Budget chains’ own-brand mince pies and sparkling wine have once again been judged superior to their upmarket rivals in an independent taste test of Christmas food and drink.
Iceland’s “luxury” mince pies – £1.50 for six – were judged to be the best in the UK in the annual exercise by Good Housekeeping for its December edition – while a £5.29 sparkling wine from German discounter Lidl could be the toast of the festive season.
The own-brand mince pies from frozen food giant Iceland were favoured over 24 other brands, including those from Harrods and Selfridges. In second place were convenience chain Spar’s pies, costing £2 for 6. The judges hailed Iceland’s pies as: “Juicy mincemeat with a rich flavour in a lovely crisp and buttery pastry case”.
Although Morrisons’ Prosecco Spumante, costing £8.25, scored highest in the sparkling wine under £10 category, the judges rated runner-up Lidl’s Allini Prosecco Spumante as “the real steal” at £5.29. Ocado.com’s £19.99 Champagne Faubert Brut NV came top in the Champagne section.
The blind taste tests by food experts and consumers also found Iceland’s £4.95 a kg Luxury British Whole Brined Turkey with Orange and Thyme Butter to be top of its class.
Marks & Spencer’s Belgian Chocolate and Orange Star Christmas Pudding, costing £12, was crowned the best of the Christmas pudding bunch. M&S also appears most frequently in Good Housekeeping’s top five – 10 of the twelve categories, and winning the Stilton and mulled wine tests – followed by Asda and Lidl.
“Our expert team and panel of consumer testers blind test an incredibly wide range of Christmas products, so we can be very confident that these results shine a light on the food and drink that tastes the best”, said Good Housekeeping consumer director Caroline Bloor. “Everyone loves a bargain and so it’s good to see Iceland mince pies and Lidl prosecco beating more expensive upmarket brands.”
Neil Nugent, head of product development at Iceland, said: ‘We work tirelessly to ensure that all our food is the best in class and we have put a lot of time and effort into perfecting our recipe for this classic Christmas favourite. We are absolutely thrilled that this has been recognised by the award of Good Housekeeping’s prestigious “best mince pie” title for the second time in three years.”
In its quest to find the best, the Good Housekeeping taste test team ate and drank their way through 211 different festive foods from more than 30 stockists across 12 categories; Champagne, fizz for under £10, smoked salmon, turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, Christmas pudding, brandy butter, Christmas cake, mince pies, mulled wine and stilton.
Positive recommendations in national taste tests can clear supermarket shelves. Last year Lidl’s luxury ‘Snowy Lodge’ mince pies (which came second in a Which? taste test in the run-up to Christmas) sold out in many parts of the UK.
Anna Krettmann, wine buyer at Lidl UK, said: “We’ve seen a huge rise in the popularity of sparkling wine at Lidl over the last 12 months – with sales of all sparkling wine up over 50% year on year. It’s great so see the Allini Prosecco Spumante recognised by Good Housekeeping, showing that quality wines don’t need to come with a big price tag. The taste is light and crisp which makes it perfect for drinking alongside smoked salmon or canapés for Christmas.”
MINCE PIES
Winner: Iceland 6 Luxury Mince Pies, £1.50 for 6 (scored 84/100)
Runner up: Spar Luxury Mince Pies, £2 for 6 (83/100)
Best of the rest: Betty’s Classic Mince Pies, £10 for 12 (75/100)
SPARKLING WINE
Winner: Wm Morrison Prosecco Spumante, £8.25, Morrisons (81/100)
Runner up: Allini Prosecco Spumante, £5.29, Lidl (80/100)
Best of the rest: Abbazia Fiorino Prosecco DOC, £8.99, Ocado.com (79/100)
CHAMPAGNE
Winner: Champagne Faubert Brut NV £19.99 Ocado.com (82/100)
Joint runners up: Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Reserve NV, £26.99, Waitrose (80/100)
Veuve Clicquot Brut NV £39.99, Majestic (80/100)
The Society’s Champagne Brut NV £28, The Wine Society (80/100)
Pol Roger Brut NV £39.99 Waitrose (80/100)
Waitrose Brut NV £18.99, Waitrose (80/100)
CHRISTMAS PUDDING
Winner: Marks & Spencer The Collection Belgian Chocolate & Orange Star Christmas Pudding, £12 for 907g (77/100)
Runner up: Iceland Luxury 12-month Matured Christmas Pudding, £6 for 454g (76/100)
Best of the rest: Morrisons Jewelled Top Christmas Pudding, £4 for 454g (75/100)
Source: Good Housekeeping Tried & Tested, December issue (on sale 27 October)
