Aldi's salted caramel and bourbon glazed ham also praised by judges

The BBC Good Food Magazine has published its Christmas Taste Test

Those looking to cook up a delicious feast this Christmas may not have to break the bank if the latest food awards are anything to go by.

The bumper issue of BBC Good Food Magazine goes on sale this week, revealing the results of its hotly anticipated festive Taste Test.

And Aldi has proved to be one of the biggest surprises, winning four of the 34 categories - the best-ever performance by a budget supermarket.

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It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas: The testers get to grips with a selection of mince pies for the test

Aldi’s almondy-topped mince pies (£2.99 for 6) beat Fortnum & Mason’s £13.95 pack of six, among many other luxury offerings

Aldi’s almondy-topped mince pies (£2.99 for 6) beat Fortnum & Mason’s £13.95 pack of six, among many other luxury offerings.

Commending Aldi’s mince pies, the judges said: ‘The pastry is crisp and the mincemeat is fruity and balanced.’

The team also rated Aldi’s Salted Caramel & Bourbon Glazed Ham Joint. ‘It has just the right balance between sweet and salty, and it’s super-easy to cook in its bag,' they enthused.

Other Aldi products shortlisted were the Stuffing loaf onion, cranberry and apple slab for £1.99 and the Classic 12-month matured Christmas pudding for £6.99.

The team also rated Aldi’s Salted Caramel & Bourbon Glazed Ham Joint (left). The Aldi Classic Christmas 12-month matured pudding was also shortlisted (left)

The bumper issue of BBC Good Food Magazine goes on sale this week, revealing the results of its hotly anticipated Christmas Taste Test

It's a tough job: A taster gets to grips with the turkeys for the Christmas blind experiment

The expert panel blind-tasted 230 products from 13 of the UK’s leading retailers in the BBC Good Food test kitchen. Items ranged from a Sainsbury’s £60 three-bird roast to a £1.99 stollen cake from Lidl.

BBC Good Food’s Christmas issue is on sale at £4.25 with 101 festive recipes

It was an impressive performance from Waitrose, which won six categories - double the number of last year, doing particularly well in the sweet categories.

Heston’s Ultimate chocolate bar, £9.99, was judged ‘irresistible’. The team said: ‘We couldn’t stop eating it!’

They also loved Waitrose’s £10 Prosecco panetonne: ‘The softest and richest panetonne on our testing table. It’s light, doughy and speckled with fruits.’

Sainsbury’s also performed well with five wins; M&S and Tesco each won four categories.

Gillian Carter, Editor of BBC Good Food magazine, said: ‘This year’s results show that you don’t have to blow the budget to enjoy great food.

'We always blind-taste all the products so that we judge solely on taste and appearance, and aren’t influenced by the packaging or the retailer’s reputation.

'The Good Food Christmas Taste Test has become an annual event – eagerly awaited by our readers, and the retailers.

'The budget supermarkets continue to have a huge impact on the food retail landscape and this year Aldi has really excelled.’

BBC Good Food’s Christmas issue is on sale at £4.25 with 101 festive recipes.

Commending Aldi’s mince pies, the judges said: ‘The pastry is crisp and the mincemeat is fruity and balanced'

It was an impressive performance from Waitrose, which won six categories - double the number of last year, doing particularly well in the sweet categories

THE FULL LIST OF WINNERS: SIDES AND STARTERS Perfect smoked salmon Organic smoked salmon strong cure 200g, £22 F&M (pictured right)

Flavour-packed salmon Finest Hickory and oak smoked salmon 100g, £4.80, Tesco

Simple and impressive starter Four Easy carve quail with sticky plum and date stuffing, £10 Sainsbury’s

Meat-free starter Mushroom, cranberry and goats cheese parcels, £5.99/275g, Waitrose

Stuffing loaf Onion, cranberry and apple slab, 420g, £1.99 Aldi

Quick & easy stuffing Brussels sprouts and bacon stuffing wraps, £3.99/300g, Waitrose Advertisement

MAIN COURSES Classic turkey Basted crown with a pork chestnut and thyme stuffing & maple glaze, £50 Sainsbury’s

Easy turkey Luxury British basted turkey stuffed with pigs in blankets, £11.99, Iceland

Turkey for two Pork, sage and onion stuffed turkey wrapped with bacon lattice, £6 Co-op (pictured right)

Star duck British duck supreme crown, £30/1.4kg, M&S

Elegant venison Rack of venison, £40 Booths

Easy lamb British lamb rack, £12.75/kg, Tesco

Winning game TTD 3-bird roast duck, turkey, guinea fowl and British pork, blackberry cranberry stuffing, £60 Sainsbury’s

Top beef In-store prepared super trimmed rib of beef, £17/kg, Morrisons

Crown-pleaser pork Hampshire Outdoor Reared Pork Loin Crown with Bramley Apple & Chestnut Stuffing, Pork Jus and Crackling, £30/4kg Tesco

Ham Specially Selected British ‘Glaze and Bake’ Salted Caramel and Bourbon Glazed Ham Joint, £14.99/1.5kg Aldi

Smart fish Cod loin wrapped in chestnut bacon with lemon and capers, £12.50 Morrisons

Delicious vegetarian Roasted butternut, almond and pecan nut roast, £7, M&S Advertisement