Value for money

Quiche

Avoca Cheese & Ham

€6.95 for 275g, €25.27 per kg

THIS QUICHE is available at the deli counter of Avoca as a small individual portion. While some elements of it are lovely it is less than the sum of its parts and it ultimately disappoints. The egg filling is nice and creamy and the pastry crisps up well. It is however just a little tasteless, as are the chunks of ham. In fact what this quiche could really do with is a sprinkling of salt. The price is also pretty horrendous.

VERDICT: A bit dull and a lot dear ***

Butler's Pantry Cheese & Ham

€3.95 for 200g, €19.75 per kg

THIS QUICHE contained quite a ridiculous amount of ham which has been cut into pleasingly large chunks. There’s a bit of spinach in the mix and it’s been garnished with a sun-dried tomato. The pastry was the teensiest bit soggy and the filling was a little bit too solid – more like a Spanish tortilla than a quiche. The ingredient list is pleasingly simple although while we were promised cheddar cheese we really struggled to taste it.

VERDICT: A bit dense ***

Marks & Spencer Ham & Asparagus

€4.49 for 400g, €11.22 per kg

WE REALLY liked the filling here, the small thin bits of British Wiltshire ham that come from pigs which were, according to the packaging, bred outdoor and the asparagus adds flavour, texture and colour to the mix. In fact the only real problem with the filling is there wasn’t enough of it, not by a long shot. The pastry is lovely, thin and crispy and filled with flavour.

VERDICT: Top dog ****

McColgan's Quiche Lorraine

€1.49 for 400g, €3.72 per kg

THIS IS the cheapest of the quiches we tried tried by an absolutely massive margin and say what you like about it, you can’t complain that it lacks filling – there’s loads of it here. It has a soft, custardy texture that we weren’t mad about. There is a lot of smoked ham in the mix – 15 per cent, in fact. It is very strong and perfectly pleasant. The pastry is very thick and just a little bit on the soggy side.

VERDICT: Cheap ***