YOUR DOLLAR
Union, Consumers
Your Dollar By CONSUMERS UNION Cola Drinks DO YOU ask for a "coke" at the soda fountain ? If so, the clerk must serve you Coca-Cola, Federal courts have ruled. Pepsi-Cola, Spur, and other cola...
...Cleo Cola, Spur, and Pepsi-Cola are among the "Best Buys...
...Consumers Union tests indicate that quality and composition of both bottled products is quite uniform throughout the nation...
...But general quality, as measured by absorbency and bursting strength, is much the same...
...A few brands were rated down, though, for excessive harshness...
...Most cake flour is not enriched...
...Next best was Junket, which has the flavor already included but must have cream added...
...Decrees handed down by Federal District Courts in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Michigan, California, and Washington have ruled that "coke" is the exclusive property of Coca-Cola and that to apply the word to Pepsi-Cola or other cola brands is false and misleading...
...And as usual, you need not pay top prices to get a top grade of tissue...
...Flour 'Best Buys' White flour is a much better food buy than it used to be, reports Consumers Union...
...Therefore, CU's advice is to buy the brands which give you most for your money...
...None contains cocaine, and even the strongest have much less caffeine than a cup of coffee...
...All use about the same flavors—extracts of the cola nut and the coca leaf or artificial cola flavor, sugar, acid, artificial flavor, and caramel color...
...Pepsi-Cola, Spur, and other cola drinks are not entitled to be known by the name "coke" which has been built up with millions of dollars worth of Coca-Cola advertising...
...CU tested 12 brands for sugar content, acidity, and carbonation...
...Toilet Tissues Toilet tissues are generally no worse than before the acute paper shortage, CU found in testing 83 brands...
...But some of the mixes were found to be of good quality...
...They're still not so good as whole wheat flour, but the enrichment is a big help to your nutrition...
...Although CU found considerable difference in the softness of various brands, this was not considered in the ratings...
...Statler and Pacific (A & P) were rated as "Best Buys...
...True, they're not bleached as white as they used to be, and a few brands have been skimped in size...
...As with vanilla ice cream, the tasters preferred commercial ice cream to home-made...
...Londonderry also was liked by the tasters...
...Aside from the brand name and the quantity you get, you'll find few differences in cola drinks...
...its sugar content is 10.7 per cent compared to Coca-Cola's 9.3 per cent...
...Coca-Cola is still far in the lead in national distribution...
...In its August Reports, Consumers Union points out that "coke" has become a part of the American vocabulary as a result of Coca-Cola's steady and expensive advertising over the years to make "have a coke," along with "the pause that refreshes," a national slogan...
...Pepsi-Cola, probably Cocoa-Cola's stiffest competitor, plugs the slogan, "twice as much for a nickle," aimed directly at Coca-Cola's six-ounce bottle in contrast to Pepsi-Cola's 12-ounce size (see cut...
...High quality brands sell for as low as 7 cents for a roll of 1,000 sheets...
...The best of the chocolate flavored ice cream mixes was Frizz, which requires the addition of water and chocolate flavoring...
...Flavored Ice Cream Mixes CU's taste squad has moved on to taste chocolate, strawberry, and other ice cream mixes sold in grocery stores...
...Among the excellent quality family flours tested by CU were: Finast, Ecco, Kitchen Craft, Red & White, Co-op, PiUsbimfs, and Gold Medal...
...Since rationing, differences in sweetness have been cut considerably...
...Most of the all-purpose or family type flours are now enriched—which means the manufacturer puts back part of the vitamins and minerals which were removed in milling...
...it has more than 1,000 bottlers around the country, while Pepsi-Cola has some 500...
...Pepsi-Cola, incidentally, is somewhat sweeter than Coca-Cola...
...CU reports in its August issue on tests of 26 all-purpose or family flours, 21 cake flours as well as various brands of whole wheat, soy, rye, and gluten flour...
...According to CU, Coca-Cola "still maintains the dubious distinction of giving you the least for your money in cola drinks...
...Actual baking tests were made as well as laboratory analyses of the flours...
...Degree of softness seems to be largely a matter of personal preference...
Vol. 8 • September 1944 • No. 36
