This week, Value for Moneysamples five varieties of adults' easter eggs
***** Excellent ***** Great *** Fine ** Below Par * Awful
M&S Wafer Thin Salami Milano,
€2.29 for 50g, €45.80 per kg
Highs:Neither fatty nor greasy, this mild-flavoured salami is very good. It is made in Italy with Italian pork, MS assures us. It is very, very thinly sliced, to such an extent that it almost melts in the mouth. It is also flecked with a surprisingly large amount of small pieces of black pepper which add a decent kick to it.
Lows:The meat is almost entirely swamped by the salty flavours. Half a pack is a single serving so it will never go very far. And we were puzzled as to why the wafer-thin variety of M&S salami should cost €6 per kg more than the slightly more thickly sliced salami sold at the same store. Compared to some of the other equally good, if not better, options on the market it seems wildly over priced.
Verdict:Too expensive
Star rating: **
Dulano Smoked Salami from Lidl,
€2.69 for 200g, €13.45 per kg
Highs:Have a conversation with almost anyone who shops in this store and there is a pretty good chance the high quality of Lidl's cold meats will come up sooner rather than later. While this salami is not the best we have ever tasted by a long shot, it is not at all bad and is great value for money. It is made with 96 per cent pork – very high by comparison with the competition – and is quite heavily smoked. Although we're not entirely sure how natural the smoking process was, we liked the taste of it all the same. It has a nice meaty texture without being greasy and, because such a large amount of salami is included, you'll be glad the box is easily re-sealable.
Lows:The smoked flavour will not be to everyone's taste and the large slices might be too much of a mouthful for some people.
Verdict:Very good value
Star rating: ****
Fresche Bonta Salami Milano,
€1.79 for 100g, €17.90 per kg
Highs:This salami, made in Italy and sourced by Tesco, looks very authentic (although that could just be down to all the Italian on the packaging) and is substantially more meaty than the others. The salt, pork and spices are nicely balanced and the flavours are good. It is comparatively thickly sliced, so a couple of slices can hold their own in a sandwich without difficulty.
Lows:It might be a little on the chewy side for some people, and the packaging was ridiculously hard to get open and next to impossible to close.
Verdict:Pretty good
Star rating: ***
Milama Black Pepper Coated Salami Sausage,
€2.49 for 250g, €9.96 per kg
Highs:This salami of Spanish origin is the cheapest of the sausages reviewed and, wearing its thick coat of fierce black pepper, it is also the spiciest by an enormous margin. In fact, the pepper overshadows everything to such a degree that it is almost impossible to say with any accuracy what the salami tastes like, unless you carefully cut all the pepper away, which is what we did.
Lows:And we immediately wished we hadn't because, once it was stripped of its pepper curtain, it was not at all nice. It is greasy, flavourless and unnaturally lurid in colour. If you want an authentic unsliced salami sausage, we suspect you could do a whole lot better than this in your local deli.
Verdict:Cheap in more ways than one
Star rating: **
Gusto Fresco Salame Tipo Milano,
€3.50 for 100g, €35 per kg
Highs:Obviously cut from a large salami sausage, these are very wide in diameter and will look great on a cold meat platter, if such things are still being served in these hard times. It is very mild-flavoured and was subtle enough not to deter the most reluctant of salami eaters.
Lows:A single piece is a bit of a mouthful despite the fact that it is thinly sliced. Availability might be a problem and the slightly citrus flavours were just a little unsettling. We also found it far too easy to eat and had demolished half a packet before we managed to regain control of ourselves.
Verdict:Top notch
Star rating: ****
