From tantalisingly tasty turkeys to posh pigs in blankets, supermarkets have pulled out all the stops this Christmas.
But, just like every year, shop shelves are also littered with bland, stodgy offerings that belong nowhere near your shopping basket.
The bottom line? Don’t buy any of your Christmas food until you’ve read TESSA CUNNINGHAM’s indispensable interactive guide.
To see her verdicts for Britain’s nine biggest supermarkets, select a type of food in the dropdown list below…
And there’s even more to celebrate because prices have barely shifted since last year. Some supermarkets – like Aldi – have even managed to slash their turkey prices. And all without compromising quality.
You might also be delighted to welcome a move away from gimmickry to good old fashioned traditional flavours. So it’s goodbye to shelf loads of gold-encrusted bucks fizz flavoured smoked salmon. Instead you’ll find yourself able to choose from kipper style smokiness to delicately buttery flavours.
Many, like Morrisons for example, now clearly mark the smoke level on their labels from 1 to 5.
Some innovations – like Waitrose’s sensational limoncello flavoured mince pies – are so delicious and on point, one wonders why they haven’t been introduced before.
And if you’ve ever been driven to distraction by having to deal with disintegrating pigs in blankets, you’ll be breathing a big sigh of relief this Christmas. Supermarkets have finally realised that, much as we adore PIBs as party food or to accompany turkey, they often fall apart when you bake them.
Well, no more. This year’s PIBs are bigger, meatier and much easier to handle. And where Marks and Spencer pioneered double wrapped pigs, which are pretty near guaranteed to stay secure, others are now delightedly following.
