Glade Expressions--a clever prize

Last weekend, my boyfriend and I held a chili cook off. I had planned on giving out a bottle of wine or two as prizes, along with my handmade wine charms, but that didn't seem like enough--or particularly appropriate for a chili cook off.

I had recently joined a BzzCampaign for Glade Expressions Oil Diffusers and Mist, and as I was wandering through Target, I thought "oohhh. A Glade Expression Mist or Diffuser might be good. After all, what happens after chili?" So, I used a couple of the BzzKit coupons to pick up one of each.

I had already tried the fuji apple and cardamom spice oil diffuser.  The scent is extremely strong, so I resorted to putting it in the laundry/cat box room downstairs.  It's really a shame because the container is quite attractive.  That being said, by the time the party rolled around nearly a month later, it actually provided a pretty pleasant scent throughout the lower level of the split level house.  In addition, we'd been using the cotton and Italian mandarin Mist in the bathroom, and that was quite nice (although my boyfriend was initially frustrated by how the bottle design worked).  Yes...these would be a great post-chili prize.

I put the diffuser in with a bottle of my wine and a set of 6 charms in a basket for first place, and the mist with a bottle of wine and 4 charms in a basket for second place. I also put together a third place prize that included a candle. Then, I took some of the remaining coupons and placed one of each of the mist and diffuser coupons into each of the first, second, and third prizes.

When I gave out the prizes later in the night, I joked about how they would need something when they got home to counteract all the chili. Everyone thought that was funny--and a great idea. I told them what I had included in each of the prizes, and if they needed more, I'd included BzzAgent coupons for more.

I offered the remaining coupons to those who hadn't won a prize. Overall, it was a great evening and the Glade Expressions made great prizes.

EVOO Part 2

I received my Filippo Berio olive oil from BzzAgent in the mail the other day, and it immediately found its way into a salad dressing.  Our dressings typically contain lots of garlic, so it may mean little to say that it tasted great.

Still, it seems odd that news is popping up all over the place about olive oil brands.  First, the report on EVOO quality done in California.  Now, today, in an attempt to get me to subscribe to Cooks, I've gotten an ad with a teaser about olive oil brands, which is copied below.

Extra-Virgin Olive Oil: Which brand is worth buying? We tested 10 extra-virgin olive oils, selected from the top-selling supermarket brands in the United States, to see if olive origins or price had any correlation to taste. The oils were tasted plain as well as heated and tossed with pasta. None of the brands could best our favorite olive oil, Columela Extra Virgin Olive Oil, which can be found in high-end grocery stores and gourmet shops. Our tasters' comments for the majority of samples ranged from "soapy and metallic" to "smells like kitty litter." We did, however, find two supermarket brands deemed acceptable for their "fruity, peppery finish" and "clean, green taste." Unsurprisingly, these two finishers were the most expensive of the lot—so when it comes to buying this coveted oil, you do get what you pay for. Read the complete ratings to see which brands of olive oil offer the best combination of value and quality—plus access full taste test results for hundreds of other everyday ingredients when you start your FREE TRIAL membership!

Of course, I don't intend to subscribe, even with a free trial.  If you're not careful "free trials" can be very expensive.  And I already subscribe to a cooking magazine.  Though, I was tempted about the teaser for perfect pie crust using vodka...

Anyway, I note that Filippo Berio does not appear to be amongst the images in the Cooks ad.  Interesting, since it was part of an article that Cooks did in 2008 on the same subject (found here), and labeling it as "recommended with reservations".  Of course, I take the reservations with a grain of salt when the taste testers call it both so mild as to be "boring" and "so floral it's almost like eating perfume."

Now, I'm a pretty "super taster."  That is, I can taste and smell things that most people can't, and I don't taste flowers in Filippo Berio.  That being said, I think the average user of EVOO (at least in this country) is not going to be able to discern the qualities being reported by the trained tasters.  It may be more important to recognize the health benefits of using virgin/extra virgin olive oil rather than the flavor.  In fact, I don't recommend any olive oil for use in some recipes, as it tends to overpower the intended flavor.

EVOO

EVOO.  That's fun to say.  Far more fun than extra virgin olive oil, but that's got its own fun.

Well, I have a new BzzCampaign from BzzAgent.  This one is for Filippo Berio, an Italian-imported EVOO.


When I join campaigns, BzzAgent often provides a quick way to report that I've joined a campaign on Facebook.  Well, this time I did, and one of my foodie friends replies with this:

"Hey, that is one of those fraud brands that was found not to qualify for evoo!"

Uh oh!  I hadn't heard about this.  We use a LOT of olive oil, particularly for dressings, but also for marinades and general cooking, and this is one of the brands we frequently purchase.

