I tried supermarket own-brand butter – and bargain supermarket beat Lurpak and Anchor
ONCE a staple of every household, butter is fast becoming a luxury.
Its price is soaring with the average price of a 500g tub of Lurpak rising by 33 per cent in the past year.
In some supermarkets, a kilo of spreadable Lurpak will set you back more than £9.
Arla Foods, the company that makes it, says prices will continue to spike.
It's all down to the rising cost of feed, fuel and fertiliser and ongoing problems with recruitment.
But do you really need to spend a tenner on your butter?
Read more on taste tests
We asked Sun writer and mum-of-three Lynsey Hope to test out some supermarket own brands to see how they compared on taste and value.
Here's what happened:
Anchor Butter
£2.25
Lynsey says: "Nice enough butter. Reasonably salty, a safe bet for toast.
Only a fraction cheaper than Lurpak though and many of the own brands rated better for taste. I don't think it's worth the higher price tag."
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TASTE: 4/10
VALUE: 3/10
OVERALL: 4/10
Morrisons British Butter Unsalted
£1.99
Lynsey says: "This lacked a little flavour and sadly, wasn't my favourite.
It seemed oily and tasted as though a lot of vegetable fat has been added. I wasn't a fan."
TASTE: 3/10
VALUE: 4/10
OVERALL: 3/10
Lurpak Butter Unsalted
£2.50
Lynsey says: "The Lurpak tasted light and creamy and was definitely one of the best tasting butters in our test - but it's so expensive.
Personally, I wouldn't waste my money on it. There are any supermarket equivalents that taste just as good and cost far less."
TASTE: 8/10
VALUE: 5/10
OVERALL: 6/10
WINNER: Tesco Unsalted Butter
£1.75
Lynsey says: "Great value butter from Tesco, beating both Aldi and Lidl on price.
It took a little longer than the others to melt enough to spread, but it tasted lovely slathered in bread.
This was one of the nicest butters I tried - and one of the cheapest."
TASTE: 10/10
VALUE: 10/10
OVERALL: 10/10
Unsalted British Butter from Sainsbury's
£1
Lynsey says: "A delicious unsalted butter, with a deep yellow good. I thought it tasted especially good on toast.
I'd go back to Sainsbury's especially for this. Yummy."
TASTE: 10/10
VALUE: 9/10
OVERALL: 9/10
Essential Waitrose Unsalted Dairy Butter
£2
Lynsey says: "A lovely creamy butter which spreads well if out of the fridge for half an hour before use.
I liked the texture and thought it was one of the best of the own brand butters. This is as good as premium brands.
Like Lurpak, the price has risen in recent months and this Waitrose butter isn't cheap. A 250g block will set you back £2."
TASTE: 10/10
VALUE: 8/10
OVERALL: 9/10
Asda British Unsalted Butter
£1.75
Lynsey says: "Does the job. Nothing particularly special but its a pleasant flavour and easy to spread.
One of the cheapest you can buy so great if you're on a budget.
Switching from Lurpak to this Asda own if you buy a block a week could save you £39 a year. An impressive saving."
TASTE: 6/10
VALUE: 9/10
OVERALL: 7/10
Cowbelle British Unsalted Butter at Aldi
£1.55
Lynsey says: "I was pleasantly surprised by this creamy butter at Aldi. It had a light yellow colour but was soft and very more-ish.
It's the cheapest you can buy - 95p cheaper than Lurpak per 250g - but to be honest, I hardly noticed the difference. Delicious."
TASTE: 9/10
VALUE: 10/10
OVERALL: 9/10
Aberdoyle Dairies Scottish Unsalted Butter at Lidl
£1.75
Lynsey says: "A great price from Lidl, but it wasn't my favourite.
It felt quite hard compared to other own brand butters and lacked the creamy texture I'd usually look for.
That said, I'm not whipped up in cakes or puddings it would taste pretty good and at that price, you can't argue."
TASTE: 4/10
VALUE: 9/10
OVERALL: 5/10
We've also taste tested 10 high street iced coffees and the winner may surprise you.
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