Lidl/Aldi brands v names brands

Missyelliot2

Layinghen wrote: »

Agree totally regarding the meat in Aldi. The Aberdeen Angus sirloin steaks are truly excellent.

Sublime!:D

Qualitymark

Yes, very good meat generally in both Lidl and Aldi. Supervalu's better, as is your local butcher, but Lidl and Aldi are very good.

the beer revolu

Qualitymark wrote: »

Yes, very good meat generally in both Lidl and Aldi. Supervalu's better, as is your local butcher, but Lidl and Aldi are very good.

That completely depends on your local butcher. I know my local butcher sells better meat but there are an awful lot of rubbish butchers out there.

username123

Qualitymark wrote: »

Yes, very good meat generally in both Lidl and Aldi. Supervalu's better, as is your local butcher, but Lidl and Aldi are very good.

Couldnt agree with this at all. My local Super Valu is appalling for meat, I stopped buying any meat there years ago due to them selling gone off smelly rotten meat! My butcher sells far superior meat to any supermarket, I am not a fan of pre packaged meat, for one thing you dont get to have a good look at what you are buying, you dont know how long its been packaged, and its such a waste of plastic/tray etc... I prefer to buy my meat with as little plastic waste as possible.

rubadub

the beer revolu wrote: »

That completely depends on your local butcher.

Its weird the way some people go on about butchers as though they are a brand or chain of shops. Reminds me of the odd faith people put in doctors, like they are all beyond reproach.

During the horsemeat scandal I heard loads of irrational comments about butchers in the media.

I know an ex butcher who told me some shocking things which were standard practise in his place.

bridgetown1

I know many people don't like it, but if you do try the Lidl one, done by Linessa. FABULOUS!!

Qualitymark

rubadub wrote: »

Its weird the way some people go on about butchers as though they are a brand or chain of shops. Reminds me of the odd faith people put in doctors, like they are all beyond reproach.

It's a question of local shops. Where I live, there used to be a row of 15 shops - butcher, baker, greengrocer, convenience store, post office, café, laundry, etc. With the coming of supermarkets, it devolved into offies, betting shops, takeaways; by the crash it was 'We Buy Your Clothes' and the like…

Now, 13 of the 15 are shuttered, and another has a big For Sale sign on it. Even the bookies and the We Buy Your Clothes shops have shut.

This destroys localities, with all kinds of effects redounding through society: lonely young mothers don't meet older women at the shop who coo over their babies and help them with advice on their kids' teething problems; old people don't meet neighbours who help them with their shopping and notice if they're finding it hard to cope; there isn't the flow of money through a local area, with people starting little businesses and being able to sell to their neighbours then expand…

When all this business goes to the great multinational chains, where is society?

vicwatson

Northern catch Cod in batter in Aldi is amazing, far superior to Donegal catch and others I've had. Really nice batter on it. On special at moment - 2.49 per bag, about 4 pieces in it.

rubadub

Qualitymark wrote: »

It's a question of local shops.

Well that's the other main reason I see butchers recommended, which is fair enough. I am talking about the way many people seem to recommend them on the presumption they will be far better, and more moral/trustworthy etc than supermarkets.

freshpopcorn

Qualitymark wrote: »

It's a question of local shops. Where I live, there used to be a row of 15 shops - butcher, baker, greengrocer, convenience store, post office, café, laundry, etc. With the coming of supermarkets, it devolved into offies, betting shops, takeaways; by the crash it was 'We Buy Your Clothes' and the like…

Now, 13 of the 15 are shuttered, and another has a big For Sale sign on it. Even the bookies and the We Buy Your Clothes shops have shut.

This destroys localities, with all kinds of effects redounding through society: lonely young mothers don't meet older women at the shop who coo over their babies and help them with advice on their kids' teething problems; old people don't meet neighbours who help them with their shopping and notice if they're finding it hard to cope; there isn't the flow of money through a local area, with people starting little businesses and being able to sell to their neighbours then expand…

When all this business goes to the great multinational chains, where is society?

