Supermarket own-brand cheese named better than Cathedral City and it’s not Aldi or Lidl

A SUPERMARKET'S own-brand cheddar has been crowned winner of a blind taste test, pipping Cathedral City to first place.

The group of shoppers, put together by consumer champion Which?, gave the top spot to a retailer's Best Buy cheese.

The Tesco Finest 12-month Matured Cheddar was praised for its firm but smooth texture, saltiness and strength of flavour.

Tasters also said the 350g pack, on sale for £4, was crumbly and creamy.

Overall, shoppers gave the classic cheese a 78% rating factoring in flavour, aroma, appearance and texture.

A Cornwall cheddar came second in the blind taste test, which asked tasters to try a range of own-brand and branded packs.

The Davidstow Classic 12-month Matured Cheddar, on sale at Amazon, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury's and Tesco from £4.75 for a 350g pack, scored a decent 75% rating from shoppers.

They rated the cheese highly for its strength of flavour, crumbly texture, saltiness and creaminess.

M&S' Cornish Cove Mature Cheddar got a 73% overall rating from shoppers and was classed as a good all-rounder.

Shoppers said the cheddar's salt level was just right while its smooth firm texture also had tasters singing high praise.

The 350g pack came in at £4 and can be bought at M&S in-store or via Ocado.

Shoppers also tested out six other major cheddar cheeses, including from Aldi, Asda, Co-op and Sainsbury's.

The Castello Tickler Mature Cheddar on sale at Ocado and Waitrose for £4.75 for a 300g pack, came in fourth place.

Shoppers said it tickled their taste buds but a few who tucked in wanted a slightly stronger hit of cheddar.

Major brand Cathedral City's 350g pack of Our Mature Cheddar came in at £3.50 and while many loved the taste, shoppers also said it lacked a tangy punch.

Meanwhile, two cheeses from Aldi and Co-op came in second bottom and bottom place, with 68% and 66% overall scores.

Here is the full list of cheeses and how they fared in the taste test:

• Tesco Finest Mature English Cheddar Cheese - 78%
• Davidstow Classic Cheddar – 75%
• M&S Cornish Cove Mature Cheddar Cheese – 73%
• Castello Tickler Mature Cheddar Cheese – 71%
• Cathedral City Our Mature Cheddar – 70%
• Pilgrims Choice Mature Cheddar – 70%
• Sainsbury’s Barber’s Mature Cruncher Cheese, Taste the Difference – 69%
• Aldi Specially Selected West Country Mature Cheddar – 68%
• Co-op Irresistible Somerset Mature Cheddar Cheese – 66%

Natalie Hitchins, Which? head of home products and services, said: ";Finding an affordable and tasty cheddar cheese is a must for many shoppers.

“Tesco emerged as the preferred choice in our taste tests for its firm and smooth texture and was awarded a Best Buy.

"This narrowly beat Davidstow’s Classic Cheddar, proving that own brand products can be just as delicious and more affordable than the big brands."

It's worth bearing in mind, the prices included in Which?'s taste test are correct as of October 7.

That means you might have to pay more or less when you come to buying one of the packs as supermarkets change prices on products regularly, sometimes daily.

It's worth using a price comparison site like trolley.co.uk which compares prices on thousands of products to find the best deal.

The cheddar blind taste test is not the first Which? has carried out in recent months.

The consumer website, a non-profit which advocates for consumers, recently revealed the results of a blind taste test of Irish creams.

And shoppers gave the top spot to Sainsbury's Taste the Difference tipple ahead of the branded Bailey's.

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