I learned to make quiche from one of the best chefs I know, Gill Meller, my old head chef at River Cottage HQ, about 20 years ago. His quiche is rich and creamy, with beautifully crumbly pastry, and my benchmark for these store-bought versions.
I tasted all of the quiches cooked according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Overall, the quality was lower than I’d hoped for, with many relying on ultra-processed ingredients, such as palm oil, emulsifiers and, often, caged-hen eggs. Free-range products didn’t always communicate this clearly on the packet, so it’s worth checking the ingredients list. Also, some described their pastry as “buttery” when they don’t contain any butter, and are instead made with vegetable shortening (palm and rapeseed oil). Encouragingly, however, a few gems emerged, with wonderfully simple ingredients, light and fluffy free-range custards, crisp all-butter pastry and generously filled.
