Ham
Forman and Field Alderton, 100g, £2.22, www.formanandfield.com
This is a proper bit of ham with real flavours. Delicious.
5 stars
Harvey Nichols honey roast Dorset, 100g, £2.55, 020 7235 5000
There's romance to how this looks, but it's a bit too salty.
4 stars
Graig farm organics, 100g, £3.35, www.graigfarm.co.uk
Looks good, but thinly cut, salty.
2 stars
Sainsbury's taste the difference honey roast, 160g, £2.69
Doesn't taste roasted, Both too sweet and too salty.
1 star
Tesco finest Wiltshire cured , 140g, £2.68
Leaves an absence of flavour in your mouth.
No stars
Parma Ham
Marks & Spencer prima riserva, 50g, £4.99
Amazing. It smells and tastes like real parma ham. Excellent.
5 stars
Harvey Nichols proscuitto, 100g, £3.95,
You can taste it's freshly cut. It's slightly overdried, but it still has a lovely flavour. I really like it.
5 stars
Waitrose farm assured, 90g, £2.99
It's moist and it's got a bit of character. Quite flavoursome.
3 stars
Tesco finest riserva,
70g, £2.99
Not bad, but it slightly too salty.
2 stars
Sainsbury's taste the difference gran riserva 75g, £3.29
It's a good parma ham, but it lacks a bit of character.
2 stars
Spanish dry-cured
Waitrose free range jamon Ibérico de Bellotta, 75g, £6.99
Good fat content. It smells and tastes delicious and it's well-matured. Great.
5 stars
Harvey Nichols Joselito pata negra Ibérico, 100g, £15.50
A bit greasy, but the actual meat is lovely.
4 stars
Sainsbury's taste the difference jamon Ibérico bellota, 75g, £6.99
Quite good, intense flavour, but I don't like the white bits in it.
2 stars
Marks & Spencer Ibérico, 50g, £4.99
Not very flavoursome, but OK. It's a bit too sweet and dry .
2 stars
Tesco finest serrano,
85g, £2.79
Not great. It looks like parma ham and tastes quite young.
1 star
Chorizo
Harvey Nichols Joselito Ibérico, 100g, £3.95
Everything is right about this one. It's nicely balanced and delicate.
5 stars
Waitrose Ibérico de Bellota, 75g, £2.29
Very good. It's compressed with a good balance between fat, meat and spice.
4 stars
Marks & Spencer extra, 255g, £2.49
Very palatable and moist. Is good for both cooking and eating as it is. I like it.
3 stars
Bellota Ibérico de Bellota, 100g, £3.20, www.bellota.co.uk
Excellent artisan product with great flavours, but the packaging makes it greasy.
3 stars
Sainsbury's taste the difference, 75g, £2.49
Too fatty. It's ordinary chorizo that doesn't do much for me.
2 stars
Beef
Graig farm organics, 105g, £2.87,
This is what beef should taste like. Lovely marbling and good seasoning.
5 stars
Waitrose free-range hand- carved roast Hereford, 100g, £2.89
Good quality meat, nice colour and texture, but a bit too salty
3 stars
Sainsbury's roast Aberdeen angus, 100g, £2.89
Not bad, boring and chewy.
2 stars
Asda extra special roasted British topside, 120g,£2.68
Tastes boiled. It's very moist, but also very bland. Nice texture.
1 star
Tesco finest roast, 115g, £2.55
Looks promising, but it has a very strong aftertaste.
1 star
Pastrami
Gilbert's hand trimmed, 170g, £4.18, available: Asda
Rather dry, but it's big on the spices. It's an obvious pastrami with good flavours and plenty of character.
4 stars
M&S wafer thin, 85g, £2.49
The texture and flavour are very good and it looks pretty authentic too.
3 stars
Graig farm organics, 100g, £3.16
A curious product. It's rather nice and natural, but it's an untypical pastrami.
2 stars
Sainsbury's taste the difference, 120g, £2.49
It doesn't taste of much and it's too thinly cut.
1 star
Waitrose British, 80g, £1.89
It's OK, but the flavour is not strong enough.
1 star
Turkey
Waitrose organic roast breast, 110g, £2.99
Looks, smells and tastes like real and homemade turkey. Perfect.
5 stars
Sainsbury's taste the difference butter roast, 130g, £2.49
You can taste it's breast meat and it has very good texture. Bit too salty.
4 stars
Tesco finest, 130g, £2.49
Just bits of turkey meat pressed together. The flavour is not bad.
2 stars
Bernard Matthews Norfolk breast, 200g, £2.16, widely available
It doesn't have a particularly natural flavour and it looks processed.
1 star
Asda good for you cooked and flame grilled breast, 150g, £1.88
It looks plasticky and tastes processed.
No stars
Salami
Bellota Ibérico de Bellota, 100g, £3.20, www.bellota.co.uk
The pepper flavour comes through nicely. A great product.
5 stars
Waitrose saucisson sec with herbes de Provence, 70g, £1.99
Flavour is incredible. Very appealing.
4 stars
Harvey Nichols truffle, 100g, £4.20,
Nicely cut. Very dry, but has a good delicate flavour.
4 stars
Sainsbury's salame brianza, 80g, £1.99
Would like more pepper in this one. Good flavour, but nothing outrageous.
2 stars
Graig farm organics salchichon Don Luis, 100g, £1.98,
The fat flavour is overwhelming and it's too thickly cut.
1 star
Chicken
Sainsbury's taste the difference butter basted and roasted, 130g, £2.69
Promising. It looks and tastes like chicken. Good flavour.
4 stars
Waitrose free range hand carved roast breast,
100g, £2.59
Great, thick and uneven texture, but it's got a slight after-taste that I don't like.
2 stars
Black Mountains Smokery, 360g, £6.75, www.smoked-foods.co.uk
It's a very natural product, but it's far too dry.
2 stars
Tesco finest roast, 140g, £2.49
I can't tell if this is chicken or turkey.
No stars
Weightwatchers, 100g, £1.58, widely available
There is nothing natural about this product and it looks very unappetising.
No stars
Smoked meats
Graig Farm organics mutton, 100g, £2.31
Flavours too strong for me, but an excellent idea. Interesting.
3 stars
Black Mountains Smokery, 170g, £6.75, www.smoked-foods.co.uk
Good balance between the smokiness and the duck-flavour. A little dry.
3 stars
Waitrose British applewood smoked gammon, 120g, £1.89
Nicely smoked and moist, but it's too salty.
2 stars
M&S smoked wafer thin Cuxwold pork loin, 80g, £2.49
It has a lightly smoked flavour. It's OK, but not exciting.
2 stars
Sainsbury's Westphalian beechsmoked salami, 80g, £1.49
It's a nice product, but not exceptional. Would have liked it to be more smoked.
2 stars
· Michael Caines is executive chef and co-director of Gidleigh Park, Chagford, Devon, 01647 432367, www.gidleigh.com
