Budget chain is offering a tasteful Christmas treat

EXCLUSIVE department store Fortnum & Mason has been trumped by discount supermarket chain Aldi in an annual Christmas pudding taste test.

Good Housekeeping magazine judged Aldi’s £7.99 orange-topped pudding to be the runner-up, describing it as “delicious” and “a real bargain”, while Fortnum & Mason’s £24.95 version was “a real disappointment” in 29th place out of 32 tested. Waitrose won the category with its cherry and almond-topped pudding with edible glitter.

Fortnum & Mason also scored bottom in the cranberry sauce test with its £10.95 jar, a category won by a £1.49 version by Tesco. Good Housekeeping tested traditional festive food and drink from more than 20 retailers this year.

Experts ate and drank their way through 162 samples including champagne, smoked salmon, turkey, minced pies and cranberry sauce.

Overall, it found that shoppers “should head to the supermarkets” for the best Christmas cakes, with all five shortlisted being supermarket own brands. However, the mince pie category was dominated by specialists with Morrisons being the only shortlisted supermarket.