What generic brand of food do you like better than the brand name one?

Generic blueberry poptarts are always better to me. I don’t know why.

Cream cheese. I was a longtime Philadelphia fan, but once I decided that my budget only allowed me to buy the no name brand, I was amazed to find that I liked the taste better. It seems a little less sweet, somehow, so the flavour of the cheese is a bit more distinct.

I like some generic cereals, poptarts, and cake mixes. To me, it feels like you can add things to them, or take out the pieces you don’t like. With name-brand foods, I feel like someone is handing me a cake and telling me that I have to eat it like that. Like I have a bit more freedom with what I eat.
I’ve always associated name-brand foods with snooty people, because those are the kinds of people I see buying them. Snooty people don’t like it when you change things up (from what I’ve seen) and I honestly don’t like that, it makes me feel less of a person.
So name-brand foods feel like that, I guess.

Yep, a lot of us are convinced that brand name are better tasting, when really habit dictates things on top of advertising that is leading us by the nose.

The Dollar Tree in my area carries fudge striped shortbread cookies that are much better than the ones those little elves make. (Yes, I shop at the $ store.)

@mambo Weird coincidence! I just bought generic blueberry pop tarts for the first time yesterday. My daughter had one this morning and went on about how much better it was.

@Supacase, believe it or not, I’m just heading out the door to go to Dollar Tree!

Peanut-butter and grapefruit juice.
The famous ones are always too sweet.

I make almost all my food fresh, so I guess that makes it ‘generic’? Buying meat from the local butcher doesn’t really count as a brand, does it?
I’ve now started making my own peanut-butter…. using generic peanuts of course!

Actually the only ‘branded’ things I have right now (that aren’t alcohol) are condiments.
Oh, I drink “Taylors of Harrogate Yorkshire Tea” which I guess is a brand…
I also drink Earl Grey, but I drink such vast quantities that I usually buy a supermarket ‘generic’ brand (Tesco ‘finest’), which is a cheap and generally alright. My favourite has to be Ahmad Tea’s Earl Grey though, loose.

My Chinese stuff is usually Lee Kum Kee (HK) or Lao Gan Ma (ZH), but I have a few other random Chinese brands I know nothing about.

Lea & Perrins make the best Worcestershire Sauce, but there is a less famous alternative made in Sheffield that I like too (Henderson’s Relish)... which has the added advantage of being vegan-friendly

I don’t think generic Marmite exists, does it?

Well, after I discovered the dog food sold in my local ranch supply store ( $14/40lb) is made by Hills (Science Diet), I made a much more conscious effort to evaluate on taste rather than status in my own foods.

In my experience, Albertson’s brand of onion soup mix is so much better than Lipton’s at half the price that people at work actually ask me for the recipe when I bring in that simplest of dips.

I honestly can’t really think of any generic brand food that I like better than name brand food. I like sushi from the grocery store, so maybe that counts? A lot of my diet is made up of fresh produce, so it can’t really be “generic” or “name brand”, but pretty much anything that I eat that has a brand is name brand.

@BBawlight Does that make me snooty?

When I was a kid I liked Giant supermarket English muffins better than Thomas’. I have no idea if the Giant ones are still the same, but if they are I would name them as one thing I like better.

I like Kroger frozen mini cheese raviolis just as well as Rosetto. Some Kroger cereals are good, I don’t think I would say better, but good. Corn flakes and frosted corn flakes seem to be the best. Kroger frozen lemon herb chicken breasts and their frozen teriyaki chicken breasts are very good, I don’t even bother trying a brand in those. However, most Kroger products are terrible. I have been dissappointed way more often then satisfied.

Some of Target brand Archer Farms frozen specialty pizzas are delicious. When I am in the mood for that type of frozen pizza that would be my first choice. Target self-rising pizza are also good, but that is not what I would usually buy for myself, but it is my husband’s preference.

@Supacase Your daughter has great taste. Generic blueberry poptarts are the best. I think the difference is the crust. It is airy and delicious. Also, they tend to thicken the icing part. Yum.

Shredded wheat

Ketchup. Heinz is very sweet. I like the generic and/or store brands better. They taste more like tomato.

I like some generic brands as much as I like the name brand version, but I don’t know if I’d say I like them better than the name brand. My grocery store’s brand (Weis) makes some good tortilla chips and spaghetti sauce that is just as good as Prego (which surprised me). But generic canned vegetables seem to never be any good.

@augustlan So true about the veggies. It is often true about frozen veg also. They use ends of beans that would not go into the brand containers, and less plump pieces of corn, things like that. Even the flavor is not as good with whatever brine or syrup they are using to pack it.

Our local grocery, Publix, has awesome store brand stuff. They have a whole natural and organic line as well. Less expensive and often better quality than the “name brand” stuff.

The only time I buy name brand is when it’s a BOGO deal or I have some awesome coupons.

I prefer specifically store brand sodas. The diet sodas are made with Splenda, which doesn’t have that weird aspartame aftertaste.

Since our tap water is so bad (well water with stupid high iron and sulfur content. Blech) we buy a lot of bottled water. $.60 a gallon saved is awesome. I usually buy four gallon bottles of water every two weeks, and then refill them at the $.20 a gallon machine a few times.

@Seek_Kolinahr I didn’t know FL has high iron content in the water? The water is disgusting, but I need the iron. I am assuming the filters remove iron. Hmmm. Very interesting. I am going to look into that.

Depends on where you are. The water in Land O Lakes was awesome – we drew from the same spring as Zephyrhills bottled water. Five miles south, in Lutz, I don’t even like showering in this sludge. And that’s after it’s filtered.

I wouldn’t eat a brand name Pop Tart unless I had no other food. But it’s a constant temptation to resist store brand pop tarts (strawberry) every time I go shopping.

I’ll usually buy generic everything unless the brand name item is on sale. One of my favorites is a gallon jug of medium or hot salsa for about $3.

@BBawlight I don’t know about snooty, I think it might be about needing security.

@glacial what is the name of the generic cream cheese?

@flo It was literally the no name brand.

@flo It’s from my experience, so it’s not all that accurate, I know.

@BBawlight well, there are people who don’t associate with anything poor-related in appearance, so I guess you’re referring to them.

@glacial I know that brand. I have never had abad experience with it. I have to try the cream cheese

Oh man. I just discovered Harris Teeter’s roasted nuts. Their imitation of Planters roasted peanuts is way better and it’s even vegan! (The brand name has gelatin in it.) Huzzah!