The brands you just have to have…

I’m not a particularly disciplined food shopper and always end up going off-list and with extra things in my basket.  I aspire to the Zen-like indifference to fake bargains that Peter’s Dad has achieved, but came home from Lidl last night with lots of unneccessary bags of cashew nuts, so obviously still have some way to go.

The one supermarket where I can exercise some self-control, however, is Tesco.  I’ve been so put off by their price hikes and non-offers that I rarely go there any more, except when there are certain brands that I just have to get.  I paid them a rare visit yesterday to pick up some of my all time favourites, sticking rigorously to my shopping list:

• Dubliner White Cheddar. The most delicious cheddar cheese ever; it has real depth of flavour and little grains of salt throughout that give it bite. I’ve become so dependent on Dubliner that I don’t even bother buying any other cheddar – if I can’t get Dubliner I just do without.
• Heinz Ketchup. Chef is just too vinegary.
• Diet Coke. So wrong but yet so right.
• Tesco own-brand Hot Salsa.  I love salsa and it’s a relatively healthy snack.  I’ve tried loads and Tesco’s cheapo one is the best: it’s properly chunky and hot, and doesn’t have the unpleasant gloopiness that some other brands have.  It’s only 95c at the moment.

Those are the ones I picked up last night, and of course there’s quite a few more.  What are the brands that you just have to have? The ones where generics or alternatives simply won’t do?