What generic foods you DON'T buy

[deena]

I buy all generic when possible but there are a few name brands I won't compromise on. I'd love to hear yours. Obviously this varies from region to region/store to store.



Vlasic pickles. My store pickles are flimsy.



Kraft Mac and Cheese. This goes back to my "food pantry" days when they always gave us this generic version they make just for food pantries and I just got sick and tired of the bland/watered down cheese.
Just an interesting observation: One time I opened a can of Campbell's cream of mushroom and generic. There were definitely more mushrooms in the Campbell's. I still buy generic though because I am looking for the cream more than the mushrooms.

[chasingbutterflies]

If I'm buying frozen french fries, I much prefer Ore-Ida or Alexis brand. The store brand ones usually aren't very good IMO.

I buy the Amy's cheeseless veggie pizza over the Whole Foods generic version. The WF generic version was kind of gross, IMO.

I'll come back if I think of more. :lol

[MomtoJGJ]

We get good coffee and good cheese. I think that's it? I can't think of anything else we get that is name brand... oh, flour.

[deena]

Interesting about the cheese and flour. What difference have you noticed?

[MomtoJGJ]

good cheese is not greasy and has more flavor.

The flour... I honestly don't know... DH does the grocery shopping, so the price might be close enough, or their might not be another brand of whole wheat flour. It is finer than the store brand white flour we get.

[believer]

French's yellow mustard.
No generic mustards for oldst dd and I. :snooty
We are mustard connoiseuers.
Not only is is used on sandwiches, but to dip sliced cheese and pretzels and chips in and sometimes tostitos topped w/ slice of cheese and lunchmeat dipped in mustard. :yum
Although right now while I am doing gf and df I have not used any mustard.

Oh, and we prefer Always pads to the generics. But that is not a food.

[deena]

Non foods count. :) I can kind of relate to the pad thing. On the rare occasion hubby has bought them he gets me the most expensive kind and says that "nothing is too good for my wife's ------" ha ha. I buy generic though but between breastfeeding and pregnancy I could probably count on two hands the number of periods I've gotten since marriage. lol.

[LadybugSam]

cream of mushroom soup, i actually prefer a specific "off" brand of mac and cheese. Best Yet is the store brand here and its delicoius. Ranch Dressing has to be kraft.

My husband is picky about the salsa we buy and his Mt. Dew but besides that i'm usually drawn more towards the off brands because of price (plus i get a kick out of drinking Sam's Cola :giggle)

[hey mommy]

It would be easier to list things I do buy generic.. The list is shorter. :lol

Things I refuse to buy generic:
Mac&cheese=has to be Kraft
Pickles. They have to be Claussen.
Sunflower seeds- has to be David
Ranch dressing-has to be Hidden Valley

There's more, I just don't want to list them all. :)

BTW, I was thinking of asking this yesterday. :giggle

[Charlie U]

I am brand loyal to soda. :shifty I will only buy Coke, Diet Coke and Seagram's Ginger Ale. :snooty (Unless, of course, dh has a craving for "fruity" soda. In which case I'll buy whatever is cheapest.)

I won't buy off-brands (what some folks call generic) in mac&cheese or laundry detergent.

[Calee]

I don't buy off-brand:

Soda (Coke products only)
Cream Cheese (Philly)
Ketchup (Heintz)

I'll keep thinking :)

[charla]

chicken broth - brand name comes in organic and has no msg, the generic does not

garbanzo beans - for some reason the generic brand beans are just too hard to blend up smoothly for hummus

cheese crackers - I don't like the generic, however, the generic saltines have less offensive ingredients in them that the brand names

There are many others, I'm sure; they just aren't coming to my mind. It all comes down for me to the ingredient list.

[graceandmercy]

I never buy it anymore but Mac-n-Cheese! I'm trying to think of what else. :think

[ReedleBeetle]

When we bought cheese, we definitely bought name brand! :yes No cheap cheese for me! :sick

Bread~ Nature's Own White Wheat for me and Isaac. We need HFCS-free and dairy-free....and this fits the bill.

So Delicious Coconut Milk

Almond Breeze

Heinz HFCS-free ketchup

Trash bags~ Only Glad (kitchen) and Hefty (outdoor)

Sunsweet Prunes

Cereal is hit and miss depending on dairy and HFCS free....sometimes that is generic and sometimes that is name brand. Honey Nut Cheerios we never buy generic.

