Aldi... what do you recommend?

Graces7

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

Occasionally buy sandwiches in Aldi, taste ok but full of salt!

I only ever get the chicken and stuffing and that is fine but i like salt anyways. Malted bread they are on is delicious.

B0jangles

Mystery Egg wrote: »

I went to Aldi to buy ingredients for a Chinese meal - oyster sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar or sherry and sesame oil - and they had none of the above.

I could not face Tesco today, so I bought a pack of Aldi's hoisin and garlic sauce. It was quite good, but it could have used a little salt and some fresh chilli to give it some zing.

Off-topic for an aldi thread but if you're looking for the best value in oyster sauce you've got to get hold of this stuff:



600ml for around 3 euro and its 30% oysters (most brands are well under 5% oysters) I've never seen an asian store that doesn't stock it Edit: I should probably have mentioned that the brand is Maekrua...

Now for an aldi recommend:

You can get all the makings for this recipe

https://www.nigella.com/recipes/rocky-road-crunch-bars

there for far less than elsewhere, and the result is incredibly delicious. It's also really quick and easy and would be great for a kids party or a bake sale.

you need
dairyfine dark chocolate
mini marshmallows
butter
golden syrup (I think they have this in stock all the time but not 100% sure)
rich tea biscuits (or gingernuts, I prefer them myself)

Only problem is that they are just too tasty!

Space Dog

The profiteroles by The Breadski Brothers are really nice.

smelly sock

Their potato wedges are nicer than the mccain equivalent and 2.25 cheaper.

fussyonion

My fella really likes "The Brassiere Hand-cooked Mature Cheddar and Onion" crisps. They're €1.25 for a 150g bag and he really likes them. Before Aldi, he'd only buy Kettle Chips, so this is a bargain.

I'm loving the Maple cured rashers. Lovely thick rashers that taste amazing.

Zelda247

smelly sock wrote: »

Their potato wedges are nicer than the mccain equivalent and 2.25 cheaper.

I can't agree with you on that one I thought they were awful... they ended up in the bin.

Alun

Mystery Egg wrote: »

I went to Aldi to buy ingredients for a Chinese meal - oyster sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar or sherry and sesame oil - and they had none of the above.

To be fair, Aldi, or Lidl for that matter, wouldn't be the shop that immediately springs to mind for ingredients like that. An Asian store of some description would be a far better and cheaper alternative,

anewme

Alun wrote: »

To be fair, Aldi, or Lidl for that matter, wouldn't be the shop that immediately springs to mind for ingredients like that. An Asian store of some description would be a far better and cheaper alternative,

Sometimes when they have their special" theme "weeks, they get decent quality stuff in - actually it's Lidl that mostly do that. I find those products very decent. The Greek week, Italian week and Chinese week had some very good products.

i love the theme week brochures as well, especially when it's something left of centre like horse week or scuba diving week.

My mum always gets the brochures and calls them out to me over the phone "its horse week next week, if you want any horse blankets or anything"

noodler

Bought frozen peas and petite pois a few weeks ago.

Utter rank. Had to go in the bin. Back to green giant or birdseye /green Isle.

Alun

noodler wrote: »

Bought frozen peas and petite pois a few weeks ago.

Utter rank. Had to go in the bin. Back to green giant or birdseye /green Isle.

How on earth can something as simple as frozen peas be "rank"? I'm sorry, but that's just ridiculous. Peas are peas.

Lady Haywire

Alun wrote: »

How on earth can something as simple as frozen peas be "rank"? I'm sorry, but that's just ridiculous. Peas are peas.

I can find certain peas 'shelly' or something, same with beans
Though i found nothing wrong with the frozen peas i got in Aldi.

nosilver

I know its a "recommend" thread, but might be of interest to know that their bottled water has changed.

It was glenpatrick spring water, its now "celtic pure" which is basically bottled tap water and tastes as such. - Seriously different taste to before and not in a nice way.

Alun

Lady Haywire wrote: »

I can find certain peas 'shelly' or something, same with beans
Though i found nothing wrong with the frozen peas i got in Aldi.

Sometimes peas have a slightly thicker skin than others, but that hardly makes them "rank" or worthy of throwing in the bin. A waste of food.

Lady Haywire

Alun wrote: »

Sometimes peas have a slightly thicker skin than others, but that hardly makes them "rank" or worthy of throwing in the bin. A waste of food.

Agree with you there, I'd just use them in soup or something then, but have yet to find the taste bad, just the texture.

0lddog

nosilver wrote: »

I know its a "recommend" thread, but might be of interest to know that their bottled water has changed.

