Tested: This is the tastiest kale mash from the supermarket

Say wine, snacks or haute cuisine and the gourmands at online food magazine FavorFlav know where to drink, how to eat it and what to cook. This time our cheffies serve you: Tested: This is the tastiest (and the most disgusting!) kale mash from the supermarket

As soon as the first gray, rainy autumn day has passed, we do a little dance, really. That is – as far as we are concerned – the start of the mash season. Making the mash yourself with crackling fresh kale and steaming potatoes is always tastier, we know that. But what if you don't have time to cook, don't feel like it, or a ready-made mash is simply one of your guilty pleasures? Then you buy it in the supermarket. This time, the tasting panel of FavorFlav is trying the ready-made kale mash from the supermarket. Where do you buy the tastiest one and where should you leave it on the shelf?

In most supermarkets, there are several kale mashes available. Like at Albert Heijn: with and without bacon bits, with only sausage, and you can even buy a frozen meal with kale mash, smoked sausage, and gravy. For the fairness of the test, we bought the same type of private label kale mash everywhere: 500 grams with smoked sausage. The entry-level model, so to speak.

Three times Daily Chef
On the test table appeared mashes from Aldi, Albert Heijn, Vomar, and Jumbo. We also checked the shelves at Lidl, but the run on kale was clearly visible: at various branches, it was sold out. Also important to know: the kale mash purchased at Vomar is also sold at Dirk and Coop. This one is from the brand Daily Chef.

Vomar, Dirk, and Coop: crispy kale
We start with this mash from Daily Chef. What immediately stands out about this meal is that there are bacon bits on top. Not the most attractive: Robert: ‘They look quite pale, it seems like they haven't been cooked.’ The kale looks just as gray as the most dreary winter day. ‘It's a bit of a mush,’ says Rick. But what Maikel is enthusiastic about is the sausage: ‘At least it looks good.’ People are also optimistic about the smell: ‘It really smells nice,’ thinks Robert. When the Dutch pot is served, suddenly pieces of potato come to the surface. ‘Surprisingly less mushy then,’ says Rick. The taste, on the other hand, is somewhat sour. Lauretta: ‘It reminds me a bit of the taste of green beans from a jar.’ The bacon bits are tasteless as expected, but the sausage is juicy. And don't forget the gravy. ‘This one is a bit salty, but when you mix it with the kale, it works well as a whole.‘ Finally, Robert and Rik find that the kale has remained nicely crispy and hasn't been mashed into baby food. Lauretta: ’All in all, it's really much less disgusting than expected and secretly quite tasty.‘

Aldi: Worth repeating
Then number two. Compared to the previous one, the color is much more pleasant dark green. The attractive packaging also makes us want to taste this kale mash. Lauretta: ‘It looks tasty.’ With the first bite, the entire tasting panel immediately notices that it is incredibly bland. Lauretta: ‘Someone clearly couldn't find the salt shaker.’ Still, the opinion is shared that this meal from the microwave tastes fresher and you can really taste the kale, without a sour taste. What is too salty, however, is the gravy. ‘The sausage is really very tasty,’ thinks Rick. Maikel: ‘Nice and crispy!’, to which Rick adds that you can taste the smoky flavor well. Robert: ‘It could even have been a HEMA smoked sausage.’ In short: the mash itself is bland, has a fresh taste, and a nice sausage and gravy. We do miss the coarse mash structure, but you can buy this kale mash with peace of mind.

Albert Heijn: does that sausage have an STD?
Preparation: Microwave (700 Watts, about 6 minutes), oven (180 °C, about 20 minutes) or au-bain-marie (using a pot and boiling water, about 25 minutes), suggests Albert Heijn, but stubborn as we are, we first slice the – shockingly orange – smoked sausage to fry it in the pan. Sharon: ‘Does that sausage have an STD? That bright orange color is really off-putting.’ We fry it and throw the rest of the kale mash in. After having warmed up two microwave meals, it seems good to test this as well. We leave the gravy aside, as it really has a strange fake smoky taste. Also notable is the kale/potato ratio: it is really nice, with extra large pieces of potato. Without gravy, it is really a dry affair, so we cheat here by adding some homemade butter gravy. And then it really is a tasty bite, you know. Including the sausage, orange or not.

Jumbo: real kale flavor
We had to come back for it, because the ‘Kale Mash with Smoked Sausage & Gravy’ from Jumbo is popular, as evidenced by the empty shelf. We do that, and the first thing that stands out is the dirty gravy in which half a sausage is floating. The mash itself looks fine, at first glance with plenty of kale. But is the empty shelf understandable? We also put this to the test.

Strangely enough, it really needs more salt, because otherwise the mash is really very flat and boring, but with pepper and salt, it improves significantly. Notably, there is a real kale flavor. We dare not touch the gravy: it is a thick jelly and the taste is not nice. And when we want to cut the sausage, it slips right out of our hands. What a shame! So we cheat hardcore here, it can't be helped. We add our own ball of butter gravy, and then it's quite okay. In the evening, the fourteen-year-old editorial and always hungry teenage son is also served a plate from Jumbo. With, as honestly stated, a real ball and real gravy. ’Is it tasty, dear?‘ we ask quasi-innocently. ’Fine,‘ he mumbles like a teenager. ’For once this isn't bad, but it's not my favorite food or anything.‘ The plate does get empty (because always hungry), but honestly: it's not our favorite either.