I tested various brands
Princes Fruit Cocktail with Juice
AS AN after-dinner dessert, canned fruit cocktail is a quick, easy fix. Full of fruit, it is fresh and tasty but can be quite sugary.
Canned fruit cocktail was developed around 1930 in California. It is said to have been created by the Barron-Gray Packing Company as a way to make use of bruised or damaged fruit scraps by dicing them into small, syrup-packed pieces. It became popular in the 1930s to 1940s, with Del Monte – now the world’s best-known canned fruit manufacturer – standardising the mix of peaches, pears, grapes, pineapple, and cherries.
I tried seven varieties – here’s my verdict:
*Morrisons Fruit Cocktail in Juice, 410g, £1
This one was visually the best, with a variety of fruit visible on opening and when poured. The pieces of peach, pineapple and grapes were nicely shaped, with a few cherries mixed in. It was in pear juice, which I am not hugely keen on (although it is a personal preference – some people love it), but it was not overwhelming and not too sweet. This had a pleasant, light, fresh flavour.
Pros: good mix of fruit, nice flavour.
Cons: not a fan of pear juice (personal taste).
Mark: 3/5
Morrisons Fruit Cocktail
Tesco Fruit Medley in Juice
Four Seasons (Aldi) Fruit Cocktail
*Four Seasons (Aldi) Fruit Cocktail in Light Syrup, 411g, 89p
There was a lot of fruit in here – the tin was very tightly packed. The pieces were small in comparison to some, but there was quite a decent mix of fruits. The fruit pieces looked light in colour – the cherries had an anaemic appearance. Like Freshona (Lidl), the taste was quite sweet and slightly artificial, rather like candy floss. No individual fruit taste stood out. It’s cheap, but I wouldn’t buy it.
Pros: lots of it, cheap.
Cons: appearance, candy floss taste.
Mark: 1/5
*Ambassador Fruit Cocktail in Light Syrup (bought at Sainsbury’s), 410g, £1.10
The fruit pictured on the can looked more natural than the other slightly garish images. There was a good mix of fruit, although there appeared to be more syrup than in the others. The grapes and pineapple pieces were tasty but pieces of peach were a bit scratty. The pieces of fruit were quite crunchy, which I liked (some people may not). Overall, the dominant flavour was pear, but it wasn’t bad.
Pros: appearance, good mix of fruit.
Cons: pear flavour dominated.
Mark: 3/5
Freshona Fruit Cocktail
Del Monte fruit Cocktail
Ambassador fruit Cocktail
*Del Monte Fruit Cocktail in Light Syrup (bought at Sainsbury’s), 420g, £1.30
When opened This one – the UK’s best-known brand – had a peach layer on top of the can. There were more peach pieces than any other fruit, followed by pear, but there was a reasonable variation of fruit – pineapple, grape and a few cherries – when poured into the bowl and stirred. There was a bit of skin and small remnants of core on some of the pieces of pear (which I am fine with but some people may not like – my husband for one). The fruit was a nice, soft texture and not too sweet. The dominate taste was peach, but not to its detriment.
Pros: texture, variety of fruit.
Cons: bits of skin and core, a little too peachy.
Mark: 3/5
*Tesco Fruit Medley in Juice, 410g, £1.15
This is a variation on the traditional fruit cocktail, being made up of larger pieces of fruit – peach, pear, apricot and pineapple. The fruit was soft and due to the size of each piece the different tastes came through. This was in grape juice, which I liked – not too sweet. A refreshing dessert.
Pros: soft, tasty fruit pieces.
Cons: none, but bear in mind it is a variation on the usual small chunks.
Mark: 4/5
*Princes Fruit Cocktail with Juice, 410g, £1.30 (bought at M&S – I noticed this at a cheaper price in other stores, eg in B&M it is £1, in Asda £1.08).
There were good-sized chunks of fruit in this can, with more cherries than the others and larger grapes. The fruit was a good, soft texture. In grape juice, this had a fresh favour, tasting more natural than some others. Quite refreshing.
Pros:decent-sized chunks, fresh taste.
Cons: wide price variation – shop around.
Mark: 4/5
*Freshona Fruit Cocktail in Syrup (Lidl), 410g, 89p
This one had very small, broken bits of cherry floating among the fruit mix. The fruit pieces were not as soft as some and were slightly crunchy, which I liked. But as for flavour, this was very flat, with a slightly artificial taste. Like Aldi’s Four Seasons, it had a taste rather like candy floss. It’s cheap (same as Aldi), but not very appetising.
Pros: crunchy fruit texture, price.
Cons: appearance, candy floss taste
Mark: 1/5
*Prices correct March 2026