap and widely available. Some are even worth eating.
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Hot Dogs
Americans spend $1.5 billion on store-bought hot dogs. We compiled a 20-person tasting panel to determine where that money should be spent.
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Pie Crusts
While tasters didn't find any store-bought crusts comparable to homemade, they thought one would do in a pinch.
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Maple and Pancake Syrup
Does it pay to buy the priciest syrup in the aisle—and does it even need to be real maple?
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Tartar Sauce
The best tartar sauce should be creamy and balanced—and definitely not gloppy.
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Boxed Brownie Mixes
Do any come close to homemade?
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Iced Tea
Do specialty packages blended specifically for iced tea really make a better pitcher than a chilled-down version of the old-fashioned stuff?
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Frozen Dinner Rolls
How often do you really have the time to bake a yeast roll from scratch?
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Whole Wheat Bread
Our tasters wanted wheat, not sweetness.
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Fresh Lemon Substitutes
We found two emergency substitutions.
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Coarse-Grain Mustard
Coarse-grain mustard is considered by many a must for grilled sausage or a ham sandwich. Which one should you buy?
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Microwave Popcorn
Americans spend over $1 billion annually on unpopped popcorn kernels. Is there a brand of microwave popcorn that can come close to homemade popcorn?
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Low-Fat Strawberry Yogurt
What’s the key to great strawberry yogurt? Surprise—strawberries!
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Bottled Iced Teas with Lemon
We were looking for iced teas that actually tasted like tea. Could any deliver?
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Hot Cocoa
We found a surprising result—hot cocoa can be too sweet.
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Bottled Barbecue Sauces
The sweeter the better—as long as molasses is in the mix.
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Canned Baked Beans
A sweet discovery helped us see which baked beans are best.
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Decaffeinated Coffees
Has grocery store decaf coffee improved as much as the high-octane stuff in recent years? Or is that asking for the moon?
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Canned Chicken Noodle Soup
Our winners had two things in common: plenty of salt and MSG.
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