The October issue of Cooking Light features the consumer magazine’s first-ever Taste Test Awards – "The Tasties." The editors tested 200 food products and came up with the best-tasting winners in 32 categories. Twenty-six of the categories feature grocery store products while six showcase artisanal products.
The artisanal honorees include some past Best in Show winners at the American Cheese Society Conference and some silver sofi finalists from the National Association of the Specialty Food Trade’s annual product awards. The grocery winners included private-label items from Whole Foods Market, Tree of Life and Target.
In each category, one Grand Prize Winner (GPW) is selected as well as one or more Taste Test Award Winners (TTA).
The 2010 Taste Test Award Artisanal Winners:
CHEESE
Leelanau Cheese Company Raclette, Michigan
Cellars at Jasper Hill Cabot Clothbound Cheddar, Vermont
Beecher's 4-Year Aged Flagship Cheddar, Washington
Meadow Creek Dairy Appalachian Semi-Soft Raw Cow's Milk, Virginia
Sweetwoods Aged Goat Cheese, New Mexico
CONDIMENTS
Lattin Farms Cantaloupe Jam, Nevada
Sticky Finger Bakeries Orange Curd, Washington
Breezie Maples Farm Maple Syrup, New York
Farmer's Daughter Hyderabadi Tomato Chutney, North Carolina
Hay River Pumpkin Seed Oil, Wisconsin
La Nogalera Walnut Oil, California
MEAT
Turner Ham House Country Ham, Virginia
Tall Grass Buffalo Jerky, South Dakota
Pork on a Fork Cottage Shoulder Cut Bacon, Arizona
Boccalone Nduja, California
Salumeria Biellese Wild Boar Sopressata, New York
SPIRITS AND BEERS
Corsair Artisan Gin, Tennessee
Blue Corn Brewery Transcendental Tripel, New Mexico
Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey, Colorado
Death's Door Gin, Wisconsin
SWEETS
Salem Baking Co's Ginger Spice Moravian Cookies, North Carolina
Effie's Homemade Corncakes, Massachusetts
Sweet Margy Tofikomin, Illinois
Alma Chocolate Icons, Oregon
Chocolat Handmade Chocolates, Utah
THE BEST OF THE REST
Brooklyn Brine Co. Fennel Beets, New York
McClure's Spicy Bloody Mary Mix, Michigan
Freddy Guys Dry Roasted Hazelnuts, Oregon
Early Bird Aloha Recipe Granola, New York
Chimay Red Chile Powder, New Mexico
Jeni's Cherry Lambic Sorbet, Ohio
The Bamboo Ladies Bamboo Pickles, North Carolina
Belle Chevre Belle and The Bees Breakfast Cheese, Alabama
Cajun Grain Brown Jasmine Rice, Louisiana
Massa Organics Crunchy Almond Butter, California
The 2010 Taste Test Award Grocery Winners:
BEANS, Cannellini:
GPW: Progresso
TTA: Goya
BUTTER, Salted Gourmet:
GPW: Organic Valley
TTA: Lurpak
TTA: Chimay
BREAD, 100% Whole Wheat:
GPW: Rudi's Organic Bakery
TTA: Whole Foods Organic
BUTTER, Unsalted Everyday:
GPW: Target Market Pantry
TTA: Borden
TTA: Whole Foods 365 Organic
TTA: Wal-Mart Great Value
CEREAL, Raisin Bran:
GPW: Kellogg's Raisin Bran
TTA: Fiber One Raisin Bran Clusters
GRANOLA, Oat and Honey:
GPW: Cascadian Farms Organic
TTA: Whole Foods 365 Organic
TTA: Quaker Natural
HUMMUS:
GPW: Tribe Classic
TTA: Athenos Original
ICE CREAM, Light Vanilla:
GPW: Turkey Hill Vanilla Bean
TTA: Edy's Slow-Churned
MAYONNAISE, Canola:
GPW: Hellmann's
TTA: Whole Foods 365
PIZZA, Frozen Margherita:
GPW: Tandoor Chef Naan Pizza
TTA: Amy's Kitchen
POPCORN, Light Microwave:
GPW: Newman's Own 94% Fat Free
TTA: Smart Balance Light Butter
TTA: Act II 94% Fat Free Butter
RICE, Long-Grain Brown:
GPW: Lundberg Family Farms
TTA: Arrowhead Mills Organic
RICE, Boil-in-Bag Brown:
GPW: Uncle Ben's
TTA: Success
SALSA, Mild Tomato:
GPW: Green Mountain Gringo
TTA: Frontera
TTA: Organicville
SAUSAGE, Chicken and Apple:
GPW: Lou's Famous
TTA: Al Fresco Sweet Apple
SPAGHETTI, Whole Wheat:
GPW: Gia Russa
TTA: Racconto
TTA: Target Archer Farms
SOUP, Reduced-Sodium Chicken Noodle:
GPW: Progresso
TTA: Campbell's Select Harvest
SOUR CREAM, Light:
GPW: Daisy
TTA: Organic Valley
TTA: Target Market Pantry
SOY MILK, Plain, Light:
GPW: Target Archer Farms
TTA: Silk
SOY SAUCE, Lower-Sodium:
GPW: Kikkoman
TTA: Target Market Pantry
TOFU, Firm:
GPW: Melissa's Organic
TTA: Nasoya Organic
TTA: Tree of Life
TOMATOES, Diced, No-Salt-Added:
GPW: Del Monte
TTA: Whole Foods 365 Organic
TORTILLA CHIPS, 100% Yellow Corn:
GPW: Target Archer Farms Organic
TTA: Tostitos Natural
TUNA, Albacore Packed in Water:
GPW: Whole Foods 365
TTA: Crown Prince Natural
TUNA, Gourmet, Packed in Oil:
GPW: Ortiz Bonito del Norte
TTA: Cento
YOGURT, Plain, Nonfat Greek:
GPW: Fage
TTA: Chobani
TTA: Voskos Organic
"Our staff spent most of the last year tasting American grocery and artisanal foods for our awards," says Editor Scott Mowbray. "We ate our way through bread, cereal, and hummus to find products that we felt deserved recognition. We added the artisanal categories because there is so much exciting action in the world of handmade food right now."
To qualify in the grocery categories, foods had to be available in major markets nationwide. Cooking Light vetted products against nutrition standards, eliminating those that contained artificial trans fats, too much salt, or artificial sugars. Some great tasting, higher-fat items are on the list because of their superior quality. The editors blind tasted the finalists.
About Cooking Light
Cooking Light is the nation's number one epicurean brand with the largest audience, most epicurean editorial and the most recipes. Founded in 1987, Cooking Light makes healthy food taste great. Each month, nearly 12 million readers turn to Cooking Light and cookinglight.com for innovative recipes; nutrition advice and food and fitness tips. Cooking Light is published by a subsidiary of Birmingham, Alabama-based Southern Progress Corporation.
SOURCE Cooking Light
