Supermarket Standouts:
Best Brands, Best Values
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Best Supermarket Products
Whether you seek flavorful coffee beans for your morning eye-opener or picnic plates that can stand up to mounds of fried chicken, you'll find them in Consumer Reports' roundup of top-performing supermarket products.
From food to snacks to household needs, click through our gallery to see which products CR names as supermarket standouts -- and deserve a place in your shopping cart.
First Up: CR's Battery PicksMore From Consumer Reports:
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Best AA Batteries
· Energizer e2 Lithium
It's pricey but outlasted all other batteries in toys and portable CD players, and provided up to six times more flash photos than the average alkaline battery in our digital-camera test.
Next: Whole-Wheat SpaghettiMore From Consumer Reports:
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Consumer Reports
Best Whole Wheat Spaghetti
· Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Whole Wheat Blend
· Whole Foods Market 365 Everyday Value Organic
· Trader Joe's Organic
Whole-wheat pasta has more vitamins, minerals, fiber, and other beneficial compounds than regular pasta, and these products tasted slightly sweet, with a nutty grain flavor. They also had good texture. That's a lot better than those we ranked in the early 1990s.
Next: Best PeachesMore From Consumer Reports:
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David Rogowski, AOL
Best Peaches
· Del Monte in Fruit Juice
· Trader Joe's Halves in White Grape Juice
These have the floral aroma and flavor intensity of fresh ripe peaches.
Next: Best BalsamicMore From Consumer Reports:
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The Silver Palate
Best Balsamic Vinaigrette
· The Silver Palate Country Salad Splash
This winner is sweet and fruity, with a distinct balsamic-vinegar flavor that tasted just-made.
Next: Best SpreadMore From Consumer Reports:
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Smart Balance
Best Trans-Fat-Free Spread
· Smart Balance
Our sensory testers called it a "butter-fooler," with lots of dairy flavor.
Next: Best Barbecue SauceMore From Consumer Reports:
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Consumer Reports
Best Barbecue Sauce
· KC Masterpiece Original
It's versatile, with sweet molasses flavor, some heat, and just enough smoke to make you think grilled.
Next: Best GranolaMore From Consumer Reports:
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Best Granola
· Nature's Path Organic Flax Plus Pumpkin
· Trader Joe's Just the Clusters Maple Pecan
Granolas are seen as healthful but are often packed with fat, so eat them sparingly. These are fresh and crunchy, with flavorful nuts and seeds.
Next: Best Hot DogsMore From Consumer Reports:
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Consumer Reports
Best Hot Dogs
· Hebrew National Kosher Beef
· Nathan's Famous Skinless Beef
· Boar's Head Skinless Beef
· Hebrew National Kosher Reduced Fat Beef
· Boar's Head Lite Skinless Beef
· Ball Park Beef
· Sabrett Skinless Beef
OK, they're little bundles of sodium and fat, but nutritionists we interviewed agreed that a sound diet can reasonably include any type of food in moderation. These franks are the best of the bunch.
Next: Best Chicken SoupMore From Consumer Reports:
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Consumer Reports
Best Chicken Soup
· The Original SoupMan Chicken Vegetable
Our tasters described this standout as "lick the bowl" tasty and "thick as stew." The soups are sold online at www.originalsoupman.com, at Soupman restaurants, mostly in New York and New Jersey, and at some supermarkets.
Next: Best Cookie DoughMore From Consumer Reports:
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Fat Boy Cookies
Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
· Trader Joe's Chunky
· Omaha Steaks Chunky
· Fat Boy Cookie Company Outrageous Chunk
Chocolate-chip cookies made with store-bought dough can taste almost homemade. To avoid the prep work, try these.
Next: Best CerealMore From Consumer Reports:
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Consumer Reports
Best Cereal
Toasted Oats
· Cheerios
· Malt-O-Meal
Frosted Flakes
· Kellogg's
· Malt-O-Meal
Mini Wheats
· Kroger
· Malt-O-Meal
· Kellogg's
Next: Best Cereal BarsMore From Consumer Reports:
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Consumer Reports
Best Cereal Bars
· Kashi TLC Almond Flax Chewy Granola
This very chewy whole-grain bar has big, roasted, crunchy nuts, as well as flavorful seeds and grains.
Next: Best Dark ChocolateMore From Consumer Reports:
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Consumer Reports
Best Dark Chocolate Bars
· Cacao Reserve by Hershey's Extra Dark With Cacao Nibs
The latest research suggests that dark chocolate (in small amounts) may be good for cardiovascular health. Hershey's is a treat to nibble and savor, our testers said, and won praise over bars costing nearly twice as much.
Next: Best SalsasMore From Consumer Reports:
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Joe T. Garcias
Best Salsas
· Jardine's 7J Campfire Roasted (to order, call 800-544-1880)
· Desert Pepper Trading Company 2 Olive Roasted Garlic (www.elpasochile.com)
· Green Mountain Gringo (www.greenmountaingringo.com)
· Joe T. Garcia's Salsa Picante (www.joets.com)
Most of these salsas were chunky, with complex flavors, crisp vegetables, and extras such as olives, cumin, carrots, or corn.
