Where to buy the tastiest ready-made Greek salad in SA

26 March 2017 - 02:00 By Hilary Biller
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In Greece, a traditional salad does not contain lettuce.
In Greece, a traditional salad does not contain lettuce.
Image: iStock

Our panel of judges put ready-made Greek salads from leading supermarkets to the taste test

HOW WE CONDUCTED OUR TASTE TEST

We put out a call to our readers to be part of the panel of tasters.

They came together on a Saturday morning and were presented with Greek salads from three leading supermarkets - with no branding - on separate plates.

In Greece, a traditional salad does not contain lettuce. The rest of the world knows "Greek salad" as lettuce, tomato, green pepper, cucumber, onion, feta and olives. All bar one of these salads contained lettuce, with the other ingredients packed in separate compartments (no dressing included).

For the tasting, the ingredients for each sample were tossed together and served with the same vinaigrette dressing provided by Sunday Times Food editor Hilary Biller.

Auditor Jade Craig was on hand to monitor the objectivity of the blind-tasting process, from removing the packaging to numbering the products, overseeing the preparation and adding up the score sheets.

THE RESULTS

 

First place: Woolworths Greek salad 285g

Judges' comments: Tasters agreed that this was the freshest-tasting salad: attractive, crunchy and with quality ingredients. Some said it contained too much lettuce and that the onions were too thickly sliced. A couple felt it could have done with more "tasty bits" - olives, feta and tomatoes - but one taster called it "the best buy by far".

Price: R39.95

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Second place: Pick n pay Greek salad 390g

Judges' comments: Tasters enjoyed the fact that this was a "traditional" Greek salad (no lettuce). The olives were plump and pitted for convenience, although some tasters thought they were not tart enough. There were certainly more "tasty bits" than in the other two salads.

Price: R49.90

 

Third place: Checkers Greek salad 190g

Judges' comments: Some tasters found this salad disappointing because a few of the lettuce leaves were browning at the edges, which made it look less than fresh. Other portions contained crisp lettuce that the tasters enjoyed. Overall it was felt not to contain enough "tasty bits".

Price: R24.99

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