Cranberry sauce
Co-op with port and fair trade sugar, 200ml, £1.05
I like the balance of sweet and sour in this one and there are whole cranberries in there for texture.
***
M&S, 215g, £1.39
Over-pureed, which makes it far too jammy.
**
Duchy Originals with port, 200g, £2.49, available from Waitrose
They must have forgotten the port in this jar because I can't taste any.
**
Sainsbury's, 220g, £1.42
Acidic and leaves a bitter taste in your mouth, but benefits from being fresh rather than in a jar.
**
Somerfield So Good, 220g, £1.49
Far too sweet, with almost no texture.
no stars
Brandy butter
Waitrose, 200g, £1.79
This tastes quite authentic: it's very buttery and has a generous amount of brandy that kicks in with the sugar.
***
Selfridges luxury brandy butter, 170g, £3.25, 0870 837 7377
It tastes homemade - nice touch of nutmeg.
***
Aldi, 225g, £1.29
Tastes of icing sugar - you actually get an unpleasant crunch of the sugar.
*
Carved Angel, 170g, £4.50, available from Cucina Direct, 0870 420 4300
A nice colour, but a little bland.
*
M&S, 200ml, £1.99
This looks like toffee and tastes like a sweet cocktail.
no stars
Game pies
Real Eating Company, 225g, £4, 01273 221 444
Light pastry, chunky, well- seasoned, moist meat with chestnuts enhancing the duck and prunes.
****
C. Lidgate, £5 per portion, 020 7727 8243
Prunes are good for moisture and there is a good strong gamey taste but it needs more salt.
***
Forman and Field, 2.5kg, £5.95, 020 8221 3939, www.formanandfield.com
A little too pureed for my taste but a decent moist pie.
**
Heal Farm, 450g, £10.77, 01769 574341
The pastry tastes nice but you'd need a bowl of chutney to moisten this up.
*
Fortnum & Mason, 1,5kg, £35, 020 7734 8040
A huge layer of chicken and stuffing.
no stars
Shortbread
Duchy Originals, 400g, £4.99, available from Waitrose
Lovely buttery flavour and not too chunky, but quite a way off traditional shortbread.
***
Aldi Parkwood selection, 425g, £1.69
This one isn't too sweet and has a good buttery aftertaste.
**
Tesco Finest fingers, 165g, 82p
Not amazing, but at least they haven't plied them with sugar.
**
Co-op, 135g, £1.02
I'm old fashioned when it comes to shortbread. This is just a very good chocolate chip cookie. One for the kids but not for me.
**
Morrisons, 400g, £1.99
Terrible. Dry, too crunchy and overcooked.
no stars
Chutney
Fortnum & Mason Christmas, 400g, £4.50
Good smell and flavour. Maybe just too much onion, but not bad.
**
Tesco Finest redcurrant, rosemary and balsamic, 300g, £1.59
Tastes like the bog standard chutney you might get in your local Indian restaurant.
**
Asda sweet tomato and chilli, 210g, £1.28
Too cautious with the chilli and too liberal with the ginger. Far too sweet.
*
Waitrose flame roasted tomato, 320g, £3.50
The spices kill all the other flavours and it's very vinegary.
*
Somerfield So Good tomato and chilli, 300g, £1.49
More chilli please! At the moment it's just sweet tomato jam.
no stars
Mince pies
Waitrose, £1.99 for 6
Good pastry, not overly sweet or messed around with. A decent, traditional pie.
***
Duchy Originals, £2.99 for 6, available from Waitrose and John Lewis
Moist pastry and a nice lemon and orange flavour to the mincemeat.
***
M & S, decorated mini, 290g, £3.99
Too sweet and boozy.
*
Tesco Finest, £1.79 for 6
Far too much alcohol in these pies and they're only half full of mincemeat, the rest is air.
*
Aldi Holly Lane Super Luxury, 99p for 6
These taste - bizarrely - of bubblegum.
no stars
Christmas cakes
M&S Connoisseur, 920g, £14.99
Nice, moist cake - with good icing.
***
Sainsbury's Taste the Difference, 1.5kg, £15.99
You can identify all the fruit and the marzipan is OK, but not enough of it.
***
Aldi Holly Lane Rich, 1.36kg, £6.99
Nutty flavour in the filling, chunks of fruit and good marzipan
***
Duchy, 900g, £14.95, available from Waitrose, Sainsbury's and John Lewis
Dry, and bland marzipan.
no stars
Morrisons Premium, 1kg, £5.99
Dry, overcooked and too much almond essence.
no stars
Whole baked ham
Citterio, £22.95/kg, available from Portobello Food, 020 8980 6664
A proper deli ham - sweet, soft and cured to perfection.
