This week, Value for Money tests five varieties of gravy.

Kallo Just Bouillon Red Meat Gravy

€2.41 for 80g, €30.12 per kg

Highs: Made with the concentrated juice of veal bones and meat (hush now, it might not be entirely right-on but it does improve the richness of the flavours), this French-made gravy is really quite good. In addition to the veal stock, it also contains a red wine reduction, beef extract and four different vegetables, giving it a complexity that the competition lacks. It is less gloopy than other gravy and has more clarity.

Lows: The presence of juices from the boiled bones of baby cows will undoubtedly put some people off, while the price will put others off. While it is less gloopy than the rest, it is also a good deal more watery, and difficult to thicken since it comes in single-sachet servings: once it is made there is nothing left to add to the mix as a thickener.

Verdict: Nice but pricey

Star rating: ***

Tesco Value Gravy Granules

€0.69 for 170g, €4.05 per kg

Highs: If you're in a hurry and are watching the pennies, then this is the cheapest of the options we tried. It is very, very easy to make: just add boiling water, stir it and away you go. It is also vegetarian-friendly, although we're not sure how important that it when you're talking about gravy.

Lows: We were unable to work out what the point of this product is and reckoned its only real value was in creating the impression you went to the trouble of making gravy. Once the worryingly grey-looking granules have been added to boiling water, it looks a little like gravy, but certainly doesn't taste much like it, and could ruin a perfectly good roast. It was way too salty: the salt, combined with the monosodium glutamate, appears to be solely responsible for all the flavour.

Verdict: Cheap and salty

Star rating: **

Bisto

€3.45 for 454g, €7.60 per kg

Highs: Well, you can hardly review gravies without including this particular brand which has been synonymous with Sunday roasts for generations. Once the instructions are followed carefully it will deliver a good quality, old-school gravy. A single tub will last a month of Sundays - or a fortnight of them at the very least.

Lows: We were surprised by how complex the instructions were. After we'd finished spooning the excess fat out of our roasting tin, blending the Bisto into a smooth paste, adding it to the tin and bringing everything to the boil, we found ourselves wondering if it was really worth all the bother when all it seems to bring to the party is colouring, salt and some class of thickening agent. And Lord knows what you're supposed to do if your joint doesn't produce enough juices to add sufficient quantities to this gravy mix.

Verdict: Traditional but complicated

Star rating: ***

Antony Worrall Thompson's Beef Gravy

€3.11 for 250g, €12.44 per kg

Highs: This was fairly straightforward to make - you just add the paste to cold water and slowly bring it to the boil. If you follow the instructions, it works; if, however, you cheat, as we did the first time round, and add boiling water to the paste, it all goes horribly, lumpily wrong. It tastes fine, has a nice, herby flavour and the substantial amount of beef stock in the mix is very prominent. It lacks the heavily processed flavour that we found in some of the competition and will do justice to a good roast. A single jar makes four pints of gravy which should get you through at least five or six meals handily enough.

Lows: It is a little on the pricey side and we wonder how much extra we are expected to pay to have a celebrity chef's face on the side of the jar.

Verdict: Very good

Star rating: ****

Schwartz Rich Beef Gravy

€1.79 for 200g, €8.95 per kg

Highs: When it comes to easy gravy this wins hands-down (Tesco Value product aside). It has been pre-made so all you need to do is reheat it either in a pot or, if you're really pressed for time or stove space, in the microwave. It actually tastes surprisingly pleasant and while we're not sure if it "tastes home-made" as the packaging promises us, it certainly didn't taste half bad and had a tangy flavour that was quite unexpected.

Lows: There are only two servings in a sachet so it won't be much good if you plan to have the extended family around (unless of course the extended family is very small). While Pricewatch was quite taken with it, other people who tasted it were less impressed and described it as excessively processed with an unpleasant and lingering aftertaste.

Verdict: The easy option

Star rating: ***