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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Emma Gill

My kids tried beans from all the supermarkets and thought this 32p tin were Heinz

When it comes to beans, we're firmly in the Heinz camp in our house, or so I thought.

Previous experience of attempts to swap the big brand for a cheaper alternative have failed miserably.

But with prices on the rise - and beans in particular shooting up - I thought I'd give it another go.

Without wanting to spread the taste test over eight meal times, we opted for the big bean banquet instead.

Armed with a plateful of potato waffles to help with our experiment, my husband, two children and nephew joined me in tasting eight varieties of baked beans, without them knowing which was which.

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I'd bought own brand tins from six supermarkets - Lidl, Aldi, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Asda and Tesco - as well as the more popular Heinz and Branston brands.

Chief bean tasters (Manchester Family / MEN)

After hearing praise for Lidl's beans, and with our readers raving over Branston beans in response to a previous shopping article, I had high hopes for both brands.

Sadly neither were a hit. I get why people would like them - each to their own as they say - but for most of us the flavour of both was just too strong.

Sainsbury's beans triggered a similar response, with the sauce for those and Asda's judged as too thick.

There wasn't much enthusiasm for Aldi's, while we struggled for any response to Morrisons' - they were generally just a bit meh.

After a while one spoonful of beans tastes like another and there wasn't much point in carrying on in the hope of finding that wow factor.

But what did stand out was the popularity of one particular own brand, which the kids wrongly assumed were Heinz.

While they clearly still liked the actual Heinz brand, it was Tesco's own 32p tin that got the most praise - for the taste and the consistency of sauce.

It might not seem like a big deal, but when you're talking a difference of 68p a tin, or 43p a tin if you bought a four-pack of Heinz for £3, it certainly adds up over each month.

In fact, if you bought two £1 tins a week, it would amount to an extra £70 over the course of a year. Now there's some food for thought.

Which beans does your family prefer? Would you consider swapping to save money? Let us know in the comments here.

We tried eight different kinds of beans (Manchester Family / MEN)

Here's the price breakdown for the tins

  • Lidl 32p
  • Aldi 32p
  • Asda 32p
  • Tesco 32p
  • Sainsbury's 35p
  • Morrisons 39p
  • Branston 65p
  • Heinz £1

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