This week Conor Popetakes a look at Tartare Sauce

Marks & Spencer Fresh Tartare Sauce - €1.49 for 170g, 8.76 per kg

Highs:This chilled sauce has a nice tangy flavour which you could feasibly pass off as homemade. It is freshly made - well, comparatively - and the capers and gherkins are readily identifiable and have retained a decent crunch despite the production process. The mayonnaise, salad cream and lemon juice lend this a sharpness that demands attention, and it was surprisingly good value.

Lows:Given that the main ingredients have been so heavily pickled, you have to wonder if it really needs to be fresh - apart from anything else, it seriously diminishes its shelf life, leaving you only a week or so to eat your way through the lot. While Pricewatch found the tanginess to be quite pleasant, it might be a little strong for some tastes.

Verdict:Good and tangy

Star rating:****

Coleman's Tartare Sauce - €1.42 for 250ml, €5.68 per litre

Highs:This sauce (from a widely available, instantly recognisable brand) is fine. It has a gentle vinegar kick compared with most of the competition, and it may appeal to those with a sweet tooth. It is also the cheapest of the brands tried.

Lows:It was a little too sweet for Pricewatch's taste, a little on the grey side and a little on the greasy side too. The small flecks of capers and gherkins had lost all their texture and much of their taste by the time it got to us. While  it is by no means horrible, it is entirely unremarkable and we couldn't help feeling that the good people at Coleman's should probably stick to their mustards.

Verdict:Sweetly cheap

Star rating:***

Tesco Finest Tartare Sauce - €1.86 for 160g, €11.63 per kg

Highs:This rich and creamy sauce is made with very roughly chopped gherkins and capers, which lend it a nice rugged and homemade feel. In fact, some of the capers did not appear to have come into contact with a knife at all and were perfectly intact, stalks and all. The gherkins had a nice taste and a lovely crunchy texture, while the vinegar was left to play a supporting role.

Lows:The vinegar flavours may be just a little too subtle, but the price isn't - it is, surprisingly, amongst the most expensive brands tried. Little wonder as the sauce is made with hand-picked capers from Spain. Use a caper-picking machine guys, it might make this cheaper. It is also, we are told, made with "recyclable glass". Is there any other kind?

Verdict:Nice but pricey

Star rating: ****

Simply Delicious Organic Tartare sauce -  €2.99 for 300g, €9.96 per kg

Highs:While the use of organic ingredients in such a heavily pickled product may not make a blind bit of difference to the taste of the end product, it certainly gives this sauce a feelgood factor which the competition lacks. It is nice and creamy and filled with flavour, with a decent vinegar hit. While "delicious" might be overstating it a little, it is certainly perfectly pleasant.

Lows:The capers and gherkins are very finely chopped and a little on the soft side, and are largely irrelevant in terms of both taste and texture. It might not be as easy to source as some of the competition and is on the pricey side too.

Verdict:Simply grand

Star rating: ***

Mrs Bridges Tartare Sauce with Lemon €4.95 for 255g, €19.41 per kg

Highs: From its nicely folded paper top, tied on with a golden bow, to the picture of a rather stern looking Victorian lady on the jar - Mrs Bridges, we presume - this is trying hard to be upmarket. It is rather thick-set, like Mrs Bridges, and is cut with a healthy dollop of lemon juice.

Lows: It is incredibly sweet and we were unsure if we should serve it with fish or smear it onto a sponge cake. We were unable to tell how much sugar went into this sauce as the nutritional information on the jar was almost completely absent. The gherkins and capers are largely irrelevant, and while it is not exactly horrible, it is certainly not upmarket - golden bows notwithstanding - and not particularly flavoursome.

Verdict:Sweet and gloopy

Star rating:**