Tesco and Heinz have just announced they've reached a deal after the supermarket pulled some of the food manufacturer's products from their shelves.
Baked beans, tomato ketchup, soup and salad cream were among some of the items involved in the row, as Tesco refused to hike the prices of these.
A deal has now been struck between the two and they've confirmed the full range of Heinz products will be back in stores soon.
While some of the items have been missing from our local shops, we decided to put them to the test against the Tesco own-brand versions, to see how they compared.
Here's what we thought...
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Tomato Ketchup
I already had a bottle of Heinz Ketchup (£2.79 for 700g) in my fridge as it's what was always in the fridge when I lived with my parents. I don't usually bother buying any other brand, so was intrigued to see how Tesco's Stockwell & Co Tomato Ketchup (52p for 540g) tasted.
I sampled both while eating some chicken goujons from Greggs for lunch and have to say I wasn't overly impressed with the Tesco option.
While both look nearly identical when squeezed onto a plate, Heinz ketchup has a sweet tangy taste to it, but the Stockwell & Co one was much more vinegary and acidic. You could tell it was the cheaper option of the two.
I'd eat it if it was the only ketchup available, but it's certainly not tempted me away from Heinz this time.
Heinz Ketchup - 5/5
Tesco Ketchup - 3/5
Salad Cream
I've always preferred salad cream over mayonnaise and again Heinz was the brand found in my house - despite a massive price difference between the branded and own-brand stuff.
A 650g squeezy bottle of Heinz set me back £2.89 in Tesco, while the supermarket's 50% less fat version cost just 90p for 450ml.
I popped some of each on a little bit of salad to try and it was easy to see a difference between the two, with Heinz being runnier and the Tesco version thicker, like mayo.
In terms of taste though, there was only a slight variation between the two as Heinz, like with the ketchup, had a little bit of sweetness to it.
Tesco's salad cream was a perfectly good alternative though and I'd definitely buy it again over Heinz to save some money.
Heinz Salad Cream - 5/5
Tesco Salad Cream - 4/5
Baked Beans
My first thought when opening up the two tins is that the Tesco Baked Beans (40p for 420g) looked much runnier and had a lot of tomato sauce sitting on top of the beans, which wasn't so appealing.
The Heinz tin (£1 for 415g) looked much fuller in comparison with a good bean-to-sauce ratio.
As you might expect from reading that, the Tesco version had a much more watery sauce, meaning the flavour didn't quite pack the punch of the Heinz beans.
That said, it's not a bad alternative if your local shop is out of Heinz. I don't think I'd want to use it for beans on toast as my bread would end up rather soggy, but they'd be perfectly good for a Full English.
Heinz Baked Beans in tomato sauce - 5/5
Tomato Baked Beans in tomato sauce - 3/5
Cream of Tomato Soup
I don't eat tomato soup often, but when I do, I buy Heinz Cream of Tomato (95p for 400g)...
But that all changes today.
I'm now officially a Tesco soup convert, after trying what was a near-identical version for just 55p.
Pulling back the lid, I was instantly struck by how both soups were so close in colour and I can confirm the taste was also incredibly similar.
If I'd done this as a blind taste test, I absolutely wouldn't have been able to tell the difference between the two.
Heinz Cream of Tomato Soup - 5/5
Tesco Cream of Tomato Soup - 5/5
Final Verdict
As a lifelong fan of Heinz, I have to admit that I was pretty surprised by just how well some of the Tesco products stood up against the iconic brand.
I'm even more surprised that I plan to switch and start buying Tesco's version of the soup and the salad cream from now on.
If you're looking to save some money on your weekly shop, it's definitely worth making some swaps and giving the supermarket's own versions a go. You might not be able to tell the difference, or you might just find you like them more!
Will you be trying any of these products? Let us know in the comments below.
