WALDEN FARMS RASPBERRY VINAIGRETTE DRESSING

Most raspberry vinaigrette salad dressings seem to just have a hint of raspberry in them but this offering from Walden Farms has an “over-the-top” raspberry taste and smell. Also, most vinaigrettes have a vinegary taste and smell but this one is just over-powered by a overly sweet raspberry essence. It is not really unpleasant but not tangy enough and the taste (like the other Walden Farms dressings) just seems shallow, not complicated and lacking in depth. These are terms not always confined to evaluating tastes but seem to relate, especially to the dressings by Walden Farms. The taste just always seems to “need something more”.

The list of ingredients is almost identical to the other Walden Farms dressings. The ingredient that provides the unique flavor for each dressing seems to be the only difference in any of their dressings. Lately I found a few of their dressings that were not calorie or fat-free and I was worried that maybe they had been guilty of false-advertising and that I would now find that none of their dressing would claim the no fat/no carbs and calorie-free status that they previously had. However, I recently found more of their products that still make that claim including this raspberry vinaigrette. So I guess my fears were unfounded. I just wish the only things lacking were the fat, calories, and cabs but I always find them lacking.



Taste Rating = 3 bottles
Overall Rating = 3 bottles
Style Category = Vinaigrette
Fat Category = fat free
Calorie Category = no calorie
Nutritional Category = none
Sodium Category = med

WALDEN FARMS ITALIAN DRESSING

I keep trying the Fat Free/Sugar Free/Calorie Free dressings from Walden Farms and continue to be disappointed. I guess the only reason I keep trying is that I would love to find one that I liked that I could use in a quantity more than the recommended quantity of normal dressings without worrying about the bad stuff. This dressing is not as weak as many of the Walden Farms dressings are but my opinion about the taste is not favorable.

To begin with the smell is not exactly pleasant. It is vinegary but with another smell that I can’t quite place my finger on. I guess it is the combination of garlic, onion, oregano, and red bell peppers. Normally I would like this combination but with this dressing it misses the mark. The taste is not even reminiscent of Italian dressing. I taste this one and just think “yuk” and this continues throughout the entire salad. By the time I reach the bottom I can’t wait to get finished with it. It has a “pucker” that many times I find pleasant because it means there is some taste that is tart and interesting but the “pucker” with this one just means I can’t stand it.

The only thing this dressing has going for it is the lack of sugar, fat, and calories. It has a deeper yellow color than most Italian dressings and the sodium falls in the medium range. I’m about ready to stop reviewing the Walden Farms dressings but I still have a few left to do. In the meantime I’m still hoping for one that I can use frequently without gagging. This one is not quite as bad as the Creamy Bacon dressing but not much.

Taste Rating = 1 bottles
Overall Rating = 2 bottles
Style Category = Italian
Fat Category = none
Calorie Category = none
Nutritional Category = none
Sodium Category = med

WALDEN FARMS ITALIAN SUN DRIED TOMATO DRESSING

Finally a Zero-Calorie, Fat-free, Sugar-free dressing that is not too bad. This is a second Italian style dressing from Walden Farms and is totally different than the first one – in appearance and taste. This one is a dark brown color that is so dark that you cannot see through it. It does have the characteristic suspended particles. This dressing reminds me more of a balsamic vinegar dressing than a normal Italian one.

This dressing seems to have a little more “content” or complexity than most of the other dressings from Walden Farms. This is confirmed by looking at the label where there are a couple more ingredients than some of the other dressings. It does have balsamic vinegar, sun dried tomatoes, and red bell peppers in addition to all of the other normal ingredients. All this said – the dressing is still not that good – it is just not too bad. It is not as sweet as many of the other dressings and after using it for several days I don’t cringe at the smell of this dressing like I do for several other Walden Farms dressings. I am getting very tired of their products and will not be in a hurry to try any new products from them. I have also tried their BBQ sauce, ketsup, cocktail sauce and cannot stomach another bite of them but this dressing won’t be a favorite but not one that I would avoid using again.

Taste Rating = 3 bottles
Overall Rating = 3 bottles
Style Category = Italian
Fat Category = zero
Calorie Category = zero
Nutritional Category = none
Sodium Category = med

WALDEN FARMS CREAMY BACON DRESSING

This is another calorie-free/fat-free/sugar-free offering from Walden Farms. I have tried several others and found them lacking in taste just because of the lack of intensity. That is not true of this dressing. From the minute you open this bottle you never have to guess what it is. It has an overpowering bacon smell and taste.

I think people as a whole love the taste and smell of bacon. If you put out a survey I believe the smell of bacon cooking in the morning would be ranked in the top 10 in the list of favorite smells and that would include me. This is the first dressing I have seen that has a label on it saying “heat and serve”. I guess they are trying to play into this opinion on favorite smells. However, after smelling this dressing I might have to revise my list. It is hard to explain but this dressing smells and tastes too much like bacon. I have not tried heating it up but a colleague did and the air in the office took several hours to clear. In fact, when I went home in the evening I thought I could still smell it and it was not pleasant.

You might ask “how could the smell of bacon be bad?” and that is a legitimate question. Prior to using this dressing I would have asked the same question but now I know. This dressing doesn’t actually have any real bacon in it, only imitation bacon bits and it is pretty far down the list of ingredients so I don’t know how they came up with this smell and taste. It is just too strong. I think with nearly all other dressings I think I can always use them as a marinade or a seasoning in cooking but that will never happen with this dressing.



Taste Rating = 1 bottles
Overall Rating = 2 bottles
Style Category = Misc
Fat Category = fat free
Calorie Category = no calorie
Nutritional Category = none
Sodium Category = low