Food shopping is a time of increased stress in the autumn of 2022, as the cost of living crisis pushes up all seemingly of our bills. But due to taste and habit, there are lots of us who wouldn't dream of buying unbranded groceries.
Reporter Dan Wiggins says that's an error. He heard about baked beans from Lidl for 22 pence a can and decided to compare them to Heinz, long considered the best bean on the market.
Dan writes on MyLondon: "Obviously the big name when it comes to beans is Heinz, with the company's factory in Wigan producing 3 million cans a day to meet demand. But along with this big name comes an even bigger price tag, a single 420g can of beans costing £1.20 at Asda.
"For many in the current cost of living crisis this is far too much to be spending on a can of beans, and a new alternative is needed. One of these alternatives to step up to the plate in recent months has been Lidl's own brand 'simply baked beans', which sell for an incredible 22p, nearly a whole pound less than Heinz.
"Having heard about these super-cheap beans I thought I'd give them a try, and compare to the Heinz classic to see if that extra pound is really worth spending or if it's time to swap out the big brand. To do so I grabbed a can of each and dumped them on a toasted and buttered slice of white bread, in my opinion the best way you can serve baked beans.
"Immediately I noticed some visual differences, the Heinz beans looking larger and more saucy, while the Lidl sauce was darker and more on the thick side with smaller beans populating it. While the two looked noticeably different, the taste test was like night and day, the two barely even comparable in terms of flavour.
"On the one hand the Heinz beans with that extra sauce and classic sweet and savoury taste were exactly as you would expect, having had them countless times before. But the Lidl beans were somewhat of a curveball, the tangy taste veering far more towards the savoury spectrum of flavour and conjuring up pleasant memories of greasy spoon café breakfasts, the taste of tomato a lot more pronounced.
"It was hard to even evaluate the two side by side in terms of quality since they both seemed to be going for very different flavours, neither objectively bad. Texture-wise there was nothing between the two either, with Lidl's smaller beans working just as well with the toast, the reduction in sauce actually helping to avoid it going too soggy.
"With the taste test done my advice to you would be this: Give the Lidl beans a try, for 22p it's a gamble worth taking and if you find that the flavour is for you, you're saving £1 every single time you fancy a tin of beans - it's a no brainer!"
