10 hours ago
6
I learned to make quiche from one of the best chefs I know, Gill Meller, my old head chef at River Cottage HQ, about 20 years ago. His quiche is rich and creamy, with beautifully crumbly pastry, and my benchmark for these store-bought versions.
I tasted all of the quiches cooked according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Overall, the quality was lower than I’d hoped for, with many relying on ultra-processed ingredients, such as palm oil, emulsifiers and, often, caged-hen eggs. Free-range products didn’t always communicate this clearly on the packet, so it’s worth checking the ingredients list. Also, some described their pastry as “buttery” when they don’t contain any butter, and are instead made with vegetable shortening (palm and rapeseed oil). Encouragingly, however, a few gems emerged, with wonderfully simple ingredients, light and fluffy free-range custards, crisp all-butter pastry and generously filled.
While the best are less processed, high welfare and rich in flavour, none of the quiches quite mastered the pastry in the same way as Meller. Although the outer layer crisped up in every case, the base was often undercooked and slightly stodgy in the middle.
The best supermarket quiches
Best overall:
M&S portobello mushroom & mascarpone quiche
★★★★☆
A small quiche, suitable for one or two, with a golden-brown top and a generous scattering of thick-cut sauteed mushrooms. Mascarpone and free-range egg custard with a deep mushroom flavour. Crisp, reasonably well-cooked all-butter pastry and a simple, palm oil-free ingredients list.
Best bargain:
Waitrose Mediterranean-inspired vegetable quiche
★★★★☆
A medium, deep-filled tart with a golden-brown top and large pieces of roast courgette and pepper. A wonderfully light, fluffy free-range egg custard mixed with chopped spinach. Crisp outer pastry and a relatively simple ingredients list including regato cheese, cream and olive oil, though it does contain palm oil.
And the rest …
Exceptional by Asda vintage cheddar & caramelised shallot quiche
★★★★☆
A medium-size quiche with a fluted edge, a cheesy free-range egg custard and a top covered in sticky balsamic caramelised shallots. A long but relatively simple ingredients list, palm oil-free and excellent value.
Morrisons the Best vintage cheddar & caramelised onion quiche
★★★☆☆
A deep, medium-size tart with a pleated edge and nicely caramelised onion top. Hearty, with a short outer crust (though it’s a bit stodgy in the middle) and a light free-range egg custard dominated by onion flavour. Includes palm oil.
Co-op Irresistible vintage cheddar cauliflower cheese quiche
★★★☆☆
A deep-filled, medium quiche with a wonderful, crunchy, herby crumb. A genius cauliflower cheese combination with deeply savoury cheddar. Crisp outer edges of shortcrust, though the base was a little thick and doughy. Contains palm oil and made with caged-hen eggs, but good value and genuinely delicious.
Tesco Finest oak-smoked cheddar & caramelised leek quiche
★★★☆☆
A deep-filled quiche with a golden top of crunchy, cheesy crumb. Soft-set custard with a prominent smoked cheese flavour in a lovely, crumbly all-butter pastry. A refreshingly simple ingredients list, including butter, fromage frais and demerara sugar (rather than dextrose). Palm oil-free, but made with caged-hen eggs.
Higgidy crispy chilli oil & mature cheddar quiche
★★★☆☆
A small, spicy quiche wrapped in baking paper rather than foil, topped with a crispy red chilli crumb. The light free-range egg custard also features red peppers and spring onions. The pastry contains wholemeal spelt flour and certified-sustainable palm oil. Delicious and properly spicy.
★★☆☆☆
A deep-filled, medium-size tart topped with sweet caramelised onion. The free-range egg custard is firmly set, well seasoned and has a strong onion flavour. The pastry’s cooked through at the edges, but stodgy in the middle. Contains palm oil and dextrose.
Aldi Specially Selected mature cheddar & caramelised red onion quiche
★★☆☆☆
A deep-filled, medium-size quiche with a crunchy, golden crumb topping and a wholesome crust scattered with poppy seeds. A very firm-set, bechamel-like custard made with free-range eggs; sweet and well seasoned, too. A long ingredients list with some positives – butter and double cream – but also palm oil and emulsifiers.
Lidl Chef Select cheese & onion quiche
★☆☆☆☆
A deep-set medium-size quiche with a golden-brown top. A basic and firmly set cheese-and-onion custard made with caged-hen eggs and corn starch that reminded me of a cheese, onion and mayo sandwich. The pastry is crisp and mostly cooked through. A short ingredients list with cream, though it does also contain palm oil and colouring.
For more, read the best supermarket feta
