I SCREAM, you scream, we all scream for ice-cream.
With the heatwave well under way plenty will be looking to cool down and beat the sizzling temperatures, and what’s better than with a cheeky ice cream or two.
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Brits have been gobbling up ice creams at an unprecedented rate, including earlier this year when 99p flakes sold out causing a national shortage.
Yesterday, we reported on how supermarkets are running low on ice cream stock due to the soaring temperatures.
Back in February, The Grocer reported that 54 million litres of ice cream went through the tills throughout 2020, which cost Brits a whopping £226.1m in total.
But if the figures are leaving you with brain freeze, all you really need to know is that Magnum was the fastest-growing brand, according to the business media giant.
Costing around £3 on average from any of the big name supermarkets, the luxury sweet treat is a household favourite.
But we wanted to find out if you could satisfy your frozen chocolate fix and still get that same great taste at a fraction of that cost.
We put seven supermarket ice creams to the test including Aldi, Lidl and Tesco to see which ones could beat the classic taste of a Magnum.
We rated each ice cream on a scale of one to 10 in categories on appearance, taste and value for money.
Some of the ice creams tasted amazing and could definitely give a Magnum a run for its money, but you might not get as many in a pack to share out with all your pals.
Lidl came out on top with a creamy ice cream taste met with the perfect chocolate coating, plus you get loads in a pack for the cheap price making it a great bargain.
The discount supermarket scored 27 marks out of a total of 30 in our scoring.
We didn’t give Asda top marks though, as the supermarket’s knock-off Magnums weren’t very tasty and simply couldn’t compete with the frozen favourite.
At the bottom end of the scale, Asda only scored 14 out of 30 overall.
Here’s how each supermarket fared against the Magnum:
Magnum
- Price: £3, Four pack
- Total score: 26/30
Our verdict: Appearance: 10, Taste: 10, Value for Money: 6
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The chocolately taste of the Magnum was obviously the best of the bunch in our test.
While it’s clearly more expensive than the supermarket dupes, you do get four in a pack and you always know that you’ll enjoy the luxury taste.
The price of a pack of Magnums can vary from store to store though, at Ocado the ice cream costs £3, but at Asda the same box costs 50p less at £2.49.
So you’ll be best off shopping around to find the cheapest price before you make a purchase if you want to stay loyal to the ice cream giant and continue buying Magnums.
Lidl Gelatelli Classic Milk Chocolate Ice Creams
- Price: £1.59, Six pack
- Total score: 27/30
Our verdict: Appearance: 9, Taste: 8, Value for Money: 10
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Lidl’s ice creams were the most expensive of the supermarket own brand dupes, but you do get six full size ice creams in a pack.
The pack of ice creams works out to be one of the best value for money as each ice cream ultimately only costs 27p.
Each ice cream tasted amazing too.
There was a thick layer of chocolate coating each stick and the chocolate had the best tasting flavour of all the examples we tested.
It was sweet but not so much that it was sickly and the vanilla ice cream balanced it out perfectly too.
You could be stocked up for days, or the pack would be perfect to pick up for a party as you get so many for the cheap price.
Some might worry that so many in pack would mean a compromise on size and consider the purchase to be more on par with one of the mini mixtures that the shops offer too.
But instead you actually get quite large offerings of each ice cream, so no one will be left disappointed.
Aldi Gianni’s Milk Chocolate Ice Creams
- Price: 99p, Four pack
- Total score: 23/30
Our verdict: Appearance: 9, Taste: 6, Value for Money: 8
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The taste of Aldi’s was quite different from some of the other supermarket brands.
The chocolate was a little more on the bitter side and could be compared more to a dark chocolate flavour than the milk chocolate described on the pack.
It’s not quite as dark tasting as you might think though, but it definitely tasted less sweet than some of the others to us.
Then again, the vanilla ice cream was sweet enough to balance it out, and that meant the overall flavour was actually quite nice, especially if you are looking to avoid an artificial taste.
The pack is great value for money too as each ice cream works out to be 25p and there’s definitely enough to feed the family.
Aldi also get’s points for its bold marketing choices though, the pack could look just like a Magnum if you squint your eyes and each of the ice creams come individually wrapped in packaging that looks just like Magnum’s too.
Sainsbury’s Extra Indulgence Milk Chocolate
- Price: £1.35, Four pack
- Total score: 23/30
Our verdict: Appearance: 7, Taste: 9, Value for Money: 7
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We found that the chocolate taste of these contenders in our list was one of the best.
The best way to describe it is like the chocolate of an easter egg.