This isn't exactly relevant to the thread.
In my local town Tesco, Lidl and Also have all opened in the past 10 years. Prior to this there was a very badly run SuperValu and other local shops. Take the local green grocer. My mother shoped there for years and spent a lot of money there and not once did he have a special offer on/gave here a discount.
Before the supermarkets came SuperValu was poorly run, closed at six o clock, wasn't clean, didn't stock special offers, they didn't even stock own brand milk/bread/sugar. The supervalu was so expensive it paid people to travel other towns to do their shopping. It was all most impossible for people/families on a budget to shop there.
So when Tesco opened people of all ages were delighted because there was eventually completion in th town.
SuperValu started stocking own branded products, extended their opening hours, had special offers, it still isn't the cleanist tough. So why would people want to shop in a dirty/smelly SuperValu when the could shop in a clean Tesco. Tesco was a hit with people off all ages you still had old people/young people talking, people offering to help people out if they needed it. There is a good community atmosphere where I'm from tough.
Along followed Lidl/Aldi again being a hit with shoppers of all ages particular the men so they could have a look at the tools in the special buys.
I know of lots of people who welcomed the supermarkets because the standards of the local business were poor. Be it price wise, customer service, cleaning standards. Before the supermarkets opened local business felt they could charge what ever they liked and if a customer asked for help they never really gave it to them. So why would people bother supporting these people now. When they were never thanked/rewarded before.
We still have a local butchers/deli/greengrocers/SuperValu and these shops are so expensive people simply could not afford to shop in them now.

username123

rubadub wrote: »

Well that's the other main reason I see butchers recommended, which is fair enough. I am talking about the way many people seem to recommend them on the presumption they will be far better, and more moral/trustworthy etc than supermarkets.

Do you mean prepacked meat in supermarkets or a butchers in a supermarket?

I would rarely buy prepacked meat. I like to see the meat (you cant see the underside of prepacked meat), I like to get particular cuts, I like the meat prepared how I like it (fat trimmed, boned etc....), I hate hard plastic or foil tray packaging - its such a waste. I also like that the butcher tells me how to cook meat in certain ways, or recommends particular things to me that are good value at that time. And because Im a good customer he generally knocks a few quid off or throws in a few bits for nothing.

So I generally wouldnt buy any meat in LIDL or ALDI for the above reasons.

A butchers in a supermarket is fine.

Dermighty

ene wrote: »

i bought milk in aldi the other day and didnt think it was nice at all... infact my family refused to drink it it was that horrible!

I know it's an old post but I wonder if the people who didn't like the taste knew it was Lidl milk (or any brand other than their usual) before they tasted it.

rubadub

username123 wrote: »

Do you mean prepacked meat in supermarkets or a butchers in a supermarket?

When I see people mention it they never make a distinction

username123 wrote: »

A butchers in a supermarket is fine.

I think this is the first time I have seen a comment along these lines. My friend worked behind the deli & meat counter in a well known supermarket, a lot of the meat nearing its use by on shelves would be taken into the "fresh meat counter", chickens near the use buy would be put on the rotisserie.

I have seen the chicken fillets arriving to my local butchers, they are in prepackaged 25 packs which they cut open and put out. He has his sign up about being a "Associated craft butchers of Ireland", which if you look up online seems pretty meaningless, its just a thing they pay for, it doesn't seem like any audits take place or that they all agree to only sell irish produce or anything, which I guess some people might have presumed. Maybe someone will correct me but I see nothing on their site.


http://www.craftbutchers.ie/difference/
there are many quotes like this on the site about buying local etc

ACBI encourages consumers to look for the CraftButcher logo to be sure of having the very best, traceable, traditionally prepared meat available. Meat from a Craft Butcher is sourced, slaughtered and prepared locally and so reduces Food Miles (helping our carbon footprint), and also eliminating stress to the animals. Transporting animals long distances before slaughter has a detrimental effect on the meat quality. By supporting your local Craft Butcher you can be sure of the highest quality produce.

but the membership makes absolutely no mention of commitment of doing anything like buying local

http://www.craftbutchers.ie/download/pdf/2013_acbi_application_form.pdf

squonk

What does a discussion of local craft butchers have to do with Lidl v Aldi brands? Please move this to another thread!

rubadub

squonk wrote: »

What does a discussion of local craft butchers have to do with Lidl v Aldi brands?

The thread is not lidl vs aldi, it is lidl/aldi vs "named brands". If you look back there are numerous posters saying they go to the local butchers.

