Latest features Local produce tried and tasted

Date Published:

28/04/2008

Sustainably produced and locally grown or industrially produced but readily available - from which source would you prefer your food?

The choice is yours and luckily it's a choice that's getting easier, as supermarkets bring small producers, Fairtrade and organic lines to their shelves. Farmers' markets too are cropping up all over the country, bringing the small, locally produced labels to our cities and towns.

But can you really taste the difference? We've held an assortment of products up to scrutiny to take into account their origin, price, availability and taste. Our blind test comprised a mix of market bought, farmed or sustainably sourced products compared to commonly available brands and supermarkets' own labels.

Wye not? Jam from The Wooden Spoon

Breakfast essential

The 39p jar of cheap, mass-produced and preservative-heavy jam received the lowest score with the commonly available Tiptree sitting in the middle. But it was the small producer, Kent-based Wooden Spoon Preserving Company that took the gong. Testers were enthusiastic about its high fruit content and natural sweetness, and it was obvious the jam had been handled with care every step of the way; as Jeff Higgins of the Wooden Spoon explained, even the labelling is stuck on by hand.

Spanish extra virgin from Castillo de tabernas

The right oil

Again, the tasting reflected the price with the Spanish Castillo de Tabernas taking the prize. At £13 for 500ml, with its content of small, single estate picual olives grown in unique climactic conditions, it certainly sounds exclusive. But at this stage the easiest way to procure a bottle is online and at more than four times the price of the 500ml commonly available Italian Filippo Berio, price and convenience are not strong points.

Hello Halloumi

Our tasters approved of the commonly available Cypriot brand Pittas in both its regular and low-fat varieties. A lack of choice in our local supermarkets prevented us from testing a third brand so the winning cheese lacked real competition. Pittas uses a mix of cow, sheep and goat's milk for its Halloumi while the cheese traditionally contains only goat or sheep's milk which brings us to the Cothi Valley Goats haloumi.

Cothi Valley's Cilwr farm is home to over 200 goats in South Wales and boasts a range of meat and dairy products. The 'haloumi' garnered reviews such as "nice texture and taste", but competition was tight. Something our tasters couldn't take into account was that the Welsh variety contains 100 per cent goat's milk from a single, British farm. Cothi Valley produce is available online or at a number of markets.

Good Natured... the eponymous juice

The big squeeze

Tropicana, our commonly available brand name, garnered the most praise in this category. A number of our testers detected that the three juices were made using concentrate – which makes transport from country of origin more carbon friendly - but wouldn't have known that our small producer, Good Natured has Rainforest Alliance certification for its tropical fruits and uses 100 per cent Valencia oranges.

Read on for comments from the taste-test.