Test Date: August 2010
Tester: Michele
Products for this test purchased at Fred Meyer, Trader Joe's, and Whole Foods.
MICHELE'S OPINION: I have to say, fat free products absolutely freak me out. Tasting them compared to full fat products highlight how wierd they are and how obviously fake tasting. I feel a third eye growing out of my neck from all of the preservatives while I eat them. It's just not worth it, from my experience. You only live once! For the others, I guess I assumed that the specialty products would be tasty, but all had funny additional tastes like orange or mustard. For a traditional tasting balsamic vinagrette, choose the winners below. Read on for more details...
PRICE COMPARISON FOR 16OZ OF DRESSING:
$7.98 Whole Foods Annie's Natural Organic Balsamic
$5.58 Whole Foods Newman's Own BalsamicVinaigrette
$5.16 Fred Meyer Girard's White Balsamic Vinaigrette
$4.99 Whole Foods Newman's Own Light Balsamic
$4.99 Whole Foods Newman's Own made with Extra Virgin Olive Oil
$3.99 Whole Foods 365 Organic Fat-Free Balsamic Vinaigrette
$3.99 Whole Foods 365 Organic Balsamic Vinaigrette
$3.98 Trader Joe's Trader Giotto's Balsamic Vinaigrette
$3.98 Trader Joe's Fat Free Balsamic Vinaigrette
$2.59 Fred Meyer Wish-Bone Balsamic & Basil
1. Newman's Own Balsamic Vinaigrette made with Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Vinegary, peppery dressing. Full balsamic flavor. Light, almost watery consistency.
2. Newman's Own Balsamic Vinaigrette: This product tastes exactly the same as the EVOO version.
3. Newman's Own Light Balsamic: This has a very similar flavor to the other Newman's Own products, however it has a bit of a thicker consistency.
4. Girard's White Balsamic Vinaigrette: This dressing has a thick consistency, similar to a honey mustard style dressing. The flavor is light on balsamic and has an orange zest overtone. Not overly vinegary.
5. Wish-Bone Balsamic & Basil Vinaigrette: The basil in this dressing adds a sweetness that the other products don't have. It has a medium consistency and tastes a little bit fake, like there are filler ingredients to thicken it up.
6. Annie's Naturals Organic Balsamic: This dressing is frankly terrible. It has a medium consistency and tastes like oil and mustard mixed together, with a vinegar aftertaste.
7. 365 Organic Fat Free Balsamic Vinaigrette: This dressing has small chunks of something in it and a relatively thick consistency. It has a basic vinegar taste, not heavy on the balsamic. There is also a peppery taste to it.
8. 365 Organic Balsamic Vinaigrette: This dressing is heavy on the oil, that is the first taste I get from it. The aftertaste is balsamic and it has a medium consistency. Then when I taste it again it tastes like plastic. All around not good.
9. Trader Giotto's Balsamic Vinaigrette: This dressing has a vinegary, spicy taste with a lot of flavor. I also taste a bit of honey as a sweetener. Medium to light consistency.
10. Trader Joe's Fat Free Balsamic Vinaigrette: This tastes really, really fake. Yuck. Plastic with a hint of gel to thicken it up.
NUTRITIONAL NOTES: (serving size: 2 tablespoons) Girard's dressing packs in the most calories per serving at 110, while the other non-light products range from 100 down to 70 (Trader Giotto's). The Trader Giotto's product also has the least grams of fat per the non-light products at 6g per serving, while the others have between 9g and 11g per serving. For the light products (Wish-Bone and Newman's Own), calories drop to between 45 and 60 and fat content is 4-5g per serving. The non-fat products have 20-25 calories per serving. As for sodium, the Newman's Own products are super concentrated with 350mg to 390mg per serving. Most of the rest of the products range from 170mg to 290mg per serving, while Annie's and Trader Giotto's products both have hardly any sodium, only 55mg or 60mg per serving.
TASTE WINNER: Any of the Newman's Own products or Trader Giotto's Balsamic
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