Best Panettone Taste Test

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French Toast Recipe with Blueberry Compote

How the best panettone taste test worked

Six members of the olive team conducted a blind taste test to find the most flavoursome shop-bought panettone. We tasted all of the biggest brands widely available in the UK. The group chose joint winners and a runner-up.

The results for the best panettone

Joint winners

Best light panettone: Harvey Nichols

About the panettone: Harvey Nichols panettone is filled with sultanas and candied orange peel.

Comments: With a light, puffy texture, nice crust and packed with juicy fruit, this buttery panettone had a pleasant chew, but wasn't too rich.

Price: £14.95/1kg, ocado.com, harveynichols.com

Best indulgent panettone: Daylesford

About the panettone: This panettone is flavoured with raisins, candied orange peel, honey and vanilla pods.

Comments: This panettone had a really squidgy texture, with a rich, yellow colour and full of plump fruit. There's a boozy kick making it perfect if you want something a little more indulgent.

Price: £25/500g, daylesford.com

Runner-up

Selfridges

About the panettone: This panettone made in Italy is flavoured with sultanas, candied orange peel, honey and vanilla pods.

Comments: With a vibrant yellow colour and juicy pieces of fruit, this generously-sized panettone has a very neat appearance.

Price: £19.99/1kg, selfridges.com

Selfridges Selection traditional panettone

Other panettones we tried

Crosta and Mollica

About the panettone: This classic panettone is filled with sultanas, candied orange peel and candied lime peel.

Comments: We found this panettone to have a drier texture than others, and the distribution of fruit wasn't even.

Price: £8.49/500g, ocado.com

Arden and Amici

About the panettone: This Italian panettone is flavoured with sultanas, candied peel and natural flavourings.

Comments: This panettone had a slightly anaemic appearance and the fruit was hard rather than juicy.

Price: £5/500g, Tesco

Carluccio’s

About the panettone: A classic panettone filled with raisins, candied orange peel, natural citrus flavour and natural vanilla flavour.

Comments: We found this panettone to have strong notes of almond, and a slightly artificial flavour.

Price: £17.95/1kg, carluccios.com

Abel and Cole

About the panettone: This panettone is made with extra virgin olive oil and butter. It is flavoured with dark chocolate, candied orange peel and honey.

Comments: This chocolate panettone was very dry and pale in appearance.

Price: £15.95/500g, abelandcole.co.uk