The other day I made a new store brand purchase of Market Pantry Instant Oatmeal. I wanted to determine if this would be an item that we could make a switch to, to save a little money. I try to make a purchase like this at least once or twice during our two large shopping trips for the month. When we make these purchases, they are intended to determine if the quality is similar to the brand that we normally purchase, so that we are able to replace the more expensive brand.
I chose Market Pantry’s Instant Oatmeal Maple & Brown Sugar to compare to Quaker Instant Oatmeal Maple & Brown Sugar. While the flavors are somewhat similar, the Quaker has a much sweeter, fuller flavor. This wasn’t an area that discouraged me from making the purchase again in the future. The major difference in the oatmeal was the tenderness of Quaker’s oatmeal compared to Market Pantry which seemed a little like cardboard.
In Market Pantry’s defense, I have tried Aldi’s brand of instant oatmeal as well, and the taste was definitely lacking there too. It really makes me wonder how there could be such a difference in the quality of the oatmeal when both are oatmeal. It’s not as if there is some inferior cardboard oatmeal growing in a field somewhere. After some research about oatmeal, I figured that the difference is probably in the manufacturing process where the oats are steamed and roasted.
I may be a Quaker Instant Oatmeal snob, but I do like to enjoy a bowl of oatmeal when I am eating it. I am not paying an excessive amount for the Quaker, since I usually wait for the oatmeal to go on sale, but it is a little frustrating when the store brand quality is so inferior that it isn’t even worth buying, even if the Quaker oatmeal isn’t on sale.