Hormel Pepperoni

Armour canned meats :bag

Crackers (dairy and HFCS free)


There are some things that I have just found the quality is better in name brand. Some things they only make the way we want them in generic. Like we buy only generic Kroger brand mandarin oranges because they are canned in juice AND they are lemon free. The Dole are not lemon free. Certain cereals, only the generic is HFCS free.

Non-food items are:

Stayfree Pads (don't break me out and they can't have the stay-dri stuff)

Tampax or Kotex tampons plastic applicator

Angel Soft toilet paper

Certain brands of shampoo

Bath and Body Works handsoap....just wish it wasn't antibacterial

Swiffer floor care products

Wellness Cat food

Campbell's Soup for the Dog Lover's soul dog food

Bounce fabric softener sheets

All Laundry detergent

Spray n Wash with Resolve




Um....there is a lot. for various reasons. :shifty I could go on and on...but I think I will stop there. :shifty

[Mama Calidad]

Coca~Cola.

Pita chips. The local store brand doesn't separate, so you can only eat them as a thick cracker like thing. The other brand has an air pocket in most of the chips, so you can have a nice thin chip.

Other than that, the local (TX) grocery has some pretty stellar generics, IME. I've been other places or Walmart where there's a whole lot that I couldn't stand as generic.

[Lady TS]

Bounty paper towels--all 4 rolls I buy/year.:giggle
Scott TP--it does the trick, was the only corn-free one when I was corn-free, and lasts forever in this house where all others mysteriously disappear in no time. We have a septic and that figures into the equation too.

I noticed that with the store-brand Garbanzos yesterday. :think

If I'm buying soda, it's generally Coke, A&W Root Beer or Vernor's. But that's not very often.

ketchup--although I think Meijer now has a store-brand ketchup w/o hfcs

Until my recent purchase of a huge bucket of Charlies, I only bought All Free and Clear or Purex Free and Clear.

[LoveIsGentle]

Peanut butter. I just can't handle generic.

[ReedleBeetle]

Oh yeah....we buy Jif Natural or skippy natural. :yes

[chasingbutterflies]

oh yeah, if we're going to buy soda (which is, like, every other month here - we've really cut back) it's ALWAYS Coca-Cola or Dr. Pepper. No store brand soda here, it's just not worth it. :giggle

[gerberadaisy]

There's not much I don't buy generic but I'm picky on my generics too, only from certain stores:

campbell's/progresso soups: if I'm going to be eating it from the can (i.e. just eating soup) so all brothy soups. However if I'm going to be putting them in a casserole, I'll use generic cream soups sometimes. Sometimes it depends on when I'm doing the shopping because sometimes I get gaggy about it while I'm shopping. I'm just weird like that.

Stayfree pads and playtex tampons: I HATE Always but will buy them if they are significantly on sale or they're out of stayfree. I also HATE tampax tampons. I have a brand new box that's several years old because they are only for emergency back up if I've run out of the good stuff.

Lysol counter wipes: only found one store brand that was tolerable but forget which store and don't care much for the clorox one's....besides I've found that the lysol are generally cheaper.

Oreos: I'm buy other cookies and I'll even buy other chocolate sandwich cookies but if they're claiming to be a sub for oreos, I'm not falling for it.

that's pretty much all I generally don't buy generic or store brand or whatever I have a coupon for.

As for the person who mentioned ginger ale...I recently discovered the worlds BEST ginger ale, and I'm not even a huge GA fan...Natural Brew Outrageous Ginger Ale is so good. It's a bit pricey and only comes (to my knowledge) in a 4 pack but for an occasional treat, it can't be beat.

[Mama Rophe]

Heinz HFCS-free ketchup
Kraft ranch
Scott TP
I won't buy Maxwell House or Folger's coffee. It has to actually taste good. :giggle I like Green Mountain but do not buy just this brand.

[DancingWithElves]

:scratch :think

:think

:idea
:think
:doh :no :scratch

ok, i can't play this one, i, apparently, have ZERO brand preference of loyality :lol

[3boysforme]

I won't buy Maxwell House or Folger's coffee. It has to actually taste good. :giggle


Ha ha ha. My sister will only drink Foldgers :shiver I tell her all the time when she wants some real coffee to come to my house.


