Cloudy lemonade

Selfridges
Fentimans Victorian lemonade
275ml, £1.79, selfridges.com
Tastes fresh, clean and balanced with good acidity and not too much sugar. It also has a fermented flavour. Excellent, with lots of va-va-voom! ★★★★★

Morrisons
Cloudy lemonade
2l, 62p, morrisons.co.uk
Very refreshing - makes your lips pucker. It has a bitter edge, which is good. Tastes like they've used the zest as well as juice of the lemons. ★★★

Marks and Spencer
Sicilian cloudy lemonade
750ml, £1.69, marksandspencer.com
Tastes a little dull and lacks vibrancy. What's more, it is barely fizzy, so with ice added this would be totally flat. ★

Natoora
La mortaucienne
1l, £2.99, natoora.co.uk
Very sweet and without much lemony flavour. It feels flat in the mouth - a bit nothingy. Like fancy dish water! ★

Couscous

Tesco
Finest chargrilled vegetable couscous
280g, £2.10, tesco.com
I love all the body and textures - it looks and tastes homemade.There are large bits of roasted veg and two different types of cous cous. ★★★★

Sainsbury's
Taste the Difference Moroccan couscous
460g, £4, sainsburys.co.uk
Visually beautiful with lots of fresh herbs, fruit and spice but too sweet to taste. Would be great with hot braised lamb but not a picnic dish for me. ★★★

Morrisons
Chargrilled vegetable couscous
225g, 95p, morrisons.co.uk
Really citrusy but not seasoned enough. This makes an easy accompaniment but it's a little bland on its own. ★

Lidl
Meadowfresh couscous with roasted vegetables
280g, 99p, lidl.co.uk
One of my pet hates is flabby undercooked aubergine and I can see it here! The cous cous isn't fluffy enough and it tastes cheap. No stars

Vegetarian quiche

Harrods
Goat's cheese and spinach quiche
£2.50 per slice, harrods.com
Good pastry and deep-filled with fresh spinach. Looks lovely, but could do with more cheese and seasoning. ★★★

Waitrose
Broccoli and gruyere quiche
400g, £2.49, waitrose.com
Personally, I don't like broccoli in quiche but I'm also struggling to taste the cheese here. It's not set enough and looks more like bechamel sauce. ★

Sainsbury's
Taste the Difference Taw Valley cheddar and caramelised onion quiche
475g, £3.50, sainsburys.co.uk
Really soggy pastry but a nicely set quiche. It's a bit flat but the sweet caramelised onions bring it to life. ★

The Cooperative
Crustless red pepper and basil quiche
340g, £2.29, cooperative.coop
Really pappy, with no flavour except the pepper which just offsets everything. There are notes of cheap dried herbs, too. Not a fan. No stars

Pork pies

Marks and Spencer
Melton Mowbray pork pie
440g, £3.49, marksandspencer.com
This looks so exciting - it has a pastry Union Jack on top. Perfect rock hard pastry, but the flavour of meat lets it down - a bit like tasteless stuffing. ★★★

Riverford
Individual picnic pork pie
190g, £2.95, riverford.co.uk
I love that the jelly is spilling over the edges - it looks artisan. Pastry feels a bit thin and it could do with more meat, although the flavour is lovely. ★★★

Lidl
Castlegrove crispy bake snack pork pies
260g, £1.09 for 4, lidl.co.uk
Looks like a conventional pork pie. Smaller than the others, and with waxier pastry. Nothing exceptional but a good standard pie for picnics. ★★

Harrods
Pork pie
£2.50 each, harrods.com
Completely soggy pastry, which gives it a cheap appearance. The taste is good, however, with well seasoned meat. Shame the pastry lets it down. ★

Scotch eggs

Marks and Spencer

Deli counter soft-set scotch egg
£1.49 each, marksandspencer.com
Has an artisan appearance, with an interesting texture and gorgeous runny yolk. Loads of flavour throughout and the meat has sage notes. ★★★★

Tesco
Finest two scotch eggs
227g, £1.50, tesco.com
Lots of crumb, which I like, although it's lacking crunch. The egg is well cooked and the sausage meat is peppery with good seasoning. ★★★

The Cooperative
Chilled individual scotch egg
113g, 70p for two, cooperative.coop
Traditional but uninspired. The crumb has a homogenous orange colour and the egg is too small with a tiny yolk. The sausage meat needs extra herb, too. ★

Waitrose
Scotch egg
140g, £1.19, waitrose.com
I like the grain on the sausage meat - it's not too tightly packed. It's missing depth of flavour, though. I want more pepper and warmth. ★

Taramasalata

Selfridges
Arabica Food & Spice Co. taramasalata
100g, £2, selfridges.com
The pale colour makes it look homemade. Beautiful creamy texture with loads of smoky, fishy flavour. A great authentic mezze. ★★★★

Waitrose
Supreme Taramasalata
170g, £1.21, waitrose.com
Delicious - really acidic and smoky with a grainy texture. A good example of the taramasalata we were brought up on in the UK. ★★★★

Tesco
Taramasalata
211g, £1, tesco.com
Very smooth and mild. Has the best seaonsing of the lot but doesn't have all the layers of flavour I'm after. Nice but tastes pre-packaged. ★★

The Cooperative
Taramasalata dip
200g, £1.19, cooperative.coop
This has a clotted, curdled texture. Very fishy but, once again, without all the flavour nuances of oil, garlic and smoke I'd like. ★