Aldi meat aisle horrors.

KevinCavan

ceadaoin. wrote: »

Visiting from Germany but still driving your own beamer? Ship it over for the trip do you?

Sorry just say ur comment now

Allinall

KevinCavan wrote: »

It’s hardly your own Beamer if ur just visiting Ireland.

She rents high end cars when in Ireland.

the purple tin

Please, please go into a Dealz shop Mr Von B and document your experience. I'd love to read it

railer201

Who remembers the 'horror' prices in the native supermarkets before Lidl and Aldi came on the scene ? Their arrival in Ireland was the best thing ever as it forced the other supermarkets to compete. Not everyone is in the BMW and free range league in Ireland - far from it in most cases.

JaMarcus

Aongus is without question the best poster on Boards. Just when you think he's quietly riding off into the sunset (in a 6 series, of course) and you haven't heard from him in a while, in he strides and separates himself from the pack again with one simple, fantastically patronizing post.

And I have no doubt it was typed using the most ergonomically efficient keyboard that us peasant plebs couldnt even dream of affording.

Arghus

For those that still don't get it, which is still an amazingly high number of people: these accounts from everyone's favourite ex-pat are tounge in cheek and not to be taken seriously. Yes, that's right, they are a joke.

Having said that, I don't know if I'd put this up with your finest work there Aongus. I felt like you actually wanted to make a semi-serious point for once, but were trapped into writing as the persona you've created and got caught in between two clashing writing styles: unexpected earnestness that grated in places with the familiar, some harsh critics would say overfamiliar, AvB tropes - the Mart, the beamer, the artisan food products. You weren't at your best for this one, best evidenced by the shocking grammatical error in the very first paragraph.

Work on a unity of tone and you'll soon be back on top.

BuboBubo

AllForIt wrote: »

Excuse my ignorance but what do you mean by a variety of mushrooms? Do you mean like big ones or small ones?

I reckon Aongus munched a few magic ones before he started this thread

Blazer

Aldi meat is muck....The missus is always onto me to shop there but I refuse to buy meat I eat in there.
Their steaks are crap, their burgers are crap, their sausages are crap.
Crap crap crap crap.

DoozerT6

Ah lads.

It's Aonghus.

Would ye all ever just sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride

freshpopcorn

Just back from the weekly shop and Aldi were out of €4 chickens.

Aonghus I love when you post because a few get all bent out of shape and fail to realise that you're just having the craic

freshpopcorn

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Aonghus I love when you post because a few get all bent out of shape and fail to realise that you're just having the craic

Couldn't agree more!

shakeitoff

Just eat fish tbh.

JohnnyFlash

freshpopcorn wrote: »

Just back from the weekly shop and Aldi were out of €4 chickens.

What did you buy? You strike me as the sort who buys that luncheon roll with the face in it, maybe some jelly pots, and those little squeezable cartons of apple juice.

whiskeyman

Arghus wrote: »

For those that still don't get it, which is still an amazingly high number of people: these accounts from everyone's favourite ex-pat are tounge in cheek and not to be taken seriously. Yes, that's right, they are a joke.

We'd like to think so, but it's no joke.
He's simply the man every man wants to be, and every woman wants to be with!

Keep sharing your comments and guidance AVB.
Without them, AH is a place I'm not sure many of us would bother with.

freshpopcorn

JohnnyFlash wrote: »

What did you buy? You strike me as the sort who buys that luncheon roll with the face in it, maybe some jelly pots, and those little squeezable cartons of apple juice.

In Aldi I got
Salmon fillets.
Some kind of roast bacon that was new.
A packet of Baked Ham.
Vintage mature cheese.
Toffee pops.
Chunky Specially selected Chips.
I tried the tartar sauce but I've no idea what it's going to be like.
I haven't bought those items you mentioned for a long time.Don't think I ever liked them.

DoozerT6

I rarely shop in Lidl or Aldi, not because I'm too posh but tbh I'm only shopping for myself so my bill in Dunnes is never that high anyway. I'd rather scoot straight to the self-checkout in Dunnes than have to queue halfway down the shop with my little basket of wares in Lidl/Aldi because there's only two checkouts open.

tabby aspreme

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

I’ve been back in Ireland for the past week, spending some quality time with my parents, /quote]

Yore Ma doesn't consider it quality time.

