Apple Pie Taste Test: Lidl (Rowan Hill), Aldi (Holly Lane), Sainsbury's, Tesco, Asda, Mr Kipling, Lyons

We love apple pies in our house, so this was a fun taste test. Bramley apple pies are fairly basic, so we weren't expecting much difference, and we didn't find much difference. Over several tastings the favourites would change, though one constant was that the two brand names, Lyons an d Mr Kipling, both came out lower each time.

Eating any of these apple pies by themselves, and they taste fine. Even the lowest rated one, Mr Kipling and Lyons, are tasty pies, and eaten by themselves anyone would be happy enough, though its worth noting that both the Lyons and Mr Kipling has the lowest amount of apple, and both were more expensive than the others.

Nearly all the pies had some form of apple shape on top, except Lyons and Asda. Tesco is the neatest and most attractive. Asda we found the least visually appealing. Opinions were divided on the Lyons, which for some had a cute home-made look, while others found it looked nothing like an apple pie, and that it was too small.

On cutting them in half, some could be seen to be visibly fuller with apple than others. The two fullest looking are Tesco and Sainsbury's,  Tesco has the highest proportion of filling (50%) compared to the others, though Sainsbury's at 46% was just below average. Mr Kipling looked half empty, and had the second lowest apple content at 45%. Lyons looked reasonably full, but only had 38% apple. Lyons pies were also the smallest, and were the only ones not to use bramley apples.

When I reviewed Aldi Holly Lane Bramley Apple Pies last year, I commented on the fat and sugar content, based on information I got off the internet it appeared they had higher than average fat and sugar content. Well, on looking at the information contained on the boxes themselves, I see that Aldi is fairly average. The fat content ranges from 12% (Tesco) to 15% (Asda and Lyons), while  Aldi has 14%; the sugar content ranges from 24% (Sainsbury's and Lyons) to 27% (Tesco and Aldi). There's hardly anything in it. 

Prices ranges from 69p for Aldi and Lidl, to £1.45 for Mr Kipling. The usual price was £1.00.

After several blind tastings it was Tesco which won as the most appealing and most tasty, though Lidl and Aldi were both very close behind, and on some tastings were top that day. The consistently low performers were Asda, Lyons, and Mr Kipling. 

Overall most appealing: Tesco

Overall most tasty: Tesco

  Runners-up: Aldi and Lidl

Best value: Aldi and Lidl

Ones to avoid: Asda, Lyons, and Mr Kipling

Conclusion: There's really not a lot in it, but you can save money and have better tasting apple pies if you avoid the brand names and go for the supermarket own label (Rowan Hill is the own brand label for Lidl, and Holly Lane is the own brand label for Aldi). The budget supermarkets Lidl and Aldi have excellent quality apple pies at the lowest price, so we would say buy them with confidence. 

Blueberry Muffin Taste Test: Lidl, Aldi, Tesco, Asda, and Sainsbury's

The Great Blueberry Muffin Taste Test!

Ta ra! Roll of drums, fireworks, dancing girls. The great blueberry muffin taste taste is here!!!!

I started this "Aldi Tasted" blog and my other (rather smaller) "Lidl Tasted" blog, last year to see which of the two shops were the better. I never kept up with it, but they are my most popular blogs, and people keep asking me questions about Aldi and Lidl food, so this week I have gone round several supermarkets to get together several product to do some really impressive taste tests. So here we have blueberry muffins from Lidl, Aldi, Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury's.

I reviewed Aldi Holly Lane Blueberry Muffins in February 2016, and I gave them a score of 6 out of 10. But I wasn't really comparing them to anything else, so the score was, I suppose, fairly random. Now we have some real competition!

Prices go from 85p for Lidl and Aldi. £1 for Asda. £1.20 for Tesco. And a crikey moses £1.85 for the Sainsburys. Are they serious?

All the muffins on a plate

Get the muffins out of the packets and onto a plate together, and it's already looking clear which muffins look most promising. There are two large muffins bursting with blueberries, and three smaller less exciting specimens.

The goodness inside is revealed

Cut the muffins in half and the goodness inside is revealed. We know there is a huge price difference between these. But now we see why. The three cheaper ones at the top are quite pale compared to the juicy looking ones at the bottom: the two most expensive ones - Sainsbury's and Tesco.

I just looked at the ingredients. They all contain 13% blueberries except Lidl which has "33% more blueberries" yet contains only 8%. The difference appears to be not the quantity, but the quality and freshness. Sainsbury's and Tesco use all fresh, while the others use dried blueberries for all or part of the 13% content . Also the others have way more chemicals listed in the ingredients than the Sainsbury's 

Oh my gosh the Sainsbury's one is gorgeous. Moist, light, melts in your mouth, tastes fresh with a delicate balance of fresh sweet juicy blueberries and cake. 

The Tesco one is stodgy. It is heavy and chewy and sticks to your mouth. It tastes like blueberry flavoured cake. 

The Aldi one is soft and sweet. Its like sweet sliced white bread but more crumbly. There is blueberry flavour, but quite light, and not fresh and juicy. 

The Asda one is like a sponge cake, but a little denser. It is is dry and characterless  There is a light blueberry flavour. 

Lidl is likeable, but is more cake than blueberry, and there is an artificial flavour to it. Lidl and Tesco are our usual muffins, but they don't really compare with Sainsbury's. The nearest in flavour to the sumptuous (and expensive) Sainsbury's is Tesco, but it's quite stodgy.

