Warm hors D’oeuvres seem like an upgrade
from the usual cheese and crackers, but are products from a super-market
freezer case worth serving your guests? Yes, if you choose right.
Our trained tasters tried six spanakopites (aka
spinach pies or triangles), six mozzarella sticks, and six mini tacos or
taquitos (their tortilla is rolled like a cigar). Half of the 18-all six
spanakopites plus one mozzarella stick and two mini tacos-are very good. The
rest are just decent.
Our
trained tasters tried six spanakopites (aka spinach pies or triangles), six
mozzarella sticks, and six mini tacos or taquitos (their tortilla is rolled
like a cigar).
When it comes to nutrition, all earned a
score of Good, based on calories per gram of food, fats, sodium, sugars iron,
calcium, and fiber. Per piece, however, their nutrition numbers differ. For
example, sodium ranges from 55 milligrams to 255 milligrams per piece. As a
group, the mozzarella sticks tend to have more calories, fat, and sodium than
the other types. Sizes range from about ½ to 1 ounce per piece tend to be in
the biggest packages.
Spanakopites.
Most of these Greek snacks have
fresh-tasting spinach that blends well with feta cheese in browned, crispy
phyllo. The best of all, Cuisine Adventures spanakopita (Costco) and The Fillo
Factory, cost about one-fifth as much as Dufour per piece. Cuisine Adventures
tastes freshly prepared; Athens has a hint of dill; Trader Joe’s has more feta
than most and tastes a bit saltier.
The
Fillo Factory
Mozzarella sticks.
Farm Rich are big, made of cheese with just
the right amount of stretch, and have a lightly seasoned, browned, crispy
coating. They cost just 27 cents each. Drawbacks in the other five products
include dehydrated seasonings, uneven texture, and off-tastes. Appetitos
sticks, for example, have an overused-oil flavor; Alexia sticks have slightly
rubbery cheese; T.G.I. Friday’s sticks had more breading than cheese after most
of the cheese leaked out. Appetitos, T.G.I. Friday’s, and Nice come with
dipping sauces, which didn’t help their flavor.
Farm
Rich cheese sticks
Mini tacos and taquitos.
Don Miguel and Trader Joe’s combine tasty
chicken and flavorful, spicy sauce in a tasty corn tortilla. Trader Joe’s sauce
has less of a kick and has a tomatillo flavor. Those two cost less than the
rest per piece but are also about half the size of most. Lowest- rated Delimex
has a tasty corn tortilla, but that’s about it. The filling’s ground chicken
reminded testers of chicken liver.
Trader
Joe’s sauce
Bottom line.
Eat your spinach. The spanakopita
appetizers are the tastiest and have 75 calories or fewer per piece. Pop a few
appetizers, though, and the calories, fat, and sodium can reach dinner –size
levels. Eating a light snack before a party might stop from overdoing it and
ending up with hors d’oeuvre remorse.
The
spanakopita appetizers are the tastiest and have 75 calories or fewer per piece
Ratings in order of taste
365
Everyday Value (Whole Foods)
T.G.I.
Friday’s sticks
