Organic wholemeal bread
Doves Farm
800g, £1.39, Waitrose
Chunky log of a loaf. A bit musty but I like the texture. It makes nice doorstep slices which are perfect for a ploughman's.
3 stars
Artisan, Rye and Spelt
800g, £1.77, artisanbread-abo.co.uk
Most interesting of the bunch. I like the seeds and grains but it's trying a touch too hard. Charismatic at least.
3 stars
Sainsbury's
800g, 89p
Very thin. Tastes processed and dry and sort of collapses in your mouth, lifelessly.
1 star
Hovis
800g, £1.34, Asda
Malty, airy and processed. Not much happening here. It must be the freshest of the lot, but it's bounciness is short-lived. Dull.
1 star
Organic oatcakes
Waitrose, Scottish
300g, £1.09
Ooh good. Character, texture, crunchy but not too dry. The oats taste toasted and the grains are tasty. I can detect caramel which is unusual.
4 stars
Daylesford Organic
150g, £2.50, daylesfordorganic.com
Sweet and tasty. Crunchy and quite melty. Unusual version of an oatcake, probably good with cheese although it would tackle a cup of tea far better.
3 stars
Nairns
250g, 79p, Asda
Very noncommittal. But, it does the job. It's an oatcake proper, it has a purpose and it pulls it off.
3 stars
Village Bakery
250g, £1.99, village-bakery.com
Straw-like to the point of collapse. Overly dry. You can see the oats but it is so fragile and crumbly you can't put anything on it. Over-baked perhaps?
2 stars
Organic strawberry jam
Whole Earth
250g, £1.39, Asda
Wow this has no sugar. And that's a pretty decent sugarless jam. This must be quite expensive. Verging on compote but versatile and the right, natural colour.
4 stars
Duerr's
340g, 85p, Morrisons
This looks the best. It is sugary, maybe too sugary, but I like the jellyish consistency. It's jammy jam, fruity and it tastes wonderful.
4 stars
Tesco Fairtrade
340g, £1.39
This one screams 'strawberry' and is the most strawberrily of the bunch. Proper jam or at least jam as I remember. But I'm not sure if that's a good thing. It's not very natural tasting.
3 stars
Sainsbury's
340g, £1.29
Too sweet. I think the sugar is overcompensating for the lack of actual fruit. It's acidic and tastes cheap.
1 star
Organic mature cheddar cheese
Marks & Spencer
£9.80 per kilo
This is a brave piece of cheese. It's allowed some heat through, starting mild then going sharp. I can feel the texture and it has a post-chewing snap. This is proper cheddar.
4 stars
Godminster
400g, £10.70, TheCheeseShed.com
It hasn't been allowed to dry out. It's almost damp. The flavour is rather good but a tiny bit winey for me.
3 stars
Dairy House
320g, £4.61, thedairyhouse.co.uk
Mild, creamy, fatty, buttery. But not much more than that. It's just cheddar, innit.
3 stars
Tesco
320g, £2.64
Milky and a bit young. Lumpy on the tongue and bit weak. Like soft cheese.
1 star
Organic unsalted butter
Sainsbury's
250g, £1.19
Nice texture, good colour, nice touch of flavour. Fairly creamy but not bland. Not bad at all.
4 stars
Yeo Valley
250g,£1.29, Asda
Sort of butter, I suppose. Very mild, not really jumping at me, just sort of looking at me quietly from the plate.
3 stars
Rachel's
250g, £1.49, Asda
Too fatty and not nearly enough flavour. I prefer a little bite or distinctive features in my butter.
3 stars
Lurpak Spreadable
250g, £1.53
This is rather damp and sloshy but it spreads very well, I'll give it that. For a spreadable it works. But as a rich butter, not terribly well. Bit of a non-starter.
2 stars
Organic cornflakes
Sainsbury's
375g, 89p
Nice crispy bite, these actually taste toasted. They're big, thick, crunchy and far superior to the others.
4 stars
Morrisons
500g, £1.15
A bit processed but otherwise nice and corny. Lighter than the others and they don't go soggy.
3 stars
Whole Earth
375g, £1.19, Sainsbury's
Quite good. I actually prefer thin and light flakes and these are just that. Nice bubbles.
3 stars
Tesco
500g, £1.15
Doesn't do much for me. Not crispy. Dull coloured and flakes in the hand.
