Have you ever wondered if there was a difference between the store brand products and the name brands? Well today I am sharing with you my little experiment with First Street brand tuna from Smart & Final and Bumble Bee brand tuna.
First I will share the recipe I created for the experiment and then I’ll tell you all about how the comparison went. I did my best to measure everything carefully and try to make both versions of tuna salad the same. I couldn’t help but try making it with greek yogurt instead of mayo. I really liked it and I didn’t really miss the mayo at all!
Spicy Tuna Salad with Greek Yogurt
Ingredients:
- 12 ounce can Solid White Tuna
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 Tablespoons chopped onion
- 3 Tablespoons chopped pickled jalapenos (They are in a can or jar in the Mexican food aisle. You don’t want to use raw jalapeno for this recipe)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Chop the onion and jalapenos into small chunks,
- Mix all the ingredients together well.
- Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. The flavors need time to meld.
- Serve on a sandwich, crackers, or over lettuce.
Okay, now let’s compare the different brands of tuna. I took a few pictures at the store. You can see my whole shopping experience over at my Google+ album. I bought the 12 ounce can of tuna in both the First Street and Bumble Bee brands. The cans seemed pretty identical except for the price. First street was $3.39 compared to $4.79 for Bumble Bee.
Bumble Bee brand tuna is a full $1.40 more expensive for the same size can.
When I got home and made my Tuna Salad. I gave the plain tuna a taste test. I could not tell any difference in texture, taste, or appearance between the two brands.
I took both batches of the tuna to a fun craft night/ going away party for my dear friend Vanessa. I labeled each of the containers of Tuna with a 1 or 2. The #1 had First Street Tuna in it of course. I gave instructions to everyone to try both tuna salads and give me their thoughts.
Here are the results:
- Most people had to take several bites trying to discern a difference. They really were nearly indistinguishable.
- Two people thought that the First Street brand had a stronger fish flavor. For one person that was a positive aspect, while the other taster preferred less fish flavor.
- Most of the comments surrounding the tuna salad had more to do with the ingredients that I added such as the jalapenos. One turned out a little spicer than the other for some reason. I took that to mean that the tuna themselves were on equal footing.
- I personally would be willing to purchase and use the First Street brand tuna again. If I had been given a blind taste test, I’m not sure I would have been able to tell a difference.
Smart & Final is working hard to get the word out about how great their First Street brand is. That means, you get a great opportunity to win some cash in the #SFTasteTest Pinterest Party. The idea is to check out the First Street brand products on Pinterest and then pin recipes that you could use the products in. The party runs from Sept 5 – Sept 19, 2012 so get pinning!
Don’t forget to check out Smart & Final on Twitter and Facebook too!
This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias
Thank you for posting.