Value For Money

Sliced Ham

Specially Selected Crumbed Limerick Ham

There was a time when people used to go to Aldi just to buy exotic German and Italian cured meats, but it is a sign of changed times for the store and its customers that most of its deli shelf space is now taken up with locally-sourced cold meats. This ham really is excellent value for money. The slices are thick and the texture of each one is nice and meaty. The salt does not dominate, which is good although the crumbed edge is less good and is there for aesthetic reasons and brings very little to the party in terms of taste or texture.

Verdict:Top notch

Star rating: *****

Galtee Ham

€3 for 100g €30 per kg

This looked unappetising and each slice seemed to be pockmarked with small circles of white greasiness. The smell wasn’t particularly pleasing either. We hoped the first impression would be wrong but, sadly, it did not taste much better than it looked. It was a little slimy and devoid of any flavour other than salt. The uneven colouring left the impression it was not sliced from the whole leg and was probably reconstituted – although the same could be said of virtually every other ham on the market.

Verdict:A little grim

Star rating: **

Carroll’s Crumbed Ham

€5 for 400g €12.50 per kg

This is very cheap compared to some of its competitors, and while we were initially put off by the nuclear orange crumb around the fringes of each slice, it was not that bad. The makers tell us this has been “slow cooked for a better taste”, but we could not discern any difference between this and the more speedily cooked rivals. It tastes a little bland and we were not overly enamoured by the watery texture. It is, however, very cheap and the two packs will feed a child at lunchtime for two weeks.

Verdict:Cheap

Star rating: ***

Tesco Premium Crumbed Ham

€1.79 for 130g €13.76 per kg

Tesco has a very wide range of hams and this one falls into the middle. It tastes very salty and its gelatinous nature doesn’t do it any favours. The crumb is entirely pointless, although there was so little on each slice that you’d barely notice it was there. It was a little greasier than some of the competition and the first slice had a fairly tough piece in it which an uncharitable soul might refer to as gristle.

Verdict:Average

Star rating: ***

Denny Deli Style Crumbed Ham

€1.99 for 100g €19.90 per kg

Denny has been doing well in recent months with its “100 per cent natural” ham. And good luck to them. It is made with “natural ingredient crumb coating, natural flavouring, natural sea salt, natural demerara sugar and natural pork protein”. But do these naturals make it wholesome? Probably not. The absence of dodgy nitrates is to be welcomed, but we were still a bit disappointed. The slices were too thin, the crumb ridiculous and the taste too salty.

Verdict:Grand, naturally

Star rating: ***