Your Face

The replies to these troll posts are always very telling.

gozunda

Your Face wrote: »

The replies to these troll posts are always very telling.

'Shyte attracts flies' ....

Kermit.de.frog

Funny enough there was a time when Irish people wouldn't be seen dead walking in to an Aldi or Lidl.


Then the recession came...

True story.

railer201

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

Funny enough there was a time when Irish people wouldn't be seen dead walking in to an Aldi or Lidl.


Then the recession came...

True story.

They weren't selling swimming pools back then.

meeeeh

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

Funny enough there was a time when Irish people wouldn't be seen dead walking in to an Aldi or Lidl.


Then the recession came...

True story.

I remember. I'm not even Irish and I had misconceptions about the shop. We went in to pick up some Aldi special item and I discovered that they had open cup mushrooms and big slabs of parmesan cheese. I was converted.

evolving_doors

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

I’ve been back in Ireland for the past week, spending some quality time with my parents, and my niece and nephew. I’ve just about gotten over the huge disappointment of Galway’s lose to Limerick on Sunday. I was motoring back out from Galway this morning after an early morning hike in the 12 Bens, when I got a call from my Mother asking me to call into the local ADLI to pick up some pots of Play-Doh for my nephew (strange request, but I was very happy to oblige – I’m good like that). Turned the 6-Series around and headed back into town. Mart day today, so there were some serious specimens of muck savage around – men with beetroot red faces, tufts of hair growing on their upper cheeks, pants held up with baling twine, not a full set of teeth between 5 of them.

Now I live in Germany, but it’s safe to say I’m not a regular visitor to German discount supermarkets such as Aldi and Lidl. They have a great business model, and are very popular, but I’m not their target audience as I’ve the disposable income to shop in more artisan and high-end stores. I’ve heard some of their produce can be quite good, but I’m a passionate and talented cook so I’d rather have the choice of more than one type of mushroom for example. Think the food hall in Fallon and Byrne for those of you familiar with the Dublin foodie scene.

I had intended to get in and out there as quickly as possible, but decided I’d have a browse of the products they offer. I was genuinely disgusted to see that you can buy a large chicken for €4. Who buys such a thing? How is it possible to house, feed, medicate, slaughter, package, and distribute a chicken to a supermarket for that price? And one has to presume that there’s profit being taken by the various stakeholders along this most depressing of supply chains. I can’t help but notice that there’s a big problem with Irishmen and ‘moobs’ these days. Surely some of it must be linked to the amount of hormones and growth promoters these chickens are being stuffed with during their short and tragic life?

The litany of food horrors continued – huge packs of sickly pink looking ham branded as ‘Family Value’, bags of chicken nuggets for €1.79, microwavable mashed potato (!!), blocks of heavily processed cheese for literally nothing, baked beans for 29 cent a can. Who eats this muck, and do they ever consider the impact it is having on their own bodies, and the bodies of their families? Probably the same people who then fill the rest of the trolley with bottles of cheap wine that you could use to strip paint from a trawler.

I picked up the Play-Doh from those middle rows they have and left. I was relieved to find that some fat tradesman in a van hadn’t scraped my Beamer despite parking dangerously close to it. I’ve been appalled since though at the idea of that flaccid looking ‘chicken’ wrapped in its clear plastic coffin.

Am I missing something here? Who is the audience for this? And surely they could push the boat out and buy a free-range bird for 7 or 8 euro instead? Maybe eat less, or be more creative with what they do with leftovers?

I was wondering why you were posting after such a long hiatus

freshpopcorn

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

Funny enough there was a time when Irish people wouldn't be seen dead walking in to an Aldi or Lidl.


Then the recession came...

True story.

To be fair the quality has improved a lot since they both opened!

archer22

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

Funny enough there was a time when Irish people wouldn't be seen dead walking in to an Aldi or Lidl.


Then the recession came...

True story.

