Good and bad buys from Aldi and Lidl

VfM4meplse

A._Badger wrote: »

One thing that needs careful scrutiny is the way products can change while keeping the same appearance. Two from Aldi that spring to mind are both ones I've praised on here. The first is the Aldi 'craft bakery' white bloomer. While it is still a world apart from the moist, barely cooked dough, 'Kingsmill' style loaves, in the past six months it seems to have lost its once quite pronounced sourdough taste. I can't prove it, but I suspect they have changed the recipe.

Another suspect is Aldi's own brand individual chiclen and bacon pie. Granted that no mass produced pie is likely to be haute cuisine, these were handy to keep in the freezer for unexpected meals and emergencies and were markedly better than the equivalents from other supermarkets or main brands. But what was once quite a chunky, even substantial, filling has turned into - well, it's less of a chicken pie these days and more a pastry crust wrapped around a can of chicken soup.

Naughty Aldi.

Any other changes that regulars have noticed?

Perhaps this post belongs in the new dirty tricks thread?

PlutoinCapricorn

Feral_Moon wrote: »

Decided to try a can of tomato soup from Aldi this week. Well, what can I say! If I didn't know any better I'd actually swear it was Heinz! I've never yet found a tomato soup to rival Heinz, until now

I will give this a try, but in my book Waitrose's own brand cream of tomato is the best.

TravellingAbuela

Where have 4 pack of Active fat-free Vanilla yogurts disappeared to in Aldi? They seem to have been replaced by an 8 variety pack of Active fat-free - and not a pot of vanilla amongst them! I hope this is just temporary as I love my vanilla ff ones! Anyone else found them missing?

The_Last_Username

Lidl Bellarom Gold Filter Coffee - 500g usually around £3-50 - is really good filter coffee.
Very similar to the Jacobs German coffee.

Although I know there are regional differences, Lidl spuds here are NEVER good & I have now vowed "never again". ALWAYS very bruised and quick to go off, too.
The same with their fruit - for example melon is ALWAYS hard and very unripe, only to have huge bruises develop as they ripen. :mad:
We have to be very selective; much more-so than usual I mean.;)

*sigh*
At the moment our "local" Aldi is over 30 miles away! :eek:
(That compares to Lidl @ 3 miles.)
So we're really looking forward to this autumn when a new Aldi should be opened, only about 14 miles away - and we are told that this will be a new-style, larger store. :j

Ken68

At Lidl just now, pitted green olives, 490g in brine, £1.69 supposedly half off, though never seen them full price anyway.

recovering_spendaholic

A._Badger wrote: »

One thing that needs careful scrutiny is the way products can change while keeping the same appearance. Two from Aldi that spring to mind are both ones I've praised on here. The first is the Aldi 'craft bakery' white bloomer. While it is still a world apart from the moist, barely cooked dough, 'Kingsmill' style loaves, in the past six months it seems to have lost its once quite pronounced sourdough taste. I can't prove it, but I suspect they have changed the recipe.

Another suspect is Aldi's own brand individual chiclen and bacon pie. Granted that no mass produced pie is likely to be haute cuisine, these were handy to keep in the freezer for unexpected meals and emergencies and were markedly better than the equivalents from other supermarkets or main brands. But what was once quite a chunky, even substantial, filling has turned into - well, it's less of a chicken pie these days and more a pastry crust wrapped around a can of chicken soup.

Naughty Aldi.

Any other changes that regulars have noticed?

I buy the bloomer too, and find that sometimes it tastes more distinctive than others - It always tastes nice though!

I used to always buy the potatoes au gratin, but find that they don't taste nearly the same as they used to - they are more garlicky now, and definitely not as nice.

maman

TravellingAbuela wrote: »

Where have 4 pack of Active fat-free Vanilla yogurts disappeared to in Aldi? They seem to have been replaced by an 8 variety pack of Active fat-free - and not a pot of vanilla amongst them! I hope this is just temporary as I love my vanilla ff ones! Anyone else found them missing?

I find this generally about things disappearing in Aldi. When you ask staff they don't seem to know. Some are honest, others fob you off with nonsense.


Recently the cranberry and white chocolate cookies have disappeared. Around Christmas the Thai style fishcakes went. I've been told it was because it was a seasonal product but I've been buying them for 3-4 years! Last week I couldn't find the ready sliced runner beans (I know they're not very:money:but they are good value for fresh at this time of the year).


I've tried posting questions on the website but it's not easy.


I suspect things disappear because they can no longer get a company to supply them cheaply enough for a decent profit margin. What do others think?

robrymond

robin58 wrote: »

I don't know about the Aldi chicken pies but they have changed the provider of their roast potatoes.

Used to be evenly sized and would crisp up well.

Now they are all different sizes from very large to small slivers. In one pack I just used, had to throw away 3 large spuds out as they were black inside and uneatable. Also had to cut some black areas off other parts of the roasts.

Plus they have changed the recipe and have removed the spice from the coating mix.

Unless they change to a better product, I will be crossing them off my shopping list.

I do HATE any company who changes the way they produce a product and then make it WORSE!!:mad:

I thought these had changed. They don't appear to cook very well anymore. They just stayed the same colour for ages and didn't crisp or have the same taste.

Guess they are paying for the price reduction somehow! Talking of reductions, price cuts on cheese now £1.55 for 350g which is good.

I did notice some stealth price rises this week though for the first time in months, Diced Beed from £2.69 to £2.99, Orange Zero/Orange Pop from 39p to 45p, Straight Cut, Crinkle Cut chips from 79p-85p yet the Steak Cut remain at 79p and some other price rises on meat

TravellingAbuela

maman wrote: »

I find this generally about things disappearing in Aldi. When you ask staff they don't seem to know. Some are honest, others fob you off with nonsense.

I suspect things disappear because they can no longer get a company to supply them cheaply enough for a decent profit margin. What do others think?

I think the assistants are no wiser than us really. I recently enquired about something and was told they had stopped selling it. I moved round to the next aisle and there was the said article!

I think you are right with your profit margin idea. I bought a pack of their frozen sea bass every week, then suddenly it disappeared. That must have been about 3 years ago and it has never returned. Presumably very little profit in it as the price rose considerably at the time in Sainsbobs.

Feral_Moon

Had Aldi's SS extra large cod in batter last night and was very impressed indeed. Lovely succulent and chunky piece of white cod wrapped in a thin layer of crispy batter. Actually resembled the picture on the box!

Far preferable to the thin, grey unidentifiable fish wrapped in thick, greasy batter you often find in other supermarkets.