Tag Archives: subtle

It’s Taste Test Time!

There are certain brands that I always buy or order because I think that they are superior. But am I just being blindly loyal or do I really think they are the best? The only way to know is to compare them with their competitors in a blind taste test. *Harry and I did not taste anything in the same order.

We started with the chocolate (milk chocolate). I was looking forward to this the most, but I have to say, it was too much of a good thing. They all tasted fairly similar, and none really stood out in a good (or bad) way.

Godiva
Harry: not as creamy as the others
Michelle: creamy, sweet and chocolatey tasting, but in a generic way. My second favorite.

See’s
Harry: had a nutty taste (like hazelnuts or walnuts), kinda weird
Michelle: Reminds me of walnuts, has a hint of cocoa

Ghiradelli
Harry: he thought this tasted the same as the Trader Joe’s chocolate
Michelle: Has a really sweet aftertaste, too sweet. My least favorite

Trader Joe’s
Harry: same as the Ghiradelli
Michelle: has a little bit of saltiness, a chocolate aftertaste, very sweet

Hershey
Harry: not as milky as the others, but is more chocolatey
Michelle: This is Hershey’s, maybe my favorite, has a very subtle grittiness

Cadbury
Harry: Tastes less sweet than the others
Michelle: Mellow, very sweet, tastes like a chocolate Easter bunny, has a hazelnut aftertaste

Lindt
Harry: Has a caramel taste. Not my favorite.
Michelle: Creamy and sweet, very melty in the mouth

Dove
Harry: Less milky and more chocolatey, just chocolate
Michelle: I like the texture, a little sweet, maybe the most chocolatey

And the winners?

Harry – couldn’t pick one. They all tasted alike to him.

Michelle – Hershey’s. I could identify it right off the bat (so did Harry). I’m surprised one of the higher end bars didn’t come in first.


Next up were the cheesy poofs. I know, I don’t like cheese, but it’s okay on popcorn or a poof.
I think it’s a texture thing.

Cheetos
Harry: Cheesy. Poofy. Salty. This is my favorite.
Michelle: Cheesy all the way through.

Trader Joe’s (reduced fat)
Harry: Has a mild cheesy taste
Michelle: Has a milky taste, really sticks in your teeth

Little Bear
Harry: Most bland of all. It’s like a puff of air.
Michelle: No cheese taste at all. It tastes like a corn puff.

Safeway
Harry: Saltiness upfront, Some cheesy taste. My 2nd favorite.
Michelle: Has an upfront cheesy taste, You can taste the corn, is salty, probably my favorite

Smart Puff
Harry: Almost no cheese taste, has a hint of pepper
Michelle: Is very light, dissolves quickly into nothing, has a slight hint of cheese

Which was the best?

Michelle – I picked the Safeway brand

Harry picked the Cheetos brand. And though the Smart puffs didn’t taste very cheesy at all, we liked those to snack on.


We saved the “champagne” for last (we know it’s really sparkling wine, but we haven’t won the lottery to splurge on 5 bottles of the real stuff. So just play along). We’re also not “champagne” people (and especially not Brut – but it was only kind I could find enough varieties of). This may explain the following results.

Woodbridge
Harry: Thought this and the Chandon tasted the same.
Michelle: Bitter, very bitter. I don’t like it.

Chandon
Harry: See above
Michelle: It’s bitter and sour, middle of the road. I don’t like it.

Korbel
Harry: Thought it was similar to the Woodbridge and Chandon, but a little mellower.
Michelle: It’s bitter and has a sour taste. It’s my 2nd least favorite. I don’t like it.

Tott’s
Harry: Has a fruity taste, It’s the most mellow of them all.
Michelle: It’s bitter, but has a fruity taste up front. I don’t like it, but it’s the best of the bunch.

Cook’s (Harry had a devil of a time getting the damn cork out of this one)
Harry: Has a skunky smell. And a skunky taste. It’s my least favorite.
Michelle: Is bitter. Has a weird taste, Ew. I don’t like it. It’s my least favorite.

And the winners?

Harry – The Tott’s.

Michelle – They were all gross, but if I had to pick the least disgusting, it would be the Tott’s.

Do you have any ideas of how to make our leftover “champagne” more drinkable? Let us know in the comments and join us next time in the test kitchen as we taste the letter “T”!

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C&R Fight Club: STEPHEN HAWKING vs. TY CONE!

