Value For Money

Pricewatch tests five brands of bacon

M&S Organic Back Bacon €5.99 for 200g

HIGHS

These small, organic bacon slices taste absolutely fantastic. They are thickly cut in an old-school fashion, the fat crisps up beautifully and they’re not excessively salty

LOWS

They are a bit too small and expensive so will be beyond the reach of many pockets

VERDICT

Nice, pricey ****

O'Doherty's Original Style Black Bacon €5.99 for 165g

HIGHS

These rashers are among the nicest we’ve ever had. They’re cured in brandy and list sugar and wildflower extracts as the other ingredients giving it a lovely sweetness. There was a lot of fat in the raw rind but most of it was left in the pan, leaving a crisp piece of bacon. It’s also nitrite-free

LOWS

We bought it in Fallon Byrne and paid €5.99 despite the price on the pack being €4.99

VERDICT

Sweet taste, sour price ****

Glenview Farm Back Bacon at Lidl €1.23 for 250g 

HIGHS

We approached these cheap, thinly cut rashers with trepidation because of the high water and salt content and the relatively low pork content – just 87 per cent – but they tasted fine and would sit nicely in any bacon sandwich

LOWS

They’re a bit flimsy for a proper fry up and the only real flavour we got was salt

VERDICT

Cheap, fine, salty ***

Galtee Tender Cure Back Rashers €5.99 for 360g

HIGHS

This twin-pack is comparatively cheap and the rashers tasted okay if a little unspectacular

LOWS

They are too thinly sliced and, compared to some of the more upmarket options we tried, they were a bit wanting when it came to flavour. They also worked out at four times the price of the Lidl rashers and were a bit dry and insubstantial

VERDICT

Mildly disappointing **