Conor Pope reviews salad leaves

Florette Crispy Salad 3.35 for 200g, 16.75 per kg

Highs: Stuck for a side salad at 7.30pm but miles from a big supermarket? Then this is for you, available in local shops throughout the country. It certainly fills a gap in the market. The colours are good and there's a bit of a crunch to it. Florette proudly announces that this is packed in "natural air" which is of course a good thing because many packed salads are washed and vacuum packed using all manner of unpleasant chemicals which, while keeping the leaves fresh looking, depletes their goodness.

Lows: The company suggests this bag can serve up to four people although one has to wonder if 50g of salad is likely to be sufficient. It's a little stalky and some of the leaves are very small.

Verdict: Crispy and convenient

Star rating: ***

Marks & Spencer Crunchy Salad  2.09 for 100g, 20.90 per kg

Highs: This comes in a small bag which will probably be just about enough for two small side salads with absolutely nothing left behind. Made with frisée, radicchio, lambs lettuce and green oak leaf lettuce, it is nice and crispy.

Lows: It doesn't taste of much, however, and this particular bag was light on the reddish radicchio so the colour was a bit uniform. Of more concern is the cost, which is very, very steep. And although by the company's own admission you'd need 80g to get one of the recommended five daily portions of fruit or veg, they give you only 100g and expect you to share.

Verdict: Overpriced and underflavoured

Star rating: **

SuperValu Italian Style Salad Mix  1.99 for 225g, €8.84 per kg

Highs: Of the bagged options, this is the cheapest by a very wide margin. It's also the biggest and has the biggest leaves too. It should be widely available, tastes fine and has substantial descriptions of the leaves used on the bag. If you're not keen on chopping and washing, this might prove to be the best value.

Lows: There isn't much colour in this thanks to the fairly mean amount of lollo rosso included, although it doesn't make much difference to the taste.

Verdict: Super value

Star rating: ****

Tesco Santa Barbara Salad 3.49 for 200g, €17.45 per kg

Highs: Made with five types of leaves, this has a slightly wider array of flavours than the competition and has a surprisingly strong salady smell - some of the other products have absolutely no smell. The leaves are small, which will aid genteel eating. This is "packed" in Ireland which is a good thing. Isn't it?

Lows: Who knows, because we couldn't establish where the leaves originated. While all the bags say that the percentage of leaves will vary according to the seasons, it would appear that radicchio is out of season in Tescoland, which renders this salad a bit monotone. And while Tesco is often an undeniably cheap shop, this salad appears to be excessively pricey.

Verdict: Dull and dear

Star rating: **

DIY Salad Bowl 3.37 for 1.4kg, €2.40 per kg

Highs: To establish just how badly we are being ripped off by buying bagged salad, we bought some iceberg lettuce, some romaine and some red oak leaf lettuce. In fact, for the price of a small bag of pre-washed salad we got a veritable mountain of leaves which not only looked and tasted better than the bagged rivals, it was also more natural and filled with nutrients.

Lows: There is of course the washing to contend with. While a bagged salad takes no time at all to prepare, these three heads took seven minutes to wash, dry and put into a bowl. The other downside is - what are you supposed to do with this much salad, unless you're feeding a multitude, before it wilts away?

Verdict: Much better value, much better for you

Star rating: *****

Star Rating

***** Excellent **** Great *** Fine ** Below Par * Awful