GREEK SALAD

In Greece, a traditional salad does not contain lettuce. The rest of the world knows “Greek salad” as lettuce, tomato, green pepper, cucumber, onion, feta and olives. All bar one of these salads contained lettuce, with the other ingredients packed in separate compartments (no dressing included). For the tasting, the ingredients for each sample were tossed together and served with the same vinaigrette dressing provided by Hilary Biller.

1WOOLWORTHS R39.95 for 285g

Tasters agreed that this was the freshest-tasting salad: attractive, crunchy and with quality ingredients. Some said it contained too much lettuce and that the onions were too thickly sliced. A couple felt it could have done with more “tasty bits” — olives, feta and tomatoes — but one taster called it “the best buy by far”.

2PICK N PAY R49.90 for 390g

Tasters enjoyed the fact that this was a “traditional” Greek salad (no lettuce). The olives were plump and pitted for convenience, although some tasters thought they were not tart enough. There were certainly more “tasty bits” than in the other two salads.

3CHECKERS R24.99 for 190g

Some tasters found this salad disappointing because a few of the lettuce leaves were browning at the edges, which made it look less than fresh. Other portions contained crisp lettuce that the tasters enjoyed. Overall it was felt not to contain enough “tasty bits”.