This week, Value for Money compares four varieties of garlic bread
Tesco Finest Garlic Ciabattas
€2.99 for 275g, €10.87 per kg
This very upmarket sounding product is new to Tesco – and a welcome addition. The Finest range has turned its nose up at ordinary bread and gone for ciabatta, and not any ciabatta – this has been hand-shaped. Regular garlic, meanwhile, has been dumped in favour of roasted balsamic garlic – although we have to say the balsamic is entirely unnecessary. Marketing spiel aside, this is excellent. Rivers of strong flavoured garlicky butter flow from deep within the loaf, which itself is light and airy. The price, however, is a concern – it’s a whole lot dearer than the cheapest alternative.
Verdict: Fantastically posh
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Milano Garlic Dough Balls
€2.99 for 210g, €14.23 per kg
We have tried the Milano doughballs in its restaurant in the past and have always liked them, so were delighted to see them on the shelves of our local Tesco. It is an unusual take on garlic bread, but very pleasant. The dip has a pure ingredient list – olive oil, butter, garlic and salt – but we would have liked a larger portion of it. It was nearly all gone when we were left with half the dough balls, which are like mini soup rolls and pleasant, but too doughy for some – although we accept it may be a little ridiculous to complain that dough balls are too doughy.
Verdict: Nice, odd and dear
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Green Isle Garlic Baguettes
€2.69 for 340g, €7.91 per kg
This was the only bread sourced in the freezer aisle so it lacks a little of the freshly baked freshness of its competitors. There is the same amount of margarine and butter in the mix, which we found a little alarming – and a lot greasy. There is also just 1.9 per cent garlic and 0.6 per cent parsley, although the pleasant green flecks of the herb sprinkled on top of the bread makes it look like there is a whole lot more of it. It is widely available and the bread is surprisingly nice, which is just as well as the main event – the garlicky sauce – is quite disappointing.
Verdict: Grand
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The Homemade Approach
€0.65 for 140g, €4.64 per kg
A 140g demi-baguette cost 45c, while the garlic and butter cost an additional 20c, making this the cheapest option by far. And it’s not difficult to make – as long as you don’t bother roasting your garlic in balsamic vinegar or hand-moulding your bread. The end result is fresh, nice-tasting garlic bread that comes with added feelgood factor and the knowledge that little by way of preservatives has gone in to the mix. It is, undoubtedly, more hassle than bunging a pre-made loaf into the oven, but really, how busy would you have to be not to be able to find three minutes to whip this up?
Verdict: Unbeatable
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