I found a £4 tinned Marks & Spencer version of my granny's staple meal but it was gross

A hearty, comforting dish, it's been a staple of British and Irish cuisine for generations. There can be different meats and different vegetables in there, but all of us will have had stew at some point in our lives. Some of us more than others. But does it belong in a tin? The Liverpool Echo's Christopher Megrath gave one gourmet version a try to find out.

"Your granny is making stew tonight," is a phrase that has instilled fear and dread into every Irish child. Whether you liked it or not, you were fed pots full of stew from a young age. If you dared say you didn't want it, you'd be told: "If you don't like it then don't eat it but I'm not making anything else."

The life cycle of an Irish stew starts off being hated and then dealt with until you eventually like it and have your own preferences. By the time you're an adult, you have your own recipe you can't wait to force upon your own children.

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If you Google an Irish stew recipe, you'll find gentrified options and a Nigella Lawson special serving a table of 12. The authentic way is simply tossing potatoes, carrots, onions, and lamb (or steak) into a pot and letting it boil together until it turns to mush. Now, all you need to do is plate it with a slice of crusty bread. That's an Irish stew.

It's a time-consuming task not many of us can be bothered with at the best of times. Luckily, Marks and Spencer has cut out the middle man and offered an entire Irish stew in a tin. I noticed it on a quick visit and couldn't help but feel like it was glaring at me.

What in God's name was a full Irish stew doing in a tin on a shelf? The other tinned items typically included a single protein and a sauce which made up the majority of their contents. The Irish stew had lamb, gravy, potatoes, carrots, peas and pearl barley.

If I were to hand this to my grandmother she'd smack me in the face. I had to have it. At the cost of £4, I took the tin home, heated it up, and nervously awaited my first mouthful that would transport me to either end of the taste spectrum.

Based solely on aesthetics it was a luminous orange colour and not worlds apart from dog food. If I was blindfolded I'd have no idea what this could be.

Textures and shapes would give away the contents but the gravy was totally foreign. The potatoes weren't as hard as I imagined which is a positive, they were quite soft.

The vegetables were also tender because of the piping heat but they quickly turned stale the longer they existed in the cool air. Regardless, everything should've been mushier. The lamb was nice, props where it was due, and it was the only thing to disappear from my plate.

Overall, it was just a bit gross. I've tried plenty of tinned meals, especially in my student years, so I'm not knocking the concept; especially from Marks and Spencer who has the best selection and quality, in my opinion.

However, the Irish stew just does not work. Maybe I'm more against this than most will be because I grew up in Ireland with the dish served regularly. Or maybe it truly is just a bit gross. Who knows, but I don't recommend trying it for yourself regardless.