BBC Good Food Christmas Taste Awards 2023

From smoked salmon to Christmas cake, our expert panel blind-tasted more than 180 products to find the best UK supermarket buys to grace your table this holiday season. Find out more about the judging process in our Christmas Taste Awards FAQs.

For over 400 buyer’s guides, visit our reviews section. We’ve also got all the Christmas gifting inspiration you need , like subscription services and best hampers, in our gifts hub. See the best letterbox gifts, 50 best budget gifts under £15, advent calendars and much more.

BBC Good Food Christmas Taste Awards 2023

Starters

Best smoked salmon

Winner: Lidl Deluxe Robust Smoked Salmon, price tbc, 100g

This had good sized slices with a classic, crowd-pleasing smoked salmon flavour that would work well in salmon sandwiches.

Runner-up: Morrisons The Best ‘Old English’ Cured Smoked Salmon, £4.99, 120g (launching 20^th Dec)

This looks expensive and is nicely packaged. It has good sized slices and a firm texture. It is well-smoked (possibly too smoky for some) and would work well on a charcuterie fish plate.

Best hot canapé

Winner: Iceland Cathedral City 8 Pack Mini Ham & Cheese Crumpets, £3, 160g

A winning combination of soft crumpets, salty lardons and lots of melting cheese – must be eaten hot from the oven as soon as possible.

Runner up: Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Baos of Holly, £6, 280g 

A great microwave option, these have a fun festive design and a great ratio of dough to filling. Available in november.

The main event

Best turkey crown

Winner: ASDA Extra Special Corn Fed, Norfolk Bronze Turkey Crown with pork, sage & Caramelised onion, £18.00 per kg

The lean meat was easy to cut, the turkey stayed moist under a flavoursome bacon covering and the stuffing was a welcome addition.

Best alternative Christmas main

Winner: Aldi Specially Selected Wagyu Wing Rib, £24.99 per kg, average weight 2kg

This impressive looking joint would make a great showstopper. The meat has good texture and the outside sears well.

Best gammon

Winner: Aldi Specially Selected Bone-In Crackling Gammon Joint, £17.99, weight tbc

A clear winner for the judges – this impressive-looking gammon was complete with crunchy crackling and juicy, tender meat.

Best pigs in blankets

Winner: Aldi Specially Selected Caramelised Onion Chipolatas wrapped in Bacon, £2.79, 247g

Caramelised onions gave these a touch of sweetness, with pleasing crispy bacon and good texture to the sausagemeat.

Runner up: Lidl Deluxe Pigs in Blankets (Spiced Apple), price and weight tbc

These had a sweet initial flavour from the spiced apple, balanced by herby notes. The sausage had good texture and the bacon offered slight crunch.

Best cranberry sauce

Winner: Aldi Specially Selected Cranberry Sauce, £1.49, 215g

A great classic cranberry sauce: a touch sweet but would be brilliant in a Boxing Day sandwich of leftovers.

Best gravy

Joint winner: Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Turkey Gravy Granules, £1.90, 200g

Keep this on standby for any gravy emergencies – it is thick, savoury, well-seasoned and full of nostalgic flavour.

Joint winner: Waitrose Turkey Gravy, £5, 400g

Rich and savoury, this fresh gravy would easily help any dry turkey.

Vegetarian and vegan

Best vegetarian main

Joint winner: Tesco Finest Roasted Butternut, Spinach & Sage Galette, price tbc, 500g

This hearty galette impressed the judges: it was incredibly flavoursome, enjoyably cheesy and had plenty of veg.

Joint winner: Lidl Deluxe Winter Sharing Wellingtons (Cheddar, Leek & Parsnip), price and weight tbc

An indulgent option, this was incredibly rich and cheesy although judges would have liked more decoration.

Best vegan main

Joint winner: Morrisons Plant Revolution Turkey Crown with Horseradish Crumb and Sage Melt, £6, 497g 

Some judges felt this was the best vegan meat alternative they’ve ever tried. It has an authentic meaty flavour and crispy skin. Available from 18th December.

Joint winner: Lidl Deluxe Two Winter Pie (Vegan parsnip and portobello pies), price and weight tbc

A hearty main to enjoy all winter, this had good pastry and plenty of gravy surrounding the veggie filling.

Runner up: M&S Butternut Filo Pie, £8, 550g

This has a lovely crunchy filo top and unctuous cheesy filling with plenty of veg.

Festive desserts

Best Christmas cake

Winner: Aldi Specially Selected Luxury All Over Iced Christmas Cake, £8.99, 907g

With plenty of juicy fruit and some pieces of nut, this had good overall texture and flavour. The simple decoration is pretty and the marzipan had good flavour.

Best Christmas pudding

Winner: Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference 18 Month Matured Christmas Pudding, £10.50, 800g

Large pieces of fruit made this pudding stand out, along with a light cake-crumb texture.

Best showstopper dessert

Joint winner: Booths Millionaire Choux Wreath, £15, 800g

A showstopper with wow-factor, this choux wreath has lots going on: crisp choux pastry, decadent chocolate topping, plenty of creamy sweetness.

Joint winner: M&S White Chocolate & Passionfruit Yule Log, £15, 850g

This smart white yule log balances sweet white chocolate with a tart refreshing passion fruit filling for a well-balanced twist on a festive classic.

Best free-from dessert

Winner: M&S Clementine Frangipane, £8, 365g

This clever pudding just needs to be microwaved to be ready in minutes. The intense almondy orange cake has a comforting soft texture and pretty decoration – would be great with cold cream poured on top.

Runner up: Tesco Finest Free From Honeycomb Tiffin Bauble, £10, 500g

This is a great option for families and Christmas feasts with lots of kids. The rocky road style has a fun design and is very sweet.

Festive bakes

Best classic mince pies

Winner: Waitrose 6 Brown Butter Mince Pies, £4, 6-pack

A classic tasting mince pie, richly spiced. The mincemeat had good texture and the buttery pastry stood out amongst others tried.

Best flavoured mince pies

Winner: Waitrose 4 Crumble-topped Mince Pies with Cranberry & Orange, £3.75, 4-pack

These large shallow mince pies stood out for their juicy fruit filling, strong orange flavour and buttery crumble top adding more texture.

Best gluten-free mince pies

Winner: Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Free From Mini Mince Pies, £2.75, 216g

This pack of nine mini mince pies had a strongly spiced mincemeat with melting buttery pastry.

Best biscuit tin

Winner: Lidl Favorina All Butter Shortbread Tin, 500g, price tbc

This simple festive-design tin could easily be kept and reused, but it was the quality of the shortbread inside that made this a winner: thick biscuits, buttery flavour, simple but done well.

The judging process

We invited 13 supermarkets to enter their best Christmas products across 18 categories. All food was prepared, cooked (following pack instructions) and presented by an independent home economist. Packaging was removed and judges tasted all items blind. Judges submitted comments and a score out of 10 for each product in the category via anonymous online judging forms. The entire process is overseen by an independent adjudicator.

This year, the team tested 185 different products to find their favourite in each category. As well as the winners you see here, we also awarded ‘highly commended’ status to high-scoring favourites that also deserve recognition. These can be found at bbcgoodfood.com.

All prices correct at time of publishing. If you have any questions or spot anything that has changed in price or availability please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@<“skimlinks-unlinked”>immediate.co.uk<.

source https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/review/christmas-taste-awards-2022