Choices


 
Chris Allingham

Chris Allingham

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I'm standing in Walmart, transfixed by the number of sauces on the shelf. In the photo above, everything you see from left to right is a barbecue sauce, a marinade, a hot sauce or a steak sauce. How can anyone decide which one to buy?

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I swing past the hot dog aisle. I notice an entire section of sausages I've never seen before. Harley-Davidson Sausages? Jack Link's Sausages? Some newfangled gourmet sausages from Johnsonville and Hillshire Farms? Guy Fieri makes a nacho-flavored sausage? So many choices! Too many choices?

Don't get me wrong, I like choices. But people can feel paralyzed by too many choices, whether in the grocery store or in their 401(k) plan. People may choose not to choose when there are too many choices. One study showed that people buy more jam at the supermarket when fewer choices are offered. Researcher Sheena Iyengar says that when Procter and Gamble reduced the varieties of Head and Shoulders Shampoo from 20 to 15, they saw a 10% increase in sales. And interestingly, people may feel less satisfied about their choice when many choices are offered, because they're worried they could have made a better choice!

What do you think? Are there too many choices at the supermarket? Specific to barbecuing and grilling, are there too many sauces and rubs and marinades on the market? Do you ever choose not to choose? Do you ever buy something wondering if you made the right choice?
 
Funny - I walk right by all that stuff. The only "sauce" I get is Superstore knock-off of Frank's Red Hot (for chicken wings - Buffalo Style). I make my own sauces. And I would not even call those franks/wieners edible; a friend runs a Euro butcher shop where on rare occasions I buy a dozen for the kids. And that is only for the campfire. Next time for fun, read the labels and make a list of the non-food additives(colourants, preservatives, etc.) in the sauces and wieners. It will blow you away.
 
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I will try a new sauce/rub/spice if I see numerous people on the forum stating it's good. Example I just tried some Stubbs because a lot of forum folks seem to like it and I think it's a keeper, same with the Weber sauces.
But for the most part I stick to what I like and keep it down to four or five choices. My rib rub is one I make and have used since 1999, never use anything else. Other than that I have almost all the Weber rubs and McCormick rubs and like those on steaks/chicken and chops. Quit making my own as a lot of the newer ones are no longer complete salt bombs like before, which is something I have to watch.
To many choices, I think yes. But for those who like to try different things I guess it's a good thing.
 
lately, with sauces.... I have avoided (and will continue to do so) anything with high fructose corn syrup in it.
and it sucks, cuz there are a few of my favourite sauces that contain it.

I've even seen high fructose corn syrup in BRAT BUNS believe it or not...
the ingredients have changed what I buy and eet

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On the high fructose corn syrup I agree with Jim, and there are not many choices without it, but that gets me going to make my own sauces.

On the sausages, Johnsonville is way better than inedible, its really good stuff made in Wisconsin. I would not give the ones from Guy Fieri much
thought as I think he is really just all about the money.

Too many choices, yes that can get confusing. But if that is the case try your friendly local butcher shop. Its not often that they have let me down.
 
Jim Lampe said:
lately, with sauces.... I have avoided (and will continue to do so) anything with high fructose corn syrup in it.
and it sucks, cuz there are a few of my favourite sauces that contain it.

I've even seen high fructose corn syrup in BRAT BUNS believe it or not...
the ingredients have changed what I buy and eet

high-fructose-corn-syrup.jpg
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Jim don't know if you have tried the Weber sauces. They state no corn syrup right on the bottle and the list of ingredients are things you can pronounce and know not a list of chemicals.
I did a little taste test between the Stubbs regular and the Weber regular sauce and Sweet Baby Rays the Stubbs and the Weber were a lot closer than I would have thought. The SBR more like ketchup to me.
 
Yeah, Weber "seems" better than most, until you start to dig. Caramel coloring for instance. Contains sulfites (great for migraines!) and ammonium (likely from ammonia phosphate) that can cause digestive issues. Frankly high fructose/sucrose is likely the least of one's worries.
 
Rich I have tried Webers sauces... They are good.
Tom, I'll take your word for it (on the syrup), but I'll still pass.

i like Rufus a lot... Sugar/molasses
i like Stubbs a real lot... Same thing either sugar or molasses

i even buy catsup (ketchup) for Liz now with no HFCS.
 
