Are supermarket own-brand ice creams as good as Cornetto and Magnums? We put them to the test
We all know that buying own brand ice creams will save you a few pounds at the till, but do they taste as good?
WHEN the weather's like this, there's only one way to cool down: ice cream.
In case you hadn't noticed, there's a heatwave in the UK with temperatures soaring into the thirties.
We all know that the king of all ice creams is the mighty Magnum while the Cornetto is freezer favourite.
But we also know that you can pick up a bargain on some look-a-like own brand treats, and even though they'll shave a few quid off your food bill, do they taste as good?
We put supermarket own-brand ice creams up against the real deal with the help of 12 volunteers (yes, they did have to eat two ice creams each, and no there wasn't much complaining).
They've given us their verdicts on the mint Cornetto doubles and the Almond Magnum fakes and ranked them from best to worst. Here's what we thought:
Round 1: Cornetto mint ice cream cones, £3 for six
The posh Walls ice creams RRP for £3 for a box of six, although they're currently on offer for £1.75 at Sainsbury's, £2 at Tesco and two for £3 at Asda.
If the box does cost £3 then each cone cost 50p - which is pretty steep compared to some of the others.
The mint ice cream comes in a wafer cone with a chocolate coating and is sprinkled with dark chocolate pieces on top. Drooling yet?
But how to the copycats compare?
1st place: Lidl Gelatelli Premium mint and chocolate ice cream cones, £1.45 for six
In terms of taste, the Lidl look-a-likes scooped first place thanks to it's mixture of chocolate and mint ice cream throughout the whole cone - the Cornetto only has one flavour.
It costs 25p for one cone which is half the price of the Cornettos when they're not on offer.
One of the tasters reckoned it was more bland than the Cornetto but also creamier and had more solid chocolate at the end of the cone.
But nearly everyone agreed that it didn't contain enough mint.
2nd place: Asda mint ice cream cones, £1 for four
Even though you get less in a box, they work out as the same price as the Lidl ones - so again they're half the price of the Cornettos.
Our tasters said that the ice cream was "airier" than the real-deal and had a "cosmetic" but the chocolate surprise in the bottom of the cone was better than the Cornetto.
Plus the chocolate sauces that was dribble throughout "redeemed the whole flavour" meaning it ranked pretty high with our tasters.
But they only have one flavour ice cream in them so they just missed out on the top spot to Lidl.
3rd place: Sainsbury's mint ice cream cones, £1.10 for four
This one was blasted for its "lingering synthetic after taste" with a hint of "artificial mint", and "offensive to any mint chocolate chip fan".
And they're more expensive than the other knock offs because each cone costs 28p compared to 25p.
While they're still cheaper than the branded ones, the chocolate mint coated pieces sprinkled on the top tasted "fake" and were nothing on the dark chocolate pieces on the top of a Cornetto.
Round 2: Magnum Almond ice cream, £3.20 for four
Described by one of our testers as the "king", we can all agree that the luxurious ice cream is a treat for our taste buds, but your wallet will take a hit for the privilege.
The vanilla ice cream is coated in milk chocolate and covered in roasted almond pieces.
The ice creams RRP £3.20 for a box of four so for one you'll be looking at spending 80p per lollipop.
Although if you're looking for a bargain they are on offer at Tesco for £1.60.
1st place: Sainsbury's Indulgence ice cream and almond chocolate, £1.25 for four
Already, the price makes them taste so much sweeter because one lolly will cost you 32p compared to 80p for the real deal.
Our tasters struggled to tell the difference between these nutty delights and the real Magnums.
The tasters complimented the treats on their creaminess and nuttiness, saying that they had "good chocolate to ice cream ratio".
2nd place: Aldi's Gianni Deluxe almond ice creams, 75p for three
The testers felt that Aldi's take on the Magnum wasn't as creamy as the branded versions but it was more chocolatey and contained more nuts, which our tasters agreed was a good thing.
One of the testers even said they preferred it to the Magnums because the tasted "less sickly".
You may only get three in a box, but they're the cheapest version of the Magnums at 25p per treat.
3rd place: Asda Moments milk chocolate almond ice creams, £1 for three
These look-a-likes were slammed for being tasteless and leaving a "false sugary layer on your teeth".
The chocolate tasted "cheap" although there were more almonds on it that the Magnums.
Each lolly costs 34p so slightly more expensive than the Sainsbury's version.
4th place: Lidl Gelatelli Almond bourbon vanilla ice cream, £1.59 for six
The Lidl ice creams cost 27p per lollipop, making them the second cheapest treat but price isn't everything.
These versions were blasted because they didn't really melt the same as the others which made them too hard, dense and "overall, not an enjoyable experience".
One called it a "cheap choc-ice" but another did point out that it's lack of melting capabilities meant that there's "less drippage."
So the overall verdict is that when it comes to taste, nothing beats the real thing.
But if you're looking to save some money on your mint Cornetto then the Aldi look-a-likes are a safe substitute, while the Sainsbury's own brand Magnums should do the trick.
All prices are correct at the time of publishing.
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Budget supermarkets Aldi and Lidl often sell copycat versions of branded products in the hope that you'll opt for the cheaper version because they look the same - but do they actually taste the same?
We tried them out so you don't have to. Check out what we thought about them here.
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