Quality at Aldi and Lidl

[Marcelduchamp]

I know Aldi and Lidl are really popular on mumsnet but I really am completely baffled as to how people can claim its good quality. I have relatives who shop there and I have eaten the food lots of times. Yes a few items are OK but on the whole its not good in my experience. I don't eat meat so can't comment on that. I do think veg is veg so is probably not vastly different. I also think the choice is poor with a very basic selection of stuff.

I know it's cheap and we all need that at times. I'm not knocking people who need to cut shopping costs. But are people really being honest when they say the can't tell the difference. What are you tasting? Examples are the strong cheddar cheese is just bland, the crisps don't have much flavour and the filled pasta is cloying inside.

I suppose my AIBU is AIBU to day these shops sell poor quality food.

I think Lidl, meat, cold meats, cheeses, are fine. Do not use the bakery we have a local baker. Their wine, hit and miss. I bought a lovely Sauvignon but it was £11 and came with a cork. With veg. have had no problems but it goes in special bags in the veg drawer which may help. Potatoes if you eat a lot it is worth getting a sack from greengrocer we bought one in March, just chucked the few left out they were a bit wrinkly. You do have to wash the mud off but it was £12 for the sack so inexpensive. I do not find I save money in Lidl though our small Asda nearby is around the same price, Tesco is more expensive.

In my experience the fresh produce, meat ,veg ,fruit does not last and the quality is crap . Maybe just my aldi and lidl

@Legoandloldolls

I think you need to find your favourite items in aldi. Some things are great other not so much. I definitely find it all goes off a lot faster so all the meat I buy goes straight in the freezer otherwise it turns on day 2-3. Same with the veg. Lidl is even worse for veg going off super fast. So what you save in cost you loose on shelf life.

But there is loads in there I do like. It would be better if it more local to me and i was pooping in a few times a week. But it isnt so i shop at Tesco and just go in once a month for the things I know are good

So just like any other shop then?

@Volcanicorange hahaha! I think the food bank would have said no too. Joking aside I actually donate branded stuff to my local one whenever things are on offer.

I feel like some of the comments got quite dark here. The implication Aldi smells or smells of poor people isn't one I agree with.

Also yes @RaspberryCoulis sainsbos should be illegal to say!

Also can confirm sainsburys sell shit too. I regularly contemplate buying the frozen fundus crispy pancakes! That was nevery argument

I'd hoped to get a bit more nuance on the thread. But it feels like it's just an argument defending where you choose to shop. Anyway thanks for the insight.

We don’t notice when we change from Morrisons to Aldi but if you go back to Morrisons or M&S you can immediately taste the quality. Their dry pasta is disgusting, as is anything tinned

That's exactly what we found. Didnt notice much difference at first. Then one night I just couldn't face going. It shut at 8 and I just wanted another 20 mins at home after running about on school runs and work and doing dinner. So I thought fuck it ill go to morrosoms as that shut at 10 so I still had time to eat dinner chill for half an hour then go shopping.

The next day I made meatballs and tomato and veg sauce with ingredients I'd gotten from morrisons. Nothing fancy. Nothing different to whT id made multiple times before. And I couldn't believe how much nicer it was . I didn't even realise how used to it we had gotten nor how much time I must have wasted in total waiting for the bloody pasta to cook which seemed to take forever .

Never went back after.

The farmhouse yoghurts in Aldi is my favourite EVER yoghurt. In their specially selected range.

Bit of an odd post. Are you from Sainsburys - I hear they haven't been doing well lately.🤔

It depends if you live on processed food or not. I buy stuff to mostly cook from scratch and made the change from Asda to Aldi and was really pleased - save about £15 quid a week. I found myself cutting back on items at Asda and now I don't have to and save money. The only things I'm not keen on is the pasta like you say, and one of the granola bars they do. Everything else is good quality and cheaper generally. You also get your shop done far quicker with less choice!

I'm really glad I tried Aldi. Not so keen on Lidl though, apart from the international foods.

Obviously if you shop in M&S it is better, but it isn't that bad in Aldi.

I've used both Aldi & Lidl. I find the fruit & veg in both don't last as long as say Asda/Tesco produce. As a result I don't do the weekly shop in either & tend to only go in when I need a few bits and/or their special buys.x

@Whatwouldscullydo

Oh and I drink cheap sweet rose shit so the standards never needed to be high...

Still rank

Well that's where you're going wrong ...

Buy decent rose instead - at Aldi prices you can afford to do that!

I think it depends how much you cook from scratch. I cook mostly from scratch and I find the ingredients like veg, meat, cheese etc all lovely in Aldi. Granted I need to go to Sainsburys to buy a few of the herbs and spices as they don't stock absolutely everything, but most of it is great. I certainly don't have cheap taste! If, however, you are someone who buys a lot of ready made stuff then I don't know, it may be different. I love their caramelised onion hummus though! Apart from that I don't buy many ready made things.

Ooh and I do like a fair few of the Aldi red wines. There's a lovely Bordeaux but can't remember the name!

I tried them. Didnt like them. Went through the ones on the thread. Had high hopes and was quite happy to test

The trouble with rose is what to do with the stuff u don't drink red u can stick in a street or mince mix. White u can use in cooking. Rose...🤷‍♀️

Strew

I dont pour wine in the street

@Facelikearustytractor why is it an odd post. There's several pages of conversation so no that weird? I only said I shop in sainsburys after being asked. As I said to a pp I whish I was getting paid to post. Rather than just faffing around on mumsnet. Or even posting and getting discount!

