PANETTONE is a Christmas classic – but can you get a good one for a bargain price?
The Sun has tested some of Britain’s favourite festive treats to find out which supermarket versions are the best quality.
This time we’ve tested the cheapest available from Tesco Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Aldi and Lidl – and compared them with one from posh supermarket Waitrose.
We gave each panettone a score out of ten for taste and a score out of ten for value, based on the price per 100g and its fruit and sugar content.
Here’s how they scored out of 20 overall:
The Waitrose panettone was light and buttery with lots of juicy fruit.
In fact, it contained 25 per cent fruit – higher than all but one of the supermarket brands.
It would make a tasty treat, although it was lacking in spice and Christmas flavours.
But it came with a premium price tag. At £3 for a 100g mini version, it was at least three times more expensive than the other supermarket brands.
A larger version is also available for £12 for 750g, which works out at £1.60 per 100g – still at least 60 per cent more than other brands.
The Tesco panettone had a brioche-style bread which was light and buttery.
But it was a bit bland and lacking in fruit. At £1 per 100g, this was a third of the cost of the Waitrose mini version and it was a fairly close copy on taste.
Asda’s panettone was just 80p per 100g – the cheapest of the Big Four supermarket brands. It had just as much fruit as the Tesco version (19%) and less sugar.
It tasted sweet and had a festive cinnamon flavour. But it lost points on taste as the bread was unpleasantly dry.
The Morrisons panettone was full of fruit, including zesty citrus peel, in a light, fluffy bread.
It was very similar to the Waitrose version but was a third of the price at just £1 per 100g.
It also had the lowest sugar content of all the panettone we tried – making it a healthier option.
The Sainsbury’s panettone was the same price as the Tesco and Morrisons versions, at £1 per 100g, but it was disappointing.
The bread was dry and the fruit wasn’t evenly spread, so some slices had very little inside.
There was a strange taste of burnt fruit and it left a greasy feeling in the mouth.
It also had a very high sugar content (29.4 per cent). Other supermarket versions were better for the same price.
Aldi’s panettone was just 67p per 100g but it tasted like a quality product.
It had a light, fluffy bread with a vanilla flavour and smell. And it contained 22 per cent fruit – higher than the fruit content of the Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury versions.
This was a Christmas treat for a bargain price.
The Lidl panettone was packed full of fruit – with a 28.5% fruit content, the highest of all the brands we compared. But the dough was disappointingly dry and tasteless.
All that fruit also meant it had a very high sugar content, at more than 30% .
For the same price as Aldi at 67p per 100g, this wasn’t as good.
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.
