Good and Bad Buys at Lidl and Aldi stores (***Please don't expire***)

Teapot55

I sniff the packet of strawberries (no, I don’t let my nose touch the packet!) and if they don’t smell like strawberries should I don’t buy them 😊

Brie

Teapot55 said:

I sniff the packet of strawberries (no, I don’t let my nose touch the packet!) and if they don’t smell like strawberries should I don’t buy them 😊

Hah!  I do that to a lot of fruit and some veg.  The ones that are tricky are tomatoes which should smell ripe but as so many are sold as "stem on" what you are smelling is the stem rather than the fruit.  Sniffing is good too with apples as it lets me know if it's a type I might like - so many apples are insipid compared to the ones I grew up with (long ago and far away....)

And for them what likes mexican food - look out for Aldi selling Herdez taco kits.  Don't know how much they are as OH bought them but wow they are tasty and very easy to use.  A pack consists of 8 6 inch tortillas, a pack of spice mix and a jar of salsa.  It was an easy prep - coating boneless chicken thighs with a bit of oil and the spice mix, cooking in the oven for 30 minutes and then slicing.  Then build your own taco!  We had extras - guac, creme fraiche as well as lettuce tomatoes and grated cheese.  Also available at Tesco for more than £4 a pack. 

KxMx

harz99 said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

I bought a couple of large boxes of strawberries from Aldi last week as an easy dessert for guests. They were nice enough....but those I bought from Asda yesterday were so much tastier. Sometimes it really is luck of the draw!

Where were the suppliers of both from though, the growing region often makes quite a difference in flavour?

Not forgetting that many different varieties of Strawberry are on sale too, I always look out for my favourites and avoid Elsantas at all costs! 

Cornucopia

The Aldi Wonky Strawberries have been quite good for the past couple of weeks.   They are stated to be Class 2, grown in West Sussex.   The variety is not shown.   £1.19 for 227g.

fdama

harz99 said:

Aldi fresh prepack vegetables are getting worse quality wise. The wonky carrots of late have been bits or very old and going soft in places, even the normal ones haven't been very much better.

Twice in 3 weeks I've opened a Kilo bag of Baby potatoes to find most of them with blight and raised blisters on the skin, today's had two rotten spuds as well.

Yes they'll change them or refund you, but that inconveniences me/you having to go back to the shop.

Question is are Aldi deliberately buying in cheaper poor quality veg, or is the supplier taking the mickey and relying on poor quality control at the retailer end? I suspect the former.

Take a couple of photos of the produce that has gone off with the packaging. Next time you go shopping, show them the photos along with your receipt and they will give you a refund or exchange with no issues. I've done this 3 times with no problems at my local lidl. The last was a pack of romaine lettuce where one was rotting on the inside. 

Rosa_Damascena

harz99 said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

I bought a couple of large boxes of strawberries from Aldi last week as an easy dessert for guests. They were nice enough....but those I bought from Asda yesterday were so much tastier. Sometimes it really is luck of the draw!

Where were the suppliers of both from though, the growing region often makes quite a difference in flavour?

Asda ones are Sandy Booth, Hampshire which Google tells me is this farm: http://www.newforestfruit.com/ . Aldi ones are long gone

Katiehound

looks like Aldi have scrapped the 30% discount (at our store at least)

I bought a couple of items with 50% off stickers and went through the self scan till. The assistant has to come to apply the discount- no 30% showing on their screen.. My half price easy peelers are fine. Not so sure about the cheapie carrots!

wild666

harz99 said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

Nothing wrong with grade 2 f&v. It does the job without the extortionate prices of top grade.

Not if it's going rotten after a day like the carrots, or frost damaged like the potatoes full of black bits or going soft. There seems to be a lot of rubbish only fit for cattle food being fobbed off on us lately.

I buy carrots in Lidl but after a week they tend to get slimy either in the middle or on the ends, I just cut out the slimy bits and use as usual, no ill effects in doing so.

wild666

Got a Sirloin steak for £2.14, 60% off and 2 packs of 4 quarter pound beef burgers, £1.10 each. There was loads of stuff with 60% off but my freezer is packed with meat from previous visits to Lidl so I didn't risk buying any more as it had tomorrows date on it, I suspect that if there is any left tomorrow it will be reduced further.

Nelliegrace

I could not find any dark chocolate at Aldi which did not have soya lecithin emulsifiers. We are trying to avoid the toxic highly processed junk and are using WW2 ration quantities and recipes for frugal and healthy meals. We have 2 ounces of chocolate a week. 

We don’t by Lindt since they killed the Lidl Easter Bunnies.
Is there real dark chocolate anywhere at a reasonable price?