Generic Or Brand?

[kimbaby]

I was just curious and just wanted to do a survey on this,when shopping do you by generic, or brand name items?
Thanks for your input...

 

[jkath]

Hmmm....what if you purchase both?

 

[BreezyCooking]

Within the past year, it was either the New York Times or the Washington Post food sections that did a survey about this.

Personally? Unless I've found otherwise that the store brand is inferior, I buy the store brand in frozen & canned vegetable goods. Mostly frozen vegetables; canned tomato products. Have never been disappointed.

 

[ironchef]

Are you talking about just food, or in general? For food and clothing, I only buy brand names 99% of the time, unless they are specialty or ethnic items which do not have a known brand name a lot of the times. For OTC stuff like Tylenol, Sudafed, etc., I'll buy the generic brands.

 

[BreezyCooking]

So let me get this straight. You'll buy generic brands of drugs, but won't buy the store brand of let's say, canned diced tomatoes.

Interesting - LOL!!!!!!!

 

[Michelemarie]

I will usually try the generic of something if available - if it is not as good as what I usually buy - then I won't buy it again. I go both ways?

 

[ironchef]

So let me get this straight. You'll buy generic brands of drugs, but won't buy the store brand of let's say, canned diced tomatoes.

Interesting - LOL!!!!!!!

I only buy San Marzano tomatoes anyway. No store or even commerically produced can tomato can come close. Whether or not you buy the store brand Tylenol or not, they both contain 500 mg of acetaminophen either way.

 

[marmar]

I buy both...
Sometimes brand name is cheaper, oddly enough, especially when sales and coupons go together. I have generic apple sauce in the fridge, but brand name cereal. But I get Cheerios in bulk, so I guess it doesn't really matter.
I can't usually tell. I buy brand name frozen mixed berries but generic frozen strawberries because I just try to get the unsweetened ones.
And some of the specialty stuff doesn't have generic, or at least not at my grocery store.

 

[licia]

Add me to those who buy both.

 

[JohnL]

I also buy both. It really depends what's on sale or if I have a coupon for certain items. In my neck of the woods, I've found that Giant store brand products from the Giant chain and America's Choice brand products from the Super Fresh chain are very good. After all, they don't make them. They're produced by the "brand name" companys and are marketed under private label in most cases. I do however really enjoy "Boar's Head" deli meats and will spend the extra $ for them.

 

[Constance]

I couldn't vote, because I do both. I buy a lot of generic things. For general purposes, flour is flour, sugar is sugar, etc. There are certain store brands that are very good...for instance, I have never been disappointed in Kroger Brand or Best Choice items. It really all depends on what you are cooking.
If you're making tuna casserole, a can of Best Choice Peas will fill the bill. If you want peas to go with your steak and baked potatoes, you need Le Seur.
Some generic things are worth a try, even if you're not sure. For a while, one of our local markets had a "bargain" aisle. I bought some Polar brand crab claw meat there, for $1 a can, that was delicious. I tried some generic spaghetti sauce from the same aisle, thinking I could season it up, and ended up throwing it away the minute I tasted it. (Nasty!)

In regard to non-food items, once again, it depends on what I'm buying. Generic toilet tissue and paper towels are no bargain. Give me Charmin Ultra and Bounty all the way. The cheap aluminum foil isn't any good either.
But I always buy generic aspirin, acetaminiphen (Tylenol), and other medications all the time. You wouldn't believe how much cheaper the generic "Clariton D" is than the original product.
Unlike foods, you can actually look at the packages on these things and compare the ingredients.

 

[amber]

I buy both generic and brand name , so I couldnt vote either. Kimbaby, maybe you can change your poll to say "both" this way you will have a more accurate poll.

 

[BreezyCooking]

I also buy both, but think that this, like all food-related topics, is always going to be a personal choice thing.

For instance, we buy all our paper towels & toilet paper of the Kirkland brand, which is CostCo's home brand. After using them over several years, buying any popular brand of the same is abysmal. Nothing comes even remotely close to Kirkland for quality. Bounty, Charmin, etc., are jokes - especially when you consider what they cost.

I also do buy Italian-brand canned plum tomatoes for when I'm making sauce, but anyone's brand of diced tomatoes are fine for other recipes.

The only canned vegetables I ever buy are corn, artichoke hearts, & beans. Other vegetables are either bought fresh or frozen.

 

[katluvscake]

I have to say I am on the same boat with some others. I mix and match. Somethings I have to have name brand. Like cool whip or cream of mushroom soup. Others things I don't care to much about like canned or frozen veggies or pasta.

 

[Robo410]

In Food: Name brands take 1st pick, 2nds go to house brands, grade B goes generic and must be labled so.

In drugs, the ingredients MUST be the same and supposedly our FDA maintains that safety measure.

I agree with Iron CHef...I look for DOC San Marzano Tomatoes

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I too am in the "both" camp. OTC meds are substantially cheaper than the name brand versions. On the other hand, For most cereals, canned goods, etc., there is virtually no difference between the generic and the popular food brands. Of course that isn't alwasy true. I have had generic canned green beans that contained bits of the stem. I've never had a name-brand can of green beans with anything other than what's supposed to be in it.

And I prefer the no-name local beef to any of the store brands. It tastes better and is far cheeper.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[Angie]

Both.....when it comes to cooking essentials (flour, sugar, butter, oil, eggs, spices) I buy generic. For meat, I try to buy all natural. For "boxed" mixes (cakes, helpers, etc) I get brand name. Drugs, generic except Tylenol. I get the Tylenol Rapid Release.

Dog food and treats? Name brand...all the way.

Peanut butter? Name brand. Chocolate chips, well I have found that I like Nestles so much better than generic.

Pizza? Name brand.

Bread? What ever sounds good.

Chips? Name brand.

 

[Claire]

I voted generic, but in fact I try generic, then decide if I like it or not, then decide. Having lived a multitude of places, you have to decide based on what the store you buy from carries. Generics can be less consistent than name brands. But I've bought expensive (relatively) whole canned green beans that had so many stems and strings they were inedible, but Publix brand was always consistently good and as slim and pretty as haricots vert.

I find that for some reason ibuprofen is better name-brand. Aspirin seems the same. As I said, I try to go cheaper, but if it doesn't work for me, I buy the name brand.

 

[Claire]

jkath -- I've been meaning to make an embroidery sampler for my old house, but hadn't found a saying that really inspired me. You've done it! Thanks!

 

[KAYLINDA]

Another "both" here. Just depends on the quality....or what I'm using it for.