British Expatriate Network

My wife is crazy about lists tlike this - she loves straight-up comparisons of the same product to determine what is the best flavoured for the best value.

http//www.cooksillustrated.com/pdfs/ProductRatingsChart.pdf

There's only a few things on there I disagree with - the two best butters cost 4 times as much so I don't think that's a straight comparison. And Act 2 popcorn is disgusting. And Ben & Jerry's ice cream just ain't that good - I mean it's good but not any better than Wegmans store brand. Or the local brand in NY Perry's - that's good. And Edy's is always dissapointing.

Cooks Illustrated is a fantastic resource for all sorts of good things. Their ratings are debateable- I mean its all down to personal taste but their equipment reviews are pretty invaluable when trying to decide on a spendy piece of kit for the kitchen. And their recipes are pretty amazing. We subscribed to the website but I'm still a fan of the magazine, there's a stack of well thumbed and stained copies on the bookshelf in the kitchen that I frequently reference.

Around here, the best butters cost a little more than tice as much although i get Kerrygold, imported from Ireland. I don't mind paying more when I don't use huge amounts of it. All popcorn smells, and is, disgusting.

I agree with servalan on the value of their work. Their oven fries are more work than others, but the result is not that far from good chips.