lower supermarket brands - quality differences

mizzy2

tesco value products that I find are just the same if not better than expensive ones:

lasagne sheets
Chopped tomatoes
milk chocolate biscuits
Fishcakes
Chicken burgers
Cheese
Chocolate mousse
wholemeal bread
mixed pepper bag
Gravy granules
Orange/apple juice
caramel wafers

most of my shopping list there!

lindsey27

Farmfoods also sell Nicky loo roll. £1 for 4 or £2 for 9. Use these at work an they are very good. Will be buying these when my stock goes low.

maman

Aldi dishwasher tabs are excellent too and similar price, saw them advertised in a magazine months ago and haven't used anything else since. I'd definitely agree with Asda SP porage oats much better than Quaker Oats which are yuk. Also SP plum tomatoes moreso than chopped ones.

maman

If you've got Farmfoods near you they are doing a Sunpride (I think) orange or apple juice at the moment at 2 for £1. Best value I've seen.

Chocmonster7

maman wrote: »

If you've got Farmfoods near you they are doing a Sunpride (I think) orange or apple juice at the moment at 2 for £1. Best value I've seen.

When I was in Aldi on Sunday their Orange & Apple juices had been reduced to 49p. :T

Tarry

I remember trying value coffee when I was young, it ended up in the bin. Gross. But other value brands are good and we use them.

linzi_h

sarah_smurf wrote: »

I also notice a difference in salad cream and brown sauce so I usually get the named brands of them only when there's an offer on if I can help it.

Its a rare thing i use really and if i do i use it as a thin spread on bread instead of butter so I cant tell the difference at all

Zoetoes

I'm also a bit fussy about coffee, I like Kenco.

Alot of things I'm not bothered about though, such as pure orange, apple juice, some biscuits

echelon101

zoeleigh wrote: »

I'm also a bit fussy about coffee, I like Kenco.

Alot of things I'm not bothered about though, such as pure orange, apple juice, some biscuits

I have found that Waitrose's Own (99p) is really really nice

misfire

My hubby is very brand sensative - but with our finances (like everyones) being stretched at the moment i have 'down branded' and was quite surprised with the results!

I got some Asda sp curry sauce currently 4p a jar and it looked like and tasted similar to a homepride one we used to buy years ago.

Toilet roll - i like quilted! i bought some from Lidl - my 9 year old used too much and it blocked my loo! the plumber (under an insurance policy thankfully!) told me that really thick loo paper/top quality is responsible for many of the blockages when the kids are too heavy handed and he advised me to switch to a cheaper brand! so Sainsbury basics it is.

Also often alot of the sp value range has less calories/fat in than some of the low fat sauces (often at a premium for being low fat) the curry sauce that was 4p is actually under the rosemary connelly fat limit per 100g.

i also use sp sauce as a base and add my own herbs to make it taste like i like i.e Cheap chilli sauce can be made more powerful with additional chilli powder (very cheap from grocer) and same with curry sauce. Cheap pasta sauce i also add a few herbs to to bring it to the way i like it (although fine without). So you get the taste you want without the mess or time of making it from scratch.

I too dont like cheap coffee - but if you go from premium brand to value you notice it... gradually down brand then you dont really notice it. Most things by debranding slowly (if you have the luxury of time) it is less noticable.