I will not buy generic paper products or soaps.

Most food stuff I will buy generic with a few exceptions:

Mac and Cheese (Kraft)
Soda (Coca-cola)
Bread (Nature's own multi grain)

I'm sure there are others, but that is what came to my mind first.

[Lady Grey]

Dh - Heinz ketchup and Q-Tips

Me - Huggies unscented baby wipes, no major food preferences unless I am pg - then there are only certain breads I like (it's a texture thing) and milk (Target and TomThumb/Lucerne milk is good - Sprouts and Kroger are NOT :yuck)

DD - Brown Cow yogurt, Skippy Natural (we all like this one :D )

[mipennsn]

My pads have to be Kotex. Always broke me out when I used them eons ago. I am switching to using a Diva Cup.

I actually prefer Aldi's brand of woven wheat crackers over the name brand.

I agree about generic Mac & Cheese. Must be Kraft.

Pop for cola has to be Coke. Dh likes his Mt. Dew, generic doesn't bother me.

Hot Chocolate I really prefer Carnation Rich Chocolate, but they don't carry it at Walmart anymore and I haven't bought the canister from Meijer. Swiss Miss dark chocolate is an OK substitute.

[Beth1231]

Peanut butter-it has to be natural of some sort

Ketchup-No HFCS and so far, I've only seen that with Heinz at the stores I shop at

Jelly-Same as Ketchup except the brand varies (usually Simply Fruit)

Pads-This is probably the only thing I have serious brand loyalty to

Toothpaste-We get Glister (online company)

There are probably a few more, but those are the ones that immediately come to mind.

[mipennsn]

Ivory dish soap - others eat up my hands

[3boysforme]

Hunts now makes a HFCS free ketchup.

[MarynMunchkins]

Dr. Pepper.

Everything else I don't really care about, but Dr. Pepper is nectar of the gods and not to be imitated. :no

[Six Little Feet]

Ha ha ha. My sister will only drink Foldgers :shiver I tell her all the time when she wants some real coffee to come to my house.





I am with you. Cheap coffee :shiver

[ReedleBeetle]

Hunts now makes a HFCS free ketchup.

Yes, they do. I don't like it as well. :P~

Jelly, yes, I forgot jelly too....we use the reduced sugar because they have no HFCS and no artificial sweetners.

[deena]

Reedle beetle- agreed on the Swiffer products

Lady TS- how do you consume so few paper towels?

I also agree with everyone who says no to generic cola. It is grosssss!

Funny how mac and cheese is on pretty much everyone's list.

[ReedleBeetle]

When we did mac and cheese it was either the Kraft Mac and Cheese (powdered cheese) or Annie's Shells and Cheddar. Oh....Annie's is....heavenly. :melting Oh how I miss it. :pout

[CrunchySeaSalt]

I don't buy offbrand except apricot and grape jelly and chili sauce for meatballs at christmas.

I get name brand for under .20 more per item fp but MOSTLY I pay less for the name brand b/c I use only coupons and sales for 75% of our purchasing. (milk eggs *fresh* fruits& veggies etc are rarely a good sale)

[RealLifeMama]

Butter.
Store brand butter is terrible.

[deena]

i actually prefer a specific "off" brand of mac and cheese. Best Yet is the store brand here and its delicoius.

Is it Wegman's? When we lived in Syracuse we loved it! In fact, if we ever pass through the area we pick up a load of it. :)

[mommy2abigail]

I only have two things I am loyal to...Boars Head lunch meat and Kraft mayo. Hellmans...:sick and any other lunch meat...:sick:sick:sick Pretty much everything else I go with what's cheapest.:shifty

[AmyDoll]

Bounty Paper Towels - Select-a-size
"Instead" soft cups (disposable menstural cup)
Rainbow Light Vitamins
Hidden Valley Ranch
Tropicana OJ
Kirkland Ice Cream (Costco FTW - I'll eat anything that is basically Sugar & Cream tho)

[Victorious]

I'll be the first who always buys generic mac and cheese :giggle We grew up on the generic type, my mom always tells the story of the time she was so excited to buy the "real" stuff b/c she had a coupon and my sister and I told her it "tasted funny" and didn't eat it :doh

HEB (TX grocery chain) has awesome store brand stuff, a lot of the time better than name brand, and they've been appealing to the shoppers with healthier desires, i.e. their store brand ketchup is HFCS free and they just came out with a whole selection of sugar cane store-brand sodas. I :heart my HEB

I do however only buy name brand

Dawn
Velveeta :bag but the store brand doesn't melt :scratch
Crest (come from a Crest loyal family with next to-no cavities)

That's all I can think of. It took a while for dh to realize that cheap does not equal gross. His mom buys all name brand stuff (we're talking name brand salt) so it took some experience for him to realize that 90% of the time it's the same stuff.

