I tried supermarket own-brand cheddar and one bargain cheese is better than Cathedral City

THE nation's love of cheese is still going strong.

Sales increased by £49.4 million last year, with an extra 4.6 kilos going through supermarket tills.

Of the top 20 brands, 15 are in growth with own brand sales rocketing by 2.1 per cent in 2021.

Lockdown helped boost sales as more of us cooked from scratch at home and enjoyed homemade sarnies.

"If you are simply using cheese as an ingredient, you'll make great savings by shopping around with the makers of cheese," explains consumer expert Martyn James from The Sun's Squeeze Team.

"If you simply want cheddar for your pasta, a supermarket own brand could save you a few pounds over a bigger brand.

And the bigger the block, the bigger the saving."

We asked mum-of-three and writer Lynsey Hope to try out some supermarket cheese and rate them against the UK's best-seller.

Here's what happened:

Aldi Emporium British Medium Cheddar (400g) £1.79 (45p per 100g)

Lynsey says: "This is a really good tasting cheddar with a lovely creamy texture. I was very impressed given it offers such amazing value for money too. Aldi is among the cheapest brands we tested. In fact, if you were to buy Aldi's cheese instead of Cathedral City once a week for an entire year, you could save £40 on your shopping bill."

TASTE: 8/10

AROMA: 7/10

APPEARANCE: 7/10

VALUE FOR MONEY: 10/10

OVERALL: 8/10

Cathedral City mature Cheddar (350g)£3.75 (£1.07 per 100g)

Lynsey says: "Currently the UK's best selling, cheddar, Cathedral City calls itself 'The nation's favourite'. It had a stronger flavour than others and was spot on for firmness. It is much pricier than most supermarket own brands and a smaller block, but it's often on offer, so if this is your pick it's worth keeping an eye out for deals."

TASTE: 8/10

AROMA:7/10

APPEARANCE: 8/10

VALUE FOR MONEY: 5/10

OVERALL: 7/10

Tesco Mild Cheddar (400g) £2.10 (53p per 100g)

Lynsey says: "The Tesco cheddar was lighter in colour than many of the others and noticeably more rubbery. It was ok, and nothing at all bad about it, but there were definitely others I preferred."

TASTE: 6/10

AROMA: 6/10

APPEARANCE: 6/10

VALUE FOR MONEY: 5/10

OVERALL: 6/10

Sainsbury's Mature British Cheddar (400g)£2.10 (53p per 100g)

Lynsey says: "Sainsbury's cheddar stood out as one of the best. I was impressed by the creaminess and it's appealing aroma. It's not the cheapest you can buy but it will save you money compared to the big brands."

TASTE: 10/10

AROMA: 10/10

APPEARANCE: 9/10

VALUE FOR MONEY: 8/10

OVERALL: 9/10

Morrisons Greenside Deli Medium White Cheddar (400g)£1.79 (45p per 100g) 

Lynsey says: "A really good price from Morrisons for a really good tasting cheese. It had a lovely creamy texture and a pleasant and appetising aroma. The packaging looked a bit naff so don't let this put you off. Morrisons have gone for product over packet here and the cheese was great quality for the price."

TASTE: 9/10

AROMA: 9/10

APPEARANCE: 7/10

OVERALL: 9/10

Lidl Valley Spire British Mature Cheddar (400g)£1.79 (45p per 100g)

Lynsey says: "Whilst I couldn't rate this as highly as other own-label cheddars, Lidl is still a decent choice. Nothing in particular stood out as bad. It just didn't taste as good as some of its rivals. It's among the cheapest we've tried so it could definitely still fit the bill if you need to save money or if you're catering for a crowd."

TASTE: 4/10

AROMA: 3/10

APPEARANCE: 3/10

VALUE FOR MONEY: 6/10

OVERALL: 5/10

Asda Mild British Cheddar (400g)£1.99 (50p per 100g)

Lynsey says: "I give this affordable, supermarket brand high praise indeed. I liked the smooth texture and pleasant cheesy flavour. It was one of the best-looking cheeses and the colour was just right. It doesn't beat the likes of Aldi or Lidl on price, but I felt it was worth an extra 20p."

TASTE: 10/10

AROMA: 9/10

APPEARANCE: 10/10

VALUE FOR MONEY: 9/10

OVERALL: 10/10

Waitrose Essential Extra Mature British Cheddar (550g) £3 (55p per 100g)

Lynsey says: "Even though the Waitrose cheddar doesn't contain any more salt than other brands, it had a slightly salty taste. It looked appetising though and had a had a lovely creamy, texture. One of the most expensive but good quality and still cheaper than the market leader."

LYNSEY'S OVERALL VERDICT: "No-one wants to cut cheese off the shopping list when money gets tight. What I learned here is that there are some really decent cheddars out there and you can buy them for a fraction of the cost of the UK's best-selling brands.

"You could save £40 a year on groceries if you switched from Cathedral City to Aldi or Morrisons. It's definitely worth giving them a taste to see what you think.

"My favourite was Asda, but Sainsbury's and Morrisons were also great options. Even my least favourite, from Lidl, scored five out of ten and I doubt you'd notice if you were buying it for something like Macaroni cheese.

"I'd encourage anyone to give these cheeses a go. Most supermarkets offer different strengths depending on your taste so don't be put off if one isn't great - just choose another. In the long run, you'll will save money."