Chicken soup

Tesco Chicken Mulligatawny

€3.45 for 600ml, €5.75 per litre

This is an incredibly thick soup that is very pleasant indeed. The lentils in this are nice and lend it a heartiness that will be most appealing on a cold winter's day. The packaging promises us spiciness and it does deliver, but at the expense of all the other flavours. There is a nice, pure ingredient list but all that we could taste was a vague curry flavour and a strong hit of coriander. Neither of these flavours are in any way bad but we would have liked something more. It is the second cheapest of the soups we tried.

Verdict: Hearty spice

Star rating:***

Cully and Sully Chicken and Vegetable Soup

€2.49 for 400ml, €6.22 per litre

We have said nice things about this company in the past and we stand over them, but on this occasion its soup let us down. This had the texture of baby food and the chicken was so finely shredded that it all but disappeared into the mix of pureed vegetables. The ingredient list is commendably pure but the end result lacked flavour and the whole thing was a little watery for our tastes.

Verdict:Disappointing

Star rating:**

Marks and Spencer Moroccan Style Chicken Soup

€3.79 for 600ml, €6.31 per litre

This is the only soup to identify the country of origin of its chicken – it is British – and in the current climate that is to be welcomed. We’re more turned off by “fresh” chicken sent here on the slow boat from Thailand with each passing day.

This soup has a nice texture and a subtle spiciness that is always present but never dominates. It is made with 5 per cent chicken but in our container the piece had not been shredded and came in one single piece – it certainly wasn’t bad but it made it difficult to share. It’s pretty dear too.

Verdict:Heart warming but pricey

Star rating:***

Glorious

€2.79 for 600ml, €4.65 per litre

Rarely has a soup been so aptly named; this is rather glorious indeed. And splendidly cheap, too. The chicken is good but the vegetables are what makes this stand alone. It is gorgeously fresh tasting and there are some lovely crunchy pieces of courgette, ample amounts of spinach – which actually tastes of something – small cubes of potato and some incredibly juicy tomatoes in the mix. The orzo is there to lend it an Italian air but it lacked texture and was a sideshow. We found it in Dunnes Stores so it should be readily available to most.

Verdict:Um, glorious?

Star rating: *****