2 stars
Organic shortbread
Island Bakery
150g, £1.80, abelandcole.co.uk
Just sweet enough. Baked so it's just starting to colour. The size is perfect and it tastes of butter.
4 stars
Waitrose
160g, 99p
This tastes a little cheap, but it's very passable. Sort of the shortbread yardstick. Buttery, but a bit heavy on the wheat.
3 stars
Daylesford Organic
250g, £4.50, daylesfordorganic.com
The colour is nice. It starts buttery but diverts into caramel territory. It's a heavy hybrid of a biscuit with too much butter.
3 stars
Marks & Spencer
200g, £1.29
Too crumbly. Anti-social to eat. The butter tastes cheap and it leaves a horrible dry feeling on the tongue. Not very nice and liable to shatter if you touch it.
1 star
Organic tomato soup
Sainsbury's tomato and basil
400g, 75p
This is lovely. A bit like gazpacho. But thicker and nice hot or cold. Very good and very tasty.
4 stars
Marks & Spencer
415g, £1.19
This one has character. But it's rammed with vegetables which have been semi-chopped and it looks a bit lumpy and unappetising.
3 stars
Suma
400g, £1.11, goodnessdirect.co.uk
Clean herbs in here. Dried though. Slightly chalky and fairly tomatoey. Would be nicer if it was thicker though.
3 stars
Duchy Originals
600g, £2.89, widely available
This is child's food. Starchy, bland and tasteless. It needs salt. In fact, it needs flavour. Laughable.
1 star
Organic mayonnaise
Meridian
260ml, £1,69, goodnessdirect.co.uk
Peppery and thin, it could do with some Dijon. It's a touch watery and I can't work out what's holding it together. There is no egg colour in here. But certainly passable.
3 stars
Waitrose
325ml, £1.45
Too sweet and plastic-tasting. Very emulsified. It's a bit like butter but the overall flavour isn't bad.
3 stars
Abel & Cole
325g, £2.60, abelandcole.co.uk
This one needs more emulsification. It's a bit like salad cream. Good on a salad. Less good in a tuna sandwich.
2 stars
Biona
230g, £2.09, goodnessdirect.co.uk
Now this must be salad cream. It's like jelly. It actually wobbles. Unpleasant to look at and it tastes well below par.
1 star
Organic baked beans
Whole Earth
420g,69p, Waitrose
Vinegary sauce but great robust flavour. The beans are lovely and soft and the most flavoursome of all.
4 stars
Tesco
420g, 45p
Nice juice, oddly fruity. The beans taste a bit powdery but there's a good ratio of bean to sauce and they taste good cold.
3 stars
Asda
415g, 45p
Clean taste, not too sweet. The sauce is nice but they're a touch stodgy. Good body and lovely beans.
3 stars
Heinz
415 g, 57p, widely available
A noncommital dish of beans. Sticky sauce, odd colour. The beans are a bit floppy and soft.
3 stars
Organic olive oil
Meridian
500ml, £3.99, goodnessdirect.co.uk
Lots of flavour. A nice fruity blend. It's clean and spicy and flavoursome. Good dark colour. Lovely.
4 stars
Filippo Berio
500ml, £3.99, Asda
Nice and fruity. Bit fatty and verging on dull. But the aroma's good and I think this is oil of a fairly high quality.
3 stars
Waitrose, Italian Extra Virgin
500ml, £4.39
Clean, hot and weird. In that order. The flavour is OK but it's a bit of a non-event. Lacking in aroma.
3 stars
Marks & Spencer
250ml £2.59
Dull and oily. The colour keeps it in my good books but it's not very nice. I'm not a fan.
1 star
Organic tomato pasta sauce
Daylesford Organic
530g, £2.95
This is basically fresh, mashed cherry tomatoes. They are of a high quality so unless this is over a tenner, it's great. Ready to eat, versatile and great in a Bloody Mary!
4 stars
Seeds of Change
300g, £1.79
Herby and a little sweet. Good for a quick pasta lunch. It's almost lovely and doesn't need salt which is good.
3 stars
Asda
300g, £1.58
Nice and chunky but lacking in character. Loads of vinegar.
2 stars
Dolmio
500g, £1.79
A bit lifeless. The tomatoes are insipid and unripened. Not great and not something I'd eat.
2 stars
· Arthur Potts Dawson is executive chef proprietor at Acorn House, 69 Swinton Street, London WC1 (020 7812 1842) and Waterhouse, 10 Orsman Road, London N1 (020 7033 0123)
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