Store-bought Gravy

By Jackie Watanabe

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Summary

Thanksgiving is just days away, and if you're stressed for time, a store-bought gravy could save you some time. But will it fool your dinner guests? Consumer Reports cooked up some tests to find out.

Story Published: Nov 25, 2009 at 7:33 PM PST

Chef Jehan De Noue makes gravy from scratch and says gravy can make or break a meal.

"It's extremely important. It's probably what makes the whole meal," says De Noue.

But making gravy from scratch can take time so Consumer Reports taste-tested 10 store-bought turkey gravies. Those included ones from McCormick, Campbell's, and Boston Market. Some were dry just-add water mixes, and others were ready-made straight-from-a-can or jar -- just heat and serve.

"We tasted several different gravies straight up and on mashed potatoes, and some of the things we looked at were the texture and how much turkey flavor they had," says Maxine Siegel of Consumer reports.

Some weren't so tasty. The Franco-American Slow Roast gravy was starchy and jelly-like. The same went for the Simply Organic Roasted dry mix. It also tasted bitter.

The Serv-A-Gravy didn't have much flavor at all.

Consumer Reports did find one gravy that comes close to homemade. It's the Knorr Roasted Turkey Gravy mix.

"It had a big roasted-turkey taste sweet caramelized flavors that blended really well with the herbs," Siegel says.

It might be worth trying if you're short on time.