SFGate: Tasters Choice

From SFGate.com: the Bay Area's home page, online home of the San Francisco Chronicle and much more.

• Tandoori naan favorites into Hall of fame
  Our Taster's Choice Hall of Fame is getting a little crowded. A week after three maple syrups made it into the hallowed hall, it's time to welcome a pair of whole wheat bread products. Tandoori naan, a leavened flatbread baked in a clay oven, has become a...
  
  
  
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• Panel sweet on pure maple syrup - 4 worthy of Hall
  The perfect match for Mother's Day pancakes, waffles and french toast? Why, maple syrup, of course. The all-natural sweetener simply can't be beat when it comes to dressing up brunch staples, and while there are countless brands on the market, the news is all...
  
  
  
• Trader Joe's frozen French toast wins approval
  With Mother's Day on the horizon, Taster's Choice is serving up some French toast. While the indulgent breakfast isn't difficult to make, several frozen varieties make the job even easier. Simply pop the frozen slices or sticks in a toaster or oven, top with...
  
  
  
• Safeway has top cinnamon cereal
  The third and final week of our cereal series highlights a bit of a generation gap. Although General Mills' Cinnamon Toast Crunch was one of my favorite cereals growing up, none of our panelists had eaten it as a kid - it didn't hit the market until the mid-...
  
  
  
• Kellogg's is king of cocoa crispies
  Our ode to cereal continues this week with a childhood favorite - crisp chocolate-flavored (or cocoa crisp) cereal. Best known as Cocoa Krispies or Cocoa Pebbles, these rice-based cereals can turn any bowl of plain milk into chocolate-y goodness. So Taster's...
  
  
  
• Humble cereal makes its way into the Hall of Fame
  Taster's Choice has been in a breakfast kind of mood lately, so the next three weeks are dedicated to a few of our favorite cereals, starting with the humble corn flake. Invented by the Kellogg brothers more than a century ago, corn flakes are made from...
  
  
  
• Peanut butter and pretzels: A great double play
  It's a great time to be a sports fan, with the Final Four and Opening Day all taking place this week. What better way for Taster's Choice to celebrate than with some great game-time snacks? We love pretzels, and we love peanut butter, so this week, we're...
  
  
  
• Taster's Choice: Rating canned coconut milk
  Canned coconut milks are indispensable for making curry at home, but a trip to the market, especially an Asian grocer, can yield more than a half dozen choices. Nearly all are imported from Thailand, with brands like Chaokoh and Mae Ploy earning top billing...
  
  
  
• Panel finds a few almonds worth milking
  In the drinking realm of dairy alternatives, soy milk has long been king. But other nut- and grain-based "milks" are becoming increasingly popular, with almond milk leading the way. Both lactose-free and soy-free, commercial almond milk is usually made by...
  
  
  
• Sweet potato chips that should, and do, taste good
  These days, it isn't difficult to find sweet potato variations of foods that were once the sole domain of regular potatoes. Sweet potato fries, crackers and chips are all regulars on supermarket shelves. Last year, Taster's Choice crowned Ore-Ida the champion...
  
  
  
• Red wine vinegars test panel's palates
  In this week's Food & Wine cover story, staff writer Lynne Char Bennett explores the virtues of homemade red wine vinegar, a practice that several Bay Area restaurants - and ultra-adventurous home cooks - have adopted. For the rest of us, finding a good...