'I compared Lurpark to butter from Tesco, Lidl and Aldi - one stole the show'

07 April 2023 , 14:43

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'I compared Lurpark to butter from Tesco, Lidl and Aldi - one stole the show'

Getting your hands on the buttery goodness of Lurpak is now harder than ever - but is it really the best?

Amid the cost of living crisis, tubs of the golden spread soared to £7.25 in some supermarkets, and, recently, Lurpak reduced the size of its block of butter by 20%, changing its unsalted block from 250g to 200g, even though prices have shot up by around 15% over the last year.

Although Aldi is now selling a 600g tub for a cheaper price of £5.35, the store has resorted to protecting them from theft with security netting, according to one shopper.

Shopper Stefani Nurding was stunned when she saw it (Jam Press Vid/@stefaninurding)

It's not the only product on the rise, either. The Grocer found around 500 Heinz products shot up in price during the first two weeks of the year, including tomato ketchup - with one supermarket now displaying half-empty bottles to defer shoplifters.

As prices remain eye-wateringly high, it might be time to try some more affordable brands that won't break the bank, especially when it comes to everyday staples like butter.

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But can we opt for cheaper versions without losing out on flavour?

Here, we blind-taste-test some of the more purse-friendly alternatives on the shelves to find out how they compare to the original - with a dupe 'tasting like the real thing' to one that scored a miserable 0/5.

1) I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, 450g, £1.50, Tesco

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I can't believe anyone thinks this tastes anything like butter. An artificial tasting margarine. I needed plenty of gulps of tea to get rid of the taste it left in my mouth.

Rating: 1/5

2) Daisy, 500g, £1.75, Lidl

New from Lidl. Daisy has a rich taste which I quite enjoyed, but I couldn't quite manage more than a couple of bites – a surprise at this early stage of the taste test.

Rating: 3/5

Sanjeeta enjoyed Daisy's rich taste (Mirror Online)

3) Danpak spreadable, 500g, £2.19, Lidl

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It was creamy and spread very easily. And the buttery smell was fantastic. Dead cert as Lurpak original, I initially thought.

Rating: 4/5

4) Nordpak, 500g, £2.19, Aldi

Aldi's Lurpak version tastes light and creamy, with an instant salt hit coming straight through. I was convinced this was the real thing. Aldi edged Lidl's version and even the real thing in my book.

Rating: 5/5

5) Beautifully Buttery, 500g, 99p, Aldi

Spread beautifully on my toast, but the taste was incredibly unpleasant - flavourless and fatty. I could feel my arteries clogging up with one bite. This had me reaching for my mug of tea to wash out the taste.

Rating: 0/5

6) Lurpak spreadable, 500g, £5, Sainsbury's

Very smooth, glided easily on toast, a good amount of buttery flavour yet tasted relatively light - a definite savoury quality, but I enjoyed the more strong salty Aldi version.

Rating: 4/5

7) Valley, 500g, £2.19, Aldi

Nicely creamy, but I would have preferred a bit more saltiness coming through. However still much much preferable to Aldi’s Beautifully Buttery — and worth the extra cost.

Rating: 3/5

8) Tesco Salted spreadable, 500g, £2.19, Tesco

Very good spreadability. It is blended with butter but tasted too margariney for my liking.

Rating: 2/5

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9) Tesco Butterpak, 500g, £2.19, Tesco

Although more expensive than the Lidl and Aldi versions, it tasted the worst to me. It lacked the savoury flavour of the others. It is preferable to Tesco margarine — despite costing the same.

Rating: 3/5

10. Clover, 500g, £1.69, Lidl

This had more margarine rather than butter taste but was nice and did not have the obviously artificial flavour. Well priced.

Rating: 3/5

The verdict

If you're looking for the closest to Lurpak, then Aldi's version wins hands down. However, if you are considering switching to affordable margarine, then Clover - 60p cheaper than Aldi's version - is good value in these tough times.

The Mirror has approached Aldi for a comment.

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