[ncsweetpea]

These are non-negotiable name brands for us:
Dove soap
Cheezits (seriously my husband told me during premarital counseling to NEVER buy him Cheese Nips)
Philly cream cheese
Frank's Hot Sauce
Stoneyfield Yogurts

[deena]

Cheezits (seriously my husband told me during premarital counseling to NEVER buy him Cheese Nips)


Too funny.

Someone else in this thread mentioned those too. :think

[3boysforme]

I don't buy offbrand except apricot and grape jelly and chili sauce for meatballs at christmas.

I get name brand for under .20 more per item fp but MOSTLY I pay less for the name brand b/c I use only coupons and sales for 75% of our purchasing. (milk eggs *fresh* fruits& veggies etc are rarely a good sale)


I do not coupon for food because I get food stamps, but I have just started couponing for paper goods and I am AMAZED at the amount of money I am saving! I love it!

[mellifera]

Peanut butter. I just can't handle generic.

Generic peanut butter is for the dog. My mom didn't realize this and made ds a sandwich with the dog peanut butter--which wouldn't have been a problem, except the knife goes in the pb jar, in the slobbery, yucky kong, back in the pb...:sick

[ReedleBeetle]

I do not coupon for food because I get food stamps, but I have just started couponing for paper goods and I am AMAZED at the amount of money I am saving! I love it!

:shifty I'm curious. Are you not allowed to coupon with food stamps? Or do you just not need to? When I was on food stamps, I couldn't afford anything couponable, so I didn't bother. :giggle And I was WAY younger than I am now. :shifty I didn't want to break out the scissors. :rolleyes

[Charlie U]

Oh! Toothpaste. You can keep your hippie toothpaste. Tom's of Maine is gross. I tried another one and it was even more foul. I'll keep my Colgate and/or Crest, thank you very much. :snooty ;) Okay, those aren't generics that I won't buy, but I'm a staunch supporter of what I like. :giggle

TP must be Charmin. Or else. We've been through this discussion several times, though. :shifty Just ask Laura over there. :shifty

[Lily]

HEB (TX grocery chain) has awesome store brand stuff, a lot of the time better than name brand, and they've been appealing to the shoppers with healthier desires, i.e. their store brand ketchup is HFCS free and they just came out with a whole selection of sugar cane store-brand sodas. I :heart my HEB
.

I LOVE HEB! It is the bestest. I always take a cooler with me when we visit family in S. Texas and stock up on awesome things like HEB fajita meat and Opa sausages.

[Waterlogged]

I miss HEB...

[abbiroads]

French's yellow mustard.
No generic mustards for oldst dd and I. :snooty
We are mustard connoiseuers.
Not only is is used on sandwiches, but to dip sliced cheese and pretzels and chips in and sometimes tostitos topped w/ slice of cheese and lunchmeat dipped in mustard. :yum
.
What is it with mustard? Everyone at my house, except me, likes yellow mustard and it has to be the right brand (idk which one) and then they all have another favorite mustard: peppadew, horseradish, brown, dejion. Its confusing.
I am with you. Cheap coffee :shiver
:shiver

[Lily]

What is it with mustard? Everyone at my house, except me, likes yellow mustard and it has to be the right brand (idk which one) and then they all have another favorite mustard: peppadew, horseradish, brown, dejion. Its confusing.


I only like Beaver something hot and sweet mustard.

[greendelight]

Ketchup must be Heinz, and peas must be Le Sueur.

[Mommainrwanda]

I can't really play along since most of our stuff comes from UAE or Europe and I don't know if they qualify has generic or name brand in those places :giggle

But!

