It’s well known among our readers that we are, in fact, a couple of nerds. Being nerds, we like to apply science wherever we can. Tonight, we used science to finally answer a question that has long plagued mankind: Are Oreo brand cookies really better than their store-brand equivalent?
Here we present our methods and our findings for peer review.
Our experiment was conceived when Marcia (hereafter known as “Subject B”) acquired a package of Oreo cookies as “payment” for babysitting the daughter of some friends while they went roller skating. Since we usually purchase the store brand cookie from Wal-Mart (because it is less expensive), we began to wonder if there was really a significant difference between the two products. We devised an experiment where each of us would sample different cookies blindly, in a random order, and rank them on flavor.
The materials for our experiment were as follows:
- Two Oreo brand sandwich cookies
- Two Wal-Mart “Great Value” brand sandwich cookies
- Two Hy-Vee “Dunkster” sandwich cookies
- One black sleep mask
- Water
- Digital Camera
- Paper plates
Subject A (AKA Jacob) was the first to undergo the rigorous test. He put on the sleep mask and then took a small drink of water to clear his palette. One of each type of cookie was placed on a paper plate. When Subject A was ready, he was given the first cookie. After taking one bite of the cookie, he took another drink of water, and then repeated the process with each cookie, until he had sampled each one.
Subject A then wrote his results down and hid them, so that he would not influence any other subjects.
The experiment was then repeated with Subject B, who also wrote her results without influence from any other subjects.
The subjects sampled their cookies in the following order:
| Subject A | Subject B | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Great Value | Oreo |
| 2. | Dunkster | Great Value |
| 3. | Oreo | Dunkster |
When the subject’s results were compared, they ranked the cookies in the following order, from best to worst:
| Subject A | Subject B | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Oreo | Oreo |
| 2. | Great Value | Great Value |
| 3. | Dunkster | Dunkster |
Each of the subjects independently ranked the cookies in the same order, with the Oreo cookie best, the Great Value cookie second, and the Dunkster cookie third. When the subjects’ notes were compared, each agreed that the Oreo was the best cookie, and the Great Value cookie was a very close second. The flavor of the Oreo and Great Value cookies was nearly identical, but the Oreo cookie prevailed in texture and “mouth feel.” The Great Value cookie was drier and harder than the Oreo. The Dunkster cookie’s flavor was less sweet, one subject described it as “more like baking chocolate.” The texture of the Dunkster cookie was described as “almost stale-like” and “waxy or greasy.”
The bottom line:
All subjects agreed that when a sandwich cookie craving needs filling, the Great Value cookie is an excellent choice for its relative price and flavor, but when the full sandwich cookie experience is of the utmost importance, the Oreo brand cookie is an absolute necessity.