[li]Best Foods/Hellman’s Mayonnaise[/li]
[li]Coleman’s English Mustard[/li]
[li]Claussen’s Dill Pickles[/li]
[li]Kasper’s Hot Dogs[/li]
[li]Heinz Ketchup[/li]
[li]Lousiana Crystal Hot Sauce[/li]
[li]Las Palmas Green Enchilada Sauce[/li]
[li]Jimmy Dean Silver Label Sage Recipe Sausage[/li]
[li]Golden Grain Marinara Sauce[/li]
[li]Crosse & Blackwell’s Seafood Sauce[/li]
[li]Herdez Salsa Casera[/li]
[li]Thomas’ English Muffins[/li]
[li]Mrs. Fanning’s Bread & Butter Pickles[/li]
[li]Lousiana Green Jalapeño Hot Sauce[/li]
[li]Talk O’ Texas Pickled Okra[/li]
[li]Zatarain’s Creole Mustard[/li]
[li]Smints[/li]
[li]Stimirol Chewing Gum[/li]
[li]Doritos[/li]
Real Maple Syrup
The soap must be Doctor Bronner’s.
The mints must be Altoids.
The beef must be beef. It pisses me off when I get home and read the small lettering on the label: PRODUCT OF NEPAL. Fuck, I hate yak!
Don Quixote, you da man. Beaks rock!
I could not agree more. This is by far my most steadfast brand loyalty. Even when my college student budget was at its lowest point, I would not sway from Jif.
Jelly: Welch’s grape
BBQ Sauce: Open Pit
OJ: Whichever brand of Tropicana isn’t from concentrate
Mac & Cheese: Kraft
Mayo: Hellman’s
Crackers: Ritz
Shampoo: Paul Mitchell’s awapuhi (an expensive loyalty)
If I can afford it, I’ll always get Barilla pasta and meat from the deli.
And I’m sorry JuanitaTech, but Lunchables are an abomination against mankind. They might as well call them “Preservables” because all they are is perservatives made to look like meat and cheese.
Have either of you tried freshly ground peanut butter from a health food store? Most places have a grinding machine where you can grind your own. It’s the best! No added sugar, just fresh, yummy peanuts.
Actually, SNenc, I’m with you on this:
But since the rest of my family (who seem to only eat processed foods) got him hooked on Lunchables, I cave twice a month and get them for him.
I have to say one thing about store-brand sodas…most of the flavours may suck, but the root beer is usually just as good as name brands.
Now that generic EVERYTHING is not a necessity due to a miniscule wallet/purse, we do get to be more brand specific for the products we really love.
Count me in with the Heinz Ketchup folks. While it does sound odd, the Hunts IS too tomatoey (as someone else said)…if I wanted that flavor, I’d use canned tomato paste.
Haven’t seen it yet, but let me say it–there is only one chocolate sandwich cookie–Oreo. Anything else is a sick shadow of the original.
Coke or at times Pepsi, but not generic cola beverages.
I also agree on the Pop-Tarts; although PLD and I can only eat the non-frosted due to gelatin in the frosted varieties (boo!). I don’t really eat or buy them anymore, but Hostess Twinkies are the last word in cream-filled sponge-cakes and if its an oatmeal creme pie, it has to be Little Debbie.
We don’t buy many canned veggies, but for canned fruits, if/when we buy 'em, don’t care if its Dole, Del Monte or Hunts as long as its not generic (they don’t clean them as well, imho). Name brand chocolate–whether in candy or chip form–is usually a better quality. I’m not permitted to buy anything by real mayo (Kraft or Best/Hellman’s); Miracle Whip is not an acceptable alternative.
Not a name-brand products exactly…(but since others have expanded the OP, I will as well), but it relates to the generic mindframe. I never eat just iceberg lettuce anymore–I always use a blend/variety of greens. I don’t buy regular tomatoes–only on the vine or vine ripened. They just taste better and if you’re going to use calories up, better make it worth it–as long as its not too outrageously priced! 
I think the appeal of Kraft grated parmesan is the fluffy, powdery texture. Fresh parmesan is often shredded into those little stringy things. Better taste, poorer texture.
But if you take your Kitchenaid machine, put on the fine shredding cone, and feed slow at high speed, you can get the same fluffy powder from your parmesan block. Plus, the blocks I get cost half as much per pound as the Kraft.
