Taste test determines which supermarket does coronation chicken best

The dish was invented for the banquet in honour of Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation in 1953 and has become a staple in the supermarket chill counter.

While Charles III is encouraging us all to attempt to bake quiche this time around, it is far easier to remember the Queen by reaching into the fridge for a plastic tub of the chicken in sweet curry sauce.

But which is the best out there – and is it worth going to the faff of attempting to make your own?

A blend of chicken, mayonnaise, curry powder, raisins and apricot, coronation chicken is normally yellow and can also come with more sophisticated ingredients such as flaked almonds and creme fraiche.

Constance Spry, an English food writer and flower arranger, and Rosemary Hume, a chef, both principals of the Cordon Bleu Cookery School in London, are credited with the invention of coronation chicken for the banquet in 1953.

Spry proposed the recipe of cold chicken, curry cream sauce and dressing that would later become known as coronation chicken.

Since then, it has become a popular sandwich filler, as well as an addition to foods such as salads and jacket potatoes, and a version of it can be found at every supermarket across the country.

So, which supermarket version is the best?

To find out, I visited Aldi, Asda, the Co-operative food shop, Lidl, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury and Tesco, bought a version from each and, armed with a packet of crackers, did a taste test to determine the best one.

I don't normally eat coronation chicken, so I would have no bias in terms of my favourite, and I set out to rank each version based on the smell, the texture when eating it and how it tastes, ranking each out of 10 for a total possible score of 30.

The smell test is one of the most important parts of eating food as you find yourself appreciating a nice aroma from a meal, while texture matters when eating as you don't want to be chewing something rubbery or with an unpleasant feeling.

Finally, with taste, that is the most important part for me as if it is bland or without flavour, it can become a boring meal that you just want to get through.

I loaded up a cracker with a sizeable amount from each of the tubs from the various supermarkets and started with the Aldi coronation chicken.

Coronation King – Tesco: 23

A rich smell with the ingredients all coming together to make it smell nice. The texture was great and allowed the chicken to melt in my mouth, while the taste was the best of the lot, rich and creamy and with the right level of spice.

Queen Consort - M&S: 22

Marks and Spencer's version isn't cheap, but it is decent. Rich and fragrant, it has a smooth texture which allowed for a nice and easy meal and the taste carried nice spices and a fruity feeling.

Maids of Honour - Sainsbury's and Aldi: 19

The Aldi version carries a nice and pleasant smell, with essences of apricot and a bit of spice, and after taking a bite, it broke down nicely and was easy to eat, but what let it down was a taste that didn't carry any real flavour and was a bit bland.

The Sainsbury's version also had a strong smell, rich with essence of spice and raisins, while eating it was not a chore, with the chicken breaking up easily, but what let it down was the taste, providing little excitement and being rather dull and ineffective.

Coronation invite - Co-op: 17

The Co-op version was the first one where the smell did nothing for me; it was bland and ineffective, but the texture was good and it had a strong and nicely spiced taste.

Out with the crowds - Asda: 15

The Asda version had a smell with a hint of apricot and raisin, but did not hit my senses as much, while the texture was fine and easy to chew, but the taste let it down as it was a little overpowering with the amount of fruit in it.

In the Tower - Lidl: 13

The Lidl version was the most disappointing as while it carried a reasonable smell, full of the mayonnaise and the apricots, it was tougher to eat, lumpy and stodgy, with an overly acidic taste to it. One to lock away!