Aldi Christmas food was well rubbish.

[AlphaBravoHenryFoxtons]

The roasted parsnips with honey and mustard dressing (Aldi) were roasted for a good 20 minutes more than the time stated and they were STILL rock hard and revolting (I checked my oven temp using a separate thermometer and the temperature was correct). The Aldi goose fat roast potatoes were not nearly as good as Aunt Bessie's goose fat roasts (I know because I roasted a packed of Aunt B's and a tray of true Aldi g/f roasties and served them in a dish together, the Aldi ones were a horrible grey colour and the aunt bessie's ones were lovely and golden, no surprises for guessing which remained leftover).

I bought a few things at Aldi and many were very disappointing.

Anyone else?

[LittleprincessinGOLDrocks]

We bought our turkey crown from there again this year, and we are very happy with it. We also bought all our veg from there too and it has all been great quality. We don't buy the pre done veg though, so don't know if there have been any changes in quality.

[SirChenjin]

No, ours was v nice. Smoked salmon, turkey, various cheeses, Prosecco, Specially Selected Christmas pud, fresh veg and Maris Pipers for the roasties - it was all good.

[Scholes34]

Pre-prepared veg is always a disappointment. Much better to do it yourself.

[londonrach]

This was amazing! From aldi and warmed up tasted as just been made.

[slightlyworriednc]

The pate, stuffing, black forest chocolate tart, pinot grigio, satsumas, croissants, crumpets, strawberry jam and prawn and vegetable thingemies were all delicious. I got the rest from Asda, simply because I was there the day before.
I love Aldi, but their potatoes- in all forms- are not the best.

[myleftfoot]

Ooh yeah the xmas tree brioche was delish!

[HollyJollyXmas]

Very disappointed with their mince pies and chocolate selection boxes, but DH and the kids didnt seem to notice!

The parsnips i bought from Aldi on 23rd Dec were rotten by Christmas Day . Luckily I bought some from Waitrose too as a back up .

[mswibble]

I couldnt help reading this in a Vicky Pollard voice! I have nothing helpful to contribute ...

[MrsTawdry]

Their Christmas cake was nice! Why buy ready dressed parsnips though? Just chuck the honey and mustard on yourself surely?

[Lifesalemon]

I sympathise but I don't think its just Aldi. I ordered some sprouts from sainsburys that were supposed to be ready prepared with bacon lardons that looked awful. They werent trimmed or peeled they were entire sprouts with outer leaves still on. You were supposed to prick film and microwave them as they were. I don't know what they would have tasted like as I binned them.
Very disappointing.

[AlphaBravoHenryFoxtons]

I didn't use it for CHristmas day, thankfully. But I used the parsnips and potatoes yesterday. I found myself apologising profusely about the parsnips. Which isn't really what you want to do when you've gone to the trouble of preparing a meal for guests. And it wasn't just me because everyone left the parsnips on their plates.

Disappointing.

To add to the disappointing shopping experience. I won't be going again.

[18yearstooold]

I got a fresh duck, all my veg, pâté, cooked meats and cheese from aldi -all delicious

I've never bought pre-prepared veg/potatoes so have nothing to compare against

[softkitty79]

Ours all good but no pre done veg. The Christmas tree brioche better be there next year as it is our new Christmas tradition ??

[victoire1208]

I had a 4.5kg basic turkey for £18 and it was the best I've ever had. The 29p bag of maris piper potatoes were weird though. Luckily we didn't risk them on xmas day.

[SirChenjin]

I think parsnips are always tricky - you really have to parboil them first and then roast them, otherwise they stay hard in the middle and burnt on the outside. And nothing beats home made roasties - again, parboil them, shake them to rough up the edges, into hot fat (duck, goose or rapeseed), and turn after 20-30 mins. Ready made ones are never as good.

[Ginrummy]

The pigs in blankets weren't very nice and small chocolate bombs were so sweet they were inedible to my ds and dh.
The cheeses, crackers, fresh veg, brandy sauce, wine and champagne were all fine.
Bagels were rock hard even when toasted.
But the bill was so cheap it was worth it

[Tinkerball]

My turkey crown from Aldi was lovely. Would never use pre prepared veg, especially potatoes.

[AlphaBravoHenryFoxtons]

I have done wall-to-wall catering for many guests over CHristmas and I bought the ready prepared veg so I could kick back a bit and enjoy my guests yesterday. I'm not going to apologise for that.

If you buy parsnips to roast and roast them as per the instructions, it isn't unreasonable to expect them to be edible. Surely.

[cardibach]

Pre-prepared veg is always crap. The ingredients in Aldi are lovely, and their Christmas pud with gold leaf is gorgeous. Their mince pies won awards last year, but I haven't had any this year. Why do you want food shopping to be an 'experience'? I just want to get in and out as fast as possible!

[DangerousBeanz]

Our fresh veg, turkey,smoked salmon, pigs in blankets, cranberry sauce, Christmas pud, cheese, prosecco, bucks fizz were all from Aldi and lovely. IMO pre-made roast potatoes and parsnips are always shit so it's better and cheaper to make your own.

[Tinkerball]

Agree with you there SirC, it's worth the effort to do the goose fat roasties at Christmas isn't it!

[Tinkerball]

Oh yes forgot about the fresh cranberry sauce I got in Aldi - it was gorgeous.

[AlphaBravoHenryFoxtons]

I realise some people just want their food bill to be cheap. And don't give a fig (gy) for taste or quality.

[TheRealMaryMillington]

I'd never get pre-prepped veg because it will never be good as your own fresh un-muckedabout with version, so I am unsurprised that you were disappointed.

We're more Lidl than Aldi usually (the prosecco and chocolate always fab), but DH popped in on Xmas even dn got a stollen and Xmas phd which were both superb.

[DangerousBeanz]

I definitely give a fig about taste and quality but I don't give a fig about the "shopping experience".Oh and the Pate was lovely too.