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As far as the sausages/hot dogs go the easy answer is get one of each and have a grill fest and try each one :)

And as far as Guy Fieri goes, i think he is a douche bag now but I ate at his restaurant once in Santa Rosa before he was real big and famous and I will say it was pretty good.
 
It is seriously simple to pretty much duplicate ANY BBQ sauce without all the garbage additives. And to boot, it is way cheaper even if you use farm or organic base stocks.
 
Hmm. This post hit a nerve on lots of things unrelated to my intended topic of choice, like ingredients and opinions about television personalities. Maybe someone will post saying that Harley-Davidson sucks and Indian motorcycles rule. You never know what will happen when you set a post free into the wild. :)
 
I think I have a different food background than most of the members on this board. That does not mean that I'm right, and you are wrong.
None the less, from my point of view, it looks like you use spices, rubs, sauces to make food taste like something else than the basic ingredients.
From my point of view, it looks like you are trying to make food taste something else than the basic ingredients.
Why not try to cook, and then just add salt and pepper, and maybe a squeeze or two from a fresh lemon?
I know that you actually can polish a turd, but that does not make it taste good.

Here where I live, I have a lot of choises, the problem is that they all taste about the same. That's no fun, choosing between twenty different brands of sousages with virtually the same taste. In the last couple of years, I've found out that I can buy locally produced food, and the difference in quality and taste is simply enomous. I'm willing to pay the price.
 
Eating grilled meat causes cancer, so I don't sweat the other stuff.
Sorry Chris, couldn't resist.

You must have some huge Walmarts out there!
Maybe half that many choices here in flyover country.
 
Have been trying out sauces that are not found on ones's grocery story shelves. Some are very good while some not so much. Those shelves of sauce are nothing compared to the shear number of sauces available now through outer channels.
 
Geir Widar said:
I think I have a different food background than most of the members on this board
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Interesting comments, Geir! I wonder how different food trends are in America vs. Norway?

This thread has touched on lots of things that drive food in America. Television celebrities can lend their name to food products. Popular motorcycle brands can somehow lend their brand to food products. The industrialization of food and the whole notion of prepared foods and convenience foods leads to the use of certain ingredients, some maybe not so good for us. Our entrepreneurial spirit leads every barbecue guy/gal to market their own sauce or rub. We have a long love affair in America with brands...brands are thought to connote quality and often we are brand-conscious when we shop. We love variety...variety is the spice of life, as they say, so we don't want 20 sausages that taste the same, we want bourbon hickory and nacho flavored and teriyaki and tequila lime and cheddar cheese. Food is trendy...bacon is the hot craze right now, let's add it to everything! Food is entertainment...on television, on the Web. Food is everything except basic ingredients, as you say!

But it all just gets a bit confusing and tiring sometimes. At least to me. Don't worry, I'll get over it. :)
 
Let me preface this by saying that Pammi Sue is my target taster. If she don't like it,or won't try it,I ain't cooking it. A lot of the rubs I've made,either my own concoction or a recipe,she hasn't cared for,so I won't make 'em anymore. Same with sauces. I have a good basic BBQ recipe in my head that she likes,but it's a lot easier to go get a bottle of SBR at the grocery store. As far as hot dogs go,if it ain't a Nathan's all beef,good luck getting her to try it! So yeah,a lot of the time I won't decide and will just go with what I know we like. hope I didn't ramble too much!
 
Phil Perrin said:
Let me preface this by saying that Pammi Sue is my target taster. If she don't like it,or won't try it,I ain't cooking it. A lot of the rubs I've made,either my own concoction or a recipe,she hasn't cared for,so I won't make 'em anymore. Same with sauces. I have a good basic BBQ recipe in my head that she likes,but it's a lot easier to go get a bottle of SBR at the grocery store. As far as hot dogs go,if it ain't a Nathan's all beef,good luck getting her to try it! So yeah,a lot of the time I won't decide and will just go with what I know we like. hope I didn't ramble too much!
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The same with my baby girl and when Jen picks a sauce / rub I always end up liking her choice.it works so I don't change it.

My 2 cents.

P.s. I bet the Harley Davidson sausage will sell on their popularity alone.
 
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