Category: Taste Tests

Posted in Taste Tests

I Asked 4 Chefs What Their Favorite Fast Food Cheeseburger Was and Their Pick Was Unanimous

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Options abound in the wide world of hamburgers. Whether you like them beefy or vegan, restaurant-style or backyard barbecue-approved, we’ve got plenty of burger recipes for you to try. We’ve even stretched the boundaries of what qualifies as a burger, taking inspiration from beef Wellington, chicken Parmesan, and even Thanksgiving leftovers.

But when it comes to one category of burger—fast food cheeseburgers—many of us are usually looking for the same thing.

Qualities of a Good Fast Food Cheeseburger

Priority number one? The meat. According to Jim Perillo, executive chef at The Otesaga Resort Hotel in Cooperstown, New York, the beef should always be fresh, not frozen, since “frozen patties tend to be dryer. They lose moisture through the thawing process. Pre-cooked frozen patties that have been sitting also leave much to be desired. Nothing beats a fresh burger,” he says.

The best burgers are well-seasoned and rocking a satisfying “crust,” adds Dominic Iannarelli, chef-owner of Prime & Providence in West Des Moines, Iowa. This usually comes from being grilled, smashed, or seared.

Caroline Chambers, the Carmel Valley, California-based author of the Substack and the cookbook “What To Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking” chimes in with a vote for a thin patty, which allows for “a perfect balance. I basically want equal parts cheese to patty to bun.”

As for that bun, it better not distract from the real star of the show, says Dan Pelosi (aka @grossypelosi), a New York-based recipe writer and New York Times bestselling author of “Let’s Eat: 101 Recipes to Fill Your Heart & Home.” It should be soft so it’s able to “hug the burger,” Pelosi says, but toasted to stand up to any sauces.

When it comes to the toppings, less is more. Every topping should have a reason for being invited to the party, Iannarelli says.

Overall, a good clue that a burger is high-quality is the fact that it’s one of few sandwiches on the menu, Pelosi continues. “The sign of a confident burger is when she is not afraid to be one of the very few options available.”

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Costco’s $11 Kirkland Butter Is Even Better Than the $17 Kerrygold Version

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

There’s no doubt that Kerrygold butter is a top-notch butter product. If you aren’t familiar, the Irish butter is made with milk from grass-fed cows giving it a deeper golden hue than traditional American butter and an arguably creamier mouthfeel. But this premium product also comes with a premium up-charge.

I’ve personally found that everything I bake (especially cookies!) turns out so much better when I use Kerrygold rather than generic grocery store butter. So to save a buck, I’ve been stocking up on it at Costco where I can get four gold bars (the equivalent of eight sticks of American butter) for just $16.95—saving a few dollars compared to my local grocery store in the process.

But that all changed when I found an alternate on the shelf next to the Kerrygold at Costco: Kirkland Signature Grass-Fed Butter. It even comes in a shiny box similar to that of the Kerrygold packaging, signaling to me that this is Costco’s house brand version of the popular butter.

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I Tried 5 Honey Mustards, and the Winner Was So Good I Ate It Straight off the Spoon

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

I’ve been a mustard fan my whole life. Even at a young age when everyone I knew was smitten with ketchup, I was reaching for a bottle of the tangy yellow stuff. I know it’s not a condiment for every occasion, but it’s the condiment I find myself using most often.

While Dijon and stone-ground mustards are my favorites, I have a soft spot in my heart (and belly) for a good honey mustard. It’s the unsung hero in the mustard world, and I wanted to determine which brand made the best. To find the winner, I tested five store-bought honey mustard brands to see which one had the best flavor and texture and ranked my findings.

How I Chose the Honey Mustard Brands 


Because I wanted to make sure that the honey mustard brands I tested were widely available, I put on my coat, got in my car, and went to several local grocery stores. I hit the condiment aisles and scooped every honey mustard they had. It turns out, there were only five brands total, which you’ll see tested below. 

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