The Sainsbury's muffin stands head and shoulders above the rest, but it is more than twice the price of the cheaper ones. The Aldi and Lidl ones are really quite edible and tasty. They don't really compare in terms of quality with Sainsbury's, but they are both quite likeable, and at that price, they are ideal for everyday breakfast. Yes, if you are having your boyfriend/girlfriend staying the night, and want to impress them with a lovely breakfast in the morning, it is well worth getting the Sainsbury's muffins as they will love you and marry you for ever. But once married, you'll settle for having Lidl or Aldi, and save the cash towards buying a house.

Result:

Best tasting blueberry muffin - Sainsbury's.

Best value for money blueberry muffin - Aldi / Lidl 

Aldi Aquav Stress Therapy Herbal Bath Soak

75p for 750ml. This is a decent quality bath foam - not a budget one, and compares with Tesco own brand Revitalising Bath foam, which is slightly cheaper at 90p for 1l, and the brand leader Radox, which is generally at least twice as much; even though there are deals available at around £1 or less for 500ml, that is still way more expensive. 

This foams up nicely, and makes the water feel soft. The foam lasts a decent amount of time.The aroma is an invigorating mineral quality. Not a girly or flowery scent, but not particularly masculine either - more of a neutral healthy mineral and medicine aroma. It's quite a strong aroma, not particularly pleasant, but quite acceptable, and in keeping with a Radox type bath product. 

This is not a product I would seek out, but I'd be quite happy to buy again if in Aldi. 


Score: 5

Aldi Choceur Creamy Dark

99p for 200g. This is edible and sweet, but doesn't taste much like chocolate, more like chocolate flavoured vegetable fat. It is a solid chocolate, but the mouth experience is more like a soft inside, almost a mouse. I was surprised on looking at it to see it was solid all the way through. There is something about it which kind of hints at Galaxy chocolate, but this is darker, less luxurious, and tastes of imitation chocolate rather than the real thing. The smoothness is the key to this product, and if you like your chcolate to be smooth above all else, then you'll like it. It's certainly edible, but it's not that yummy, and feels somewhat over-priced.


Score: 3

Aldi Specially Selected Traditional Scottish All Butter Shortbread Asortment

£1.75 for 280g, so a decent price. But when opening the box the biscuits looks very pale and bland. Fair enough. Then when eating them they are very sugary. Too sugary. So I check the sugar content compared to other All Butter Shortbread. Aldi is 29g per 100g. Sainsbury 23.5g. Tesco 16.8g. Walkers 16.5g. Morrison 15.5g. 

Way too much sugar. Never again. If I want to spoon sugar into my mouth, it's cheaper and healthier to do it direct from the sugar bag than to rub it into fat (butter) first.

There's little actual awareness of biscuit, it's mostly sugar and butter. 

Score: 2

Aldi Soupreme Kitchen Creations Broccoli & Stilton Soup

65p for a standard 400g can.  This is nice. All natural ingredients, and a good balance between cheese and broccoli to produce a flavoursome, fresh tasting and satisfying soup. This is not a budget own brand soup - at 65p it is more expensive than Tesco (45p), Sainsbury's (50p)  and is the same as Asda. It is cheaper than Heinz, Baxters and Crosse & Blackwell, which are generally over a £1, but they can sometime be bought on offers at the same or less than Aldi's price.

The more I am looking closely at Aldi's range, the more I am thinking that I am quite happy to shop at the bigger supermarkets, especially Tesco and Asda, which offer a greater range of choice, and overall work out cheaper. I particularly like shopping at Tesco using the loyalty card system, where I scan the products as I shop, and pack them into bags straight away in my trolley so there's no waiting at the checkout, and after paying I simply go straight to the car. The checkout system at Aldi is awkward and slightly stressful because the staff go through very quickly, and there's no space to pack, so if you're not quick you have to simply put everything back into the trolley and move to a shelf where you pack. This favours the company, but does not favour the customer. And I dislike that. It doesn't make me feel good.

I also like the extra discounts I get from the loyalty cards, and the cheap petrol avaialble at the big supermarkets.

At this stage I am wondering what exactly Aldi have got that makes people shop there on a regular basis.

Score: 6

Aldi Holly Lane Bramley Apple Pies

75p for a box of six (355g). I am liking the Holly Lane brand - it's the Aldi equivalent of Mr Kipling, which range from 95p (Asda)  to £1.50 (Morrisons). Tesco's own brand is the same price for about the same weight. These are fairly standard British Bramley apple pies. There is no surprise here. They are sweet and juicy and quite fresh tasting. I have liked all the Holly Lane products I have tried so far.

While I was checking the prices, I looked into the nutrition content (not something I regularly do, but I wondered about the sweetness of these Holly Lane products). It turns out they are not healthy. They contain more fat and sugar than either Mr Kipling or Tesco. And that combination of fat and sugar in a processed food is the main cause of obesity in children.

Much as I like these Holly Lane products, having checked out the facts, I can't see myself buying them again.

Update: I don't know where I got the above information from, but on doing the Apple Pie Taste Test, I looked at the information on all the boxes, and discovered that Aldi is fairly average compared to the others.  Aldi apple pies are tasty and excellent value.


Score: 8

Apple Pie Taste Test