Tag: waitrose

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The Taste Test: Mature Cheddar Cheese

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Last week I told you that the taste test this week would be looking at chocolate, which, I suppose, proves I am a filthy liar. This week, I am looking at mature cheddar cheese. I decided that after the massive chocolate-fest that was my Paul A. Young review a couple of days ago, it was time to mix it up.

In the interests of fairness, I tried to choose cheeses here that were as equivalent as possible: all of these were rated 5, so you’d expect a sharp and mature cheese with a strong flavour. That said, there isn’t that much regulation. These days, cheddar cheese doesn’t actually have to be from Cheddar, as it’s not a protected term, although this tasting process has made me quite keen to actually go to the town of Cheddar and see how their cheese compares. Because that’s the kind of thing I find fun. Because I’m quite sad.

As before, I feel I need a rambling disclaimer: obviously, I am doing this in my kitchen and not in a lab and I am not a scientist. These are the opinions of one person – that said, one person who has been trained to taste for quality. Also, the products used in this series are just examples – obviously each supermarket has, say, eight or nine different types of cheddar or whatever the product may be, and I’m not going to try every single one because what am I, made of money?

Finally, I should highlight that I tasted all the products blind, and at the time of tasting and making my notes I didn’t know which product came from which shop. I sat in one room while my glamorous assistant (er, my husband), prepared the samples in another. Any notes added regarding packaging and so on were only done after blind tasting, when I learned which supermarket had made A, B, C, D, or E.

The Blind Taste Test: Cheddar Cheese

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Cheddar Cheese
per 100g
£*
kcal
fat
carb
fibre
protein
salt
Aldi
0.60
416
35.0
<0.5
<0.5
25.0
1.8
Lidl
0.92
410
34.4
0
0
25.0
1.8
Sainsburys
0.74
410
34.4
<0.5
<0.5
25.0
1.68
Tesco
 1.33
416
34.9
0.1
0
25.4
1.8
Waitrose
1.25
416
34.9
0.1
0
25.4
1.8

A – Sainsburys – 5/10

  • Soft, pliable texture – not very crumbly, a bit plastic-y. Perhaps good for melting, but not ideal for grating, as it’s quite soft. Decent flavour. Sharp taste, seems like a standard mature cheddar, but nothing exceptional and a disappointing texture.

B – Lidl – 8/10

  • Crumbly, firm: a good texture with a little bit of delicious salty crunchiness from tyrosine crystals, which you can often find in matured cheeses. A lovely strong, interesting flavour – sharp, but not sour. My favourite.

C – Tesco – 3/10

  • Another crumbly cheddar with a decent texture, but no crystals from maturation. Not a great flavour – almost sour, and a bit unpleasant. Not a fan.

D – Aldi – 4/10

  • On the soft and bendy end of the cheddar cheese spectrum. Weaker and milder than the first cheeses, which is a shame for a mature cheddar. A rather strange aftertaste, almost like melon, which isn’t unpleasant in itself but seems odd for cheese.

E – Waitrose – 7/10

  • Another cheddar that’s nicely firm and crumbly in texture, not at all plastic-y, with a lovely crunchiness to it. Strong and sharp in flavour: a decent cheddar that I’d happily eat on its own. The only cheddar that came with a resealable pack, which is handy.

Conclusion

The cheddar from Lidl was so tasty that I absent-mindedly continued to eat it after I’d finished the actual taste test. I was surprised by how much the cheeses varied in taste and texture, because if you look at them in terms of caloric content and the levels of fat, protein, salt and so on, they are nearly identical. I rarely buy supermarket cheddar cheese to eat on its own: if I were buying cheese as a treat for the sake of eating cheese after a meal I’d get it from a the Jericho Cheese Company if possible. Cheddar cheeses like these in this house tend to be an ingredient in another dish rather than the star of the show. That said, I’d definitely buy the Lidl cheese just for the sake of eating it.

*Prices correct at time of writing.

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The Taste Test: Houmous

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A couple of weeks ago, I read an article that has to be a pretty strong candidate for ‘most first world middle class problem ever‘. Customers at Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, and Tesco complained of strange-tasting houmous, and many products had to be withdrawn. The company that supplied all three supermarkets, Bakkavor, warned the supermarkets that there had been an issue with the manufacturing process.

