He gazpachothis fresh and tasty Spanish classic, has found its way onto supermarket shelves in packaged versions that promise to bring us the best flavor. But do they really manage to achieve the essence of this traditional dish?
A tasting expert decided to test packaged gazpachos from two commercial giants: Alcampo and Mercadona. Through careful evaluation of ingredients, flavor and texture, their goal is to discover if these products are worthy of the most discerning palates.
A tasting expert’s opinion on Alcampo and Mercadona gazpachos
Jonatan Armengol is a journalist and food critic. On the Merca2 YouTube channel, he participated in a gazpacho tasting in a supermarket.
Two of the gazpachos he tried were those of Farmer (Mercadona) and Auchan (Alcampo). Concerning the first of them, Armengol emphasizes that “it smells more like tomatoes although it does have that hint of bottled tomato.
Concerning the Hacendado gazpacho, he also emphasizes that it is “more balanced and very liquid“. “I would say these carry a lot of water. You don’t notice olive oil and you don’t notice good vinegar. nowhere”. This all depends on the price and Armengol points out that you can remedy this by adding a little virgin oil and a few drops of sherry vinegar.
Your rating is pretty good. Gives it a score of 6.5 points be a balanced product and have everything you need. “Maybe there’s just a little bit of garlic, although a lot of people like that,” he says.
On the other hand, analyze the Alcampo gazpacho. “It’s still SA cucumber“, he jokes. He also emphasizes that there is a “a little less crushed” but he emphasizes that it is a cucumber soup “with something else”. Armengol goes on to say that one may notice “very faintly the pepper in the background when one has previously drunk water with things.”
Finally, he adds that “he has some very nice missteps with the intention to make it look like they added more stuffbut then the water ruins it a bit. In general, in the opinion of the specialist, this is a fairly tasty and balanced gazpacho.
“If you add a little bit of chopped ham, some vegetables like a little bit of tomato, a little bit of pepper and a little bit of cucumber and add it in, it can be great.” This therefore gives a higher score than Mercadona: a 7. And you, which do you prefer of the two?
The worst supermarket gazpacho according to the OCU
THE OCU rated over 40 supermarket gazpachos. Through a detailed assessment process, they identified the the worst gazpachos of the market.
The worst according to the Organization of Consumers and Users is gazpacho from Bo de Debò brand. This company, whose production plant is located in Sant Vicenç de Castellet (Barcelona), markets its gazpacho in 1 liter format, in a Pet container, priced at 3.99 € per liter.
