When it comes to tinned tomatoes, most of us would agree they're not something that differs wildly from brand to brand - a tinned tomato is a tinned tomato, right?
Rebecca Astill, from Birmingham Live, has put that theory to the ultimate test by trying tinned tomatoes from seven different supermarkets and comparing them to the popular Napolina brand, which can cost almost double the price of any supermarket own brand.
The reporter compared tomatoes from Aldi, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, M&S, Co-Op and Morrisons to find out which ones offer you the best taste for the most reasonable price - and to determine whether the Napolina price hike is really worth it.
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Rebecca started with the Napolina brand, which is priced at 80p for a 400g tin and claims to be "the UK’s No.1 tomatoes brand".
In her taste test, the reporter gave the tin a solid 8 out of 10 rating, and said: "The sauce was gloopy and the tomatoes were in good-sized chunks that made them flavoursome but not too big to eat, and the taste was rich and slightly vinegary".
Next on the list was the offering from Marks and Spencer, which at 50p for 400g was much cheaper than Napolina, and even tasted "pretty similar" to the popular brand. Rebecca admitted the M&S version had "less sugar" and therefore wasn't to her taste, but gave them a rating of 7 out of 10.
Third up to the testing table was Tesco, who sell their 400g tins for 45p. Rebecca claimed the tomatoes had a "slight metallic aftertaste" and were in a runnier sauce than the Napolina variety.
Tesco's offering only received a 5 out of 10, with the reporter stating: "The tin was okay, and would work perfectly fine for a pasta dish, but having tasted other tins of tomatoes side by side this was nearing the bottom."
Following Tesco's 45p tomatoes was Sainsbury's, who also price their tins at 45p each. But compared directly with Tesco, the equally-priced Sainsbury's offering blew the competition out of the water.
Rebecca rated the Sainsbury's tomatoes a perfect 10 out of 10, and said the tin was completely loaded with pieces of tomato and had a consistency like a tomato ketchup.
Also pricing their tomatoes at 45p was Morrisons, with the reporter stating their tomatoes were "authentically tomatoey, without artificial sweetness". Rebecca insisted she likes a little sweetness in her tins so gave them a 7 out of 10 rating, matching the more expensive Marks and Spencer.
Next up was the Co-Op, who received a fairly average 5 out of 10 score from Rebecca. The tins were priced at 47p, and the reporter said the 2p increase wasn't worth it for the inferior taste.
Rebecca tried the 55p tins from Waitrose next, which was cheaper than Napolina but was the most expensive of the supermarket brands. She said the taste was "clean", but didn't justify the 10p price increase.
The final tomatoes to face the test were the cheapest of the bunch, with Aldi charging just 28p for 400g. However, Rebecca was bitterly disappointed with their watery offering, as she only scored them a 3 out of 10.
She said: "The bargain supermarket has obviously vied for a cheap price over quality here as the tomato sauce was watered down and tasteless, lacking the depth and richness of brands like Sainsbury’s and M&S.
"What you could taste was good - but it was much too light to carry the full body of a pasta sauce, unfortunately. It was like water with bits of tomato floating around."
The final verdict
Overall, Rebecca said the only supermarket brand to beat out Napolina for her was Sainsbury's - which at almost half the price, was a welcome discovery.
She said: "Overall, I found I preferred the slightly sweeter tinned tomatoes like the Sainsbury’s and Napolina.
"I was happy to find a cheaper alternative to Napolina, with Sainsbury’s costing almost half the price at 45p.
"Some of the tins of tomatoes were too runny for my liking, and I suspect were watered down to produce a higher content of tins with less pure tomato juice."
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