This week Conor Popetests barmbrack

Rankin Irish Barmbrack, €2.49 for 400g, €6.22 per kg

Highs: It was only after we'd eaten the four other alternatives that we realised just how good this barmbrack is. With 39 per cent sultanas, it is the fruitiest brack we tried by a long shot and the nicest by an equally wide margin. It is lovely and light and filled with interesting and seasonal spicy flavours, with a prominent ginger kick. It is comparatively moist while retaining the bready texture you'd expect from a traditional Irish fruit bread.

Lows:Something else you'd expect was, sadly, missing. The packaging contains all sorts of information about the traditional trinkets that used to be found in a barmbrack (the ring, the coin, the stick, the rag, the pea), so why, Paul Rankin, did you show such disregard for tradition and give us nuthin?

Verdict:Lovely, but where's the ring?

Star rating: ****

Tea Time Express Halloween Brack, €2.99 for 400g, €7.47 per kg

Highs:Say what you like about this barmbrack, at least it had a ring in the centre of it - and a wonderfully tacky one at that. It can be resized to fit the smallest (or the biggest) fingers. This brack is not without its faults but when it is smothered in butter, it tastes okay.

Lows: We thought the colours were worryingly vibrant - the bread was bright yellow and the glacé cherries were shocking red. As we ate our way through the first slice, we found it to be so incredibly dry that we were sure we must have bought a product that was a long way past its best-by date. When we checked, however, the best-by date was two weeks away. It lists animal fat among the ingredients, which will turn vegetarians right off, we suspect.

Verdict:Oddly lurid

Star rating:**

Matt Reilly's Halloween Brack, €3.65 for 500g, €7.30 per kg

Highs: This looks most like a home-made option, if only because it has a slightly blackened appearance which suggests it might have been left a smidgen too long in the oven. When cut in half it looks lovely and fruity, the sultanas are wonderfully juicy and the bread is nice and moist. Some of the fruit in the mix was surprisingly crunchy, although that may have been the turnip.

Lows:The what? Listed among the ingredients is turnip, which seemed ever so slightly odd - if perfectly harmless - to us as we thought the only vegetable we could expect to find in a Halloween brack was a pea. The ingredient list is very long and not entirely wholesome-looking and while the burnt exterior gave it a homely appearance it didn't do much for the taste.

Verdict:Pretty fruity

Star rating: ***

Tesco Value Halloween Fruit Brack, €1.19 for 400g, €2.97 per kg

Highs:Despite its very low price, this brack had one of the most impressive rings - virtually impossible to bend out of shape and sufficiently real-looking to convince a child it was genuine gold. Admittedly, the ring can't be resized but if doesn't fit your fingers then you're too old to put it on. Incidentally, the ring was buried very close to the surface which made it easier for little hands to prise it free without the necessity of eating any.

Lows:The bread is very doughy and very chewy. There wasn't a whole lot of fruit and what was there was on the slimy side. We weren't sure if it was the fruit or the bread but something in the mix had a very sharp, very processed flavour. The presence of hydrogenated vegetable oil among the ingredient list was an unpleasant surprise.

Verdict:The price is the best thing about it

Star rating:**

Dunnes Stores Halloween Brack, €1.65 for 454g, €3.63 per kg

Highs: We reckon Dunnes must get their Halloween rings from the same supplier as Tesco as they were absolutely identical; luckily for Dunnes (and for us), the bracks were very different. There is a lot of fruit here, which is nice and juicy and wonderfully fresh-smelling. It is sweet without being cloying and has a nice spicy kick with lots of cinnamon and ginger coming through. The brown bread is nice and light and while this is most certainly not a gourmet treat, it is absolutely fine. It is also half the price of comparable products we tried, which makes it very good value for money.

Lows:There is a worryingly long list of ingredients, only some of which sound like they'd be nice to eat.

Verdict:Good value for money

Star rating: ****