I tried supermarket strawberries, cream & Pimms to ensure your Wimbledon party’s a smash – & budget brand beat them all
WIMBLEDON has started so supermarkets are pushing Pimm’s – or dupes – as well as strawberries and cream.
But which taste best for your tennis party? Lynsey Hope picks who gets the match points . . .
Pimm’s 1L – £13 ocado.com
INSTANTLY recognisable, the boozy original is a favourite for good reason.
It has delicious tangy flavours, caramel fruity notes and a soft gentle fizz. Great for a summer’s day.
It is spenny, so try to pick it up on offer.
4/5
Tesco Summer Cup 70cl – £8.50 tesco.com
THIS has the same rich, cherry red colour and the same 25 per cent ABV as Pimm’s.
It is gin-based, perhaps a little spicier, has more botanicals and is quite bitter.
That is not to say I didn’t enjoy it, I did. And at a great price.
3/5
Asda The Great Summer Cup 70cl – £8.50
NOT nearly boozy enough, lower than the original at just 21.9 per cent and the flavour wasn’t up to scratch.
The aroma wasn’t quite right either, I found it too sharp.
It left a rather unpleasant aftertaste in the mouth.
2/5
Aldi Austin’s Classic Summer Punch 70cl – £7.99
YOU will be hard pushed to tell the difference between this and the original.
This version is perhaps a touch cloudier and sweeter but it has the same fruity flavour and they have the same alcohol content.
Such a bargain bottle as well.
5/5
Tesco Real Dairy Cream 250g – £1.45
RICH and smooth with a lovely, creamy taste.
My issue is with the can.
It was hard to get the contents out, so it wasn’t good value.
2/5
Asda Squirty Cream 250g – £1.35
A WINNER, this cream is not only a great price, it tastes divine.
It is sweet but not overly sugary.
It had a firm base and the kids loved it too.
5/5
Lidl Dairy Manor Squirty Cream 250g – £1.25
TOO much added sugar, this was almost sickly sweet.
Its nozzle stopped working after a while so my desserts didn’t look pretty.
It is a good price though.
1/5
M&S UHT real dairy cream 250g – £2.25
MADE in Belgium using milk from the UK and EU, this had a lovely creamy taste.
The nozzle was a bit stiff at first but it squirted well.
4/5
Morrisons Original Squirty Real Dairy Cream, 250g – £1.60
OVERLY sweet with five per cent sugar.
The texture was soft and while it looked good when first squirted, it collapsed quickly.
A reasonable price.
3/5
President Creme Gastronomique 250g – £2.50
LOVELY and rich, with a hint of vanilla. Creamy yet firm. Expensive but good quality.
It is quite sweet, with around 11g sugar per 100g.
4/5
Aldi Cowbelle Original Real Dairy Cream 250g – £1.25
QUITE sugary but I liked the hint of vanilla.
Nice creamy texture and delicate flavour.
The nozzle worked pretty well too.
Decent option for the price.
3/5
Original Anchor Real Cream 250g – £2.25
DELICIOUS and good to see that real cream makes up 95 per cent of this.
Easy to squirt, this is soft and smooth.
A welcome addition to strawberries or any pud.
5/5
Waitrose British 400g – £3.10
I FOUND these a bit tasteless.
They were a good size, and plump, but not as juicy as you would expect, with a more watery texture.
Not so bad when lathered in cream, but overall not my favourite.
2/5
M&S British 300g – £2
GROWN in Yorkshire, these had a rich colour and looked appetising.
They didn’t disappoint, and whilst firm to touch, they were juicy, with a perfect sweetness.
Slighty seedy but, taste wise, these were hard to beat.
5/5
Lidl Deluxe British 400g – £2.85
I WAS impressed by the lovely colour and the perfect level of sweetness.
It was a generously-sized punnet and the berries were all big, which impressed the kids.
Definitely one of my faves and excellent value.
4/5
Tesco 400g – £2.50
A GOOD-sized pack for the price but I was rather disappointed to see these had come all the way from the Netherlands.
They all looked pretty and delicate.
Some were overripe. They tasted overly sweet and weren’t very juicy.
2/5
Morrisons The Greengrocer’s 350g – £2.20
ONE of these was mouldy in the pack on the day I bought them.
It was quite small with white in the middle.
The edible ones were all quite soft and would have gone off quite quickly.
1/5
Sainsbury’s British 250g – £2
TOO firm, I found these quite tough to bite into.
They did have a nice strawberry flavour but it was followed by a slightly unusual chemically aftertaste.
They would be fine with cream or ice cream but you get better value for money at other supermarkets.
3/5
Asda 400g – £1.95
WITH a mix of sizes, these had a lovely sweetness and were flavoursome.
But they went soft quickly, even when kept in the fridge.
Value wise they are quite good, but you really need to eat them on the day you get them.
3/5
Aldi Specially Selected Ruby Red 400g – £2.85
LOVED how uniform these pretty strawberries were, with a glossy, ruby colour.
Grown in Kent, these are sweet, juicy and wouldn’t look out of place at a restaurant.
Top marks for the price, too.
5/5
VERDICT
IF you want to buy the ingredients for a Wimbledon party then you could do worse than go to Aldi.
Both its strawberries and Pimm’s dupe got top marks in this test, and while the squirty cream wasn’t my favourite, it was the best price.
You will save a packet by avoiding the branded options too.
The M&S offers were great tasting as well, but they don’t come cheap.