This week, Value for Money samples five varieties of Parma ham.

* * * * * Excellent

* * * * Great

* * * Fine

* * Below Par

* Awful

Lidl Parma Ham

€2.99 for 90g, €33.22 per kg

Highs: This ham was highly commended at the British Quality Food Awards last year and deservedly so. The wafer-thin slices are very lean and taste pleasingly upmarket – in fact, it's hard to distinguish it from considerably more expensive options. It is also sufficiently cheap to allow you to do with it whatever you want – fry it, stick it in a sandwich, wrap something up in it – without feeling like you're wasting your money.

Lows: It is ever so slightly more greasy than the best of the bunch and is just a little one-dimensional – that dimension is largely dominated by salt, although we can't tell you how much salt was used in this as we could find no reference to it listed on the packaging.

Verdict: Very good. Very cheap

Star rating: * * * * *

Marks & Spencer Special Reserve Parma ham

€5.49 for 75g, €73.20 per kg

Highs: This special reserve ham is beautifully textured and tastes wonderful. It is dry and light and the very thin slices practically melt in the mouth. They also linger long and fondly in the memory. Each one is full of flavour and, while this product is undeniably salty, the salt doesn't entirely overshadow proceedings.

Lows: Generally speaking, when Marks & Spencer adds "special reserve" onto a product's title, you just know it's going to cost you – and it certainly does. You don't get a whole lot for your €5.50 and there'd be a real danger you'd end up eating the whole packet by yourself, which would be good for neither your heart nor your wallet.

Verdict: Top notch, top dollar

Star rating: * * * *

Dunnes Stores Parma Ham

€3.25 for 85g, €38.23 per kg

Highs: This ham is probably the easiest of the lot to source and, while it is not without its faults, we were quite fond of it and found ourselves eating more slices than were strictly necessary for review purposes. It is divided by small slivers of plastic which, while not great for the environment, does make it easier to put them neatly onto a plate. It is pretty cheap, too.

Lows: If we were to be very harsh (and aren't we always) we would say this was just a little bit greasy and a little bit chewy and lacking a little by way of flavour too. While all the products have high levels of salt, this appeared to be the saltiest of the bunch.

Verdict: Okay

Star rating: * * *

Italicatessen Prosciutto d’Italia

€5.20 for 104g, €50 per kg

Highs: Sitting on an outsized piece of shiny cardboard, these three large slices of dark-coloured ham look most impressive. This product is certainly high in quality and very low in fat – while some of the competition is heavily marbled with stringy fat, each of these thick slices is almost pure meat. They go very nicely in an upmarket sarnie and look impressive when delicately rolled onto a presentation plate. They are also very mild-flavoured.

Lows: A bit too mild flavoured for some tastes, we fear. This is not the most expensive ham – that honour goes to M&S – but, at over €1.50 a slice, it is still pretty pricey.

Verdict: Thick and dear

Star rating: * * *

Golfera Gusto Fresco Prosciutto Stagionata

€3.95 for 100g, €39.50 per kg

Highs: This was the least salty of the products reviewed and, while we had concerns about eating it cold, it really comes into its own when fried or baked – even if doing such a thing is just a little sacrilegious.

Lows: This was the chewiest of the bunch. Separating the slices in any sort of orderly fashion was next to impossible and you could easily end up either tearing it into tiny pieces or serving up a lump of what looks like raw meat. Its texture and flavour was also reminiscent of raw meat – although, to be fair to the makers, it is perfectly cured.

Verdict: Too chewy, too meaty

Star rating: * *