It might be a niche example for some but if you’re on the same wavelength then you’ll definitely like the taste of this ice cream.
Some people might not like the taste because it’s not like a classic choc bar you might come to expect but the ice cream itself wasn’t as sweet so it brought out a perfect balance between the two.
If it’s the choc craving you’re after then Sainsbury’s is for you.
The price is going to take a few more coins out of your pocket but you do get four in a pack which can make it worth it.
Each ice cream works out to be 34p in the pack.
Iceland Belgian Milk Chocolate Majestics
- Price: £1, Four pack
- Total score: 21/30
Our verdict: Appearance: 10, Taste: 3, Value for Money: 9
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At face value Iceland had us melting.
We were so excited to try this one, at such a cheap price for four massive ice creams.
Each ice cream was a mega size, the biggest of all the ice creams we tested.
But when it came to testing the colossal frozen treats, the taste really wasn’t up to scratch.
In fact, we though the taste was a bit rubbish, the chocolate had a very artificial flavour which made it sweet and sickly but not in a good way.
Plus the vanilla ice cream itself didn’t taste of much.
The good news though is that it is amazing value for money as you get plenty of ice creams to feed the family in the pack.
They work out to be 25p per ice cream which is one of the cheapest prices on our list so if you want to save some pennies Iceland could be the one to go for.
While making the saving you might find your more partial to the sweet taste too and you might disagree with our verdict.
Morrisons Milk Chocolate Amour Lollies
- Price: 99p, Three pack
- Total score: 21/30
Our verdict: Appearance: 7 Taste: 7, Value for Money: 7
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Morrisons fared quite well in our taste test.
The ice creams had a sweeter chocolate taste which made them very pleasant overall and the vanilla ice cream was nice and creamy too.
The only problem is that you get less in a pack, so someone might be left out.
Each ice cream works out to be 33p which is the same price as Aldi’s, however the discount supermarket, famous for it’s dupes, ultimately offers you an extra ice cream for free against Morrisons’ matching price.
We would probably say that the Morrisons ice creams aren’t much to write home about, but if you’re shopping at the store already they are a great bargain to add to your trolley.
When we last checked, the store was offering a two for £1.50 deal too so buying two packs could make each ice cream only 25p each and you’d have enough to feed a whole host of chocoholics.
Tesco Milk Chocolate Ice Cream
- Price: £1, Three pack
- Total score: 17/30
Our verdict: Appearance: 5, Taste: 6, Value for Money: 6
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Tesco’s ice cream has a nice chocolate taste that you could compare to a regular chcolate bar picked up off the shelf.
The worry with supermarket own brand ice creams is that in a bid to make the price of the product cheap, the taste of something like the chocolate might be compromised.
Sometimes this can make it feel like it was an afterthought, and even taste cheap, and we all know how the chocolate is the best bit of a classic Magnum!
Regardless, Tesco’s ice cream hit all the right spots when it comes to taste so we rated it just above average.
The box comes in a blue colour so you’ll have to search extra hard to seek it out amongst the regular brown Magnum box you might be looking for on the freezer shelf.
While the taste is great, you just don’t get as many in the pack as some of our other examples, so if you have got a bigger family, someone is going to be left very diappointed.
There’s only three that come in Tesco’s version so you could find yourself going over budget if you have to buy a second pack for one extra mouth if your’e a family of four.
The pack costs £1 though, which means each ice cream is roughly 33p which is still relatively cheap.
Asda Heavenly Moments Milk Chocolate Ice Creams
- Price: £1.10, Three Pack
- Total score: 14/30
Our verdict: Appearance: 5, Taste: 5, Value for Money: 4
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Asda’s ice cream didn’t have as nice of a taste when it came to the chocolate.
It wasn’t very sweet and ice cream tasted of more ice than it did cream.
Overall it was still an okay ice cream and if you were after a cheap sweet fix on a hot summer’s day you wouldn’t be disappointed, but you might be kicking yourself that you didn’t budget for the Magnum instead.
You also don’t get as many in a pack but for a slightly steeper price than some of the others.
There are only three available in the box so you could be fighting over the last ones in the pack.
You’ll also want to keep in mind that the outer packaging looks nothing like a Magnum as it comes in a purple box.
It’s great for standing out on the freezer shelf but if your mind is set on a Magnum you might dismiss the ice cream pack as not being on the same level.
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If you’re still looking to make a saving on frozen treats though, Tesco shoppers can get their hands on ice cream for only 50p with a trick an eagle-eyed bargain hunter has revealed