Incidentally, I once tried the Kraft Fat-Free Parmesan [obscure joke coming up] It tasted like grated umbrella handles.[/obscure joke]
I do drink fat-free milk, but most of the rest of the fat-free stuff on the market is abominable!! What a magnificent marketing ploy!! My own father feels virtuous because he eats turkey bacon - but he fries it in olive oil! He’ll wolf down a huge bowl of pseudo-ice cream because it’s “fat-free” or eat boxes of fat-free snack foods… then wonder why he’s still overweight!
Sorry… off-topic rant…
Still, after one ill-advised purchase of fat-free salad dressing, I decided to stick with the real stuff.
I have a long, complicated system with store brand or generic products. I know which ones are good or acceptable or terrible depending on the store I’m at.
There are several items which are never acceptable no matter where I’m at. I always buy liquid Tide with Bleach and Ultra Downey. Never mess around with laundry products. I also never, ever buy knock off Doritos. Or generic chip dip. I’ve had good luck with generic Italian dressing, but the Coleslaw dressing has to be Kraft. Ummm… feminine hygiene products have to be name brand. I’m sure there’s more, but I’m too tired to think of them.
Soy Sauce must be Kikkoman.
The others are ginger flavored salt water. The worst is when restaurants put off-brand soy sauce in the Kikkoman dispensers. I hate that!
You should try the Giant brand 'sketti sauce sometime. It’s pretty good. It’s not thick and chunky, like Ragu, but I prefer thinner sauce, especially for lasagna or ziti.
Hunt’s (in the tall can) is good, too.
Giant brand ice cream is pretty good, too. I buy the half-gallons, in that plastic white box with the blue lid. I think it stays fresher than the cardboard containers.
**
Yep. Jif, extra crunchy. Nothing else is acceptable. I don’t even like that fresh-ground PB from the health food stores.
Toilet paper must be Scott’s.
Mayo must be Hellman’s.
Parmesan must be in block form, not that grated powdered crap.
Cereals must be brand names; Kellog’s, General Mills, etc. Store brands or those bagged cereals are just soooooo bad.
Syrup can be either Log Cabin or Mrs. Butterworth’s. Store brands are just sickly-sweet.
I aspire to be a food snob, but I have to say that plain ol’ Oreos are very very good! I think the secret is that they don’t try to make the cookies too sweet like the off-brands do - they’re actually slightly bitter without being acrid. And do I detect a slight note of coffee? Oreos and cold milk - a winning combination.
I also would like to second the vote for maple syrup. I don’t know which level of hell “artificially maple-flavored syrup” comes from, but it should return there.
I’m frightened, but I must ask: What are “hot dogs ‘n’ eggs?”
I buy most of my groceries now at Wally World. I live in VA and can’t afford Ukrops. I hate Food Lion. I buy store brands on certain things. Ketsup for one. I used to only buy Heiz but I never eat the stuff and my son can’t tell the difference so he gets Sam’s brand. Things I don’t compromise on:
Soy Sauce and Teriyaki must be Kikoman.
Mayo must be Duke’s…I think that’s a Southern thing.
Coffee must be fresh ground specialty or Maxwell House. I do not like Folger’s either.
Cereal has to be name brand, the kids won’t eat that crap in the bag.
Pop Tarts have to be Pop Tarts, no Toastems, they won’t eat them.
Needs2know
Brown bottles, white label, one word: Beer, $5/case
Couldn’t imagine being that thirsty, not even when I was in college (and we drank a lot of shitty beer in college).
BLASPHEMY!
Henry Wienhard’s root beer is the ONLY way to go
i am a huge, giant brand whore. ketchup, catsup, soda, flour, spices - everything must packaged with a familiar name and color scheme.
the ONLY exception to this is marshmellow maties, which is the cereal-in-a-bag version of lucky charms. they taste just as good, lots of marshmellows, and the spokesperson is a pirate. i would by poison ivy toilet paper if it were hawked by a pirate.
I cannot and will not eat the margarine we get, unless it is PARKAY, because someone at my house insists on* I can’t believe it’s not butter!* YUCKY YUCKY STUFF!
American cheese? Not on my sawbuck you aren’t!!! Provolone, Swiss, Cheddar, Colby Jack or even Mozzarella on my sandwich, american cheeze is just nasty.
I prefer Pepsi, Tide, Downy, Jif, Lysol, Aunt Millies cracked wheat, Cinnamon toast crunch, Nuevo Leon tortilla chips, Sunchips, and Arizona tea.
Haven’t any of you had Stewart’s root beer and Creamsoda?
Mac and Cheese-must be Kraft-anything else is vile!
Oreos-must be real (Won’t even eat the Ben and Jerry’s ice cream since they changed the cookies).
Mayonnaise-Miracle Whip
Ketchup-Heinz