Favorite brands

[Claire]

I started this with the thought of pasta. What brands do you like/dislike? But it got me to thinking. When you go for a name brand of anything, what are your choices. Feel free to mention in-store brands, as long as you mention where you're buying it, because, believe it or not, many people think that what they can buy locally, you can buy "anywhere". Not so. Even some well-known national brands of food products are not distributed to small, remote, midwestern towns, and things that are on every shelf in California and NYC aren't everywhere.

For pasta I generally like Barilla, Mostly because it seems to stand up to re-heating with keeping some "al dente" qualities.

For small elbow/shell macaroni, I like Creamettes.

Publix used to have the best darned canned whole green beans in the universe (OK, I haven't shopped on Mars). They had a very inexpensive store brand, a one step higher, (the ones I loved) and then the national (more expensive) brand names. Oh, dear, no Publix around here, and I'm not sure if they carry them any more.

 

[merstar]

I'm with you on Barilla. When I lived in FL from 1998-2005, I bought the Publix brand, and it was also excellent.

Where I live now, my main supermarket is Harris Teeter, and many of their store brand items are great. They make the best peanut butter I have ever had under their HT Naturals (organic) line. I also love their HT Naturals 1% milk, HT Salsa, HT flavored oils, etc., etc.

Here are some items that I only buy with a particular brand in mind - most, if not all of them are national brands (there are too many to list, but I'll list a few):

Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard
Hellman's Mayonnaise
Gulden's Spicy Brown Mustard
Stubb's Original Barbeque Sauce
Heinz Ketchup
Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Kikkoman Low Sodium Soy Sauce
Swanson Low Sodium Chicken Broth
Cento Roasted Red Peppers

 

[Bolas De Fraile]

I used the Publix at the bottom end of Kendal Drive, it is on par with waitrose over here.The do it yourself coffee grinder was ace and you could get a lot of european food.

 

[Aunt Bea]

I do not use many brand name products but here are a few of my favorites.

Lea and Perrins Worcestershire sauce.
Grandma Brown's baked beans from Mexico, New York.
Claussen refrigerated dill pickles.

I miss S & W Ripe n' Ragged freestone peaches and Smucker's candied dill pickle sticks.

 

[FrankZ]

I love my Breakstone's butter (not the whipped stuff) but I have a hard time finding it (not the whipped stuff).

 

[Steve Kroll]

For dairy, eggs, and butter, I really like Organic Valley. Their pasture butter is tops. Our local megamart, Cub Foods, also has an organic line "Wild Harvest" that I find to be pretty good, too.

Eden Organic, Hodgson Mill, Bob's Red Mill, and Thousand Hills Cattle Company are all brands I buy regularly.

 

[Alix]

I'm picky about very few things. Lard is one. I will only use Tenderflake. I'm also brand loyal to Coke. Most everything else is open to change in our world. I do notice quality differences in products but unless I'm trying to impress someone its not enough to make me change my ways.

 

[merstar]

For dairy, eggs, and butter, I really like Organic Valley. Their pasture butter is tops. Our local megamart, Cub Foods, also has an organic line "Wild Harvest" that I find to be pretty good, too.

Eden Organic, Hodgson Mill, Bob's Red Mill, and Thousand Hills Cattle Company are all brands I buy regularly.

I love Organic Valley and Eden. I won't bake with anything but Organic Valley Unsalted Butter.

 

[Andy M.]

Barilla was a favorite until reducing carbs became important to SO. Now we use Dreamfields.
Pastene for canned tomato products, olives, etc.
Butter - Kirkland
Bacon - Kirkand
Jones - Breakfast sausage
Samuel Adams
Crown Royal
Birds Eye frozen veggies - store brand is awful
Store Brand OJ - Market Basket
JIF
Ghirardelli
Goya products are good stuff
Coca-Cola
etc.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Barilla
Bertolli
Campbell's Tomato Soup
Progresso Soups
Hunt's Catsup
Farman's Pickles
La Costena mexican food line
Lea & Perrins
Kikkoman
and so on...

 

[taxlady]

We usually get Felicetti organic whole grain pasta. It's yummy and Italian. We really, really like BioNaturae pasta, but it's $1 more/500 gr bag. It's so good I start munching it before there is any sauce on it. But, by the time there is a sauce on either of these two delightful pastas, you don't notice the difference.

 

[GLC]

Red Gold brand for most varieties of canned tomatoes.
Muir Glen Organic tomato products when they're on sale.
Contadina for tomato paste.

I don't buy pasta very often (usually make it), but for more exotic forms, Central Market house brand.
Central Market house brand European Style Butter
(Central Market is higher quality outlets of H.E.B. Grocery of Texas. Competitor to Whole Foods.)

Duke's Mayo
King Arthur flours
Colavita brand for fruttato EVOO
Spectrum brand for some cooking oils. Coconut, avocado, sesame.
French Market coffee and chicory.
Roland brand carnaroli rice
Zoe brand Bomba rice
Colorado Spice smoked paprika and some others

Wild Planet Sustainably Caught tuna

 

[merstar]

We usually get Felicetti organic whole grain pasta. It's yummy and Italian. We really, really like BioNaturae pasta, but it's $1 more/500 gr bag. It's so good I start munching it before there is any sauce on it. But, by the time there is a sauce on either of these two delightful pastas, you don't notice the difference.

I love Bionaturae Whole Wheat pasta also, especially their fettuccine. Bionaturae canned whole Tuscan tomatoes is the only kind I'll buy - fantastic. I've never tried Felicetti pasta - I'll have to check in my local health food market.