Tinned tomatoes
Puma conserve, 550g, £2.80, www.natoora.co.uk
Wow! These are really good - a dense texture and the right sweetness.
5 stars
Marks & Spencer organic peeled plum, 400g, 49p, 0845 3021234
Strong tomato taste and the juice is good and tomatoey, too.
4 stars
Waitrose organic whole plum , 400g, 60p, 0800 188884
The juice is sweet but the tomatoes don't taste of much.
2 stars
Biona organic cherry, 400g, 89p, www.goodnessdirect.co.uk
Tastes pulpy and the skins are too tough.
No stars
Asda chopped with herbs, 400g, 45p, 0500 100055
Smells like a cheap pizza. It would be insane to cook with these, it would ruin everything.
No stars
Beans
Suma organic butter, 400g, 91p www.goodnessdirect.co.uk
The perfect tinned bean! Creamy and slightly sweet.
5 stars
Asda borlotti , 290g, 27p
Tasty and good stock, however the texture of the beans is crumbly and mealy rather than creamy.
4 stars
Fagioli cannellini organic, 360g, £1.40, www.natoora.co.uk
Creamy, but too salty. Would be perfect otherwise.
3 stars
Essential organic mixed, 400g, 94p, 0117 9583550 Lacks flavour and the kidney beans ruin the appearance.
1 star
Waitrose flageolet, 400g, 49p
Far too gluey. You would have to wash all flavour out of them to be able to use them.
No stars
Chick peas
Essential organic, 410g, 85p
These are lovely. Nice, soft, sweet and very pea-ish. Would be great for hummus.
5 stars
Waitrose organic, 410g, 82p They've got a lovely nutty and natural flavour. Taste homecooked.
5 stars
Co-op, 400g, 50p, 0800 0686727
Look more like processed peas than chick peas. Not much taste.
2 stars
Sainsbury's, 410g, 42p, 0800 636262
Absolutely tasteless, but nice texture. Look good.
2 stars
Suma organic, 400g, 91p, www.goodnessdirect.co.uk
Devoid of any flavour at all. Really bizarre. They're quite big and look a bit damaged and over-cooked.
1 star
Anchovy fillets
Fortnum & Mason, 90g, £6.25, 020 7734 8040
Really meaty, with well-balanced flavours. I suspect they are Cantabrian.
5 stars
Sainsbury's, 50g, 79p
A beautiful anchovy. Sweet as well as salty. The oil lets it down and makes the fish bitter.
3 stars
Fish 4 ever, 95g, £2.00, www.goodnessdirect.co.uk
A bit too hairy and salty, but it's fat and nicely filleted. Tastes quite like the Sainsbury's one.
3 stars
Asda extra special Cantabrian, 100g, £1.88
Too salty for me and too hairy. Not too bad, but not great.
3 stars
M&S, 100g, £2.49
The oil smells old and destroys the flavour of the anchovies. They look like they've been machine-filleted.
1 star
Olives
Organico black, 250g, £2.75, www.goodnessdirect.co.uk
I love these! They've got a fruity and meaty texture and the marinade is great.
5 stars
Tesco finest Kalamata in brine, 290g, £1.98
Juicy, fleshy and not too salty - the perfect cooking olive.
5 stars
Waitrose Greek mixed, 449g, £4.49
The Kalamatas are nice and meaty, they look great, but the green olives are too salty.
3 stars
Fortnum & Mason mixed, 1kg, £12.95
Beautiful colour and they smell lovely, but they actually taste a bit soapy.
2 stars
Asda pitted black in brine, 310g, 88p
Why can you still buy olives like this? They are an unspeakable crime against olives.
No stars
Sardines/ pilchards
Fortnum & Mason Cornish pilchards, 100g, £1.60
They've been done in French style. Fantastic, well-balanced flavours.
5 stars
Sainsbury's sardines in olive oil, 120g, 59p
They've got loads of flavours. Fishy, but in a good way. They look messy, but are delicious.
4 stars
Co-op sardines in sunflower oil, 120g, 37p
The sardine itself tastes really nice, but the tin is full of scales. The oil is good.
2 stars
M&S Portuguese sardines, 120g, 69p
They've not been skinned and are a bit over-cooked. Nice strong gamey flavour, though.
2 stars
Fish 4 ever sardines in olive oil, 120g, £2.25, www.goodnessdirect.co.uk
Nice and fresh-tasting but a bit bland and too many bones.
2 stars
Dried pasta
La terra e il cielo organic kamut spaghetti, 500g, £2.32, 0117 9583550
Slightly unorthodox, but really lovely. Could eat it just with olive oil and garlic.
5 stars
Rustichella, 325g, £3.25, available: Fortnum & Mason
Very good with a great savoury flavour. Great for a minestrone.
3 stars
Asda extra special conchiglioni, 500g, £1.38
Good dried pasta with the right biscuity durum flavour.
3 stars
M&S papardelle, 500g, £1.29
Tastes nice, but weirdly cut. I try to buy egg pasta fresh.
2 stars
Waitrose egg gorganelli, 500g, £1.89
Again, it's nice, but I prefer dried pasta to be made without egg.
2 stars
Dried mushrooms
Fortnum & Mason porcini/cep, 80g, £13.95
They're wonderful. Slightly sweet with a taste of fresh porcini.
5 stars
Pagnan porcini, 25g, £1.27 www.natoora.co.uk
Classic dried porcini. Really good with a woody, slightly smoky flavour.
4 stars
Tesco ingredients porcini, 40g, £2.99
The stock has an amazing colour. Seriously chunky bits of mushroom. Very dark and smoky. They're great.
4 stars
Chalice dried wild porcini, 15g, £2.39, www.goodnessdirect.co.uk
Not very exciting. Too much stalk and not enough head.
1 star
L'Aquila fungi foray porcini, 40g, £3.65, 020 8965 0666
I'm not getting any mushroom flavour at all. It's smoky, but not mushroomy.
No stars
Dried noodles
Waitrose fine egg, 250g, 69p
Mmm, taste like Chinese noodles should. Great bouncy texture. Could eat them quite plain. Very nice.
4 stars
Fortnum & Mason Lungkow vermicelli, 100g, £1.05
Would be good in Vietnamese salad.
3 stars
Asda egg, 250g, 54p
Doesn't really taste of egg noodles, but a nice flavour anyway. Good texture.
3 stars
Blue Dragon wholewheat, 250g, 85p, www.goodnessdirect.co.uk
More like wholewheat spaghetti.
2 stars
Sharwood fine egg, 375g, £1.15, widely available
Turns into a mush in your mouth, even when it's not over-cooked. Awful texture.
No stars
Soy Sauce
Essential organic shoyo, 250ml, £2.45
Smells fermented, which I like. It has malty and woody flavours. It's definitely a shoyo. Fantastic!
5 stars
Tesco light, 150ml, £1.19
I like this one. It's nice and light with a touch of sweetness to it.
4 stars
Pearl River Bridge dark 660ml, £2.95, available:F&M
Good as a condiment but not strong enough for cooking.
3 stars
M&S dark, 150ml, £1.19
Tastes yeasty, like Marmite. There's nothing wrong with it, would be good for making stock, I just wouldn't put it on my grub.
2 stars
Clearspring organic shoyu, 150ml, £1.65, www.goodnessdirect.co.uk
One-dimensional. Not unpleasant, but it won't enhance your food.
2 stars
