Jell-O's latest help for dieters and for those on low-fat diets is a fat-free, sugar-free instant pudding. The one-ounce box retails for 51 cents and comes in the following flavors: vanilla, chocolate fudge, butterscotch, banana cream and pistachio.
Don Russell (married, five children at home, ages 6-16): "Our sugar-free instant chocolate pudding didn't yield any surprises. This fat-free pudding tasted exactly as we anticipated. Some family members moaned as they tasted it, while others were content to have another bowl. If you don't mind the after-taste of artificial sweeteners or the consistency of a fat-free item, you'll likely enjoy this pudding. Otherwise, stick with your traditional favorites unless you're diet-restricted."Edyth Jensen (married, three children at home): "For a fat-free, sugar-free instant pudding, this is very good. It is smooth, creamy and whips up well. We enjoyed eating it plain and will use it again."
Nihla Lake (married, two children at home): "My husband is on a low-cholesterol, low-fat diet, so he welcomed another way to make (gag!) skim milk more palatable. Erase from your mind any past experiences with rich, creamy banana cream pudding, and this `no' and `low' everything substitute almost tastes good. We may buy it again if we get desperate."
Rich Firmage (married, three children, oldest 10 years old): "We made just regular pudding with this Jell-O and it turned out good. My two kids who like this type of stuff thought it was great and the one who doesn't care for low fat, low sugar, didn't like it. I thought it was pretty good. We will probably have some on hand to use in my wife's chocolate layer dessert."
Bill Allred (single): "The full name of this rather bland product is `Jell-O, Fat Free, Sugar Free Instant Reduced Calorie Pudding & Pie Filling.' Whew! A mouthful to say, but not much of a mouthful to eat.
"I found this pudding very simple to prepare but not much in the way of flavor: bland, with a slightly chemical taste to it. Also, the consistency leaves something to be desired. It had the texture of that old white library paste we used back in grade school. And even though I mixed it well with an electric mixer there were still a few lumps and bits of grit.
"If one wants to eat pudding, then eat pudding! To heck with the calories and fat! Pudding should be good, rich and tasty, not bland and sticky. I wouldn't buy this again for any reason."
Conclusion: Is this pudding palatable only to those who are restricted from the real stuff? Our testers are very opinionated on this pudding - it definitely gets mixed reviews.