Sheridans Cheesemongers Parmesan €7.75 for 250g €31 per kg Highs: This hunk of parmesan cut from a round by people who know a thing or two about cheese is excellent.
It has a lovely rich, strong flavour which lingers on the palate. It also has the wonderfully grainy texture associated with the best of parmesan cheeses and looks for all the world like it has come direct from an Italian deli. It is good enough to eat all by itself - in fact, it almost seems like a shame to scatter it onto food, which will almost certainly overpower its flavours completely.
Lows: While it is unquestionably the best parmesan we viewed, it is also the most expensive - although not by that much. It may be hard to track down unless you live in Dublin or Galway.
Verdict: Blessed are the cheesemakers
Star rating: *****
Castelli Parmesan Cheese
€3.75 for 125g €30 per kg
Highs: This is widely available from most big supermarkets and is absolutely fine. It has a delicate, if almost completely forgettable, flavour and will not do your pasta or salad any harm at all.
Lows: It is, however, a bit dull and a whole lot more expensive than we thought it would be. The piece we bought and tasted had an oddly waxy texture to it, which was not what we were expecting. The ingredient list is written in multiple languages in very small letters, making it almost impossible to read. It wasn't easy to pry it from its plastic wrapping without making a complete pig's ear of the packaging and rendering it fit for nothing more than the bin (the packaging not the cheese).
Verdict: Overpriced and ordinary
Star rating: **
Marks & Spencer Parmesan
€9.38 for 329g €28.50 per kg
Highs: When we exclude the Sheridan's cheese - disqualified for being too good - this finished well ahead of the pack in an almost entirely unscientific blind taste test we carried out. It has a lovely fresh cheesy smell and a sharp, tangy flavour which would not be out of place on the finest of pasta dishes. It has a nice coarse texture and, given our experience with some of the other cheeses tried, scored extra points for coming in a resealable packet.
Lows: It is definitely on the pricey side and will be out of reach for people who live outside of the M&S sphere of influence. M&S claims that, when opened, it only has a shelf life of two weeks, which seems like a fairly small window to get through a hunk this size.
Verdict: A nice but costly cheese
Star rating: ***
Lidl Lovilio Parmesan
€6.22 for 312g €19.95 per kg
Highs: Right from the off we were taken by the name and the packaging, and of course the price. Bedecked in the green, white and red colours of Italy, this Lovilio cheese was trying very hard to come across as authentic and, while it completely failed to do that, it is still a hell of a lot cheaper than the competition.
Lows: Cheap but not such good value. While some Lidl products are both cheap and very high quality, this is not one of them. Its cause was not helped by its rather sweaty appearance and vaguely soapy texture. It has little or no bite to it. It would be absolutely fine when grated but really was a little disappointing.
Verdict: Cheap and cheerless
Star rating: **
Tesco Italian Gran Padano
€3.14 for 154g €20.40 per kg
Highs: While this is not parmesan, it is a somewhat cheaper alternative that is often used as a substitute and tends to be stocked on shelves alongside its posher cousin. Chances are that the vast majority of people who buy it think they are buying parmesan. It has a surprisingly pleasant and strong taste and, once grated and scattered onto pasta, could easily be mistaken for the real deal.
Lows: Its pale colour lends it a somewhat anaemic appearance, and it has a significantly less grainy texture than the competition. While the initial taste is strong, it might be a little salty for some, but it fades into nothingness very quickly after being eaten.
Verdict: An okay doppelganger
Star rating: ***