Amazed me the amount of Mercedes and BMWs that suddenly started appearing in the car parks at Lidl and Aldi where previously you only saw the Polish lads old cars :pac:

Sebastian Dangerfield

goat2 wrote: »

There is a whole difference between strawberries we buy at our local veg shop, to the ones we buy at Supervalu or Aldi, the local farmer shop strawberries have the strawberry flavour as well as looking like a strawberry, but Supervalu and Aldi strawberries just look like strawberries, without the taste

Tomatoes are the same. I struggle to taste anything from shop bought tomatoes, but when I've had them from a farmers market they've been amazing. Carrots too.

I think meat from Aldi is at the better end of the scale as supermarkets go, compared to Tesco for example. Though it tends to be worth buying the slightly more expensive ones; cheaper beef in particular can be pretty bland and tough, versus the stuff 2-3 euro dearer. Someone told me either Aldi or Lidl get their beef from the same farm as Patrick Guilbauds, but that may be nonsense.

Sebastian Dangerfield

freshpopcorn wrote: »

To be fair the quality has improved a lot since they both opened!

I remember some of the horrors my mother brought home from Lidl when it first landed. Something that looked like beans, in something that was supposed to be tomato sauce. She was amazed they only cost 19c - the fact they tasted like they'd already been run through someone didnt make a blind bit of difference to her. Likewise with the 14 day bread. It didnt taste anything like bread on day 1 or day 14, but technically it could be said it didnt change much in between. And cost about four pence.

meeeeh

Sebastian Dangerfield wrote: »

Tomatoes are the same. I struggle to taste anything from shop bought tomatoes, but when I've had them from a farmers market they've been amazing. Carrots too.

I'll give you carrots but tomatoes are rubbish in Ireland no matter where you buy them. The weather just isn't right here to grow them.

enricoh

Sebastian Dangerfield wrote: »

I remember some of the horrors my mother brought home from Lidl when it first landed. Something that looked like beans, in something that was supposed to be tomato sauce. She was amazed they only cost 19c - the fact they tasted like they'd already been run through someone didnt make a blind bit of difference to her. Likewise with the 14 day bread. It didnt taste anything like bread on day 1 or day 14, but technically it could be said it didnt change much in between. And cost about four pence.

U doing an apprenticeship with aonghus?!

Sebastian Dangerfield

enricoh wrote: »

U doing an apprenticeship with aonghus?!

Not at all! I was responding to the point that they were once much worse than they are today. I do 4/5 shops in Aldi these days - the fifth in Supervalu or Dunnes to get the stuff Aldi dont have.

gozunda

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

Funny enough there was a time when Irish people wouldn't be seen dead walking in to an Aldi or Lidl.
Then the recession came...
True story.

Funnily enough it was the local self employed and middle of the road earners etc who most frequented the Aldi / Lidl around here when they first opened. Oveheard local from somewhat dodgy urban area disclaim that they wouldn't shop there as they didn't sell the big brands and couldn't trust the food...

A case of inverse class / food snobbery perhaps?

Mena Mitty

meeeeh wrote: »

I'll give you carrots but tomatoes are rubbish in Ireland no matter where you buy them. The weather just isn't right here to grow them.

You'll not have tasted 'Green Ace' tomatoes then. Irish grown and top of the range if I do say so myself. Only available for a short time during the Summer and sold in most Greengrocer's.

Don't knock the Irish tomatoes 'til you've tried them.

Church on Tuesday

Yawn.

Sheep breeder

_Brian wrote: »

Irish reared chicken and all farm animals are free from hormones and growth promotors - it’s a fact, it’s monitored closely, traceable and the implications for a farmer are huge if there’s any messing going on.

Now, I agree the chicken is too cheap, as are most meats but farmers are price takers, they have no option one s an animal is ready to go but take what you get. Holding back animals often results in penalties for age or fatness, plus it costs to hold them in a factory ready state.

You can buy decent free range chicken for a bit more and there’s more substance to them.

Overall Aldi meats are high quality and plenty of Irish reared options in the fresh meat, frozen stuff is more of a grey area.