I looked to the study that my friend referenced.  The study was done by UC Davis Olive Center in conjunction with the Australian Oils Research Laboratory.

They purchased several samples of Italian, Californian, and Australian olive oils labeled as EVOO.  The brands included 6 Italian, 1 Californian, and 1 Australian.  The samples were then tested at both UC Davis and the Australian Oils Research Laboratory.  The testing included oil analysis, including chemical tests and UV inspection that detect degradation of the oils and contamination with lower quality oils, as well as taste-based analysis (by trained professionals--yes, there are professional olive oil tasters).

The results?  Unfortunately, Filippo Berio failed the taste-based testing in 84% of the samples.  Other brands did better or worse.  Notably, both the Australian and Californian EVOOs got perfect tasting scores.  Filippo Berio did pretty good on the chemical tests, with about a third of the samples failing one out of the four chemical tests, and only had the occasional sample fail the UV test.

So, while it often failed the tastebuds of highly trained tasters, the chemical analysis suggests that it's generally still good for you.

Now, after noting to my friend that I found it odd that testing done by a Californian institute and an Australian research lab found only 2 brands to be deserving of the name EVOO, and those 2 brands happened to be Californian and Australian, she mentioned that she had read that the problems with quality were thought to be due to the shipping and storage of the various brands.  That would make sense.  However, an Australian brand that was originally shipped to the US from Australia, and then back to Australia for testing should have some problems, as well.  Interestingly, though, the Australian brand passed with flying colors.

Now, I don't doubt that the testing is probably accurate, so one must ask a handful of questions:
1.  WHY do the Italian oils do so poorly?  My guess is that storage standards are not necessarily great, since shipping clearly can't be the problem.

2.  Are the Italian brands, including Filippo Berio good?  My guess, based on the chemical analysis, is that yes, they're good.  But not as good as they could be.

3.  Should I be buying/using Filippo Berio or some other Italian brand?  My answer would be to go for the Californian brand or the Australian brand IF you live in California.  As someone who lives in the middle of the country, I don't have access to the Californian brand that was tested.  And even if I did, would it have also suffered from poor storage and/or shipping conditions to get it to me?  I think it would require more testing to determine that.  In the meanwhile, buy a brand you like.  It's still pretty good for you.

4.  Should I be disappointed.  Yes.  While the oil is still good for us, it could be better.  However, without a way to identify which brands are better than others, Filippo Berio did pretty well in the chemical and UV tests, even if it frequently failed the taste tests.  That being said, I honestly probably wouldn't know the difference 99% of the time.

A little something for the Catmonsters

I have a pair of catmonsters.  Yes, that's what they are.  They're sweet, smart, loving little brats.  They're spoiled and evil.  They get into stuff they shouldn't and they do it because they know they're not supposed to.  We still love them.

When we adopted them, they were on a high protein diet, something I had never concerned myself with before these guys.  Of course, they were required to keep their claws, too, which I'd never considered before, either.  We slowly switched them over to a high protein food that we preferred, and, after suffering horrendous gas, we were happy at how healthy and active and happy they were.

Until the boy, Gandalf, had urinary tract problems.  We had him at the vet weekly, and sometimes more often, as crystals would plug him up again and again.  He was prescribed a urinary health formula, which was expensive and required an updated prescription every 6 months.  It didn't seem to help, anyway.  In the end, poor Gandalf had surgery to reroute his urinary tract and remove any extraneous bits that might plug up with crystals.

In the aftermath, we decided that we wanted to keep him on a high protein diet, but still be careful of his urinary health.  We discovered that we could do dry food if we added water to it, since both catmonsters are food hounds and don't mind drinking water to get to their food.  We also supplement with a cranberry powder to keep the pH in his urine down.

As a BzzAgent, I often get to check out new products, sometimes for free, in exchange for talking about the products.  When the Hills Science Diet Ideal Balance campaign came out, I admit I had to think about it hard before taking it on.



My experience with Science Diet included the failed attempt at controlling Gandalf's urinary issues with their prescription urinary health diet.  It was expensive and, while recommended by the vet, was not recommended by people who have used it in the past.

That being said, I looked at this product closely before accepting the campaign.  It includes no corn (check), includes cranberry extract (check), and is high protein (check).  It compares itself nutritionally to several common brands, including Wellness (which comes highly recommended by cat lovers) http://www.hillspet.com/ideal-balance/ideal-balance-home.html  Of course, you have to take that with a grain of salt.  After all, their job is to sell pet food.  But still...

Anyway, I will not likely switch my catmonsters over since I've had excellent results with Wynsong (http://www.wysong.net/products/uretic-healthy-natural-cat-food.php), which is reasonably priced.  But I'll see if the catmonsters like it.

If you wish to try the Ideal Balance, there is a rebate available on the comparison page.  Try it and let me know how things go.