The taste of summer

What would Wimbledon be without strawberries? We sample a few punnets so you can serve up the cream of the crop

GROWER’S SELECTION (300G), £1.29, ASDA

On the small side, they were hard and crunchy and looked like they had been picked from someone’s back garden. They were bitter and like eating wood – and to make matters worse, several were on the verge of going mouldy. Nothing could redeem them.

VERDICT: Let’s hope it was just a bad batch. 0/10 OAKLANDS STRAWBERRIES (400G), £1.49, LIDL

Small and slightly underripe with a dull colouring. Not a lot of flavour – we only got the tiniest hint of strawberry from the odd one. They were woody and had a slightly bitter taste that wasn’t pleasant.

VERDICT: Needed a bit longer in the sunshine. 2/10

MARKET ST STRAWBERRIES (400G), £2, MORRISONS

Nice evenly sized punnet in perfect strawberry red. They were sweet, juicy and packed with flavour, but still crisp and not overripe. No need for anything extra – perfect on their own.

VERDICT: Taste of summer.

Specially Selected Strawberries – British (300g), £2.59, Aldi

They were all a uniform size and were mostly sweet, although a couple had a sharp tang. Juicy, with a hint of strawberry taste, they were let down by a poor best-before date, which meant a few were on the turn.

VERDICT: Check the dates before you buy. 6/10

BRITISH STRAWBERRIES (400G), £2, SAINSBURY’S

Looked plump and enticing with a lovely rich red colour and they were a perfect even size. We deliberately chose a punnet with smaller strawberries as we thought they might be tastier. But they literally had no flavour at all – just juicy, watery and tasteless.

VERDICT: Very disappointing. 1/10

BRITISH STRAWBERRIES (400G), £2 OR TWO FOR £3, TESCO

Impressive size, plump and full of sweetness, they seemed to be a value-for-money buy. An intense red, they had that just-picked freshness with the stalks still attached. But we were disappointed to see insect damage with small holes in too many for our liking. VERDICT: Shame about the creepy-crawlies. 8/10

BRITISH STRAWBERRIES (400G), £2, THE CO-OP

A larger than average punnet packed with well-shaped, deep red strawberries. Sumptuous to bite into but we were surprised that a couple were on the sharp side. Came close to hitting our strawberry spot.

VERDICT: Worth popping in the basket. 8/10

BRITISH STRAWBERRIES (400G), £2, ICELAND

A mixture of sizes and shapes with a pleasant, fresh, British summer aroma. Tasty with a good fruity tang and a nice bite. They disappeared very quickly.

VERDICT: Very refreshing. 9/10