"the butchers" is seems to be regarded by many as a "brand", some people seem to recommend them over lidl/aldi as though they will all be almost identical. The "Associated craft butchers of Ireland" would make some people think they are almost like a chain of shop or franchise.

You have comments like this

ElleEm wrote: »

I dont know what it is, but I wouldn't trust their meat so I get that from the butchers.

Some butchers could well be selling lidl produce, I heard in another thread of some guy with a trolley full of very cheap chickens and people reckoned it could be a butcher or restaurant owner.

username123

rubadub wrote: »

Some butchers could well be selling lidl produce, I heard in another thread of some guy with a trolley full of very cheap chickens and people reckoned it could be a butcher or restaurant owner.

Im pretty sure plenty of places are selling LIDL produce, I personally witnessed a young chinese guy buying about 40 jars of peanut butter and then crossing the road and letting himself in to the chinese restaurant there one morning. Perhaps the usual supplier had let them down or maybe the peanut butter is just cheaper there.

My butcher has a whiteboard of suppliers on his wall so any customer can have their details immediately.

Alun

username123 wrote: »

Im pretty sure plenty of places are selling LIDL produce, I personally witnessed a young chinese guy buying about 40 jars of peanut butter and then crossing the road and letting himself in to the chinese restaurant there one morning. Perhaps the usual supplier had let them down or maybe the peanut butter is just cheaper there.

I'm guessing the latter, just buying up a load to make the satay sauce with.

rubadub

username123 wrote: »

My butcher has a whiteboard of suppliers on his wall so any customer can have their details immediately.

I would be dubious of these too. In some chinese takeaways I see certs up on the wall saying some Irish supplier serves them their beef or chicken. This does not prove they buy ALL of that particular meat from them.

They could genuinely buy some, so if someone questioned the supplier, the it would be confirmed.

I buy lidl hazelnut chocolate bars, they have various grades and all are about 20-24% nuts, while dairy milk whole nut is only about 12 or 13%.

fussyonion

rubadub wrote: »

I would be dubious of these too. In some chinese takeaways I see certs up on the wall saying some Irish supplier serves them their beef or chicken. This does not prove they buy ALL of that particular meat from them.

They could genuinely buy some, so if someone questioned the supplier, the it would be confirmed.

I buy lidl hazelnut chocolate bars, they have various grades and all are about 20-24% nuts, while dairy milk whole nut is only about 12 or 13%.

How should they prove it?

rubadub

fussyonion wrote: »

How should they prove it?

I have no idea, I am just saying I would not have much faith of signs like this in the likes of an owner run butchers or takeaway. I would have more trust in a mcdonalds burger being from where they state, or lidl.

The workers in McDonalds or Lidl have less vested interest in engaging in any dodgy practise. My friend worked throwing out stuff in mcdonalds, like burgers thrown out after 30mins, I doubt a owner run chipper would be throwing out what is in effect, his own money out as easily, or butchers. Of course most are hopefully decent people but I am just saying they do have a vested interest in such things.

During the horsemeat scandal I saw lots of people recommending butchers, the likes of Darina Allen on TV. I did not hear of any examination of butchers meat at the time though, did anybody? I only heard of supermarkets stuff being examined. I can find nothing online, I did find this

Irish butchers are reporting a flood of families returning to their local butcher's shop in the wake of the horsemeat scandal.

Sales of meat through butchers' shops have increased by as much as 25pc in the past fortnight, according to Dave Lang of the Associated Craft Butchers of Ireland.

username123

rubadub wrote: »

I would be dubious of these too. In some chinese takeaways I see certs up on the wall saying some Irish supplier serves them their beef or chicken. This does not prove they buy ALL of that particular meat from them.

I'm not sure how you'd expect them to prove it. I could phone the butchers suppliers and double check with them that they do indeed supply the store, but genuinely I'm not that paranoid/interested! My taste buds report the meat is of a good quality and given my other reasons above re packaging, cuts etc, I just prefer the butchers!

username123

I got some running gear in LIDL this morning, nice quality stuff.

Qualitymark

I got a couple of Lidl's extending dog leashes. Wonderful quality and only around €7, better than the ones you buy in pet shops for €20. Pity they only do them once a year in March or April, usually.

pog it

Qualitymark wrote: »

Just tried the little expensive jars of Duneen yogurt in Aldi - delicious! Lovely sour yogurt like the yogurt in France!

