Value for money: fish fingers

DONEGAL CATCH FISH FINGERS €2.99 for 280g, €10.67 per kg:THESE FISH fingers are made from Pollock which Donegal Catch assures us is high in Omega 3s, one of the nutrients de jour.

We approached these with trepidation as whatever our concerns about eating cod, we are naturally resistant to change when it comes to something as familiar as the fish finger. Turns out the trepidation was entirely unfounded. The fish was fresh-tasting, succulent and flaky, and the breadcrumbs were lovely – beautifully crispy and filled with flavour. It was just as well the breadcrumbs were so nice as there was a lot of them.

VERDICT: Delicious

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BIRDS EYE FISH FINGERS

€2.74 for 280g, €9.78 per kg

WE HAVE a suspicion that fish fingers are primarily aimed at people who don’t really like fish (and there’s no harm in that) but it may go some way towards explaining why Birds Eye has been the fish finger king for so long. They make an entirely reliable product that is completely inoffensive. The breadcrumb coating is grand and the cod is fine, if a little tasteless. In an era of diminishing cod stocks, there are question marks over the ethics of any mass-produced product containing the fish – but Birds Eye also has a range of cod alternatives in fish finger form.

VERDICT: Perfectly fine

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YOUNG'S FISH FINGERS

€5.99 for 500g, €11.98 per kg

THIS WELL known English brand has also chosen to make its fish fingers with Pollock fillet and, like Donegal Catch, makes much of the fact that it is high in Omega 3. The fish has, Young’s say, been responsibly sourced – which is very much to the company’s credit. The fish is nicely textured but was lacking flavour while the breadcrumb coating was a bit soggy and similarly flavourless. It was also the most expensive of the products tried, although the price differential was not enormous.

VERDICT: Average

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TESCO VALUE FISH FINGERS

€0.69 FOR 250G, €2.76 PER KG

THE FISH was horrible, the breadcrumb topping wasn’t much better and we were a whole lot sadder after eating one of these than beforehand. They are made with unspecified minced white fish (although it looked a lot more grey to us). Minced white fish seemed a bit on the vague side although Tesco does elaborate a little by going on to say the fish was caught in the “north-east Atlantic, the south-west Atlantic and/or the Pacific” – thanks for the clarification guys! The ingredient list is commendably simple and free of colourings or additives and they are very cheap.

VERDICT: Never again

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* * * * *EXCELLENT

* * * *GREAT

* * *FINE

* *BELOW PAR

*AWFUL