Simply Delicious Mint Sauce €2.99 for 300ml €9.96 per litre Highs:This modestly titled mint sauce comes in the biggest jar.

It smells fantastic, which creates a very favourable first impression and, while it does not actually deliver on its early promise, it does taste pretty good. It is very thick and lacks the vivid and probably artificial green colour that some mint sauces have. The leaves have also been coarsely chopped - almost as if you'd done it yourself - and retain some of their original texture. It scores extra points for being organic.

Lows: There is only 7 per cent mint in this sauce so lord knows how the Simply Delicious folk have made the herb look so abundant in the jar. While it is perfectly pleasant, it lacks the strong minty flavours we were expecting.

Verdict: Nice and subtle

Star rating: ****

Cottage Delight Mint Sauce

€5.50 for 200g €27.50 per kg

Highs: As we have every right to expect after paying this price, this tastes great. It is filled with zingy mintiness and exudes freshness. The balsamic vinegar used in the mix is full bodied but does not overpower the mint and lends it a richness that the competition lacks.

Lows: The consistency of this sauce is very liquid, making it hard to control where it goes on your plate. The mint leaves have also been drained of all their texture. But the real problem is the price - while it is reasonable to pay a little more for an artisan product, this seems to us to be way over the top.

Verdict: Nice but pricey

Star rating: ***

Elsenham Country Mint Sauce

€3.39 for 210ml €16.14 per kg

Highs: This mossy-coloured sauce is also being sold as an upmarket option, and although a good bit cheaper than the Cottage Delight, is still not cheap. It has quite a sweet flavour and is, apparently, hand made with fresh English mint. Quite a lot of mint too - at 29 per cent, it has the highest percentage of mint leaves.

Lows: Hand made? Really? PriceWatch has its doubts that any mass-produced product that finds its way on to supermarket shelves could be genuinely handmade, although maybe our definition of handmade differs from Elsenham's. The abundance of leaves does not guarantee a big taste and the sugar and vinegar are the two flavours that live longest in the memory. It is not bad, by any means, but we expected a lot more.

Verdict: Disappointing.

Star rating: **

Colman's Classic Mint Sauce

€1.42 for 250ml

Highs: This is the quintessential mint sauce and can probably be tracked down everywhere from the smallest corner shop to the biggest 24-hour supermarket. It was the cheapest of the sauces tried and among the nicest. Made with 25 per cent mint leaves, it is robust and tangy with the vinegar, sugar and mint coalescing well to deliver a pleasingly full flavour. It is also the greenest of the mint sauces tried.

Lows: It is also the greenest of the mint sauces tried, thanks to the presence of the artificial colouring the other sauces lack. The flavours might be a bit too sharp for some people's tastes.

Verdict: Worryingly green and reassuringly familiar

Star rating: ****

Tesco Finest Mint Jelly with Rosemary and Roasted Garlic

€1.70 for 210g €8.52 per kg

Highs: A mint jelly rather than a mint sauce, this is a markedly different product to the rest and one which has made only the merest acquaintance with mint - just 0.7 per cent of the herb is listed among the ingredients. It is very sweet and perfectly pleasant.

Lows: Perfectly pleasant and perfectly pointless. With all the talk of the "fire roasted garlic" and "French-grown rosemary" it is trying very hard to be posh but the artisan effect is ruined by the sugar. It is way too sweet and might work better spread on toast than served with spring lamb or new potatoes.

Verdict: Pleasant but perhaps pointless

Star rating: ***