When people send us packages they almost always send Bridgeford pepperoni and it ALWAYS molds :jawdrop Sometimes it is even moldy before the package arrives :crazy2 (I think it is a Wally-world off-brand)

So, I feel bad, but when people ask what they can send I specify "Hormel Pepperoni." I feel like such a snob :snooty

[Zooey]

No. Cheap. Tea.
Not for me. (I think they make it from sawdust or something). I go to the terrific natural foods section at Wegman's, they have a large selection of a variety of excellent brands.
I will drink Red Rose if necessary. That is my fallback. But Typhoo, PG Tips, and the wonderful flavored teas from the better companies are the best.
Especially PG Tips: nectar of the gods.

[Annainprogress]

Ketchup - Heinz reduced salt reduced sugar (no sweeteners, not find a generic reduced salt one without them)

Baked beans (here that is haricot beans in orange tomato sauce) - used to just be Heinz reduced salt reduced sugar (again no sweeteners) but Sainsbury's do a store brand with no sweeteners too now

Mayo - Hellmann's (free range eggs) usually the light

Cereals - I often buy weetabix or kellogg's now because I'm boycotting nestlé and they make a lot of the generics, including some products they don't sell at all under nestlé brand. (keep meaning to write to supermarkets to try to get out off them which products are made by General Mills and which aren't)

Sugar - I will buy pretty much any brand/generic which is fairtrade. Otherwise only Silver Spoon because it's made with 100% British grown sugar beet so I know fairtrade isn't an issue.

Washing powder - I very rarely but anything other than Ecover because usually when I try other brands I'm allergic. I mostly buy Ecover washing up liquid too. I try to buy all eco-friendly cleaning stuff, Ecover or Method or sometimes store brand.

Bath stuff, shampoo etc - I need sls free which basically rules out generic. Halos & Horns for the kids. Varies for me depending what I can find, Tesco spouted selling the brands I used to buy from them so mostly looking in local HFS now, might try to do an internet order next, and check what lush more has which is free from sls & als.

Coffee is always fairtrade but I can get good generic ground coffee.

That's all I can think of for now :think

[Mama Calidad]

:tu HEB brand stuff is generally awesome. I did think of one other of their versions that's not as good, though. Ice cream. Blue Bell is way better. :yes

Yes, we've done the tp discussion. I think it was roundly agreed that Charmin bears even display on their own ads that Charmin is linty. :yes

and peas must be Le Sueur.

Oh, yes! :yes I'll put frozen peas on salad or in a casserole, but if we're having a side of peas it MUST be Le Sueur. :yes

[nadezhda]

The only name-brand item we buy consistently is Arm & Hammer powdered detergent. :shrug Oh, and Red Baron pizza (the generic pizzas around here are :yuck) :shiver. Besides, I grew up w/Chicago style pizza & Red Baron makes a nice, thick-crust pan pizza. :yum It's extremely hard to find thick-crust pizza in NY - even frozen. :sigh

[eoconnel]

Ketchup-only buy Simply Heinz
mustard-must be Gulden's Brown Mustard
cream of Soups in a can only buy Campbell's
cubed Bouillon-Herb Ox

I that there are more, but those are the ones that I buy the most so I can remember them right off the top of my head.

[RosieTook]

French's mustard.
Heinz ketchup.
Kraft dressings.
McVitties digestives...they are WAY better taste/quality.
Canada Dry Ginger Ale. :snooty

[mipennsn]

Don't buy store brand cheese, chunk. We got some because it was a good price. Sharp cheader should have a bite! This didn't. Kraft is ok. Cabbot is even better. The sharper the better for me. I love good sharp cheese!!!

[Annainprogress]

McVitties digestives...they are WAY better taste/quality.


I don't know about I'm the US but over here in the Uk it's all about cooking temp & time. The same factory makes everyone's digestives to pretty much the exact same recipe, the difference is some "brands" have them cooked at a slightly different temp or for a bit longer than other brands

[breezy88]

Honey Nut Cheerios
Coke
Raisin Bran
Soup crackers (saltines)
Stone Wheat Thins
Nutella
Jam

[Lady TS]

Cheezits (seriously my husband told me during premarital counseling to NEVER buy him Cheese Nips)



I was the same way. I totally :heart'd the Reduced Fat Cheezits. But then I avoided them for like a year and when I bought a box after that, they did not have the cheeziness they used to have. They kind of rather tasted like cardboard. :shifty I don't know if my tastebuds changed, or if they changed their recipe during the time I was avoiding.

