Attention, anyone who loves to bake!! What kind of vanilla do you like to use in your baking? I have been using Mexican vanilla for years, and I love it! However, one day my husband brought me home a bottle of Watkins vanilla and I knew it would turn into a taste test challenge for sure.

I first asked all my friends who liked to bake what kind of vanilla they liked to use. My great Aunt used to own her own bakery and pastry shop, and she likes Trader Joe’s vanilla. So I had to add Trader Joe’s vanilla to the challenge as well. Unfortunately, when I went to Trader Joe’s to get “their vanilla,” there were 2 kinds to choose from. So what did I do? I bought them BOTH.

So let me introduce you to the contenders:

A) Watkins Vanilla

B) Trader Joe’s Bourbon Vanilla

C) Trader Joe’s Alcohol Free Vanilla

D) Mexican Vanilla (yes, that’s the biggest bottle of them all! What can I say, I love to bake and I use it all the time!)

E) McCormick’s Vanilla (used only in the caramels)

In order to be completely fair to all the vanilla contenders, I made 3 types of vanilla items to taste: vanilla caramels, vanilla mini cakes, and vanilla pudding sauce. We had the most volunteer judges in the history of our taste tests….maybe because this sounded like a DELICIOUS opportunity?!

This was a blind taste test and each item was given a letter. The judges were instructed to rank each vanilla into first, second, third, and fourth place.

I held two separate taste testing sessions, in order to get all the judges in! And as the sessions progressed, I soon realized that the judges were voting for DIFFERENT vanillas for the caramels, pudding sauce and mini cakes! In fact, ALL the judges had different votes except for one judge who voted for the same vanilla in first place each time.

It was apparent to me that there was not going to be a CLEAR winner in this taste test. So I had to pull in a professional analyst: my husband. He quickly drew up a spreadsheet to tally the points for each contender. Here’s how the judges voted:

For the Caramels

In first place, was Watkins Vanilla, with 11 of the 15 votes

In second place, was Mexican Vanilla, with 8 of the 15 votes

For the Pudding Sauce

In first place, Watkins Vanilla

In second place, Mexican Vanilla

For the Mini Vanilla Cakes

In first place, Mexican Vanilla

In second place, Trader Joe’s Alcohol Free

**I was surprised by the votes. I expected my favorite (Mexican Vanilla) to take first place. But overwhelmingly, Watkins Vanilla placed first by a wide margin in 2 out of the 3 tests. The interesting thing was, the judges agreed that this taste test was DIFFICULT, because there really wasn’t a bad one of the bunch. In fact, most judges agreed that each item was delicious, however, a couple judges had a slight NEGATIVE reaction to either the Bourbon Vanilla or the Mexican Vanilla.

After much analyzing and deliberation, we have declared the winner to be WATKINS VANILLA!

I am sure I will continue using Mexican Vanilla, but to switch things up a bit I am now adding Watkins to my vanilla repertoire. I should also mention that we used the Double Strength Watkins Vanilla, which contains more vanilla bean and less alcohol.

(NOTE: Many people have asked me where you can get Watkins vanilla, and so I am including a link HERE to a Watkins representative for your reference. Please note that I do not receive compensation for any vanilla purchases. However, I have been told by Jennifer that if you CALL her rather than place an order online, she may be able to SAVE you on shipping costs. 🙂 I love to save money for my readers!)

So, what do you think? Do YOU agree with our results? Do you have a vanilla that you swear by? Let me know in the comments below.

Thank you, judges! Stay tuned for our next Taste Test Tuesday: VANILLA ICE CREAM. (Do we have a vanilla theme going on here?) I’m looking forward to it!

I like to have string cheese on hand for when I need a quick snack, so I thought string cheese would be a good taste test Tuesday subject. While it may not be as exciting as, say Salted Caramel Chocolate bars or Vanilla Caramels, I think some “healthier” options are also great for reviewing!

The contenders are only 2, but they are the “Big 2” when it comes to string cheese. Here they are:

Precious Stringsters, the brand you can find at Costco VERSUS Frigo Cheeseheads, the brand that claims to be “America’s Favorite.”

This was a very quick taste test, and easy, since there were only 2 contenders on the docket. And the judges actually liked both brands….they said “these are both good,” and “I would eat either one if I had them on hand.”

All good comments, and better than what I had to say about a less well-known string cheese I tried a couple months ago. It was a clear package with black writing on each individually wrapped string cheese serving. I searched to find this particular brand to report back to you, dear reader, but I could not find it! (If I do track it down, I will update this post). This particular string cheese was practically inedible. Nobody would eat it, except the dogs. [If you know the one I’m talking about, please comment and let me know!]

Back to the 2 contenders. After all was said and done, one edged out ahead of the other…

THE RESULTS

The judges declared that the winner was creamier and more pleasant (less chalky). And the winner is (drumroll please):

PRECIOUS Stringsters String Cheese #1!

So it seems that “America’s Favorite” was actually NOT the favorite this time.  While the Cheeseheads string cheese had a chalkier taste, some judges declared that it had a cheesier flavor! Even though they liked the cheesy taste of the cheeseheads, the judges said that the chalky-ness up front could not beat out the creamy taste of the Precious Stringsters!

[A special thanks to all our judges.]

What is your favorite snack? Favorite string cheese? Go give these two a try and see what you think.

Stay tuned for our next Taste Test Tuesday! All you Bakers out there, take note: the next taste test is VANILLA! What is your favorite vanilla to use in your baking? I can’t wait to reveal the results of this exciting taste test!