TWO supermarkets’ own-brand roast spuds have beaten Aunt Bessie’s taters to top spot in a blind taste test.
The group of shoppers put together by consumer group Which? crowned the two retailers’ roasties winners of the test.
Testers were asked to blind taste eight supermarket own-brand and two branded varieties of frozen spuds – Aunt Bessie’s and McCain.
And Aldi and M&S’ came out joint winners with a 74% overall rating based on flavour, appearance, aroma and texture.
Three quarters of shoppers said Aldi’s Best Buy and Great Value Specially Selected Beef Dripping Roast Potatoes were fluffy on the inside with two thirds saying they packed a decent crunch on the outside.
At 25p per 100g and coming in a 1kg bag, they were the cheapest option across all 10 packs of spuds too – ideal if you’re on the lookout for Christmas.
Tasters gave M&S’ Maris Piper Roast Potatoes a 74% overall rating, with three quarters loving the fluffy interior and general texture.
One gripe tasters had was that the spuds could have been a bit more flavoursome though.
Pricewise, the M&S spuds came in middle of the pack at 38p per 100g, coming in a 800g bag.
In a close third, Aunt Bessie’s Duck Fat roasties scored an overall 72%, with 80% loving their colour.
Most were fans of the spuds’ crunchy texture but over two fifths said the insides were a touch dry.
The Aunt Bessie spuds were the only ones in the test that are cooked in duck fat instead of beef fat, making them the priciest on the list.
A 700g bag came in at £4.50, or 64p per 100g.
In fourth were Morrisons’ The Best Beef Fat Roast Potatoes which shoppers scored well in terms of texture.
But they performed badly for bite and overall flavour, with their overall score coming in at 71%.]
The 800g bag cost £2.75, or 34p per 100g.
In joint fourth alongside Morrisons’ spuds were Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Maris Piper Roast Potatoes with Beef Dripping and Tesco‘s Finest Beef Dripping Roast Potatoes, scoring 71%.
Shoppers’ were keen on the Sainsbury’s bag, which cost 30p per 100g and £2.95 for a kilo, but almost half of the taste testers wanted a stronger flavour.
Tesco’s spuds were branded a good all-rounder with more than half enjoying their flavour and crispy outsides.
The pack came in at £3 for a bag of 800g, or 38p per 100g.
Then followed Co-op‘s Beef Dripping Roast Potatoes, Waitrose‘s Frozen Roast Potatoes in Beef Fat and Asda’s Extra Special Beef Dripping Roast Potatoes.
The packs cost 45p, 34p and 34p per 100g respectively.
Bottom of the pack were McCain’s Triple Cooked frozen roasties which came in at £3 for a bag of 700g – 43p per 100g.
Shoppers said the spuds were too pale and weak in flavour, with over 40% saying they lacked crunch too.
Natalie Hitchins, Which? head of home products and services, said: “Roast potatoes are a staple for a Christmas dinner but can often be time consuming to make from scratch while juggling other things.
“We tested a variety of frozen alternatives on offer from big brands and supermarkets that require next to no preparation and are the perfect cooking hack – saving precious time in the kitchen.
“Aldi’s Specially Selected Beef Dripping Roast Potatoes and M&S’ Maris Piper Roast Potatoes proved to be the most popular among our taste-testing panel for their fluffy interior and crispy outsides, both receiving a Best Buy award.
“Aldi’s offering also received a Great Value award as it was the cheapest on test, costing almost £2 less than Aunt Bessie’s offering.
“This highlights that you don’t necessarily need to splash out on the big brands for a great tasting frozen roast potato.”
It’s worth bearing in mind, the prices included in Which?’s taste test were correct as of October 24.
That means you might have to pay more or less when you come to buying one of the bags as supermarkets change prices on products regularly, sometimes daily.
It’s worth using a price comparison site like trolley.co.uk which compares prices on thousands of products.
The frozen roasted potatoes blind taste test is not the first Which? has carried out in recent months.
The consumer website, a non-profit which advocates for consumers, recently revealed the results of a blind taste test of Irish creams, with Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference bottle coming out on top.
Shoppers also recently tested own-brand cheddar cheeses versus Cathedral City to see how they matched up.
Meanwhile, Which? also had shoppers look at supermarket tea bags to see which one stood up the best.
And BBC Good Food recently announced the results of its yearly Christmas Supermarket Taste Awards.
Consumer reporter Sam Walker reveals how you can save money on your Christmas shopping.
Limit the amount of presents – buying presents for all your family and friends can cost a bomb.
Instead, why not organise a Secret Santa between your inner circles so you’re not having to buy multiple presents.
Plan ahead – if you’ve got the stamina and budget, it’s worth buying your Christmas presents for the following year in the January sales.
Make sure you shop around for the best deals by using price comparison sites so you’re not forking out more than you should though.
Buy in Boxing Day sales – some retailers start their main Christmas sales early so you can actually snap up a bargain before December 25.
Delivery may cost you a bit more, but it can be worth it if the savings are decent.
Shop via outlet stores – you can save loads of money shopping via outlet stores like Amazon Warehouse or Office Offcuts.
They work by selling returned or slightly damaged products at a discounted rate, but usually any wear and tear is minor.
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