Spring rolls, a traditional dish on a Chinese banquet menu, consist of crispy wrappers filled with a variety of ingredients, ranging from duck to chicken and vegetables.
Anyone who relishes a Chinese meal will appreciate the distinctive crunch of an ideal spring roll and its warm savoury filling.
For those preparing their own feast at home without the time to make their own spring rolls, supermarkets offer pre-made versions of this dim sum classic that simply need to be heated in the oven or microwave.
As many home cooks opt for a Chinese meal during the Lunar New Year, the Liverpool Echo team decided to evaluate the spring roll offerings from several supermarkets to determine the best one.
The team visited Tesco, M&S, Asda and Morrisons to purchase a pack of spring rolls.
They also tried Aldi and Lidl but these budget stores didn’t have any refrigerated spring rolls in stock.
In an effort to maintain fairness, they opted for the supermarket’s own brand spring rolls from each store, avoiding the pricier ‘finest’ options that appeared more luxurious.
They also aimed to purchase similar products from each shop, choosing larger spring rolls over mini versions as the size and shape could affect the cooking consistency.
All spring rolls were cooked in an air fryer to ensure optimal crispiness before being subjected to a blind taste test. Here are their thoughts on each product, along with their respective prices.
Morrisons – Four vegetable spring rolls – £1.50
Sadly, the Morrisons spring rolls were all filler, no thriller. They were brimming with filling and had a generous amount of crunchy vegetables, but the team found them to be largely tasteless.
Critiques from the taste testers included ‘too much onion’ and ‘no spice’. The overall consensus was that these spring rolls were bland and uninspiring, but not offensive.
With four in a pack, the individual spring rolls were all larger than those bought from other supermarkets which sold their spring rolls in a six-pack. And at £1.50 per pack, they were the most affordable option of all the spring rolls we purchased.
Score: 2/5
Asda – Six vegetable spring rolls – £1.86
Asda’s spring rolls received mixed reviews from the taste testers, with the main criticism being that the casing was too thick. Despite this, the flavour was praised as being nicely spiced and classic.
However, the thickness of the pastry did let it down, resulting in a middle-of-the-road score.
Score: 3/5
M&S – Six vegetable spring rolls – £3
M&S’s vegetable spring rolls, priced at £3 per packet, were the most expensive option but received high praise from the taste testers. They were described as crunchy, flavourful and having the perfect ratio of filling to wrapper.
These weren’t just spring rolls, they were M&S spring rolls.
Score: 4/5
Tesco – Six vegetable spring rolls – £1.75 (Clubcard price)
The taste testers were far from impressed with the Tesco spring rolls. The flavour, texture and overall experience was compared to eating the tube from inside a toilet roll – by more than one person.
One critic stated that the ratio of casing to filling was disappointing, while others described the contents of the wrapper as ‘flavourless and limp’. In conclusion, this is not a product they would be purchasing again.
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