THERE is no shortage of weird and wonderful festive foods on offer in the supermarkets this Christmas.
But is it worth you splashing your cash on novelty items like sparkling wine crisps or sticky toffee pudding cheese?
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Original flavours might liven up your Christmas dinner table and be a hit with your guests – but if they’re no good you will have just wasted your money.
We tested this year’s quirkiest treats from supermarkets including Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Lidl and Iceland, so you don’t have to guess which ones are worth buying.
Here are our verdicts…
NIBBLES
Sainsbury’s Brie and Bubbly Hand Cooked Potato Crisps
- £1.50 for 150g
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These crisps contain both brie and sparkling wine extracts.
The overall effect was like eating strong cheese crisps which made your tongue fizz like sherbet.
It was very weird – we are not convinced crisps are meant to be bubbly – but we couldn’t stop snacking on them.
Result: 6/10
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Lidl Baked Camembert & Hot Honey Crisps
- £1.15 for 150g
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We learnt the hard way that “hot honey” means spicy, not warm – we felt the description could confuse shoppers.
These crisps have a strong chilli kick with a hot afterburn. There was a synthetic honey taste, but we couldn’t taste the cheese.
Overall, it was like eating tasteless yet sweet crisps which left your mouth burning. Definitely not worth splashing out on.
Result: 4/10
Lidl Deluxe Lobster Cocktail Crisps
- £1.15 For 150g
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These crisps are a bit like prawn cocktail crisps on max power.
There wasn’t any obvious lobster taste (and it’s not listed in the ingredients) but there was a stronger prawn cocktail flavour, combined with a deep tomato taste.
Overall, it’s a bit like a Bloody Mary cocktail with a slightly fishy aftertaste.
They’re tasty – but only if you like seafood flavours.
Result: 8/10
Tesco Sticky Toffee Cheddar Truckle
- £1.10 for 100g
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Everything about this was a no. Under the wax coating the cheese is an unpleasant brown colour.
Inside is a decent mature cheddar cheese which has been packed with dates, raisins and… toffee pieces.
It makes for a weird combination of sickly sweet, salty and sour.
For just £1.10, it could be fun to dare your guests to try it – but we weren’t impressed.
Result: 3/10
THE MAIN EVENT
Iceland Luxury Sprouts Wrapped in Bacon
- £4 for 200g
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We had high hopes that these sprouts in blankets could solve arguments over whether or not sprouts should be on a Christmas dinner plate – but these will please no one.
Sprout fans will be disappointed that the pre-cooked sprouts inside the bacon are mushy and tasteless by the time the sprouts in blankets come out of the oven.
And sprout haters won’t be impressed by the bitter taste of cabbage in the bacon, which doesn’t do enough to mask the sprout taste.
Result: 4/10
DESSERT
Morrisons The Best Cherry Bakewell Mince Pies
- £2.50 for 4
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These were a tasty, fun twist on two British classics.
The mince pie has a fabulous frangipane top which is moist and dotted with flaked almonds.
There wasn’t a very strong cherry taste, but that meant the mincemeat filling went well with the topping.
We’d happily eat these over regular mince pies.
Result: 9/10
Tesco Finest Black Forest Christmas Pudding
- £12 for 800g
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This was less like a Christmas pudding and more like a very fruity chocolate pudding – but there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
It’s a fun alternative to the classic, especially if you have guests who aren’t big traditional pudding fans.
Overall, there was a deliciously chocolatey flavour, mixed with subtle festive spice and orange.
Be warned that the glace cherries become superheated during cooking.
Although it costs £12, it’s incredibly filling and rich, so one pudding would feed a large table full of guests.
Result: 8/10
Tesco Finest Salted Caramel Topped Mince Pie
- £3.50 for 4
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If you’re expecting a mince pie prepare to be bitterly disappointed because these are not mince pies.
They have a cheesecake-style biscuit crumble base with an overwhelming allspice flavour and a crunchy biscuit crumble topping.
In between is a very thin layer of mincemeat with a dollop of salted caramel right in the middle.
We struggled to taste any salt in the caramel, which was sickly sweet, and felt it didn’t go very well with the mincemeat.
There was too much biscuit and not enough filling.
This is a case where Tesco has tried to merge two classic flavours which are better off apart.
Result: 6/10
DRINKS
Sainsbury’s Chocolate Mulled Wine
- £6 For 75cl
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This from Sainsbury’s tasted strongly of both chocolate and a rich, red mulled wine – but we are not convinced those flavours should ever be mixed.
The flavours combined had a dark caramel vibe, but overall it was like drinking hot chocolate with wine in it.
Both drinks are nice on their own, but we felt they didn’t belong together.
Be warned that this is high in alcohol for a mulled wine.
Most are around 5%ABV but this one is 15%, similar to Bailey’s.
Result: 5/10
Aldi Mince Pie & Jamaican Rum Flavour Mulled Wine
- £2.89 for 75cl
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This Aldi mulled wine tasted more like a cheap rum cocktail than mulled wine.
The wine was very thin (with a low alcohol content of 5% ABV) and there weren’t any obvious mulled spices or mince pie vibes.
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Instead it had tropical fruit and coconut flavours – but was more like a cough mixture than a festive drink.
Result: 4/10
