Private label frozen oatmeal from Trader Joe's won hands down in a recent taste test sponsored by the San Francisco Chronicle, and another store brand, Open Nature at Safeway, placed a distant second.
What the newspaper calls an "alternative to mushy instant oatmeal" usually features fully cooked steel-cut oats, which can be take a while to prepare. It is usually lightly sweetened and comes in frozen hockey-puck-like discs that consumers microwave in the product's tray or a separate bowl.
Trader Joe's Steelcut Oatmeal ($1.69 for two 8-ounce servings) won in a landslide with "chewy grains" sweetened -- though "not too sweet" -- with maple syrup and brown sugar. "Very homey and pleasant in looks, taste and texture," this oatmeal most resembled "stove-cooked" oats, panelists said. Four would buy this brand and the fifth might.
Second place went to Open Nature ($1.99 for two 8.1-ounce bowls at Safeway). These "creamy" steel-cut oats, also flavored with brown sugar and maple syrup, resembled "stovetop" oatmeal, too, but several panelists found the texture "unpleasant" and "a bit slimy." Also at issue was the spicing, which had "strange
overtones of sage" and "ginger" to a few tasters. While two would buy, three would not.
In third place was Good Food Made Simple ($3.79 for two 8-ounce servings at Andronico's). While tasters liked the "al dente" chew of the kernels, most also found the oats "too watery" and "too sweet." Again, two would buy and three would not. Amy's Organic Hot Cereal ($2.69 for one 9-ounce bowl at Whole Foods) came in
fourth. These oats were "quite sweet," but the biggest hangup seemed to be texture. The oatmeal was "too stiff and sticky" and even "pasty." One would buy, two might and two would not.
