I'm a bit of a fiend when it comes to condiments. Brown sauce, mustard, sweet chilli, barbecue, horseradish... my fridge is full of them and many more besides. But there's one that's used more than any other - and that's tomato ketchup.
On chips, a bacon sandwich, scrambled eggs, it really ramps up the flavour. But I don't need to tell you that - surely nearly every household across the country has a bottle of trusty ketchup.
But which brand is the best? If there's anything I learnt from this taste test, it is hard to lay your hands on certain supermarket own brand tomato sauces, probably because they're so much cheaper than Heinz. I gave up on trying to find Lidl's own brand after the shelves were empty in two stores.
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Asda had rows of Heinz but none of their own version. And the closest I could get in Aldi was one low in sugar and salt, not exactly like for like but the best I could do.
Even though he helped me to judge baked beans the other week, my husband Gregg is team brown sauce and can't stand the red stuff so he organised the blind tasting of five varieties. Here's the results, rating them on taste, price and 'squirtability'.
Aldi
Let's get the low sugar/low salt curveball out of the way. As soon as I try it, I can tell it is different to the others. A strange chemical-like taste, which could have been anything other than tomato. It might be healthier than 'normal' sauce but it should be charged with GBH on my taste buds.
It's a big bottle too - the biggest of the five - so that is a disappointment. It's healthier with half the sugar and salt but I'd rather have no sauce on my chips than this one. I guess the standard one tastes better but sorry Aldi, I wouldn't buy this again, not even for the satisfying 'farty' noise it made when squirting.
Weight: 625g
Price: 89p
Star rating: 0/5 (no thank you).
Sauce Shop
I couldn't do a taste test without including Nottingham's very own sauce makers, a husband and wife team who recently appeared on Gordon Ramsay's Future Food Stars. Before I even touch on the tomato ketchup, I need to say Sauce Shop's Carolina Mustard BBQ Sauce is one of the most incredible tasting condiments EVER.
Anyway, back to the ketchup. I can instantly tell by the texture that it's different to the supermarket sauces. They're super smooth, whereas this has a thicker consistency. It tastes nothing like the others - it's bursting with flavour and a proper 'adult' sauce.
But at £2.75, the award-winning sauce is likely to be beyond the reach of struggling households - and I'm not sure whether kids would take to the texture. Because it's in a glass bottle it's harder to control the amount coming out so you're likely to end up with more than you need. If you can afford it, try it - you won't be disappointed by the taste.
Weight: 260g
Price: £.2.75 (in Asda), £2.99 (on Sauce Shop's website).
Star rating: 4/5 (delicious but pricy).
Tesco
The seal was easier to open compared to some of the others thanks to the handy little tag. However, it did feel rather judgmental, saying the bottle contained approximately 37 servings. Who are you to say how big my dollop should be?
The taste is quite pleasant and seems sweeter than some of the others which is strange as the sugar and salt content is actually lower than the other brands. I'd happily buy it for the price.
Weight: 555g
Price: £1
Star rating: 3/5 (not bad for the price).
Heinz
I nearly had palpitations when I saw that a 910g bottle costs £4.50. Asda's own make of ketchup is out of stock (no wonder) so I go for the smallest bottle of Heinz I can find at £2.30.
My dad, who also loved his condiments, would be turning in his grave at these prices. A rich tomato flavour but just like Heinz's baked beans there's no no standout factor that justifies the price. And because of that it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.
Weight: 250g
Price: £2.30
Star rating: 2/5 (although the taste is ok the low score is for the smallest bottle at a big price).
Co-op
I don't normally shop at the Co-op except for an emergency bottle of milk (wine) because it seems more expensive. If you don't believe me check out this year's Which? survey where it comes bottom of the list of supermarkets, offering worst value for money as well as poor ratings for stock availability, product range and quality.
But my luck was in when it came to ketchup - there is plenty on the shelf. It's a nightmare getting the seal off (resorting to a knife) but it's worth it. A lovely tomatoey tang, I'd dip my chips in it any day. A big bottle and not too expensive, so it's a good compromise for ketchup lovers. The winner.
Price: £1.20
Weight: 550g
Star rating: 5/5 (a good balance on taste and price).
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