Prosciutto

BEST BUY
Selfridges
San Daniele 18 Months
100g, £5.50
This has a perfect balance of salt and sweetness. I use San Daniele at the restaurant a lot – this is the best one by far.
★★★★★

The Co-operative
Truly Irresistible Italian Parma Ham
80g, £3
Balanced flavour and bright pink in colour. It is a bit too soft though, so the meat's texture gets lost.
★★★

Waitrose
Waitrose Prosciutto di Parma
200g, £9.99
Looks a lot shinier than the others and has a completely different texture. It's cut very thin though, which is what
you want.
★★★

Marks & Spencer
Special Reserve Parma Ham
75g, £3.99
The outer edge is a little tough. It's meaty and has a nice flavour, but it's a bit too dry for me.
★★

Italian salami

Natoora
Salami Gentile
400g, £19.50
This is a classic salami – rich, oily and punchy. It's been aged for longer and I like the deeper, gamey flavour. I'd eat this on its own with a glass of wine.
★★★★

Sainsbury's
Milano Salami
86g, £2
Looks like the cheapest of the four but it's tasty and would be good for sandwiches. There's a nice distribution of fat.
★★★

Waitrose
Salami di Brianza
90g, £2.99
Seems like a packeted Milano, but a really good dry salami. It would be good for bruschetta
with figs and ricotta – but not my favourite of the four.
★★★

Harvey Nichols
Salami Bastardo
£41.95 per kg
Peppery and has a coarse texture. I like the uneven spread of fat but the pepper does disguise the meat and is a bit
overpowering.
★★

Saucisson

Harrods
Saucisson with hazelnuts
£20 per kg
I am not usually a fan of things in my saucisson – I'm a purist! But the hazelnut works really well here. The nut breaks up the fat. It's also beautiful to look at.
★★★★

BEST BUY
Tesco
Finest Saucisson Sec
200g, £3
A classic saucisson – meaty and with the correct garlic balance. It's not particularly expensive but I really like it.
★★★★

Ginger Pig
Mont Charvin Saucisson
£24.50 per kg
Seriously deep colour and overly hard texture. It's been aged for too long - I find it too tough.
★★

Sainsbury's
French Saucisson Sec
200g, £3.49
I like it but it's intensely garlicky – like raw garlic. You wouldn't want to go on a date after that!
★★

Terrine and pâté

Ginger Pig
Pork Terrine
£2.50 per kg
This is how a pork terrine should be: coarse texture, porky and with a bit of pepper. It's great, except slightly dry.
★★★★

Tesco
Finest Farmhouse Pâté with Mulled English Cider Ingot
200g, £3
Appley and with a strong acid taste at the end. Not sure I like the flavour but texture is good - not too smooth.
★★★

The Co-operative
Truly Irresistible Ardennes Apple and Calvados Pâté
170g, £2.29
Surprisingly sweet. It tastes like it's got sherry in it, which covers up the pork a bit. I like its spreadable paste texture.
★★★

Selfridges
Black Forest Ham Pâté
100g, £2
Very porky – it tastes too much like smoked bacon for me. It's also quite granular on the tongue and leaves a strong aftertaste.
★★

Chicken liver parfait

Tesco
Finest Chicken Liver Parfait with French Brandy Mini Kilner Jar
80g, £3.50
Really pink and with a big bit of butter on top. I like its appley, acidic sweetness.
★★★★

Marks & Spencer
Smooth Chicken Liver Parfait with Calvados
175g, £6
Very buttery and incredibly smooth. It tastes luxurious and would be great on brioche.
★★★★

Fortnum & Mason
Mousse of Chicken Liver Parfait
250g, £15
This looks very different from the others. It's dark, homely and has strong liver, bay and herb flavours. Makes you suck in your cheeks a little.
★★★

Sainsbury's
Chicken Liver Parfait
170g, £2.15
Very pink and unappetisingly sweet. There's an odd porkiness about it, which is a bit off-putting .
★

Piccalilli

Tesco
Finest Honey and Three Mustard Piccalilli
350g, £1.49
This has a rich amber colour and is speckled with mustard seeds. It's strong on vinegar and would be good with ham. Good crunch, too.
★★★★

Aldi
Hayward's Piccalilli
99p, 460g
Luminous yellow in colour and the vegetables all similarly cut, giving it a machine-like quality. Too lemony and acidic.
★★★

Fortnum & Mason
Piccadilly Piccalilli
300g, £4.75
A good balance of vegetables such as cauliflower but it is just too soft, which ruins it. It looks beautifully creamy and would have my vote if the veg had more bite.
★★

Sainsbury's
Taste the Difference Piccalilli
260g, £1.89
Looks more like curry! You can see some peppers but there's not much chunky veg and not enough crunch.
★