Sticking with major brands might appear to be the surest route to securing top quality and superior flavour, yet supermarket own-label products are consistently outperforming them in blind taste tests.

Consumer champions Which? has been putting various items through their paces, from pork sausages to instant coffee, and supermarkets have emerged victorious far more frequently than one might anticipate.

In one of their latest taste tests, Which pitted supermarket cheddar cheeses against major brands including Cathedral City and Davidstow, with Tesco emerging as the clear favourite amongst testers.

Tesco Finest Mature English Cheddar Cheese secured a score of 78%, earning praise for its taste and 'firm, smooth' texture, according to the Metro.

Testers commended the cheese's salt content and depth of flavour, while also finding it to be 'pleasingly crumbly and creamy'.

While being an own-brand cheese, the Tesco Finest cheddar isn't actually cheaper than all major brands, priced at £4 for 350g, though it was considered to be 'about average price wise', reports the Liverpool Echo.

A pricier cheese finished second - the Davidstow Classic Cheddar - which achieved 75%.

It was also amongst the most expensive cheeses in the comparison at £4.75 for 350g (£1.36 per 100g). Despite this, the Davidstow block received a 'best buy' accolade from Which.

In another Which? blind taste test this year, two supermarket instant coffees performed better than well-established brands.

Demonstrating that well-known brands don't always guarantee superior quality, both Marks & Spencer and Waitrose outshone Nescafé, Kenco and Douwe Egberts in the overall rankings. Scores were determined by flavour, appearance, aroma and mouthfeel.

The supermarket own-brand jars also came in at a lower price point than the big-name rivals, though shoppers were unable to take this into account as the exercise was conducted as a blind taste test.

M&S Gold Instant Coffee and Waitrose Gold Roast shared the top spot, each achieving a 70% customer score. The M&S offering performed strongly in the areas of flavour, aroma and appearance.

Almost two-thirds of participants were satisfied with the strength of flavour, while close to three-quarters gave the thumbs up to the bitterness levels.

Waitrose impressed across all categories, making a strong first impression with its appearance and aroma, which was backed up by a commendable flavour.

Well over half of tasters found the coffee's strength to be just right, and nearly two-thirds savoured the bitter edge.