Agree with you Brian in Ireland we have high welfare standards and animal husbandry for all types of stock and the veg is top standard and all coming from approved premises Aldi and Lidl use a lot of Irish products on the self.

mariaalice

Anyone else wondering how long it took him to drive from Germany in the 6 series.

meeeeh

Mena Mitty wrote: »

Don't knock the Irish tomatoes 'til you've tried them.

I tried Irish tomatoes and I buy them often but I also tried tomatoes from my grandmother's allotment ripened in hot sun.

kfallon

Nothing worse than some sad cúnt coming up with a parody account to try make themselves feel superior to every one else!


We're not buying it Sarge, most people know it's you.


The bang of bullsh off this thread! Just disappointed you didn't get your usual dig in at bootcut jeans.


Yawn!

LLewellen Farquarson

Aongus, you beaut! Welcome back.

For those who are unfamiliar with the boards LEGEND that is Aongus Von Bismarck, open a GOOD bottle of wine (ask him for a recommendation), curl up by the fire and read his old posts.

Prepare to be awed and repulsed in equal measures.

Chuck Norris wishes he was Aongus.

Star Bingo

Aongus you may not remember me but my dad worked for your dad? Just to say it’s great to see you back.

And yeah and you’re an absolute ledgebag :cool:

work

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

I’ve been back in Ireland for the past week, spending some quality time with my parents, and my niece and nephew. I’ve just about gotten over the huge disappointment of Galway’s lose to Limerick on Sunday. I was motoring back out from Galway this morning after an early morning hike in the 12 Bens, when I got a call from my Mother asking me to call into the local ADLI to pick up some pots of Play-Doh for my nephew (strange request, but I was very happy to oblige – I’m good like that). Turned the 6-Series around and headed back into town. Mart day today, so there were some serious specimens of muck savage around – men with beetroot red faces, tufts of hair growing on their upper cheeks, pants held up with baling twine, not a full set of teeth between 5 of them.

Now I live in Germany, but it’s safe to say I’m not a regular visitor to German discount supermarkets such as Aldi and Lidl. They have a great business model, and are very popular, but I’m not their target audience as I’ve the disposable income to shop in more artisan and high-end stores. I’ve heard some of their produce can be quite good, but I’m a passionate and talented cook so I’d rather have the choice of more than one type of mushroom for example. Think the food hall in Fallon and Byrne for those of you familiar with the Dublin foodie scene.

I had intended to get in and out there as quickly as possible, but decided I’d have a browse of the products they offer. I was genuinely disgusted to see that you can buy a large chicken for €4. Who buys such a thing? How is it possible to house, feed, medicate, slaughter, package, and distribute a chicken to a supermarket for that price? And one has to presume that there’s profit being taken by the various stakeholders along this most depressing of supply chains. I can’t help but notice that there’s a big problem with Irishmen and ‘moobs’ these days. Surely some of it must be linked to the amount of hormones and growth promoters these chickens are being stuffed with during their short and tragic life?

The litany of food horrors continued – huge packs of sickly pink looking ham branded as ‘Family Value’, bags of chicken nuggets for €1.79, microwavable mashed potato (!!), blocks of heavily processed cheese for literally nothing, baked beans for 29 cent a can. Who eats this muck, and do they ever consider the impact it is having on their own bodies, and the bodies of their families? Probably the same people who then fill the rest of the trolley with bottles of cheap wine that you could use to strip paint from a trawler.

I picked up the Play-Doh from those middle rows they have and left. I was relieved to find that some fat tradesman in a van hadn’t scraped my Beamer despite parking dangerously close to it. I’ve been appalled since though at the idea of that flaccid looking ‘chicken’ wrapped in its clear plastic coffin.

Am I missing something here? Who is the audience for this? And surely they could push the boat out and buy a free-range bird for 7 or 8 euro instead? Maybe eat less, or be more creative with what they do with leftovers?

God I read half the OP and stopped just to say how in awe I am at how great you are. A titan among men especially those that are less well off than you or cannot cook as well as you or have red cheeks or hair you do not like or do not live where you live etc etc. Should the mods allow such who, personally I find it unacceptable. Shame my stomach couldn't take any more to get to the main pints of the OP

fullstop

Love all the people getting bent out of shape by AvB once again :cool:

mickdw

Chef Richard Corrigan was all over the muck chicken 10 years ago.
Our Germany friend is simply trailing in his wake.