I tried that once and found it very sugary. Much prefer the Glenilen pots which are made by a couple in Cork who I would trust.

In any case, the taste difference is huge.

Qualitymark

pog it wrote: »

I tried that once and found it very sugary. Much prefer the Glenilen pots which are made by a couple in Cork who I would trust.

In any case, the taste difference is huge.

Must try the Glenilen too, thanks for the tip.

loveisdivine

I honestly dont get the cult like devotion that a lot of people have to Aldi/Lidl.

We went into Lidl last night as we just needed a few vegetables and it happened to be across the road from where we had parked. When we were looking at the fresh veg none of the stuff we would usually buy was any cheaper and we found the selection was poor. Mostly packets and not as many loose veg. In particular we noticed the cauliflowers, oranges and grapefruits were all the same price as Superquinn. We would usually buy a single courgette, they only had packs of 2. No ripe avocados. No beansprouts. Not really any choice in tomatoes. I could go on.

I bought a bag of 5 grapefruits for 1.99, superquinn has a choice of different fruit/veg (including juicy grapefruits) 5 for €2. Plus I tried the Lidl grapefruits today and they were crap, weirdly dry so that when I was segmenting them they just fell to bits and disintegrated in my hands. Not much flavour either.

They also didn't have as varied choice of non dairy milks. I didn't see any qourn/own brand meat substitutes, but as I wasn't looking specifically for them so I could have missed them.

Perhaps if you are buying meat then you might save as it all seemed to be very cheap.

freshpopcorn

loveisdivine wrote: »

I honestly dont get the cult like devotion that a lot of people have to Aldi/Lidl.

We went into Lidl last night as we just needed a few vegetables and it happened to be across the road from where we had parked. When we were looking at the fresh veg none of the stuff we would usually buy was any cheaper and we found the selection was poor. Mostly packets and not as many loose veg. In particular we noticed the cauliflowers, oranges and grapefruits were all the same price as Superquinn. We would usually buy a single courgette, they only had packs of 2. No ripe avocados. No beansprouts. Not really any choice in tomatoes. I could go on.

I bought a bag of 5 grapefruits for 1.99, superquinn has a choice of different fruit/veg (including juicy grapefruits) 5 for €2. Plus I tried the Lidl grapefruits today and they were crap, weirdly dry so that when I was segmenting them they just fell to bits and disintegrated in my hands. Not much flavour either.

They also didn't have as varied choice of non dairy milks. I didn't see any qourn/own brand meat substitutes, but as I wasn't looking specifically for them so I could have missed them.

Perhaps if you are buying meat then you might save as it all seemed to be very cheap.

Aldi does a super six and most people are attracted to this for buying fruit and veg.
You also went there at night time so this probably why the shelves were bare.
Most value avocadoes are ripen at home avocados.
Apart from the oranges, cauliflowers and grapefruits. I can think of loads of other veg that is cheaper at Lidl/Aldi than SuperValu.
By the way superquinn is now SuperValu.

fussyonion

I have completely stopped buying veg from Aldi now.

Bought a bag of peppers last week..had actually been first veg purchase from Aldi in a long time because the veg always goes off.
Brought the shopping home...three days later I open bag of peppers and viola,they're furry and gooey.

Why is the veg always on the turn in that feckin shop?!

Alun

Had the same thing with the bags of small green peppers, only one in the whole bag though. A shame as they're actually quite nice, certainly more 'peppery' than the larger ones you usually see.

uck51js9zml2yt

fussyonion wrote: »

I have completely stopped buying veg from Aldi now.

Bought a bag of peppers last week..had actually been first veg purchase from Aldi in a long time because the veg always goes off.
Brought the shopping home...three days later I open bag of peppers and viola,they're furry and gooey.

All you need to do is take them out of the bag to stop them sweating... In the words of a funny mongoose... "simples"

Missyelliot2

Aldi's Bombay Mix is delish.......no horrible raisins!;)

fussyonion

Kimora Sweet Kleptomaniac wrote: »

All you need to do is take them out of the bag to stop them sweating... In the words of a funny mongoose... "simples"

Nope, I do that with all peppers I buy. Only the Aldi peppers go furry quickly.

whiskeyman

fussyonion wrote: »

Nope, I do that with all peppers I buy. Only the Aldi peppers go furry quickly.