Next: Best Tortilla ChipsMore From Consumer Reports:
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Best Tortilla Chips
· Utz Restaurant Style White Corn
· Tostitos 100% White Corn Restaurant Style
· Green Mountain Gringo
· Tostitos Natural Yellow Corn Restaurant Style
· Santitas Authentic Mexican Style White Corn
· Tostitos MultiGrain
· Tostitos Scoops 100% White Corn
These crunchy chips are good enough to eat right out of the bag because of their nicely balanced toasted-corn, salt, and fat flavors.
Next: Best Cheese PuffsMore From Consumer Reports:
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Best Cheese Puffs
· Cheetos
Regular Cheetos have a big cheesy flavor. Skip the baked version, which is forgettable.
Next: Best Potato ChipsMore From Consumer Reports:
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Consumer Reports
Best Potato Chips
· Lay's Classic
· Cape Cod 40% Reduced Fat
· Ruffles Reduced Fat
· Pringles Original Reduced Fat
The Lay's are crispy and have the most potato flavor, but the others are also quite good, with 6 to 8 grams of fat per ounce, vs. 10 grams for the Lay's Classic.
Next: Best ToothpasteMore From Consumer Reports:
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Consumer Reports
Best Toothpaste
· Ultrabrite All in One Advanced Whitening
The only tested toothpaste that was excellent at stain removal, Ultrabrite is also average in abrasiveness, which means it shouldn't damage teeth or gums.
Next: Best Insect RepellentMore From Consumer Reports:
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OFF!
Best Insect Repellent
· Off Deep Woods for Sportsmen 1
· 3M Ultrathon
Off provided the longest-lasting protection against ticks and several mosquito species. 3M, with a lower concentration of deet, is a good choice as well.
Next: Best Facial CleanserMore From Consumer Reports:
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Consumer Reports
Best Facial Cleanser
· La Prairie Foam Cleanser
· Estée Lauder Perfectly Clean Splash Away Foaming Cleanser
· Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Cleansing Pads
· Olay Daily Facials Hydrating Normal to Dry
All are effective, easy-to-use cleansers. Though the La Prairie was best, at $70 for a 4-ounce tube, it was the worst value. The others worked well, too, and cost far less, especially the Aveeno and Olay.
Next: Best SunscreenMore From Consumer Reports:
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Consumer Reports
Best Sunscreen
· Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch SPF 45
This protects against UVA radiation, which can cause skin cancer and wrinkles, and UVB, which can also cause skin cancer, plus sunburn. Whatever the sunscreen, apply it often and use enough: about 2 or 3 tablespoons every 2 hours and after swimming or intense perspiration.
Next: Best Facial TissuesMore From Consumer Reports:
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David Rogowski, AOL
Best Facial Tissues
· Puffs Extra (non-lotion)
Puffs was praised for its combination of strength and softness.
Next: Dishwasher DetergentMore From Consumer Reports:
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Best Dishwasher Detergent
· Cascade Complete Liquid
· Cascade Complete With Bleach Hydroclean Action Liquid
· Cascade 2 In 1 Action Pacs With the Power of Dawn
These cleaners, which contain performance-enhancing enzymes, are great grime-busters but are gentle on glass and silver.
Next: Best Olive OilMore From Consumer Reports:
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Consumer Reports
Olive Oil
· McEvoy Ranch
· B.R. Cohn
· Goya
McEvoy and Cohn, from fairly small vineyards in Northern California, have intense, complex flavors and are sold primarily online at www.brcohn.com and www.mcevoyranch.com. The Goya doesn't come on quite as strong as the top two, so it might go well with a wider variety of foods. Two other advantages: It sells for one-fifth the price of the others and is available at many supermarkets.
Next: Food Storage ContainersMore From Consumer Reports:
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Best Food-Storage Containers
· Heritage Lock & Lock Airtight
· Sharper Image Fresher Longer
Both are particularly effective at keeping food fresh and mold-free. A 17-piece set of Lock & Lock is $25, half the price of the 12-piece Fresher Longer.
Next: Best Fabric SoftenerMore From Consumer Reports:
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The Procter & Gamble Co.
Best Fabric Softener
· Ultra Gain Joyful Expressions
The only excellent softener in our tests, liquid Ultra Gain leaves clothes soft, static-free, and absorbent.
Next: Food Storage BagsMore From Consumer Reports:
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Consumer Reports
Best Food Storage Bags
· Great Value (Wal-Mart) Slider
· Ziploc With Easy Zipper
These are very strong and resist puncture, which is important if you fill a bag to capacity or store foods with sharp edges.
Next: Best Disposable PlatesMore From Consumer Reports:
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Best Disposable Plates
· Dixie Ultra
· Hefty Everyday
Neither of these crumpled under a load of picnic food, nor did they leak when filled with oil and water.
Next: Best Car WaxMore From Consumer Reports:
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