****
Waitrose mustard and honey, £12.99/kg
It's soft, tender and delicious.
***
Morrisons St Clements, £9.99 per joint
The oranges around this one are a bit overpowering. There are nice veins of fat in it though.
**
Tesco sugar baked on the bone, £11.99/kg
Not cured enough for me and a little tough but not bad.
**
C. Lidgate honey roast, £2.20/100g, as before
It's salty and has a strange bouncy texture.
*
Chocolate coins
Carluccio's, 145g, £6.95 available from Carluccio's, 020 7580 3050
They look pretty, but the chocolate is a bit average.
***
Tesco paw prints in the snow, 100g, 99p
They actually look better (nice dark chocolate colour) than they taste.
**
Asda, 60g, 48p
Tastes the same as the last lot.
**
Thornton's, 80g, 99p, 0845 121 1911
Bland, sweet and milky.
*
Lucky Dip, 50g, £2.49, available from Waitrose
Very poor. I can't taste any chocolate.
no stars
Chocolate decorations
L'artisan du Chocolat, approx 150g, £10-12, 020 7824 8365
A gilded bauble with four seriously good chocolates.
*****
Carluccio's, 28g, £1.50, as before
The fig is nicely preserved but let down by the quality of the chocolate casing.
****
Lindt, 120g, £2.99, widely available
Very sweet and rich filling. Not to my taste but I can imagine many loving these.
***
Asda, 75g, 78p
Ok, the chocolate is not bad. **
M &S, 115g, £1.99 Cute Santas but they taste 'artificial'.
no stars
Liqueur chocolates
Fortnum & Mason, £5/100g
These are for connoisseurs. You get a full shot of quality alcohol and the chocolate casing is crunchy and delicious.
*****
M & S assortment, 160g, £4.99
Good selection and all the alcohol is encased in good quality chocolate.
***
Elizabeth Shaw Famous Names, 195g, £5.49, widely available
Perfect if you like this sort of thing, but very sweet.
**
Leonidas, 240g, £13.50, available from Selfridges
Pretty and very nice chocolate, but not really my kind of thing.
**
Lindt, 250g, £6.99, available from Waitrose
Long and thin, so you spill alcohol down your front. No bad thing as they taste foul.
no stars
Cheese biscuits
Paxton and Whitfield, 400g, £8.75, 01608 652090
Crumbly and delicious. I'd have a couple of these for a snack and I'd be happy to serve them.
*****
Asda Extra Special, 300g, £1.78
I like these. They look the most appetising and are moreish.
***
The Fine Cheese Co, 150g, £2.10, 01225 448748, www.finecheese.co.uk
There's a good chive flavour here and they are a fantastic texture.
***
Tesco Finest, 250g, £1.89
Resemble a Ryvita, but are nice and crumbly. However, they are nothing to get excited about.
**
Sainsbury's Taste the Difference, 300g, £2.95
These simply taste of oregano. Nasty.
no stars
Christmas puddings
Aunt Alice's, 460g, £10.50, Borough Market, London, SE1 (Fri & Sat), mail order 07986 598407
Moist, light, nutty. A really great pud.
*****
Forman and Field, 454g, £9.95, as before
A quality traditional pudding, not laced with booze.
***
Tesco Finest, 454g, £5.99
Good fruit, it's light, but they've gone for it with the alcohol: ask for seconds and you'll be pissed.
***
Sainsbury's Taste the Difference, 454g, £6.99
Can't taste the champagne; slightly bready texture, but not too sweet.
*
Somerfield So Good matured, 454g, £5.99
Far too mushy - the alcohol drowns the fruit flavours.
*
Cheese boards
Paxton and Whitfield classic trio, 900g, £19
Might get this for someone this Xmas. It's an impressive selection of quality classic cheeses.
*****
The Fine Cheese Co England's green and pleasant land, 1.24kg, £27
Fantastic quality cheeses.
****
Co-op, 670g, £8.99
This isn't bad at all. The brie is particularly good.
***
Asda, 850g, £16.99
Quite a dull selection which includes Emmental and a couple of passable cheeses.
**
Morrisons, individual cheeses, 6.99/kg each
Is this a joke? Mexicana cheese? Disgusting. Like eating flavoured rubber.
no stars
