When the price topped £9 at the height of the cost of living crisis, it became the centre of a media frenzy, with outraged shoppers sharing their disbelief and supermarkets putting security tags on tubs.
Though the price has fallen, Lurpak retains its reputation as the market-leading spreadable butter – but how does it stand up against other brands and supermarket versions?
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In the latest edition of Our Verdict, the Money team pitted Lurpak against 12 competitors, trying each blind on bread and toast to give a score out of 10 for taste, texture and spreadability.
Two brands scored the same marks, placing them joint first – but they have a price difference of £1.20 a tub.
Lurpak and M&S impressed our testers, scoring an average of nine out of 10 points.
At the other end of the table was one of the most expensive options. Made from milk from Irish grass-fed cows, Kerrygold failed to impress our judges, scoring just three out of 10.
Here are the full rankings – and you can read our summaries of each brand below…
Joint first – Lurpak
Price: £3.50 for 250g
Average score: 9
“Impressive”, “delicious” and “moreish” were some of the words used to describe this one. It scored highly for its creamy texture and rich flavour – especially its welcome salty aftertaste.
Lurpak came joint first
Joint first: M&S
Price: £2.30 for 250g
Average score: 9
Just how butter should taste, with enough saltiness and thickness for a good sandwich. It was easy to spread, and lasted a good amount of time before melting on a slice of toast.
M&S was found to be just as good
Second: Asda
Price: £2.18 for 500g
Average score: 8.1
Not too far behind the top spot, this one was a much cheaper option, costing £1.38 less than Lurpak for double the amount of butter. It was rich, smooth and creamy, with a nice amount of salt, but some of our testers felt it was a bit too oily on toast.
Asda got an average score of 8.1
Third: Lidl
Price: £2.18 for 500g
Average score: 7.3
This one had our testers divided, with some finding it lacked any flavour and others thinking it was just salty enough. They all agreed that it was easy to spread, and had a nice texture and thickness to it.
Our testers were divided over Lidl’s offering
Joint fourth: Yeo Valley
Price: £4.75 for 400g
Average score: 7
A guaranteed crowd pleaser – but nothing to make it outshine the competition. You can’t go wrong with it on your toast or in your sandwiches, but if you want something that stands out, this might not meet your expectations.
Yeo Valley was a crowd pleaser
Joint fourth: Aldi
Price: £2.18 for 500g
Average score: 7
Considering its ranking in the same position as Yeo Valley, you definitely get more bang for your buck with Aldi’s own-brand option. It melted well on toast, taking its time and not leaving a bad oily residue.
It had a good level of salt, but it lacked any tingle and had a hint of margarine in its taste.
Aldi was beaten by its budget retail rival
Fifth: Anchor
Price: £4.45 for 400g
Average score: 5.6
It had the look and feel of margarine, and despite a pleasing creaminess, it underwhelmed flavour-wise.
Anchor got a score of 5.6
Sixth: Morrisons
Price: £1.96 for 450g
Average score: 5.5
This one divided our testers – with a brighter yellow colour promising much. Some thought it was great, others felt it lacked taste.
Morrisons divided our testers
Seventh: Tesco
Price: £2.18 for 500g
Average score: 5.2
Inoffensive – but our testers felt it tasted every bit the budget option and was more reminiscent of margarine than butter.
‘Inoffensive’ was the best word for this one
Eighth: Countrylife
Price: £4.50 for 500g
Average score: 4.6
Way too spreadable for faux-butter, so it felt oily. The colour was anaemic, but our tasters did like the salt levels.
Countrylife: Salty and oily
Joint ninth: Sainsbury’s
Price: £2.18 for 500g
Average score: 3.6
The strong buttery smell led our testers into a false sense of confidence in how this one would taste – but they ended up disappointed in raw, bread and toast tastings.
Sainsbury’s came joint ninth
Joint ninth: Waitrose
Price: £2.75 for 500g
Average score: 3.6
The first thing our testers noticed was its almost sour smell, which most found off-putting. It was quite bland in taste, but if you are a butter purist and don’t want saltiness, this might be for you.
This is a good option for ‘butter purists’
Last place: Kerrygold
Price: £3.75 for 400g
Average score: 3
It was a promising start with the golden look of a proper hunk of butter, but the flavour didn’t match. It had an almost bitter aftertaste, leaving some of our testers gasping for a drink.
Kerrygold scored the lowest marks
