Aldi... what do you recommend?

Keane2baMused

Kovu wrote: »

I always found the Aldi Veg crisps to be quite salty so I bought the Lidl ones.

They're definitely saltier. Thing about the lidl ones that I didn't like was they were packed full of parsnip crisps and really slack on the beetroot which I loved the most! Also they're tiny in comparison!

Kovu

Keane2baMused wrote: »

They're definitely saltier. Thing about the lidl ones that I didn't like was they were packed full of parsnip crisps and really slack on the beetroot which I loved the most! Also they're tiny in comparison!

Oh god yea, the beetroot ones were the best!

Tranceypoo

leahyl wrote:

That salmon sensation is dangerous! I've been known to eat the whole tub myself! You can get it in Lidl too - both much cheaper than the branded one you get in Dunnes

Whew, not just me, I think they put heroin in it! Is it a ltd edition though cos I can't find it the last few weeks

HeidiHeidi

Tranceypoo wrote: »

Whew, not just me, I think they put heroin in it! Is it a ltd edition though cos I can't find it the last few weeks

Yeah, I haven't seen it in either lately.

Think the Aldi one is marginally nicer, but that may be just that I'm more kindly disposed towards Aldi - I think their food is far higher quality in general.

That salmon mousse on some fresh SQ Sean's brown bread (am I allowed mention that on an Aldi thread???) is to die for.

Eeden

Alun wrote: »

Loads of the Sourdough loaves in the Bray Aldi today ...

Unfortunately my local Aldi has a pretty poor selection generally. (I live in a Deprived Area, so we don't merit Good Things). No sourdough.

Worst of all for me, no Earl Grey tea, which I have seen in Dunloe Aldi for something like 99c as opposed to a ridiculous 3.50 or more for Twinings, and just as good! (My local Aldi does only Earl Grey Green Tea, which is a tea that no civilised human tea drinker should even contemplate!)

Zelda247

The Aldi Cough Drops Sweets are the best ever, I am totally addicted to them!

nc6000

Zelda247 wrote:

The Aldi Cough Drops Sweets are the best ever, I am totally addicted to them!

Has your cough cleared up?

Zelda247

nc6000 wrote: »

Has your cough cleared up?

No never, I think I will need to keep eating them:)

Alun

I never usually look in the freezer section but just now I noticed Bucklers venison sausages, wild boar and apple sausages and buffalo with basil and tomato burgers in there!! Sausages are in a 6 pack, burgers in a 4 pack. I bought some of the wild boar sausages as a freezer filler, will report when I get round to eating them. On the packet it says produced in the UK with Spanish wild boar. I didn't look to see where the venison and buffalo was from though.

HeidiHeidi

Got some of the sourdough bread, and I have to agree it does make exceedingly good toast. But sourdough it most certainly ain't! Very, very nice crusty white bread is what it is.

Loads of falafel in the store (Palmerstown) but no salmon mousse The place was hopping (for once) so no chance to ask anyone about it.

SarahMollie

Re the Sourdough.

I've only ever had it as toast as I don't go through bread quickly enough for it not to live in the freezer, but yes, "nice white bread" would be a more accurate description.

On another note, I made a lovely Puttanesca sauce with their new specially selected Kalamata black olives and they were great

I also regularly make home made wedges/chips from their bag of white potatoes (don't think they've a more specific name than that) but they're the best for that purpose and I've tried them from everywhere.

I also rate their loo roll and kitchen roll for the price versus other supermarkets.

HeidiHeidi

SarahMollie wrote: »

Re the Sourdough.

I've only ever had it as toast as I don't go through bread quickly enough for it not to live in the freezer, but yes, "nice white bread" would be a more accurate description.

On another note, I made a lovely Puttanesca sauce with their new specially selected Kalamata black olives and they were great

I also rate their loo roll and kitchen roll for the price versus other supermarkets.

Mine will also be going into the freezer - to stop me eating it all in one sitting, as much as anything else!

I had meant to post my slight alarm at seeing the best before date was 16th May - it's not even the end of April yet :eek: Gawd knows what they put in it to make it last that long (although the ingredients list looks normal enough) but I know I wouldn't fancy having a slice of that for my breakfast after two weeks in the breadbin!

SarahMollie

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

Mine will also be going into the freezer - to stop me eating it all in one sitting, as much as anything else!

I had meant to post my slight alarm at seeing the best before date was 16th May - it's not even the end of April yet :eek: Gawd knows what they put in it to make it last that long (although the ingredients list looks normal enough) but I know I wouldn't fancy having a slice of that for my breakfast after two weeks in the breadbin!

Yeah, I think this way too.... the one thing that sometimes worries me about Aldi stuff is the labeling - is it really complete enough? How can bread possibly last that long without some form of preservative?

But its just so handy to have in the freezer, along with all of the other types of bread that I can't get through quickly enough! I also tend to keep a load of Brennans wholemeal (which aldi now sell) and a chia seed loaf I get in Tescos thats lovely with some avocados for lunch!

I drive my OH mad, constantly going to all the different supermarkets for the specific things I like in each. I do small shops every few days, rotating from Aldi, to Tesco, to M&S, to Donnybrook Fair! I do love seeing how much I get for so little in Aldi tho

bottlebrush

Had some Skellig Bay Fresh Salmon Fillets from Aldi for my lunch earlier, steamed for about 15 mins, absolutely delicious

Red King

I think I'm going to have to stop buying fruit&veg and chicken from Aldi.

