FESTIVE FEAST
I tried out the weirdest Christmas food from supermarkets including jalapeno pigs in blankets and creme brulee nuts
Read on to find out which item was our favourite
CHRISTMAS classics have been turned upside down this year by supermarkets bringing out wacky alternatives.
From chocolate cheese and spicy pigs in blankets, to passionfruit martini panettone and crème brulee flavoured nuts, you can now buy a new twist on every Christmas staple.
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Reporter Rosie Taylor tried a festive feast of new flavours from Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Aldi.
Here she gives her verdicts on the best and the worst:
The best
Morrisons The Best Cheese & Jalapeno Pigs in Blankets
- £3.25 for 210g
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This version of the classic pigs in blankets had a great meaty taste with a fiery kick.
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There wasn’t an obvious cheese flavour but they were rich and moreish.
A great alternative to the original – but only if you like spice.
- Score: 8/10
Aldi Specially Selected Barber's Coastal Cheddar With Wasabi & Ginger
- £2.49 for 200g
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I wasn’t expecting to like this because it sounded like a crazy combination of flavours but, surprisingly, it worked.
It was a decent cheddar with tasty ginger pieces and a very subtle hint of wasabi – although if I hadn’t been told it contained wasabi I might not have noticed it was there.
The overall combination made for an interesting cheese which would perk up your Christmas cheese board.
- Score: 7/10
Morrisons The Best Passionfruit Martini Panettone
- £6.50 for 500g
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I was hit by the smell of passionfruit as soon as I opened the packet of this Morrisons panettone.
It had a great passionfruit flavour, boosted by candied passionfruit pieces – but there weren’t many of them so the panettone was lacking in fruit.
The dough was soft but claggy in places.
The ingredients list said it contained vodka, although I couldn’t taste this.
It would make a unique alternative if you’re bored of classic panettone.
- Score: 7/10
Asda Exceptional Clementine and White Chocolate Yule Log
- £12 each
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This luxurious Asda yule log was like a mash-up between a chocolate orange and a Swiss roll.
It had a festive chocolate orange flavour and was coated in a soft sweet, vanilla flavoured icing.
It was beautifully decorated too, so would look lovely on your table at Christmas.
But it was so rich I could only manage a small slice – although this means it would feed a big crowd.
- Score: 8/10
ASDA Fabulous Crème Brûlée Flavour Cashews
- £2.50 for 150g
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I was expecting these nuts from Asda to just taste sweet, but amazingly they did also taste exactly like crème brulee.
They had a vanilla and burnt sugar flavour – like sweet popcorn or the crunchy topping of a crème brulee – and were extremely moreish.
- Score: 9/10
Morrisons The Best Camembert & Roast Garlic Chutney Crisps
- £1.35 for 125g
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These were great crisps by Morrisons.
They were thick and crunchy, with skin on the edges.
The flavour of camembert was cheesy but not too strong, and was balanced well with a hint of sweet garlic.
If you’re looking for an alternative to standard crisps this Christmas, this flavour would make the perfect start to a festive feast.
- Score: 10/10
The worst
Tesco Finest Cranberry & Orange Pane-toastie
- £5.50 for 500g
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You are meant to slice and lightly toast this “pane-toastie” from Tesco – and it is worth following this instruction because it is horribly dry if you don't.
But when toasted, the panettone turns soggy and is difficult to get out of the toaster.
It also burns quickly because of the high sugar content.
I found it had a strong, unpleasant smell of burnt sugar – even when toasted lightly – and the dough crumbled into nothing in my mouth.
Although it was full of fruit, it was all pretty tasteless.
It was a bit better with a some butter on, but I’ll be sticking to either teacakes or panettone in future as this mash-up didn’t work.
- Score: 3/10
Aldi Brie and Cranberry Candy Cane Pigs in Blankets
- £2.49 for 248g
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These alternative pigs in blankets by Aldi were shaped like candy canes.
I found they were sickly sweet and the melted cheese centre - which was supposed to be luxuriously gooey – just gave the sausage an unpleasant mushy texture.
I couldn’t finish mine – but the kids loved it.
- Score: 5/10
Tesco Wensleydale with Blueberry and White Chocolate
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There was very little that was good about Tesco’s alternative Christmas cheese.
When I cut into the blue wax wrapper, the cheese inside was grey with purple and brown patches – which looked really unappetising.
It was only after I read the small print on the back that I realised it contained caramel, which gave it a strong sugary taste.
It also explained the brown patches.
It should have been made clear on the front that caramel was a major ingredient because it’s a surprise to find this in a cheese.
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It could have worked as a dessert, as it was a bit like a solid blueberry mousse. But as a cheese it was all wrong.
- Score: 2/10
How to save money on your food shop
Consumer reporter Sam Walker reveals how you can save hundreds of pounds a year:
Odd boxes - plenty of retailers offer slightly misshapen fruit and veg or surplus food at a discounted price.
Lidl sells five kilos of fruit and veg for just £1.50 through its Waste Not scheme while Aldi shoppers can get Too Good to Go bags which contain £10 worth of all kinds of products for £3.30.
Sainsbury's also sells £2 "Taste Me, Don't Waste Me" fruit and veg boxes to help shoppers reduced food waste and save cash.
Food waste apps - food waste apps work by helping shops, cafes, restaurants and other businesses shift stock that is due to go out of date and passing it on to members of the public.
Some of the most notable ones include Too Good to Go and Olio.
Too Good to Go's app is free to sign up to and is used by millions of people across the UK, letting users buy food at a discount.
Olio works similarly, except users can collect both food and other household items for free from neighbours and businesses.
Yellow sticker bargains - yellow sticker bargains, sometimes orange and red in certain supermarkets, are a great way of getting food on the cheap.
But what time to head out to get the best deals varies depending on the retailer. You can see the best times for each supermarket here.
Super cheap bargains - sign up to bargain hunter Facebook groups like Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK where shoppers regularly post hauls they've found on the cheap, including food finds.
"Downshift" - you will almost always save money going for a supermarket's own-brand economy lines rather than premium brands.
The move to lower-tier ranges, also known as "downshifting" and hailed by consumer expert Martin Lewis, could save you hundreds of pounds a year on your food shop.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].
Plus, you can join our Facebook group to share your tips and stories
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