When it comes to soft cheese I normally go for Philadelphia but on a recent trip to Tesco saw that their own label 'light choices' spreadable soft cheese was on offer at 78p for a 250g tub (normal price £1.00, so a 22p saving). I wasn't particularly going for a low fat version of soft cheese but since it was on offer I thought 'why not?' This also works out a lot cheaper than other premium brands such as Philadelphia.

The cheese comes in a small rectangular plastic box with a white coloured foil lid that is covered with an additional plastic lid. The foil lid is quite elegantly designed with the light choices logo and a picture with a serving suggestion (spread on a cracker with some strawberries on top). It also states that this product has 70% less fat than the standard Tesco full fat soft cheese, and has the web address of the Tesco light choices site where you can get a free 4 week light choices meal plan. At the corner of the foil lid is some nutritional information - a 30g serving contains 38 calories (2% of the recommended amount), 1.8g fat of which 1.1g is saturated and 0.2g of salt. This seems like a fairly healthy product and would be great for those watching their weight. The lid also has a clearly displayed 'V' logo stating the product is suitable for vegetarians. The side of the box contains some more detailed nutritional information and tells us that one serving of the product counts as 1 point under the Weight Watchers scheme, although this is calculated by Tesco, and the product is not endorsed or sponsored by Weight Watchers. The box is recyclable where facilities exist.

Once the foil lid is removed the cheese itself looks pretty much like other soft cheeses. Since this is unflavoured - no onions, chives or herbs, there is no smell. The cheese is soft and very easy to spread. I had it spread on some fruity bagels so a plain cheese was ideal. The cheese tasted very creamy with a slight tang but not particularly rich - I was quite pleasantly surprised at how mild it was. It doesn't have a particularly strong taste as there is very little salt in it, which was ideal to go with my fruity bagels. I think the lack of salt and mildness would also make it ideal to use in making a flavoured cheesecake and I will certainly look out for this next time I make one. This product should be kept refrigerated and once opened consumed within 5 days.

If you're looking for a mild, soft spreadable cheese at a fraction of the cost of a premium brand then this is one to go for! Overall I was quite impressed with this product. There are also flavoured cheeses in this range (with herbs and onions), which I haven't tried, but based on this product I will do in the near future.