The fruit&veg is just bad quality, it lasts about 24 hours before going rotten. It is as if it has been frozen or something beforehand.

And twice now in the past two weeks I have bought chicken fillets that when opened at home in date they were gone off.

Nothing wrong with my fridge either, this was straight home from the store.

I do all my shopping at Aldi but I am just tired of the bad quality in the above items.

Alun

I've never had a problem with fruit or veg to be honest. I have, however, had problems with both meat and fish and in both cases it was down to the packaging.

With the fish, it was one of those vacuum packed things, and there was obviously a very small leak in the packaging which I hadn't noticed when buying it. When I got it home, I noticed the packaging was slightly wet from the leak, so took it back. They replaced it no quibble.

With the meat, chicken again, it was the same kind of problem, the transparent foil on one corner of the packaging had come slightly loose, or was never sealed properly in the first place. On further examination, the chicken had started to turn colour a bit, so that should have been a warning, but I was in a hurry and hadn't noticed.

postsnthing

Red King wrote: »

I think I'm going to have to stop buying fruit&veg and chicken from Aldi.

The fruit&veg is just bad quality, it lasts about 24 hours before going rotten. It is as if it has been frozen or something beforehand.

And twice now in the past two weeks I have bought chicken fillets that when opened at home in date they were gone off.

Nothing wrong with my fridge either, this was straight home from the store.

I do all my shopping at Aldi but I am just tired of the bad quality in the above items.

Have never had the chicken issue, inspect well and take from the bottom back of the fridge.

And on the veg there is a 4 number code that is the use by date, so if it was for today the code would be 1803 first 2 being the week number (18) and second 2 the day number (03) starting Monday. Pick the highest number available

Tigerandahalf

Store your veg in the fridge. Often it is stored in cooled compartments and putting it in a warm area allows to go off quickly.

I had the same issue with broccoli and carrots etc and since storing in fridge they last 7 - 10 days. Before that the broccoli was flowering after a day or two.

Tigerandahalf

postsnthing wrote: »

And on the veg there is a 4 number code that is the use by date, so if it was for today the code would be 1803 first 2 being the week number (18) and second 2 the day number (03) starting Monday. Pick the highest number available

That is one thing I don't like about Aldi. They should use the normal date method. Very confusing for people especially elderly.

Alun

Indeed, and even outside of the cooled compartments in the supermarkets, the ambient temperature in most of them is a good bit lower than in the average house.

I store as much veg as I can in the fridge, especially when it starts getting warmer. The only things to get stored outside the fridge are potatoes, onions and more hardy stuff like turnips or bulky things like cabbages, although once I've used half the cabbage (there's only two of us) the rest goes in the fridge if there's room.

I really need a fridge with a (much!) bigger cooler drawer!

Also, if you're storing meat or fish make sure to do so on the very bottom shelf of the fridge. I recently bought a fridge thermometer and the difference between top and bottom is quite marked.

Zascar

I find the selection of veg often terrible, sometimes you go in and the shelves are mostly empty. Rarely happens in Tesco or Supervalue etc

Kovu

I've never had an issue with Aldi veg or meat, however I do find Lidl veg much better. Maybe it's the way they're stored? Aldi always have them in chilled areas and the the temperature change upon purchase and different storage in a house could make them go off quicker.

Ragnar Lothbrok

I think the standard of Aldi products has massively increased since they opened their first stores here (20 years ago?)

I used Aldi when they first opened here, and had to be very selective about what I bought there, particularly where my children were concerned as they were very used to the branded items and seemed to instinctively shy away from the unknown Aldi products.

There's nothing that I can think of that I would not buy in Aldi now. Even my cat turns his nose up at Whiskers but loves the Aldi cat food :pac:

Keane2baMused

I have also had problems with aldi fruit and veg.

In particular the veg. The broccoli has gone off in a day, mushrooms also!

fussyonion

I agree about the fruit and veg.
I stopped buying it in Aldi and I think Lidl has the freshest fruit and veg.

SarahMollie

Yeah I've cut back on friut and veg in aldi too.

Recently bought a packet of red and yellow peppers that tasted of nothing.

I still think its arguably the best place for potatoes and sweet potatoes - I suppose these are less quick to go off.

fussyonion

SarahMollie wrote: »

Yeah I've cut back on friut and veg in aldi too.

Recently bought a packet of red and yellow peppers that tasted of nothing.

I still think its arguably the best place for potatoes and sweet potatoes - I suppose these are less quick to go off.

Yeah the baby potatoes are fine and the garlic too.
I find the meat excellent quality. 454g of lean steak mince for €2.79 and the whole chickens are really tender and juicy.

SarahMollie

fussyonion wrote: »

Yeah the baby potatoes are fine and the garlic too.
I find the meat excellent quality. 454g of lean steak mince for €2.79 and the whole chickens are really tender and juicy.

Oh do you happen to know the fat % in their lean mince?

Keane2baMused

SarahMollie wrote: »

Oh do you happen to know the fat % in their lean mince?

Pretty sure it's 5%

fussyonion

SarahMollie wrote: »

Oh do you happen to know the fat % in their lean mince?

The 10% one is €2.79.
The 5% one is €3.79.
The 15% one is €1.79.