Marks & Spencer: €4.10 for 1 litre
Squeezing orange juice is not, by any measure, a difficult thing to do. But despite having about a bajillion pieces of kitchen equipment specifically designed for such an operation, Pricewatch never gets round to it. But Pricewatch loves freshly squeezed orange juice – who doesn't, we hear you say – and this is where this product comes in. It towers head and shoulders above most orange juices on the market and it's (almost) as good as the real thing. On one level it looks expensive but if, as M&S claims, there is the juice of 16 oranges in the bottle (and an orange in Tesco costs 39 cent), then at €4.10, this bottle is actually good value for money.
Verdict: Love it
Star rating: * * * * *
Innocent orange juice: €2 for 900ml; €2.22 per litre
Time was when Innocent sold its juices in 1 litre bottles but then – in yet another egregious example of shrinkflation – the 1 litre bottle became a 900ml bottle, something which did not leave us well disposed to this product. It is, Innocent says, made with 11 oranges. We are not sure where the company picked the oranges that went into this bottle but, by our measure, they lacked a bit of flavour and while it was absolutely fine it was not stellar.
Verdict: A bit ordinary
Star rating: * * *
Copella Orange Juice: €2 for 900ml; €2.22 per litre
This is another brand which sells its juices in 900ml bottles. It is very similar in taste terms to the Innocent option and identical in price. That makes the two virtually impossible to separate in value-for-money terms. If someone held a gun to our head and asked us to choose one over the other, we would probably go for the Innocent juice but that is only because we have a vague notion that the people who make that juice are sound. We have to admit that may or may not be the case.
Verdict: A bit ordinary too
Star rating: * * *
Dunnes Stores Simply Better Valencia Juice: €1.49 for 250ml; €7.45 per litre
This is an excellent product. It has loads of bits, is full of fresh flavours and tastes almost as good as the juice which comes straight out of an orange. We couldn’t find anything wrong with it in taste terms so ultimately it came down to price. We could only find the smaller sized bottles in our local Dunnes which, obviously, was going to skew the price comparison a good bit. That caused it to lose a star but were all things equal it might well have shaded M&S for the number one position. It is still lovely, mind you, and if you buy this, you won’t go far wrong.
Verdict: Lovely
Star rating: * * * *
