Thsi week, Pricewatch compares five varities of salad dressing.

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

Kühne Salatfix Italian Dressing, €1.79 for 500ml, €3.58 per litre

Highs:This German salad dressing is widely available and you do get a whole lot of it – although we're not sure how long that will be the case as the makers are currently offering us "100 per cent free".

Lows:Without wanting to be rude or anything, we'd really rather they didn't give us any extra free. This excessively greasy dressing has the appearance and taste of slightly watery vegetable cuppa soup. It does not have so much as a passing acquaintance with olive oil – an ingredient we would have thought essential in an Italian dressing – and the presence of glucose-fructose syrup amongst the ingredients is not at all welcome. It does list basil amongst the ingredients – way down the list – but we couldn't taste it. Salt is the most prominent flavour.

Verdict:Poor

Star rating: **

Specially Selected Italian Style Dressing, €1.69 for 250ml, €6.76 per litre

Highs:This dressing comes from Aldi's occasionally excellent Specially Selected range – the steaks in particular, made from Irish Angus beef, are worth keeping an eye out for, as we discovered only last week. It is very thick and has a very strong – but not unpleasant – vinegary kick. The next most prominent flavour is the basil – hardly surprising as there's six per cent of the herb in the mix.

Lows:Its greatest weakness is probably its strength and we'd have concerns that this would overpower all but the most robust of salads. It is also just a little bit too thick and we reckoned it could have done with a bigger splash of olive oil.

Verdict:Good value

Star rating: ****

Kraft Italian Dressing, €1.49 for 250ml, €5.96 per litre

Highs:This is certainly the most easily recognised of the brands we reviewed and is likely to be found in the biggest of supermarkets and the smallest of corner shops. If you like garlic then this might be for you – while the bottle promised us "a touch of garlic", we detected enough to stop even the most sprightly of vampires in their tracks. It is also very cheap.

Lows:It was found to be excessively greasy and its sharp and not entirely pleasant aftertaste, combined with the strong garlic hit, could ruin a good salad. It tastes very processed and a long way from the fresh, light – and, in fairness, sometimes considerably more expensive – dressings on the market.

Verdict:Cheap

Star rating: ***

Casa Rinaldi Dressing Piccante Italiano, €5.95 for 180ml, €33 per litre

Highs:We were immediately impressed by the ornamental bottle this dressing comes in, and it seemed a bit of a pity to ruin its clean lines and two-tone colours by actually using it, but needs must. It has a fantastically pure ingredient list – it is made with 48 per cent extra virgin olive oil infused with chilli pepper, 48 per cent balsamic vinegar, garlic parsley and salt and is light and fresh and filled with flavour.

Lows:You have to shake it very vigorously to get any of the balsamic vinegar into the mix. It is very spicy and might be just a little bit too piccante for some tastes. While it might bring tears to the eye when spread liberally over salad leaves, it works well as a dip.

Verdict:Spicy and pricey

Star rating:***

Ballymaloe Italian Dressing, €3.09 for 250ml, €12.36 per litre

Highs:We had high hopes for this Irish-made dressing and while ultimately it was not as good as we thought it would be, it was absolutely fine. It has a complexity of flavours that most of the other dressings lack, with none of the six ingredients listed dominating proceedings. The honey gives it a sweet edge that was quite pleasant if somewhat surprising.

Lows:We might have been more impressed if they'd left the sunflower oil out of the mix – its addition made it a little too greasy. It is also comparatively very expensive and we'd struggle to justify the spend.

Verdict:OK but dear

Star rating: ***