Aldi, your days are numbered

[TheBabyAteMyBrain]

First you fuck with the design of your pull ups so they give my toddler a wedgie and leak all the time, but now, now you've gone too far by changing your camembert.

I made gorgeous chorizo bread, I prepared the cheese, I popped a bottle of fizz and it all went to hell when I baked your stupid camembert. The packaging had changed but I never expected the puffed up scrambled egg mess that came out of the oven. Where was the ooze? Where was the goo. So. Disappointed.

I will now be frequenting tesco for my cheese needs.

You're on your last chance aldi, stop messing with my shopping.

The pull ups are fine for us. The sides are actually better than before.

My m-i-l swears by Aldi and Lidl and has a right go at me cos i prefer to pay more

Oh god my mum too - and she's not short of cash AT ALL so it's not resentment that I can spend more. She's just super-smug that she bought some marmalade or whatever for 80p at Aldi and I spent £1.50 on mine at Sainsbury's, why would I do such a thing ha ha I've been had

I like Aldi and Lidl for some things, I like the german chocolate and I used their nappies when I had babies. I'm glad there are cheap supermarkets for those who really need them. But that said it's not a crime to spend money, if you can and want to, on quality food, organic food, food with welfare standards, etc. It's reverse snobbery to have a go at people for doing that.

@Sparklingbrook did you taste the Aldi ketchup? It is revolting, i'm not surprised you couldn't get it past your teen. I bought it for a camp I was running, I've always used own brand ketchup without anyone noticing (decanted into small bottles for each table) but nearly all of the 30 children went without ketchup rather than use the Aldi one!

There is a reason that it’s cheap...that’s because the overheads are lower and the savings passed on.

I do love Aldi and Lidl-the cheeses, jams and red wines from Lidl in particular-but for gooey Camembert you’d be hard pressed to beat the Coop luxury own brand one. Absolutely lovely that one.

@MyDcAreMarvel I agree re Nutmeg pull ups; use them for my 7 month old with severe reflux (taped nappies too restrictive on tummy) and they’re the only brand other than Pampers that don’t leak or make her projectile vom every time she bends forwards

I echo pp in needing to know about the chorizo bread situation...

I've never had any problems with Aldi pull ups? Lupiloo (Lidl) pull ups quite good as well you could try them and see if they're any better? I've been shopping at Aldi for 3.5 years now and never had any problems with any of their produce... their cheeses are to die for!

I shop at Lidl and Sainsburys. I find Sainsburys fruit and veg goes off really fast, I've taken stuff back a few times but don't buy it now. I also like Lidl steak and their bakery is lovely. Their pastel de nata are half the price of Sainsburys.

The prices have gone up I'm no longer finding it as cheap for my shopping needs

Fresh fruit and vegetables are very hit or miss from Aldi, I have found. I prefer to buy from Tesco.

Moser Roth chocolate is fabulous though, and in a good range of flavours. As are their specially selected spicy bean burgers that my vegan DD likes. Saxon toilet roll is good too and generally better value than Tesco.

Other than that, I am not the biggest Aldi fan. The other off-putting thing is having my shopping shot at me through the till at the speed of light. I have an arm injury that makes keeping up with it rather difficult, so I don't try to do a big shop there anymore.

Interesting to know about the pasteurisation for the bastardisation. Thanks @Nothingsuitsmelikeasuit and @Alabasterangel6.

Just quickly in response to the supermarket snob comment, just so you know I am a cheap ol' thing and my stomping grounds are mainly charity shops, poundland, savers, fb marketplace and aldi. Snob I ain't. I haven't the luxury of spare money to be a snob. Plus, as stated I'm cheap and get my fix from bargain shopping.

Aldi nappies so far have been fine. Ds2 is currently in size 3 about to move up to 4s so I'm hoping the quality will continue. Ds1 has always had aldi nappies and they did us well. I'm so annoyed they changed the design of the pull ups, but glad they work for you @JoanMavisIcecreamGirl, Ds1 is rather a sturdy tot unfortunately but there might be hope for Ds2 who is tall and slim so far.

Completely agree with the wasteful plastic @WineIsMyCarb, they really are wrapping and packing with too much plastic and it is annoying and frustrating. Would much rather loose fruit and veg and paper bags tbh.

