This week, Conor Popeevaluates four competing dairy spreads

I Can't Believe It's Not Butter

€1.69 for 500g, €3.38 per kg

We can believe this is not butter. In fact we can’t believe anyone could possibly confuse the two as this is nothing like the real deal. It is greasy and lacks anything by way of creaminess. “Our butteriest taste ever”, the packet boasts which, we think, is a poor reflection on its predecessors. It has 60 per cent less saturated fat than regular butter but we reckon you’d be better off eating 60 per cent less of the proper stuff. It is quite salty but at least that gives it a flavour lacking elsewhere. We were mildly impressed that it was made with real as opposed to re-constituted buttermilk.

Verdict: No, it's not butter

* *

Tesco Butter Me Up

€0.85 for 500g, €1.70 per kg

This is a very cheap spead. Unfortunately it tastes like a very cheap spread too and while it is not exactly horrible, it is certainly a long way from nice. It is comparatively low in saturated fats which probably will make it a little easier on the heart. It is also easy on the taste buds and is bizarrely tasteless. While it is not as greasy as some brands we tried on this occasion, it has nothing by way of creaminess and we would have serious concerns that it could ruin a nice piece of toast.

Verdict: Very cheap, pretty poor

 * *

Dairygold Original

€2.04 for 454g, €4.50 per kg

The memo sent to the marketing departments of the other spread makers suggesting that people love jokey names must not have been read by Dairygold which makes their branding commendably sober. It might be because they have confidence in their product that they don’t feel it necessary to dress it up with some ridiculous buttery title. It really is streets ahead of the competition, thanks mostly to the churned cream in the mix. Other than that, it contains vegetable oils, salt and natural colouring. And that is it. It does have nearly twice the levels of saturated fats as I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter but around 25 per cent less of the same fats that you’d find in actual butter.

Verdict: Excellent

* * * * *

Move Over Butter

€1.88 for 500g, €3.76 per kg

This is actually made by the same people who make Dairygold but it tastes a whole lot more like the Tesco product – although it costs over twice as much. Given that it is made by a company which actually manufactures and sells a huge amount of butter, we presume the label suggesting butter needs to move over should be taken with a pinch of salt. And a pinch of salt is what this needs as it is pretty flavourless. It tastes quite similar to the Tesco own-brand product and by quite similar we mean virtually identical. We did not like the sound of that reconstituted buttermilk.

Verdict: Pretty poor

* *

Is there something you would like us to test? E-mail suggestions to pricewatch@irishtimes.com