---------- Post added at 11:38 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:35 AM ----------


Lady TS- how do you consume so few paper towels?



I get the Bounty select-a-size when I buy them.

And I use microfiber cloths to clean with. I got like 2 dozen of them from Sam's a few years ago. I have rags that I use for really grody jobs. And newspaper works pretty well for outside windows that are particularly gross too.

I do sometimes use Clorox wipes on the toilets though. :shifty

---------- Post added at 11:45 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:38 AM ----------

No. Cheap. Tea.
Not for me. (I think they make it from sawdust or something). I go to the terrific natural foods section at Wegman's, they have a large selection of a variety of excellent brands.
I will drink Red Rose if necessary. That is my fallback. But Typhoo, PG Tips, and the wonderful flavored teas from the better companies are the best.
Especially PG Tips: nectar of the gods.

:shifty I just complained to dh this morning about my Red Rose tea. I am finding it...less than stellar. But I am trying to drink through the box before I buy more black tea...heaven knows I have plenty of tea in the cabinet. :lol I had gotten some Organic(Bigelow?Bentley?) awhile back and loved it, but can't seem to find it again...

I might just have to pull out my PG Tips later today....

[RosieTook]

Cheezits (seriously my husband told me during premarital counseling to NEVER buy him Cheese Nips)

I can't stand Cheezits...or Cheetos or any kind of puffy cheese thingy. It HAS to be Hawkins Cheezies. :rockon

I don't know about I'm the US but over here in the Uk it's all about cooking temp & time. The same factory makes everyone's digestives to pretty much the exact same recipe, the difference is some "brands" have them cooked at a slightly different temp or for a bit longer than other brands

Very interesting to know. :D We've tried other brands when the McVitties were gone...in our tiny town the store will be out for weeks at a time, and they were so ick we just go without if there are no McVitties. :snooty

Also, we like Tetley tea...when it comes to orange pekoe, anyway. Red Rose is just gagging. :shifty

Also, chocolate milk...here on the island the main brands are Dairyland, Island Farms and Foremost...the Island Farms is BY FAR the superior chocolate milk. Foremost will do in a pinch or for a craving, but Dairyland...no way. It's a waste of money in our house, even the girls won't have more than a cup or two. Blech. So of course, neither of the stores sell Island Farms chocolate milk, just the regular. Ugh. But we prefer the Island Farms, full stop...it's as local as it gets within our budget. :tu

[milkmommy]

Hunts now makes a HFCS free ketchup.

but it is NASTY!!! really sweet like icky sweet to me I'll only get the simpily Heinz I dont even like the organic version :shifty

MAc N cheese needs to be kraft and the powdered not the squeeze out the glop kind..

Hidden valley especially for ranch others are grittty.. DH like italian an I get whatever for that..

Kotex pads

no generic dish soap too watery and pointless

Renolds alluminum foil the geneic jsut shreads and is pointless

skippy PB only the regular with the blue lid :shifty

no generic Jams

No generic bread (all has HFCS)

crayola crayons markers paints ect I hate generic the are dull and pointless

generic rasin bran or cheerios :sick So othes I dont mind


Deanna

[deena]

When I bought mustard this week I made sure to get name brand cuz of you ladies. :giggle

[chasingbutterflies]

I discovered this week I MUCH prefer Simply Heinz to Hunts. Huh. :shifty

[milkmommy]

I discovered this week I MUCH prefer Simply Heinz to Hunts. Huh. :shifty

:yes Totally! Heinz in gluten free as well Hunts is not.. Its not a big deal for my family but is for many.

Deanna

[me]

no generics for me, with anything. :giggle
ok, let me explain. necessities for me have no name brand. fruit is fruit, veggies are veggies, meat is meat. i see store brands as more of a luxury or treat. i generally go the natural route. so if im gonna be bad im gonna be gooooood at being bad. ha ha haaa

[Macky]

no generics for me, with anything. :giggle
ok, let me explain. necessities for me have no name brand. fruit is fruit, veggies are veggies, meat is meat...

This. I grew up with very little and for the processed food we do purchase, buying generic brings back those days. There are even a couple of perfectly fine stores that I will not go in the doors of because of the association (DH understands and doesn't press me). I will only buy generic if it genuinely tastes better than a brand name. We only buy no name french fries (string cut with the skin still on, so good) from Extra Foods (Superstore).