Waitrose Essentials

Doc_N

As you'll see from the recent FSA food safety alerts such as this (https://www.food.gov.uk/news-alerts/alert/fsa-prin-35-2018-update-1) Waitrose Essentials is just another label. Almost all the supermarkets were supplied by Greenyard, and they're all affected by the Listeria recall.

All the supermarkets sell much the same food, from much the same suppliers, and the only real difference is price.

Waitrose Essentials are fine - but no better than the Aldi or Lidl equivalents. Just a lot more expensive!

MrsStepford

My mother was moaning down the phone at me about the price of lemons, so Iooked up prices on Ocado. Looking at the per lemon price, 5 Ocado lemons on special offer were cheaper than Essential Waitrose 22.2p each or looking at it another way 5 lemons for £1.11 instead of 6 for £1.80. Plus the Ocado lemons aren't 'value' lemons but standard own brand.

maisie_cat

If you are thinking of using Ocado for Waitrose branded items the quality of essentials is better than ALdi/Lidl and consistent. Ocado branded items on the other hand are not, I've had chicken from them twice and both times it was poor quality.

unrecordings

The Waitrose Essential chicken is very hit and miss though. Sometimes it reeks too. I was off chicken last year for about six months after a run of poor quality purchases

pumpkin89

Plus the Ocado lemons aren't 'value' lemons but standard own brand.

essential Waitrose isn't a 'value' brand - it's designed to be equivalent to the major supermarkets' standard own labels. The regular Waitrose own brand is roughly equivalent to Tesco Finest / Sainsbury's Taste The Difference et al.

Callie22

Doc_N wrote: »

Waitrose Essentials are fine - but no better than the Aldi or Lidl equivalents. Just a lot more expensive!

I can't speak for everything but in my experience Waitrose essentials veg and fruit is far, far superior to the Aldi and Lidl equivalents, particularly in terms of longevity. I've never been able to buy Aldi or Lidl fresh produce that lasts more than a few days or that doesn't go 'odd' in some way (goes off really quickly, or tastes peculiar, or develops a strange texture) but the Waitrose stuff lasts for ages (apart from their bananas, which never seem to be that great). It is more expensive but when you factor in wastage, it's not really by much. I know there are big differences in Aldi and Lidl stores nationwide and I think I've probably been particularly unlucky with my local stores, but I do think that for fruit and veg Waitrose are in general better than the discounters, unless you're buying in big quantities that you plan to use very quickly.

fatbelly

You mention Waitrose bananas and what I've noticed is that they never put them on display until they are properly yellow. I prefer to buy them a bit green as they last longer. Prices are pretty similar to Lidl but I tend to buy there.

JamesCR

I've started to try and shop more ethically for animal products and Waitrose have excellent welfare standards (google Waitrose about our food if you're interested).

I find the essentials bacon and chicken breast to be excellent value and high quality.

B'sKitchen

I might have to give Waitrose or our fancy local grocer a go, as I'm really disappointed with Lidl and Aldi lately. I used to swear by their produce and some things are great (like baby plum tomatoes) but the longevity is really poor lately. I had to throw 3 of 4 nectarines I got on Tuesday, they got mouldy before they even got ripe!

MysteryMe

I seem to recall reading that the New Zealand lamb in Waitrose is halal slaughtered, so might be worth double checking if that is a concern. Be interested if you did get a definitive answer.