Big name brands came in dead last
From sandwiches and pasta bakes to the humble cheese toastie, cheddar remains a supermarket staple that’s an indispensable component in countless dishes. Yet not every cheddar lives up to expectations.
Consumer watchdog Which? regularly puts supermarket basics through their paces. In their latest blind tasting of cheddars, expert panellists evaluated each variety on flavour, aroma, looks and consistency. Taste accounted for half the overall mark, whilst smell made up 20%, with visual appeal and texture each contributing 15%.
The top supermarket cheddar was revealed to be an own-label offering from one major retailer.
Best supermarket cheddar
Scooping the top spot was Waitrose’s Davidstow Cornish Mature Cheddar, which notched up a remarkable overall score of 77%. The cheese sits at the pricier end of the spectrum, retailing at £5.75 for 550g.
Which? disclosed that most samplers felt this cheese boasted “just the right smoothness and creaminess, as well as perfect saltiness”.
“Two-thirds of our tasters said the strength of flavour was just right, and the same proportion were satisfied with this cheddar’s crumbliness,” they noted.
Waitrose managed to pip some serious rivals in this league table. Claiming second spot is M&S Cornish Cove Mature Cheddar (£6.50 for 550g), which secured a marginally lower mark of 76%.
Rounding out the top three is Aldi Specially Selected West Country Mature Cheddar Cheese (£3.39 for 350g) with a 74% score.
The research also disclosed: “None of the major cheese brands were at the top of the table, but Castello and Davidstow were the best of the runners-up. Cathedral City was the least enjoyed, whilst Pilgrims Choice was the joint-least liked.”
Over 7kg of mature cheddar underwent scrutiny from a panel of 64 participants. Testers remained oblivious to which brand they were evaluating, ensuring the findings were completely unbiased.
