How about favorite brands of food?

[mudbug]

I'm thinking about products from the grocery store..

Hummm....

Mrs Renfro's Green Salsa
Farmland Bacon
Pepperidge Farm
Krunchers Jalapeno Chips
BBQ Baked Lays

[Mezzaluna]

Kikkoman soy sauce
Uncle Ben's long grain rice
Land O Lakes butter
Skippy peanut butter (chunky or smooth)
Philadelphia cream cheese
Red Gold canned tomatoes

[shroomgirl]

OK I assume you mean mainstream grocery
Volpi's proscuitto and pancetta
Barilla pastas
Plugra (Keller's) butter or LOL
Alta Dena vanilla yogurt (like custard!!!)
Guinnes
Manda meats out of La. they have another name here....
Fresh cut and Red Gold Tomatoes
Amy's pizza (hey I have 3 boys)

[Dlee]

Kelloges...anything...and whole milk. For after work

[mudbug]

Mezzaluna, I am curious about your entry "Kikkoman soy sauce"

Why?

[Mezzaluna]

I just like it. Also, it's a Wisconsin product, believe it or not, made in Walworth not far from my town. This is soybean country as well as cheese country. Bottom line is, I haven't tasted many brands but like Kikkoman best. What are your thoughts?

[mudbug]

Well, let's just say what when I moved away from home years ago, my mother told me two things.

1. Instructions on how to use a rice cooker.

2. "Never use Kikkoman."

But hey, you should support your local soy sauce!

There is a particular brand you can find in asian groceries that she used and that I use. If you're interested, I'll let you know.

[Katherine]

Usually the less well known brands of soy sauce have more flavor. All the big US brands are made using more wheat and less soy, which is where the flavor comes from. If you can find one in the natural foods section labeled either "shoyu" or "tamari" they will be higher in quality than mass-produced varieties. Any brand imported from Japan that has bilingual labeling is probably higher in quality, too.

[Chef David Simpson]

California Cheese!!!!!!!!! I love cheese, all kinds of cheese.
I made some alba truffle cheese once, about three pounds.

McCormick/Schilling spices are generally pretty good quality for daily cooking at home, although I'm finding that I order more and more stuff from Penzey's. Their Vietnamese cinnamon is awesome, and they have some of the more esoteric items as well.

Pepperidge Farm's puff pastry is a life saver. I certainly isn't as good as freshly made, but I just don't have the time. Land o' Lakes butter is the best local grocery-store butter in the area, and I use Progresso canned tomato products when I run out of tomatoes that my husband has canned (this year was a b-a-a-a-d year for tomatoes in Md., so I better get used to using store-bought!)

[Mezzaluna]

Oh, yeah- Penzey's! I live about 12 minutes from their store. Am I lucky, or what? Their Dalmatian sage is out of this world. I have a bone to pick with their herbes de Provence, though. They add lavendar, and I'm not fond of that in my HDP mix. The stuff I've bought in France (which is now long gone) didn't contain lavendar, so I wonder why it's in there.

[mudbug]

Herbes de Provence is a blend of dried herbs typical of the Provence region of France which is why recipes for it vary so widely.

It includes savory, thyme, marjoram, rosemary and sage, and other herbs, such as oregano, fennel seed, lavender and/or basil may also be added.

I love Goya products from Miami.
I have them imported to the Pacific NW (Portland)
Also Tillamook cheese.
Rosarita refried beans.. Yum
Danielle

[Live_to_cook]

Second that on Goya products, particularly the chipotle peppers (smoked jalapenos) in adobe sauce and canned black beans.

CHAOKOH canned coconut milk for your Thai curries and other coconut milk needs... tried them all twice, there's no comparison

Barilla red pepper and basil pasta sauce... you'd think it never met a jar...

[cookM]

Lay's Potato Chips
Rosarita Vegetarian Refried Beans
Mi Rancho Tortillas
Native Fire Roasted Red Salsa
Republic of Tea's "Tea of Inquiry" (stupid name, but I love it)
Alvarado St. Bread
Que Pasa Corn Chips (organic and GMO free)
Kellogg's Strawberry pop tarts (no frosting!)
Eden's Pizza/Pasta Sauce (organic!)
Muir Glen's tomato products
Orville Redenbacher popcorn
Ben & Jerry's