I compared Heinz salad cream to Tesco, Sainsbury's M&S and Aldi and a £1.15 bottle was just as good

Some foods have the power to transport your senses. Without expecting it, one squirt of Heinz salad cream took me straight back to my nan's house. She'd give us nan salad of lettuce, tomatoes, ham, egg and cheese with bread and butter for tea. And I realise now, she always serves Heinz salad cream with it.

We have salad cream in our house all the time but that has never happened to me before. It goes to show how distinctive Heinz products are, that they are recognisably different to the supermarket own brand varieties.

I decided to compare salad creams from Sainsbury's, Tesco, M&S and Aldi to see how similar they were to original Heinz. I wanted to see how different they were in terms of flavour, consistency and price.

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Heinz Salad Cream

Heinz Salad Cream costs £2.49 for 425g from Morrisons, which works out to 59p per 100g. Nutritionally, it contains 1.8g of saturated fat and 17.2g of sugar per 100g.

As mentioned above, it transported me straight back to my childhood. I loved the way it was so tangy and fresh, really zinging on the tongue whilst being creamy at the same time. I loved eating it again and gave it 5 out of 5 stars.

M&S Salad Cream

I've heard some people rave about M&S Salad Cream saying it tastes better than Heinz. This one costs £1.30 for 440g from Ocado, which works out to 30p per 100g. So it is cheaper than Heinz but not as cheap as some of the other brands, as you would expect.

Whilst it was nice and creamy, it was actually pretty disappointing because it tasted more like mayonnaise. It lacked the tanginess of regular Heinz. Per 100g, it had a greater saturated fat content (2.3g) and lower sugar content (13.8g) than Heinz. I gave it just 1 out of 5 stars. It was pleasant enough to eat but didn't do what it said on the label as far as I was concerned.

Tesco Salad Cream

Tesco Salad Cream costs £1.15 for 450g, which works out to 26p per 100g. I liked the ergonomic shape of this bottle. Zingy and fresh, this salad cream really packed a punch. It was creamy and quite moreish.

There’s 1.5g of saturated fat and 12.9g of sugar per 100g so it was better, nutritionally, than both the Heinz and M&S varieties. I really liked it and gave it 5 out of 5 stars

Aldi Salad Cream

Aldi Salad Cream costs 99p for 520g, which works out to just 19p per 100g - a big saving compared to some of the other brands, especially if you eat a lot of it. There’s 1.5g of saturated fat and 17g of sugar per 100g so it is pretty similar to Heinz.

The first thing I noticed was that the cream squirted out really fast due to the large aperture. It tasted good but not as tangy as some of the other brands. It was the least creamy too. I gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Sainsbury's Salad Cream

Sainsbury's Salad Cream costs £1.15 for 420g, which works out to 27p per 100g, making it similar in price to Tesco. It contained 1.6g saturated fat and 18.5g sugar per 100g, so similar to Heinz.

This salad cream had none of the tanginess of Heinz but just a slightly strange aftertaste. It was my least favourite of all the salad creams. I gave it 2 out of 5 stars.

Overall verdict

Without doubt, it's clear there's something special about Heinz Salad Cream that can't really be replicated by supermarket own brands. However, I have to say there was one I liked just as much and it was less than half the price. That was the Tesco salad cream, which was 33p cheaper per 100g.