Put them in the fridge once home to keep better.
If anything, stuff going off quicker may be a sign off less chemical chucked on them!

fussyonion

whiskeyman wrote: »

Put them in the fridge once home to keep better.
If anything, stuff going off quicker may be a sign off less chemical chucked on them!

I always keep them in the fridge.
My point is-it ONLY happens when I buy Aldi peppers
It never happens with ones from Tesco and it's really irritating as I use a lot of peppers.

How Strange

The fruit and vegetables in aldi are very poor quality. I usually end up throwing half of it out by Wednesday. Lidl's fruit and veg is excellent. Great quality and they sell seasonal produce.

Aldo's yoghurts are also terrible. They're either low fat and full of glucose fructose syrup or they've got excessive amounts of fat in them. At least lidl do the strawberry ones made for them by glenisk. I've got a baby and toddler so I have to go to a regular supermarket every so often to buy the glenisk kids yoghurt. The lidl/aldi fromage frais are very processed and have an artificial perfumed taste.

alwayswright

Any recommendations for hummus in either Lidl or Aldi?

Qualitymark

alwayswright wrote: »

Any recommendations for hummus in either Lidl or Aldi?

Lidl's is nice (kept under the salads in fridge), but homemade is too, and a lot cheaper: buy a tin of chickpeas, heat them up, drain and whizz with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, a bit of the liquor from the chickpeas, and whatever other flavouring you like - parsley, cayenne, cumin, whatever. Keeps in the fridge for about 5 days.

Gloomtastic!

Qualitymark wrote: »

Lidl's is nice (kept under the salads in fridge), but homemade is too, and a lot cheaper: buy a tin of chickpeas, heat them up, drain and whizz with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, a bit of the liquor from the chickpeas, and whatever other flavouring you like - parsley, cayenne, cumin, whatever. Keeps in the fridge for about 5 days.

No tahini? Sounds promising.....

leahyl

How Strange wrote: »

The fruit and vegetables in aldi are very poor quality. I usually end up throwing half of it out by Wednesday. Lidl's fruit and veg is excellent. Great quality and they sell seasonal produce.

I agree, lidl have such a wide range of different fruits and veg that you wouldn't get in Aldi either - I find Aldi is very uninspired lately in their super 6 - it feels like it's the same 6 every time or something!

Oh and also, which yogurts in Lidl are made by Glenisk??! I love Glenisk so if I thought I could get their yogurts cheaper I would!!

Qualitymark

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

No tahini? Sounds promising.....

Ooops, and dark tahini!

How Strange

The strawberry yoghurts in green packaging and the large tubs of natural/strawberry yoghurt are glenisk. They sometimes have them side by side with glenisk so you can see the packaging is pretty much the same.

4umbrellas

Similar packaging doesn't mean the same manufacturer - you need to check the manufacturer's code on the container.
Not unknown for own brand stuff to imitate the packaging of brand leaders.

rubadub

4umbrellas wrote: »

you need to check the manufacturer's code on the container.

Never heard this before, what do the codes look like?

Another trick is to compare the nutritional information, is it the same grams of protein/fat/carbs etc -however stuff like milk could be the same.

Qualitymark

Lidl have their very nice olive oil at 40% off this week - it's €2 per 75cl bottle.

pinky07

Aldi Carino shampoo & conditioner brilliant both the dry & damaged hair one and the coloured hair one find it works best leaving the conditioner in for a few mins it leaves my hair really soft & smooth def a lot softer than some of the more expensive brands!

How Strange

4umbrellas wrote: »

Similar packaging doesn't mean the same manufacturer - you need to check the manufacturer's code on the container.
Not unknown for own brand stuff to imitate the packaging of brand leaders.

yes, you're right and if you check the manufacturers code you'll see that its glenisk.

Qualitymark

Where is this code, please?

Layinghen

Aldi's Hot Cross Buns absolutely delicious. Wish Easter wasn't for another month so I could continue to feed my addiction to them

fussyonion

Chocolate covered coconut rings-€1.19, soft fluffy and ohmygod SO delicious.
Go and try them.

I've seen Mrs Crimble's ones for almost €4 before now and these were the same.

Layinghen

Are they in Aldi or Lidl Fussyonion?