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

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  • Farway
    Farway Posts: 14,660 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Homepage Hero Name Dropper
    Doc_N said:
    maman said:
    Pollycat said:
    Brie said:
    Am I the only one that moves the cartons of veg to get to the fresher stuff below?  Seems completely sensible way to do things to me!!


    No, you're not.
    I do it too.
    Doc_N said:
    harz99 said:
    Brie said:
    Am I the only one that moves the cartons of veg to get to the fresher stuff below?  Seems completely sensible way to do things to me!!

    I was fortunate enough to come across a place advertising itself as a "salad farm".  And that's what it is - a barn full of things they are growing in their poly tunnels or in their fields - absolutely beautiful quality and cheaper than any shops as it's direct from the producers.  They also had a refrigerated bit that was stocked with other local produce - unhomogenised milk, organic yoghurt and the....errr....leftovers of a deer that decided to sample the salads.  The farmer was sadly apologetic and hoped it didn't offend me - I expect he gets criticised if a non carnivore wanders in.  But as someone from a rural background I am well aware of having to manage all sorts of pests.  
    No you're not by by far, i lift trays and always persue the freshest product...

    Me too. Most people do. Which is precisely why they’re removing the dates! 
    I don't just do it for the longest date.
    I want the biggest, glossiest, unmarked aubergine, the best matched leeks & courgettes (not one as thick as a baseball bat and one like a conductor's baton), the best pick (including colour) of family pack peppers, the family pack of mushrooms that suits what I'm cooking. That may be smaller ones or larger ones.
    And the packs of large mushrooms with 4 rather than 3. And the best looking cooked meat cut offs. And the wonky chestnut mushrooms when available rather than white ones. And the bacon with least fat. And the Belgian buns that have a decent amount of icing evenly spread. 🤣
    With you on that - entirely.  Now, though, we're wholly reliant on deliveries from supermarkets, mainly Tesco, and the difference between the way we used to shop (at Aldi and Lidl) and the way the pickers work is glaringly obvious.

    The stuff that arrives is frequently short-dated, poor quality, going off, and exactly the sort of thing we'd have avoided if we'd been doing the shopping ourselves.  All this stuff Tesco push out about their pickers choosing the very best is just a downright lie - they aren't given the time to do it.
    My bold, it's not just Tesco, I'm also limited to online shopping these days and even the vaunted Waitrose have the same problems, despite me adding notes to my list. It is apparent the pickers just grab what is on top or at the front, for instance my 500 g of loose carrots, "small ones please" were three huge ones you feed to donkeys :s , quick & easy to pick & pack

    Eight out of ten owners who expressed a preference said their cats preferred other peoples gardens
  • harz99 said:
    Brie said:
    Am I the only one that moves the cartons of veg to get to the fresher stuff below?  Seems completely sensible way to do things to me!!

    I was fortunate enough to come across a place advertising itself as a "salad farm".  And that's what it is - a barn full of things they are growing in their poly tunnels or in their fields - absolutely beautiful quality and cheaper than any shops as it's direct from the producers.  They also had a refrigerated bit that was stocked with other local produce - unhomogenised milk, organic yoghurt and the....errr....leftovers of a deer that decided to sample the salads.  The farmer was sadly apologetic and hoped it didn't offend me - I expect he gets criticised if a non carnivore wanders in.  But as someone from a rural background I am well aware of having to manage all sorts of pests.  
    Reminds me of what I was told was the norm in Kenya - elephants being slaughtered because they would rampage through crop fields at night. It surprised me as I think of elephants as being gentle creatures, but I cannot imagine the flesh wasn't eaten.
    Nothing to do with harvesting the elephant tusks then...
    This was farmers and those with smallholdings relying on the income from crops, not poachers.
    No man is worth crawling on this earth.

    So much to read, so little time.
  • Doc_N
    Doc_N Posts: 8,543 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Farway said:
    Doc_N said:
    maman said:
    Pollycat said:
    Brie said:
    Am I the only one that moves the cartons of veg to get to the fresher stuff below?  Seems completely sensible way to do things to me!!


    No, you're not.
    I do it too.
    Doc_N said:
    harz99 said:
    Brie said:
    Am I the only one that moves the cartons of veg to get to the fresher stuff below?  Seems completely sensible way to do things to me!!

    I was fortunate enough to come across a place advertising itself as a "salad farm".  And that's what it is - a barn full of things they are growing in their poly tunnels or in their fields - absolutely beautiful quality and cheaper than any shops as it's direct from the producers.  They also had a refrigerated bit that was stocked with other local produce - unhomogenised milk, organic yoghurt and the....errr....leftovers of a deer that decided to sample the salads.  The farmer was sadly apologetic and hoped it didn't offend me - I expect he gets criticised if a non carnivore wanders in.  But as someone from a rural background I am well aware of having to manage all sorts of pests.  
    No you're not by by far, i lift trays and always persue the freshest product...

    Me too. Most people do. Which is precisely why they’re removing the dates! 
    I don't just do it for the longest date.
    I want the biggest, glossiest, unmarked aubergine, the best matched leeks & courgettes (not one as thick as a baseball bat and one like a conductor's baton), the best pick (including colour) of family pack peppers, the family pack of mushrooms that suits what I'm cooking. That may be smaller ones or larger ones.
    And the packs of large mushrooms with 4 rather than 3. And the best looking cooked meat cut offs. And the wonky chestnut mushrooms when available rather than white ones. And the bacon with least fat. And the Belgian buns that have a decent amount of icing evenly spread. 🤣
    With you on that - entirely.  Now, though, we're wholly reliant on deliveries from supermarkets, mainly Tesco, and the difference between the way we used to shop (at Aldi and Lidl) and the way the pickers work is glaringly obvious.