I am a fairly loyal Sainsbury’s shopper, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, there is a large Sainsbury’s five minutes away from where I live. Secondly, when I was growing up in London there was a large Sainsbury’s five minutes away from where I lived, so that’s what I have always been used to. Thirdly, it always seems like the mummy-bear moderate choice, in terms of supermarkets: not the cheapest; not the most expensive – about right. Sure, I’ll go to Aldi or Waitrose occasionally, and sometimes to the fishmonger for fish and the butcher for meat if I am looking for something special, and I shop quite a bit at small independent stores on Cowley Road for obscure fresh exotic ingredients, but basically, I’m a Sainsbury’s girl.

But how much difference is there really between the own-brand products of the various big supermarkets? Of course, a KitKat you buy from Tesco will taste the same as a KitKat you buy from Waitrose, but what about Marks & Spencer own brand houmous vs. Tesco own brand houmous? Do they actually taste different? And, if so, is the more expensive brand any better? If several products for different supermarkets are coming from the same suppliers, are different ingredients of varying quality used?

This series is not going to be particularly scientific and, of course, it is necessarily subjective. But, out of personal curiosity as much as anything, I’m going to have a look at some supermarket own-brand products and taste them comparatively. I admit, I would assume that an expensive houmous from Waitrose would be tastier and of better quality than a budget version from Lidl. But is that simply years of being exposed to supermarket marketing and in-built prejudice working their magic on me? I’d like to challenge my own assumptions and break down my associations between fancy brands and superior quality.

I feel I need a rambling disclaimer: obviously, I am doing this in my kitchen and not in a lab and I am not a scientist. These are the opinions of one person – that said, one person who has been trained to taste for quality. Also, the products used in this series are just examples – obviously each supermarket has, say, eight or nine different types of houmous or whatever the product may be, and I’m not going to try every single one because what am I, made of money? So I’ve tried to buy roughly comparative products from each shop.

Finally, I should highlight that I tasted all the products blind, and at the time of tasting and making my notes I didn’t know which product came from which shop. I sat in one room while my glamorous assistant (er, my husband), prepared the samples in another. Any notes added regarding packaging and so on were only done after blind tasting, when I learned which supermarket had made A, B, C, D, or E.

So, since I’ve been going on about it so much, I will start with houmous.

The Blind Taste Test: HoumousDSC_0010-2-1024x683

Houmous
per 100g
£*
kcal
fat (g)
carb (g)
fibre (g)
protein (g)
salt (g)
Aldi
0.28
346
29
12
3.3
7.7
0.64
Lidl
0.28
351
30
12
3.1
6.6
0.58
Sainsbury’s
0.57
278
22
10.6
5.3
6.7
0.63
Tesco
0.55
306
24.6
11.4
4.9
7.2
0.8
Waitrose
0.46
284
22.7
11.6
4.1
6.3
0.80

A – Aldi – 5/10

  • Notably loose texture, smooth. Taste-wise, very sharp with an almost vinegary aftertaste, but can taste the chickpeas, and I wouldn’t say there’s no flavour. Not ‘sealed for freshness’ with the extra plastic collar seal around the edge of the tub.

B – Sainsburys – 6/10

  • Firmest and driest texture of the group, held its shape on the spoon. Also roughest in texture so tasted less processed. Not too sharp, quite mild, pleasant enough but not very flavoursome – can’t really pick out much in terms of lemon, garlic etc. The lowest in calories of the group – seems likely it has less oil than some of the others, hence firmness.

C – Tesco – 7/10

  • Moderate in texture, smooth and creamy. Mellow, not too sharp, and easy to eat straight off a spoon unadorned (which can’t be said for all houmous, I have learned). Can taste tahini, but not much in the way of chickpea flavour.

D – Waitrose – 8/10 

  • Fairly firm texture – the next firmest after Sainsburys, and the next lowest in calories. Again, probably a lower proportion of oil. A good balance of richness and creaminess, with a hint of sharpness and a good chickpea flavour. My favourite.

E – Lidl – 3/10

  • Also a loose texture, sliding around on the tasting spoon. Didn’t taste very fresh, and actually had quite an unpleasant aftertaste – it tasted notably different from all the other examples. Also not ‘sealed for freshness’, as with Aldi.

Conclusion

This time, it seems, no surprises: I found the budget branded products less enjoyable than the premium products. However, worth noting that the Waitrose houmous was actually not the most expensive of the lot, gram for gram, though I think most people would expect to pay more at Waitrose than at other supermarkets. If you’re buying the Essential Waitrose brand, it’s actually cheaper in this case than the mid-range options from Sainsbury’s and Tesco. A tasty product that I will buy again.

Next week: chocolate…

*Prices correct at time of writing.