The humble pork pie – many people may say it's their favourite part of a buffet.

It may be a beige food, but it sure is tasty, though some are better than others.

To help those make the most of their Christmas buffets, taste testers ranked the best and worst pies you can find on supermarket shelves, and the results are quite surprising.

READ MORE: Christmas dinner obsessive who's eaten 146,000 Yorkshire puds says he'll never stop

The team at Liverpool Echo tried out four popular pork pies to see if they were tasty and good value for money.

They are a festive must-have in many fridges at this time of year – whether people are having a party or in need of an evening snack – there are usually some lying around to nibble on.

Here are what the foodie fans thought of some of this year's supermarket offerings.

M&S 6 Mini British Melton Mowbray Pork Pies

M&S is usually quite reliable on the pastry front, so the reviewer had high hopes for these pies.

Shoppers can get six in a pack for £3.20, which isn't that cheap, but also comes in at just 53p a pie, which doesn't break the bank too much.

The pastry was nice and golden in colour, and it also didn't crumble, so was easy to eat.

It was also praised for having a "soft, butter" flavour, even though it did lack in taste a little.

Nonetheless, they said it was packed with meat, and had just enough jelly to help keep it moist.

It was also said to be well-seasoned, so it left the reviewer quite impressed.

Price: £3.20

Rating: 4/5

Where to buy: M&S Food Halls or Ocado

Tesco Melton Mowbray Pork Pie

This one came in at £1.55, and the pie comprises of seasoned uncured pork baked in rich hot water crust pastry.

It was noted the pastry had a "nice texture", but the highlight was the perfect amount of jelly.

The main downside for the taste tester was he thought the pie was on the bland side, and needed a little more flavour to really pack a punch.

Overall, it was decent, and he'd have another one.

Price: £1.55

Rating: 3/5

Where to buy: Tesco stores or online

Sainsbury's Individual Melton Mowbray Pork Pie

Lottie Gibbons, from Wigan, describes herself as a "pie connoisseur", but the Sainsbury's offering didn't leave her impressed.

Following a little nibble, she said: "It's not great – I'll eat it but it's not great. It's bland.

"The pastry is quite nice on the outside but inside it's bland and from the filling, you wouldn't know you were eating pork at all.

"I like the fact there's not a lot of jelly in it but it definitely needs more seasoning.

"It's not inedible, but it's not great."

She said she wouldn't rush back to grab another pie.

Price: £1.75

Rating: 2.5/5

Where to buy: Sainsbury's stores or online.

Asda 10 Mini Pork Pies

You can get 10 mini pies for £2.15 at Asda, which is really good value.

The taste tester had big hopes for the offering, but wasn't impressed by the amount of pastry.

They said it wasn't even, and the meat filling wasn't as tasty as they'd have liked.

"There was a lot of pastry in comparison to the meat," they added.

"And as much as it did taste okay, I just wish the pork pie had a bit more flavour."

Even though it was good, it could have simply been better, but they thought the price was reasonable for shoppers.

Price: £2.15

Rating: 3/5

Where to buy: Asda stores or online

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