    The stuff that arrives is frequently short-dated, poor quality, going off, and exactly the sort of thing we'd have avoided if we'd been doing the shopping ourselves.  All this stuff Tesco push out about their pickers choosing the very best is just a downright lie - they aren't given the time to do it.
    My bold, it's not just Tesco, I'm also limited to online shopping these days and even the vaunted Waitrose have the same problems, despite me adding notes to my list. It is apparent the pickers just grab what is on top or at the front, for instance my 500 g of loose carrots, "small ones please" were three huge ones you feed to donkeys :s , quick & easy to pick & pack

    Funnily enough, we’ve just had a Waitrose delivery. Unusually, it was at least complete, but the quality of some of their own brands is now distinctly lacking. Very fatty bacon, for example, and a disgusting spring roll containing mainly connective tissue. Only the vouchers they occasionally send persuade me to shop there, plus the wide range, but frankly the quality’s more reliable with Aldi.
  • Brie
    Brie Posts: 14,674 Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Brie said:
     the....errr....leftovers of a deer that decided to sample the salads.  
    Reminds me of what I was told was the norm in Kenya - elephants being slaughtered because they would rampage through crop fields at night. It surprised me as I think of elephants as being gentle creatures, but I cannot imagine the flesh wasn't eaten.
    Somewhere in my big Larousse food encyclopedia I'm sure I came across a recipe for elephant feet.  It was the sort of thing that required one to be on safari with one's entourage including a French chef with all the necessaries.  Or I might have dreamt this up - as no matter how often I've looked I've never been able to find the entry again.  

    But over all the problem is that animals don't realise what they are doing to cash crops and so can't be blamed for doing what comes natural.  I doubt that the elephants were actually rampaging, maybe just taking a gentle stroll which if there are 30 of them would do significant damage.  Much easier to forgive (by me as it's not my crop) than when I saw a hunt with horses and hounds cutting a wide path across a farmer's field in Yorkshire decades back.  Probably destroyed about a third of the crop.  To say nothing of what they might have done to any fox they were purposely chasing after.
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  • Rosa_Damascena
    Rosa_Damascena Posts: 6,979 Forumite
    Fifth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Homepage Hero Name Dropper
    edited 13 November 2022 at 7:59PM
    Brie said:
    Brie said:
     the....errr....leftovers of a deer that decided to sample the salads.  
    Reminds me of what I was told was the norm in Kenya - elephants being slaughtered because they would rampage through crop fields at night. It surprised me as I think of elephants as being gentle creatures, but I cannot imagine the flesh wasn't eaten.
    Somewhere in my big Larousse food encyclopedia I'm sure I came across a recipe for elephant feet.  It was the sort of thing that required one to be on safari with one's entourage including a French chef with all the necessaries.  Or I might have dreamt this up - as no matter how often I've looked I've never been able to find the entry again.  

    But over all the problem is that animals don't realise what they are doing to cash crops and so can't be blamed for doing what comes natural.  I doubt that the elephants were actually rampaging, maybe just taking a gentle stroll which if there are 30 of them would do significant damage.  Much easier to forgive (by me as it's not my crop) than when I saw a hunt with horses and hounds cutting a wide path across a farmer's field in Yorkshire decades back.  Probably destroyed about a third of the crop.  To say nothing of what they might have done to any fox they were purposely chasing after.
    @Brie - elephant's feet are a well-known type of tuber grown in Africa, am pretty sure the recipe didn't call for any animals to be sacrificed :)

    @Cornucopia - you have put me in the mood for grissini, just when the shops are shut! Based on your evaluation I shall buy the Aldi and stick it in my cup-a-soup as the croutons are the best bit :D

    ETA: no grissini in the house so will have to open up a packet of cream crackers to satisfy the crunch cravings now!!

    No man is worth crawling on this earth.

    So much to read, so little time.
  • p00hsticks
    p00hsticks Posts: 14,432 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Brie said:
    Am I the only one that moves the cartons of veg to get to the fresher stuff below?  Seems completely sensible way to do things to me!!

    I was fortunate enough to come across a place advertising itself as a "salad farm".  And that's what it is - a barn full of things they are growing in their poly tunnels or in their fields - absolutely beautiful quality and cheaper than any shops as it's direct from the producers.  They also had a refrigerated bit that was stocked with other local produce - unhomogenised milk, organic yoghurt and the....errr....leftovers of a deer that decided to sample the salads.  The farmer was sadly apologetic and hoped it didn't offend me - I expect he gets criticised if a non carnivore wanders in.  But as someone from a rural background I am well aware of having to manage all sorts of pests.  
    Reminds me of what I was told was the norm in Kenya - elephants being slaughtered because they would rampage through crop fields at night. It surprised me as I think of elephants as being gentle creatures, but I cannot imagine the flesh wasn't eaten.

    Not just rampaging through crop fields  - this is current news

  • We should be able to co-exist. Zim's argument is just bizarre, it's a big country given the population size, so re-routing the elephants should be possible if people can't stay out of their way.
    No man is worth crawling on this earth.

    So much to read, so little time.
  • wild666
    wild666 Posts: 2,181 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Decent haul of reduced price meat this week 12 chipolatas times 12 30% off £1.74 per pack. 6 pack of mini Melton Mowbray pork pies times 4, 90p per pack. 2 times 1Kg gammon joints £3.84 each. There was more but my freezer is full and I only just packed that lot in.
    Someone please tell me what money is
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