It was glenpatrick spring water, its now "celtic pure" which is basically bottled tap water and tastes as such. - Seriously different taste to before and not in a nice way.

I agree 100%.

( In fact I posted about this a few days ago )

0lddog

Alun wrote: »

How on earth can something as simple as frozen peas be "rank"? I'm sorry, but that's just ridiculous. Peas are peas.

No, Thats not the case !

Over the last few months I've tried 'own brand' frozen peas from all the large supermarket chains in Ireland

For me, the best peas were supplied by ....................Tesco !

Cheshire Cat

I'll have to watch out for that. I still have two bottles of the Spring Water but need to get more tomorrow. If they are just going to sell glorified tap water now, I'll have to switch to the Lidl water.

Mystery Egg

Alun wrote: »

To be fair, Aldi, or Lidl for that matter, wouldn't be the shop that immediately springs to mind for ingredients like that. An Asian store of some description would be a far better and cheaper alternative,

I've been living in the UK for a few years where my local Aldi had a version of all of those ingredients. I would at least have expected to find soy sauce and sherry.

Having said that, the Irish bread in Aldi is delicious and much higher quality than any bread in the UK shop.

smelly sock

Always buying their fishcakes myself. The ones with the Davidstown cheddar. Specially selected is the brand. Highly recommend.

Harry66

Iceland used to do a horse week too!

Erik Shin

Harry66 wrote: »

Iceland used to do a horse week too!

I miss their lasagne

WhiteMemento9

Probably been mentioned many times but the Appleby’s Barbecue Spare Ribs are amazing. These ones.

noodler

Alun wrote: »

How on earth can something as simple as frozen peas be "rank"? I'm sorry, but that's just ridiculous. Peas are peas.

As a few poster have stated subsequently, that's not the case.

God, I'm seriously not gonna argue about peas on a forum but every batch I have made was tough with half burned half undercooked.

"shelly" is a good way to describe it.

No idea how on earth you can say all peas are the same, I mean frozen chips, wedges, baked beans, ketchups can all vary wildly by brand.

Bahanaman

The beers from Harper's Brewing company are lovely. My favourites are the Medusa and Amber Stone ales. Only €1.69 a bottle I think. Great value.

implausible

noodler wrote:

No idea how on earth you can say all peas are the same, I mean frozen chips, wedges, baked beans, ketchups can all vary wildly by brand.

Because they have one ingredient...peas.

Graces7

noodler wrote: »

As a few poster have stated subsequently, that's not the case.

God, I'm seriously not gonna argue about peas on a forum but every batch I have made was tough with half burned half undercooked.

"shelly" is a good way to describe it.

No idea how on earth you can say all peas are the same, I mean frozen chips, wedges, baked beans, ketchups can all vary wildly by brand.

Puzzled by this? Is in the cooking then not the peas per se?

noodler

Graces7 wrote: »

Puzzled by this? Is in the cooking then not the peas per se?

Nah, I cook the green Isle equivalent twice a week for about two years in their 2 for 2.50 range with over issue.

They cook evenly, none of them go black nd they have a lovely ripe, sweet taste. I urge anybody else to try them and any other aldi frozen veg.

If you can honestly say they taste identical to the name brand equivalent id be shocked.

I do a big aldi shop once a month, theres plenty I buy. Even their green bags of frozen chips, these peas are just terrible though. One ingredient or no. Maybe they aren't as choosy with the ones picked or they don't get to the freezer as quickly as branded ones.

Erik Shin

Bahanaman wrote: »

The beers from Harper's Brewing company are lovely. My favourites are the Medusa and Amber Stone ales. Only €1.69 a bottle I think. Great value.

Beers are down to taste, but they do a beautiful Brehon brewery​. wholemeal Stout...Give it a try if you want something a little different

Graces7

noodler wrote: »

Nah, I cook the green Isle equivalent twice a week for about two years in their 2 for 2.50 range with over issue.

They cook evenly, none of them go black nd they have a lovely ripe, sweet taste. I urge anybody else to try them and any other aldi frozen veg.

If you can honestly say they taste identical to the name brand equivalent id be shocked.

I do a big aldi shop once a month, theres plenty I buy. Even their green bags of frozen chips, these peas are just terrible though. One ingredient or no. Maybe they aren't as choosy with the ones picked or they don't get to the freezer as quickly as branded ones.

Never use frozen peas... prefer dried, mushy or tinned. never heard of peas going black! Will get a bag to try..

Lady Haywire

How are you cooking the peas that they're going black?
Genuinely curious here as I've no idea how you're managing it! I just put them in boiling water for a few mins.