What Does "Made In America" Really Mean?
Many major brands were founded by Americans, like Nike, Walmart, and Coca-Cola. But it's not enough that the products are made here; now we're also told they taste better. These "Made in America" goods are applauded for their higher quality and “patriotic” appeal.
But is this really true? We wanted to find out.
In our test, Morning Edition host David Greene visited a Whole Foods in Washington, D.C. He bought four different kinds of mayo that are made in the U.S.: Wild Harvest, Trader Joe's brand, 365 Everyday Value brand from Whole Foods and Hellmann's (which is owned by Unilever).
He also bought an imported brand of wasabi mayonnaise from Whole Foods: MAKIKO. And then he had professional taster Jennifer McLagan sample each mayo blindfolded and tell him which mayo was which. Her job was to rank them from best to worst.
And the winner was ...
Jennifer McLagan:
David, the winner was Whole Foods 365. It was smooth and creamy. I loved its flavor, it had a nice pungency of horseradish and the aftertaste was very clean. I thought that Trader Joe's came in second place and wasn't far behind. It had a bit more aggressive horseradish taste that I didn't love but it was still very nice. MAKIKO came in third place for me, still delicious but sweeter than the others with a hint of vanilla and had an almost cooling sensation to it. And Wild Harvest did not win at all. It was too sharp and wholesome for me. I liked that it had a bit of herbaceousness to it, but in the end, I just didn't like the strong flavor.
David:
It sounds like you liked the Whole Foods brand better than I did...
McLagan:
I thought they were all pretty comparable.
The truth about "Made in America" is... complicated! We definitely found that there are brands of mayo that are superior in taste (even though we couldn't tell you which ones they are) -- but not necessarily made here at home.
"Made in America" only has to do with manufacturing. If an item is assembled in America but its component parts come from other countries, it can still be stamped "Made in the USA."
Many of our best-known brands are actually made overseas -- like Apple products or Nike shoes. And even our favorite American brands, like Hellmanns Mayonnaise and Campbell's Soup, aren't always available in store-brand versions that are made here at home.
In 2013, Bloomberg BusinessWeek put together a list of the top 50 brands that claim to be "Made In The United States. This is what they found:
27 aren't really made in America.
23 are partly made abroad. Apple products may be assembled here, but key parts (like the chips) are produced elsewhere.
And the winner for most patriotic product on the list was ... drumroll please ... French's Mustard . It's made in the United States from American-grown mustard seeds.
So, if you believe that a product tastes better because it's technically American-made, you might be surprised to find out that it isn't always true! They can share much of the same manufacturing and assembly processes with products made elsewhere so you really shouldn't judge a book by its cover.
So when you head to the grocery store, please make sure you're buying American-made, not just "Made in America."
For more information about "Made in America" or other topics, check out David's blog at http://www.thedavidgreene.com/blog/ and his podcast at http://www.wbur.org/podcast_1/david-greene-july-26-2013/. To learn more about Jennifer McLagan and her work, go to http://www.jkcooking.com/.
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These four mayo samples were very similar in taste and appearance. The following are my notes on each sample:
1) Wild Harvest - The Wild Harvest brand had the most unusual appearance of the four samples with a yellow-orange tint and a darker color than the Hellmanns or Trader Joe brand. It also was slightly grainier in texture than the other three brands.
1) Whole Foods 365 - this brand was very similar in color to the Trader Joe's brand and had a slightly lighter color than the Hellmanns brand.
2) Trader Joe's - This was the most yellow of the four samples. It had a smooth creamy consistency and a "clean" taste with a hint of pepper that was very similar to Hellmanns.
3) Hellmann's - This was my personal favorite because it was just slightly creamier than the other brands and had an excellent full-flavored taste with hints of horseradish (but not too much). It was a bit grainier in texture than Whole Foods brand and had a more "sharp" taste than the others.
4) MAKIKO - This tasted like regular Japanese mayonnaise with a bit of vanilla. It was definitely creamier than the other brands and had an excellent pungent taste that went well with my ham sandwich.
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Here are my notes about each brand on appearance, consistency and flavor:
1) Wild Harvest - The Wild Harvest brand has a really dark yellow color, similar to mustard oil, that has hints of red and brown as it sits on the countertop during the day. It also has a slightly grainy texture similar to mustard seed.
1) Whole Foods 365 - This brand had a very smooth creamy consistency, almost like mayonnaise. The color was similar to the Trader Joe's brand and slightly lighter than the Hellmanns brand.
2) Trader Joe's - This was the most yellow of the four samples and had a smooth creamy consistency with a "clean" taste that was similar to Hellmann's.
3) Hellmann's - This tasted like regular mayonnaise with a hint of horseradish. It was more "creamier" and smoother in texture than Wild Harvest or Whole Foods brand.
Conclusion:
The Hellmann's brand was definitely my personal favorite because it was "creamier" than the other brands and had a hint of horseradish that went well with my ham sandwich.
2) Trader Joe's - This brand was very similar in color to the Whole Foods 365 brand with a slightly lighter and creamier consistency than the Whole Foods sample.
3) Wild Harvest - The Wild Harvest brand had a really dark yellow color, similar to mustard oil, that has hints of red and brown as it sits on the countertop during the day. It also had a slightly grainy texture similar to mustard seed in terms of its appearance.