Sebastian Dangerfield

mickdw wrote: »

Chef Richard Corrigan was all over the muck chicken 10 years ago.
Our Germany friend is simply trailing in his wake.

Richard Corrigan is full of more **** than any chicken breast Aldi or Lidl might sell

Harry Palmr

meeeeh wrote: »

I'll give you carrots but tomatoes are rubbish in Ireland no matter where you buy them. The weather just isn't right here to grow them.

The tomatoes are fine if you know how to grow them and which varieties to grow - the bog standard "big red tomato" as found in supermarkets is indeed pretty tasteless even in summer but Tigerella and Sungold are lovely.

Airyfairy12

I actually agree with this and im broke af, id shop in tesco or dunnes even though it means buying less food and being a bit more picky about what I buy, considering what will last longest, value for money etc, its better than Aldi, Ive bought fruit and veg from there that looks fresh but when theyre cut into the insides rotten and brown and the fruit falls apart, the meat is pumped with chemicals and everything goes off so quickly I dont save any money because half of it has to be thrown out within a couple of days.

I left a few slices of aldi bread out on the balcony a few months ago, I was feeding birds, about a week or two later the bread had luminous orange specks on it, like mold but bright orange it was the strangest thing ever.

Its sad because thats all that allot of people can afford, if youre below the poverty line its the only food option to feed a family.

Aongus Von Bismarck

Harry Palmr wrote: »

The tomatoes are fine if you know how to grow them and which varieties to grow - the bog standard "big red tomato" as found in supermarkets is indeed pretty tasteless even in summer but Tigerella and Sungold are lovely.

That’s very true, Harry. Those 6 tasteless salad tomatoes in a plastic container that you find in Irish supermarkets are not up to scratch at all. The 80’s are long gone, so there’s absolutely no excuse for Birds custard, Paxo stuffing, Bisto gravy, or those horrible watery pale red tomatoes. They belong in the same era as buying the RTE Guide, wearing bootcut jeans, and covering school books in brown paper.

I’m flying back to Germany on Sunday morning, but have been lucky enough to have been around to sample the tomatoes that my Father has been growing in the glasshouse I bought him for his birthday a number of years ago. Bright red, juicy, and bursting with flavour. Delicious just to eat on their own, but I used some of them to make a few jars of passata. Which will be going into one of my suitcases for the journey back. I’m hoping to play a trick on one of my Italian colleagues by trying to pass it off as something I bought on a farm just outside Naples.

RobbingBandit

Chicken you philistine, it's pheasant season now.

Sebastian Dangerfield

Airyfairy12 wrote: »

I actually agree with this and im broke af, id shop in tesco or dunnes even though it means buying less food and being a bit more picky about what I buy, considering what will last longest, value for money etc, its better than Aldi, Ive bought fruit and veg from there that looks fresh but when theyre cut into the insides rotten and brown and the fruit falls apart, the meat is pumped with chemicals and everything goes off so quickly I dont save any money because half of it has to be thrown out within a couple of days.

I left a few slices of aldi bread out on the balcony a few months ago, I was feeding birds, about a week or two later the bread had luminous orange specks on it, like mold but bright orange it was the strangest thing ever.

Its sad because thats all that allot of people can afford, if youre below the poverty line its the only food option to feed a family.

My experience is the opposite. I dont think I even save money in Aldi anymore, it comes in the same as if i have to go to Dunnes or Tesco due to lack of time - though maybe because I always end up buying loads of sh1te for the garden. I really like a lot of the food Aldi sell, especially things like cold meat.

I have no factual info either way, but do you really think Aldi are producing meat in some way than is more ethically dubious than Tesco? I know that things like baked and canned goods may often be made in the same facilities as branded equivalents but to a lower standard (the same for all own brands) but when it comes to meat surely theyre all just buying from local producers? Personally Tesco is the last place Id shop

sicknotexi

I went shopping in Aldi Wednesday and among my purchases were, a 4 euro chicken, large pack of sliced ham and large block of mature white cheddar. Your post still made me laugh though, top trolling.