@EssentialHummus you want the recipe? I can't give amounts as such as I do it by eye but it's just a simple dough with spice and chorizo plopped in and then plaited and topped with more spice, oil and chorizo. Its rather yummy though and nice for lunch the next day with strong cheese.

What I love about aldi and Lidl is the LACK of choice. It makes shopping easier and quicker. Tinned tomatoes, virgin olive oil ....one choice. In Sainsbury’s I waste ages thinking about which to buy. So for this reason alone I am for the German supermarkets.

We only had one Aldi here until recently. The store is dire and the fruit / veg was nigh on mouldy on the shelf. Then a new one opened near our house and it's great. Very few issues with longevity.

Sainsbury's (for us) is still way better though. And I've always had mould issues with Morrison's stuff as well.

I think it's very localised as to what's good or bad.

Ooh that sounds delicious! Thanks OP, I’ll try that.

I like the Lidl breakfast biscuits... So much cheaper than Belvita. The fruit middle ones... The Aldi plain bb are like eating sawdust!!

Check the sneaky four digit expiry dates on Lidl/Aldi veg (Tesco have started using these too).

It's week number and day number - so search the trays for the highest four digit number you can find.

Right chorizo bread:

A tsp of dried active yeast in a bowl with a 1/2 tsp of sugar, pour in at least a cup of warm water and leave to froth.

Chuck in a generous glug of olive oil, a shake of chilli flakes, a few shakes of paprika, a shake of garlic and onion powder and a a shake of salt.

Finally chop chorizo and bung 3/4 of that in too. Add a downpour of flour and mix. Keep adding flour until the dough is formed but not sticky.

Tip it out and kneed for 5-10 minutes or until you're bored.

Pop back in the bowl with a tiny drizzle of oil, roll the dough around the bowl to coat both

Pop a cup half filled with water in the microwave and ping until its fooking hot and the microwave is steaming. Use a tea towel to remove fooking hot cup and whip the dough bowl in quick as you can. It will rise in about 30 minutes.

Take out dough, divide into three and plait dough on your baking tray. Top with left over chorizo, egg wash and bake at about 180° until done. Drizzle with some chilli oil and dip into camembert which isn't scrambled.

It's good!

I struggle with all Camembert , what temp should they be cooked on and for how long?

180° for about 20 mins, until all gooey and delicious 😋

Thank you theba

Aldi is good for free range chickens and chicken breasts, variously aged steaks, the fact you can get some brands e.g. Warburtons crumpets, their posher pizzas, Parmesan, Manchego, Melton Mowbray pork pies, posher butters, cheap raspberries, the best fudge from any supermarket, their own version of Cornish Cruncher cheese (might actually be same as cruncher), lots of the wines, olive oil, posh cherry tomatoes and most of their better quality meat.
I don’t like Moser Roth chocolate: it tastes a bit margeriney to me.

I don’t think you can shop in one place anymore. I love Aldi but don’t buy fruit and veg there, it goes off so quickly .I tend to flit between Tesco, Morrison’s, Ocado and Aldi.

I love Aldi, have never ever had an issue with the quality of their fruit and veg, quite the opposite and the range and variety in our store is fantastic. My kids prefer Aldi ketchup. The one thing I really don't like is their baked beans, so go to Sainsburys for those. However, for everything else, it's marvellous and I have really reduced my shopping bills.

Lidl in-store bakery... THE CROISSANTS!!!

I always found aldi nappies gave my LO awful nappy rash fo gave up on them ages ago.
Personally in our aldi the fruit and veg are good and generally very long lasting. The till assistant recently noticed a vegetable I was buying was at the end of its date so asked someone to buy me a new one. I have very little from there which goes off. I buy enormous amounts of vegetables weekly and considering this the amount which go off are negligible. Granted M&S will last longer, but they are much more expensive, things like fruit can be insanely over wrapped and of you are buying to use in a sensible amount of time they should last.
Nothing I gave ever purchased from asda fruit of veg wise seems to have even lasted a night. Sainsbury is less good for lasting than aldi IMO and berries from Waitrose last the shortest time of all.
There obviously is a huge degree of variation between aldis.the store I go to is literally emptied every day and staff are trying frantically to always bring more stuff in so it seems it's always very fresh. I tend to buy a lot of basic things like rice pasta and juice and tinned tomatoes there. I don't know really what any of the ready food is like as I've never had it. I think it's a case of picking and choosing or choosing a shop which overall suits you best all things considered.