If you're lactose-intolerant or just looking for an alternative to the old-fashioned cows' milk, see which brands are drinkable. More

mattbites.com Matt Armendariz of Matt Bites visited Argentina recently. While there he came across salsa golf, a mixture of ketchup and mayo that he found everywhere. Intrigued by this condiment, he set up a blind taste test of different brands of salsa Ggolf. He tested Hellman's, Danica's, and Fanacoa's versions, as well as the house blend from Home Hotel, where he was staying. After a thorough tasting, he and his companions determined Home Hotel's version to be the best.... More

©iStockPhoto.com/Floortje The Los Angeles Times Food section held a blind tasting of 14 birds, ranging from the standard supermarket kind to the organic, free-range, natural, heritage, air-chilled and kosher—they even tried two from a live poultry store. No clear winners, but they picked a few winners for different reasons. They liked the organic, free-range chicken from Healthy Family Farms in Fillmore "for its flavorful meat and overall appearance," as well as Mary’s chickens from Pitman Farms near Fresno (available at Whole Foods), "for its texture, flavor and crisp skin." Most of the favorites were organic or fed special diets, and almost all were free-range. Another factor was the air-chilled processing method, versus water-chilled. Both of the air-chilled chickens they... More

©iStockphoto.com/JerryPoland The San Francisco Chronicle reports the results of a flour-tortilla taste test it did with 13 varieties: In first place, Trader Jose's Organic tortillas ($1.99/12 tortillas) had a "golden speckled surface" and "a good depth of flavor." Tasters thought these were "serviceable" tortillas, "fresh tasting" and "slightly nutty." Four would buy this brand and one might. And a recipe you might try using with these tortillas: Panuchos Yucatecos con Chorizo. (It calls for corn tortillas, but I'm assuming flour would work, too.)... More

Soy crisps are good because they establish the salty punch—whether ranchy, barbecuey, vinegary, or garlicky—but don't waste calories on a fatty base. No potatoes or other starchy chips, just puffed, low-fat soy crispiness. The San Francisco Chronicle realizes how puffy we all feel after the holidays, and how much we could use "snack alternatives," so they conducted a taste test with five brands. Newman's Own won for tastiest over Whole Foods' store brand 365, Glenny's, Gen Soy, and Safeway's Eating Right. As a soy chipper, I agree with the results, and hope Newman is watching from the clouds, knowing he did right in the soy snack world. Related Was Paul Newman's Greatest Contribution Organic Snack Foods? Paul Newman, as Cool... More

The Boston Globe taste-tested six brands of vanilla ice cream: Edy's, Whole Foods' 365 Organic, Brigham's, Häagen-Dazs, Breyers, and Ben & Jerry's. No one brand was the clear winner but 365 Organic scored the lowest.... More

Washington Post food staffers piled ten store-bought corn tortilla brands into the basket in an effort to choose the corniest. The verdict? Trader Joe's wins with simplicity (just corn, lime, and water in there), the familiar Mission brand is just OK, and ew, Whole Foods generic brand mimicked "a corn-flavored Fruit Roll-Up," noted one taster.... More

The Salt Lake Tribune gets top Utah chefs to taste test military MREs (Meal, Ready to Eat) and captures their priceless expressions on film. More

Like many food lovers, I was enthralled by Kim Severson's story on British chocolate bars in the New York Times. Severson tries to explain why British chocolate bars have a different taste from their U.S. counterparts. She concludes that it is a combination of slightly different ingredients and processing techniques. You've heard of terroir, which is, according to Wikipedia, a "French term in wine and coffee used to denote the special characteristics that geography bestowed upon them." Let's call what Severson reported "factoir," or the special characteristics that factories bestow upon chocolate bars. Even more interesting was the main story's taste-test sidebar, in which Severson concludes that "British chocolate bars do taste better." Not that we don't trust the... More