With the cost of the weekly shop soaring due to high inflation, the extra pennies on every product can really add up by the time you get to the till. Whether it's bread that's 20p more than it used to be, or butter that's a quid more, shoppers are finding that their bills are £10, £20, £30 or even more than they used to be
With that in mind, many people are looking to supermarket own brands to replace the household names that generally cost more. But the question is whether you're sacrificing taste and quality at the same time.
A jug of gravy is a much-loved accompaniment to Brits for many dishes, not least a Sunday roast. And when you think of gravy, no doubt one name comes to mind - aah, Bisto.
But the top dog is a bit pricy these days, with a standard tub around £3 and a large one about £5.50. The supermarket versions are cheaper, but can there really be a good enough substitute for Bisto?
Laura Nightingale from SurreyLive decided to find out. Here's how she got on:
I compared a standard tub of Bisto to own brand gravy from Tesco, Asda, Aldi, Lidl and Sainsbury's and the results were rather surprising. In fact, one was particularly silky and smooth and, in my opinion, better than the famous brand.
Plus, my favourite was a fraction of the price. I reviewed each tub in terms of taste, texture and value and rated them from worst to best. And if you're wondering what I did with six tubs of gravy granules at the end of my experiment, don't worry, they did not go to waste, my family received a very early Christmas present from me.
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6. Last place: Sainsbury's
Two cheaper alternatives were on the shelf when I visited my local Sainsbury's - Hubbard's Foodstore Gravy Granules being the cheapest of the two. Unfortunately, it tasted horrid. It was an orange colour rather than brown, making it a bit off-putting. Plus it was more watery than the others.
Weight: 170g
Price: 56p
5. Asda
Asda's Meat Gravy Granules were flavourless and I didn't enjoy them at all.
Weight: 200g
Price: 80p
4. Bisto
Unlike all of the other tubs I tried, Bisto's gravy was sealed with a paper lid rather than a plastic wrapper on the outside. Another variation was the size of the granules, they were far smaller than the others.
Taste-wise it had just the right amount of salt, it was smooth and creamy and had a rich brown colour when I added boiling water to it. It was delicious, but very expensive and that's the only reason why it didn't gain a higher position in my experiment.
Weight: 190g, 350g, 550g
Price: £3, £4.50, £5.50 (available from Tesco)
3. Lidl
Lidl's and Aldi's tubs were very similar in terms of size, taste and price. Lidl's Newgate For Meat Gravy Granules were rather salty, but had a real meaty taste and was dark brown in colour.
Weight: 300g
Price: £1.09
2. Aldi
Quixo For Meat Gravy Granules from Aldi were just as hearty and velvety smooth. It too was quite salty but was nice and robust. Plus it was excellent value, costing less than a quid for a large tub.
Weight: 300g
Price: 99p
1. Winner: Tesco
But it was Tesco's For Beef Gravy Granules that were the best one in my opinion. It was super beefy, not too salty and was wonderfully smooth. At just 80p for a 200g tub, it was three times cheaper than Bisto, making it a brilliant cheaper alternative to your cosy Sunday lunch.
Weight: 200g
Price: 80p