Yes I heard sainsburys are closing their counters and reducing argos staff. The tesco near me had had their counters closed since March. This is a shame as you can get small portions if needed. Anyway despite my knowledge (hearing on radio 4) of sainsburys I don't work for them!

Also would be shit at my job if I did as the comments on Aldi and Lidl have been quite positive

@BurbageBrook

I think it depends how much you cook from scratch. I cook mostly from scratch and I find the ingredients like veg, meat, cheese etc all lovely in Aldi. Granted I need to go to Sainsburys to buy a few of the herbs and spices as they don't stock absolutely everything, but most of it is great. I certainly don't have cheap taste! If, however, you are someone who buys a lot of ready made stuff then I don't know, it may be different. I love their caramelised onion hummus though! Apart from that I don't buy many ready made things.

I think that's why a lot of people don't like these shops - they don't cook much and I find the ready meals and processed food aren't so good. I find that people who cook more and are a bit more savvy with their budget like Aldi more, whereas the people I know who rely on prepared food more tend to shop at more expensive supermarkets and value the experience of shopping more.

I've never had an issue with the veg in Aldi apart from the salad and the strawberries, but I have in Lidl. To be fair, if a bag of salad lasts for 8 days I would be worried about eating it anyway!

Weird how people have noticed the smell of these supermarkets - Tesco stores have this weird burning plastic smell that turns my stomach.

Oh yeah! I forgot their chocolate, it's really good so are their versions of Mars bars etc.

My favourite part of Aldi is having a giggle at the knock-off names. Titan bars instead of Mars, Quixo for gravy, all the packaging that looks similar to brands.

The quality is ok if you use it quickly. I don't buy meat unless using within a couple of days as it often went off before date. I've been using Sainsburys online instead of going to Aldi as easier and having just gone back to Aldi, the quality isn't as good. It is so cheap though for certain things and some things like the chocolates are lovely. Co-op is much better for meat and they have offers which means it is same price and doesn't go off before date.

I'm enjoying the digs a few posters are making implying I don't cook. Which would make me a terrible person obviously. However disappointingly we cook most of our meals from scratch. The day we tend not to is when we do a shop and are knackered. So then get pizza or gnocchi or similar. We don't use sauces and have loads of ready meals, I still find there's not the choice as a vegetarian although in the past year it has got way better as veganism has become more popular.

We do buy things like crackers, humus, crisps and cereal. Which are fairly ordinary purchases. It's those tyoe of things which I notice the difference on. They are obviously more prepared than ingredients. But are posters honestly telling me you're baking your own crackers for cheese and making your own cereal?

I am vegetarian / vegan so I do think if you eat any meat alternatives. Like quorn or oomph then there's a certain amount of processing involved in these foods. So sorry for not being a good non meat eater and only eating pulses.

@Facelikearustytractor I cook every meal from scratch but find Lidl doesn’t have the range I need. They have hardly any herbs & spices, the only dried pulses they sell are red lentils, they don’t sell bulgur wheat, spelt, barley, giant couscous, don’t regularly have tofu and so forth. Aldi and Lidl make the choice to have fewer items at cheaper prices but that’s less convenient for cooking from scratch because you have to go to bigger supermarkets to get the ingredients they don’t stock.

I do my bulk shop at Aldi, the meat is better than my other local supermarket, Morrison’s. Definitely better than asda, I haven’t shopped at Sainsbury’s for a couple of years as everything I got was disappointing. I do shop at tescos too because I like some of their products. On the meat front tescos definitely have a better selection and better quality but a lot more expensive.

I find Aldi veg is fresher, again more selection at tescos but again more expensive. I’ve also found the fruit far nicer than some other supermarkets.

A lot of Aldi home branded stuff is definitely very good quality, but not everything. I was always sceptical as I like my branded food, but after giving Aldi stuff a go I’ve definitely converted with some things, I still like buying certain brands for some things though.

The only negative with Aldi is it can be limited in choice, but dose some good special buys.

Cant complain, I've shopped Aldi & Lidl, always have good quality food and some great bargains, get so much more for your money too. Used to shop other supermarkets but dont bother anymore.

I like Aldi but ours is a refurbished one too, their meat is good. Some things are absolutely shocking (tomato ketchup), I don't eat cereal and don't know what filled pasta is...

Lidl I like too, but the best place for veg is Morrison's around here

I haven’t read all the posts so forgive me if I’m repeating anything already said.

I’ve worked in the food industry for 20 years. I can’t comment on Lidl but I can say that certain fresh produce items (root veg) are exactly the same in Tesco, Waitrose & Aldi.

I can also say that certain baked items (think croissants & pain au chocolat) are actually better in Aldi than M&S due to the higher butter content. Aldi often team up with an M&S supplier as they know their technical standards are high but Aldi can demand a better product (at a cheaper price) as they ride on the back of M&S by not paying for the higher technical standards (it’s a considerable cost to be a M&S supplier).

The bottom line is try the products without pre-conceived ideas - you may be pleasantly surprised.

And, no, I don’t work for Aldi or any other supermarket or supermarket supplier now (currently in branded bakery) - this is just my personal opinion based on experience in this industry.

Aldi's Roast Chicken in a bag is the best. I have tried all supermarket versions and still make a special trip to get it

I suppose I’m a food snob.

Aldi and Lidl are both excellent for cupboard staples. I do a lot of cooking from scratch and their ingredients are superb (oils, passata, olives etc).

Pre made items are very hit or miss. I find both shops have very decent frozen pizzas, but I’m not a fan of their dip selections (just as an example!)

I guess I’m saying, the cupboard staples, plus the meat and veg, are what keeps me shopping there, and I’ve discovered other things along the way. We do the vast majority of our shopping at Lidl now.