Aldi/Lidl brands vs supermarkets?

catkins

I prefer Lidl to Aldi. For a start they have the bakery and all the items are very reasonably priced and delicious.

I buy things like cheese, yoghurt, bread and some fruit and veg in Lidl. I agree that their potato salad is better than any others I have tasted but their coleslaw is not as nice as one from M&S.

Obviously it's down to taste. One poster recommended the tomato ketchup and baked beans. I have tried them from Aldi and Lidl and didn't like them - not a patch on Heinz. In fact I think I have tried every brand of baked beans going and none of them taste like Heinz.

People rave over the Bailey's like drinks but, again, I don't think they taste anywhere near as good as the real thing.

I don't tend to shop that much in either Aldi or Lidl mainly because I just cannot get a full shop in either. Me and OH are vegetarian and they either don't sell things like red lentils, brown lentils, green lentils, chickpeas, blackeyed beans etc or they come in silly little packs that would last us about a week. They also often don't have as big a range of fruit and veg as Sainsburys or Tesco do.

Things like Linda McCartney sausages are often dearer than in Farm Foods or, again, Sainsburys, Asda, Tesco etc.

DWhite

Having just returned from Aldi again I can report back on one or two things that I've found in there that are pretty comparable.
The coffee is fine for my tastes, normally with the cheaper coffee I don't like them as they have an off taste but the Aldi coffee is fine.
The bread is nice and actually a bit softer than the others, the tiger rolls are delicious!
I tried the Aldi version of soreen which was a lot less sticky and gooey which is part of what I like about soreen. Though it was still perfectly edible.
The fresh pasta tortellini are just as good as tesco version as is the tomato and mascarpone jar of sauce.
Milk is milk, it's fine and about 10p cheaper than tesco I think.
Agree with a previous post about the fat free Greek style yogurt, I have the cherry one in a pack of four and they're perfectly acceptable.
The cereal bars are ok, though they're not as soft as Alpen bars which makes them a bit harder to eat. Still edible though.
One thing I've picked up on with my local Aldi is the fruit and veg section is not very big, I couldn't see any tomatoes today. Maybe this is something that will change with their refurb.
Picked up a some chicken thighs today, couldn't believe they were only £1.89 for a kilo! That will do a fair few meals for us :T
Also, a big pack of sweet and salted popcorn that myself and my partner like to share as a treat sometimes. Only 79p and twice as much in the pack as some of the brands you get in tesco and sainsbury's for twice the price.
Have to say that my partners' idea of Aldi was that it would be lower quality and he was resistant to going in there until he realised that actually it's not really any different just less flashy and cheaper! :money:

spadoosh

Their crisps are well good. (aldi)

The ones like sensations and 'hand cooked by virgins'. The huge bags are about 80p compared with the ~£2 branded/niche versions.

Only shop at Aldi, nothing ive not been able to eat but then i tend to eat what im given.

Any

We eat a lot from Aldi. But then I am a foreigner so for me the choice is better than Tesco and Sainsb. They are getting bigger choice of foreign (central european) selection, but at bigger "deli" prices!!
My hubby (English through and through) adores their cheese (cheddar, mozzarela), I absoltely love Aldi parmasan and nowadays when I buy Walkers crisps my husband says "sorry, but can you buy crisps at Aldi next time?" Their laundry gel is excellent and so are their creams. Some seriously good wine.
For me, the most important thing are pickles, salami and sundried tomatoes, peppers in olive oil and olives. Jar of sundried tomatoes for 99p (recently 89p on offer) and a lot better than £2.50 jar at Tescos!

nancybetty

Quality food - Waitrose, Oakgrove, Milton Keynes, enough said.

Happytravelling

I'm not near a Lidl so haven't shopped there.

My main issue with (our) Aldi is that its one of the older stores that isn't very well designed. By the time you've snaked around 75% of my town's retired population who seem to congregate in aisle 1, you've missed most of what you needed :eek:

I usually just pop in with a basket to make it easier, but found their packs of bread rolls to be good and have a generous best before date, crumpets spot on (37p I think and they don't taste of sponge like the main brands do), definitely recommend their pickles too.

Their magnum premium washing up liquid is a Which? best buy and seems to last forever. I wasn't much for their 2 in 1 washing liquid but am about the try the standard washing liquid with separate fabric conditioner to see if that is better.

Interestingly, their dentitex toothpaste is a bargain and is an approved product with the oral health foundation for being proven to meet the claims it makes!! I used to use (and much prefer the taste of) colgate, but interestingly, they're not approved by the oral health foundation (or at least, not the ones that I've used).

My approach to discount stores now is, if you try something and don't like it, you've wasted a small amount of money once. If you don't try something that you would have liked, you could carry on wasting more money for the rest of your life on the branded version.

On the *** conundrum, there's something in forum rules about not advertising, so I thought this protected people from being seen to be advertising?!

My niece used to call Aldi 'Mouldy' as a toddler- must just have misheard it, but within our family, 'Mouldy' has stuck :rotfl:

mickadoon

Pardon my ignorance, but are Aldi and Lidl not supermarkets?

maman

nancybetty wrote: »

Quality food - Waitrose, Oakgrove, Milton Keynes, enough said.

If you've tried both and come to the conclusion that everything in Waitrose tastes better than Aldi then that's fine. I've tried both and have yet to be convinced that everything in Waitrose is better.


I think what convinced me was when I bought Italian Ham in Aldi, and then went into Waitrose. I saw exactly the same product in same Parma packaging for sale. Only difference was the price.


Making an informed decision is what matters to me and if you don't try Lidl and/or Aldi then you'll never know.

Cornucopia

mickadoon wrote: »

Pardon my ignorance, but are Aldi and Lidl not supermarkets?

Yes, and also a way of life.