Welcome to Cocky & Rude Fight Club!  The rules to the game are simple.  Each week we’ll introduce our fighters.  We’ll do the leg work and help you analyze their strengths and weaknesses.  Then we’ll put the results to vote.  You’ll pick which combatant will decimate their opponent in the knock-down, drag-out brawl of Cocky & Rude Fight Club! Let’s meet this week’s fighters…


STEPHEN HAWKING

Full Name: Stephen William Hawking
Date of Birth:  8 January 1942 (age 69)
Place of Birth:  Oxford, England
Hair Color:  Brown & Gray
Current Residence:  England
Relationship Status: Jane Hawking (m. 1965–1991, divorced), Elaine Mason (m. 1995–2006, divorced)
Occupation:  theoretical physicist and cosmologist
Hobbies:  science
Favorite Song:  this
Awards:  Wolf Prize (1988), Prince of Asturias Award (1989), Copley Medal (2006), Presidential Medal of Freedom (2009)
Fields of study:  Applied mathematics, Theoretical physics, Cosmology
Alma Mater:  University of Oxford, University of Cambridge
Known for: Black holes, Theoretical cosmology, Quantum gravity, Hawking radiation
Favorite method of transportation:  motorized wheelchair

Stephen William Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA (born 8 January 1942)is an English theoretical physicist and cosmologist, whose scientific books and public appearances have made him an academic celebrity. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a lifetime member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences,and in 2009 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States. Hawking’s key scientific works to date have included providing, with Roger Penrose, theorems regarding gravitational singularities in the framework of general relativity, and the theoretical prediction that black holes should emit radiation, which is today known as Hawking radiation (or sometimes as Bekenstein–Hawking radiation). Hawking has a motor neurone disease that is related to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a condition that has progressed over the years and has left him almost completely paralyzed.  While Hawking may be severely physically handicapped, he possesses a number of very powerful secret weapons.  His motorized wheelchair is armed with highly advanced weaponry, his brain is nearly 1000 times more intelligent than the average human being, and he can tear apart the universe with a single (robot-voiced) word.


TY CONE

AKA / Alias / Nicknames: Tyrone, Tycoon, Ty Cobb, Diana Prince (shhh!)
Date of Birth:  Sunday, March 5.  I am between 30 and 40 years old.  You can now figure out my birth year.
Place of Birth:  26.725N by 80.052W
Hair Color:  Umm…
Current Residence:  Our apartment
Relationship Status: stomach-churningly Desperately in love with Mikey
Occupation:  Telling a federal judge what to do.
Height & Weight:  0.93 Craigs tall/weight appropriate for 1.05 Craigs tall
Hobbies:  Finding the Higgs boson before the competition, understanding and correctly using bathos, tickling Mikey
Favorite Song:  Anything and everything by They Might Be Giants.  Except Istanbul (Not Constantinople).  SOOOO overplayed.
Awards:  Best Picture of an Airplane (1st grade), Honor Camper — Boy (3rd grade), National Merit Scholar (12th grade), $25,405 (33rd grade)
Fields of study:  Sally, W.C., Mrs.
Alma Mater:  University of Virginia
Known for: Southern gentility, parodic names based on “Vagina”
Favorite method of transportation:  Invisible jet (shhh!)
Claim to Fame:  Knowing lots of stuff
Favorite curse word:  Buggar!

At first, Ty did not understand our request for a “bio”: “I am a carbon-based, endothermic life form of the binomial classification Homo sapiens.  I have high left-right symmetry and a large brain-body rati….Oh, ‘bio’ as in ‘biography’…”  He then provided C&R with this information: “I was born at the time and place set forth above.  More recently, Mikey moved in with me.  I can’t tell you about any of the stuff in between because of a sacred oath I swore to Zeus before leaving Paradise Island for Man’s World.  (Shhh!)”  The former Biggest Cock & Rudest Loser 2 contestant and incredibly intelligent Jeopardy! champion’s secret weapons include: “Withering sarcasm, subtle condescension, golden lasso (shhh!)”

Who will win in the battle of  BRAIN vs. BRAIN?  Will Stephen Hawking destroy Ty by tearing the entire universe apart? Or will Ty wither Hawking with his sarcasm and condescension and then shove his motorized wheelchair off a cliff? There’s only one rational way to decide which fighter will win this battle. We’re putting this no-holds-barred fight to a vote. The poll will be open for approximately 24 hours, and you may vote as many times as you want. That’s right — we’re not blocking repeat votes, so vote now and vote often for your favorite Cocky & Rude Fight Club opponent.

Check back on Sunday for the results!

Thanks to Ty & Michelle M. for your assistance with this post!

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