Yahoo Movies Is Heinz still king of the kitchen cupboard? I did a taste test to find out
So this is what it has come to: one corporate overlord battling another for control of… beans. US conglomerate Kraft Heinz is apparently seeking to hike the price of our nation’s beloved baked beans, in response to rising prices in the food supply chain. British supermarket chain Tesco has resisted, citing “unjustifiable prices increases” for its customers.
The result? A stand-off in which Heinz beans are no longer on the supermarket’s shelves, with Tesco advising we stock up on Branston beans or its own brand instead.
We don’t know if other supermarket chains will follow suit – but in the meantime, I decided to prepare for the worst and see if I could live in a world without Heinz. I collected some of the products the brand’s big competitors sell for an ultra-tomatoey taste test. Here’s what might fill the void in your cupboards for the foreseeable...
Baked beans
Mr Organic – 400g tin, £1.29
Definitely the most flavoursome of the lot, these are rich and savoury. I wish I’d tested these with sausages – despite being vegetarian they're almost meaty in taste. Very moreish.
10/10
Tesco – 420g tin, 40p
Let down by the thin sauce. These have an over-sugary taste and the beans themselves feel a little too fibrous on the tongue. Still, they’re a third of the price of Heinz’s beans, and they’re not that different overall.
5/10
Heinz – 415g tin, £1.20
A thick, rich sauce, the tomato balanced perfectly with a touch of sweetness. This is a classic for a reason. The beans are a satisfying texture, squashing perfectly on the tongue. A treat.
7/10
Branston – 410g tin, 80p
The sauce is more savoury than Heinz’s, which I preferred. I detected a whisper of paprika. There’s a third more fibre in Branston’s than in Heinz’s, too.
8/10
Ketchup
Wilkin & Sons Tiptree Ketchup – 310g bottle, £2.40
Tomato is a fruit and here’s your reminder. This ketchup tastes fresh and sweet, as opposed to the sugar-enhanced flavour most ketchup lovers will be used to. A very summery ketchup – I’d enjoy this with a barbecue.
9/10
Sauce Shop – 255g bottle, £2.50
Having won a Great Taste award, Sauce Shop probably don’t need me to tell you that this is delicious. Like Wilkin & Sons’ ketchup, it’s fresh, with a slightly acidic tang, as if there’s a hint of chilli in there. It’s zestier than the ketchup we’re used to, but it would pair nicely with a fish finger sandwich.
8/10
Tesco – 890g bottle, £1.05
Limp and watery, this sauce dribbled out of the bottle like water. It tastes of nothing but sugar, and if I were tasting blind I’m not sure I’d even register this as a tomato ketchup. You get by far the most for your buck, but at what cost?
3/10
Heinz – 250g bottle, £1.70
It’s the tried-and-tested ketchup we all know and love. Yes, it’s sweet. But the texture is perfect, just watery enough to squeeze satisfyingly all over your chips, but gelatinous enough to stick to them. Can’t be beaten.
9/10
Cream of Tomato soup
Sainsbury’s – 400g tin, 55p
This is very pleasant, albeit slightly watery, with a bit of a vinegary tang. But the sweet tomato sings through. For 55p, it’s great.
8/10
Baxters Favourites – 400g tin, £1.20
Simply unbeatable. The sweetness of ripe tomato with the thick, velvety texture of Scottish double cream, tempered by a salty, savoury goodness. The flavours are rich and wholesome. One to savour.
10/10
Free and Easy – 400g tin, £1.99
Vegan-friendly, so this wasn’t truly “cream of” – and it suffers for that. Just pure tomato, with nothing to soften it. A bit bland and insipid. Fine but unremarkable.
5/10
Heinz – 400g tin, £1.40
On this evidence, Tesco is right if it intends to remove Heinz soup from its shelves. Bland, utterly uninspiring, too sweet, forgettable. And far too expensive at its current price.
4/10
