MOST of us will have had a moment in recent months when we've looked at our till receipt in the supermarket and thought "How much?"

The rising cost of food has been one of the biggest indicators of the credit crunch, and the most likely to make an impact on our wallets.

An average family is now spending a whopping £27 more on food a week than they were last year, new figures have shown.

A shopping basket of 24 common products cost 27 per cent more than it did a year ago, with the worst offenders including a sliced white loaf now at 72p, up from 48p last year.

Shopping habits are changing. Consumers are more cash-conscious and, consequently, despite overall price increases, there is a wide range of offers available in each store.

This means discerning shoppers can beat the rises and be smart about the way they shop.

So how can you cut down your weekly shopping bill and still feed the family?

We've been putting some of the own brands at Aldi through their paces.

We stripped away the packaging and sampled the products blind.

Our findings might surprise you. Some of the products we put under the microscope from Aldi were not only winners, but by a long way.

And while other products didn't score quite so highly, we felt that generally there was little loss of taste or quality despite a lower price tag. We particularly rated their butter spread, stimulation drink and tomato sauce.

Their baked beans also did well, as did their digestive biscuits, chocolate and cereals.

However, their fruit wasn't so good. The day we stopped off at a branch in Swansea, produce quality did not appear to be as good as you would usually get in other supermarkets.

There wasn't much of it on the shelves either.

A spokesman for the company said it was not surprised by our findings adding: "Brands spend millions each year to make an impression with consumers. But when you actually sample the product, the brand image or personality has little impact on taste."

So is the proof of the pudding in the eating? We have been finding out. Not everything we tried came up to scratch. Notably, some of its desserts and cakes were incredibly sweet. But our top buys at Aldi included . . . (prices correct in August, 2008, but may have changed since then)

Bushland Australian Reserve Shiraz — £3.99

Delicious — a lovely taste without being heavy.

Red Thunder Stimulation Drink — 25p

Very refreshing and bubbly.

Norpak Spreadable, slightly salted — £1.59

Good buttery flavour, and yet still very light.

Corale Premium Baked Beans — 22p

Tastes like baked beans should.

Belmont Digestive Biscuits — 29p

Melt in your mouth, even if they were a little bit on the crumbly side.

Bramwells Tomato Ketchup — 45p

A great thick sauce — good taste and lovely colour.

2008-09-01T09:25:17