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.

Not so much the veg but I do find the fruit to be worse or not last as long.
I'm always drawn back to Tesco for the convenience of click and collect though. Really hate trekking the 2 year old and baby out to do the food shop.

Who needs fruit to last? Certainly not people with teenagers who come home from school and descend on grapes, strawberries and bananas like a horde of bloody locusts.

I wish it was marketing activity! @Zilla1adls I'd be getting paid to dick around on my phone! You're right they are often posit but I could be being paid by Aldi /Lidl !!

But unfortunately not the case. I don't eat meat. Or buy loads from tesco but do get your point. I don't know if its my semi vegan diet, or my appparent love of processed food! But I really honestly do not taste the same thing as others seem to.

@Chameleon72

OP you mentioned bland crisps at Lidl, well I beg to differ on that particular point as there the most delicious, crunchiest and bang on flavour salt and vinegar crisps at Lidl. Do try the green bag ridged salt and vinegar natural crisps. At 85p for a big bag, they're a steal and far better than anything else IMHO

Have you tried the co-op sea salt and Chardonnay vinegar crisps? They’re more expensive but oh my! So vinegary your lips sting😂

How strange, I'm a bit obsessed with food and do lots of cooking and baking. We shop mainly at aldi and waitrose and find the aldi quality really good especially the cooked meats, dried pasta, tinned soup and cereal. Never had a problem with the fresh stuff either, oh and their biscuits are dirt cheap and test as good as or better than the brands

Interesting Aldi factoid: There are actually two Aldis, Aldi North and Aldi South, each run by one of the Albrecht brothers, They split the business after a disagreement about selling cigarettes.

The one we have in the UK is Aldi South. DH claims Aldi North is slightly superior, but we happily shop there anyway.

I think some things such as fruit and veg quality are down to the store manager, though historically British supermarkets have been far fussier with the standards they impose on growers.

I love shopping at Lidl, occasionally one piece of fruit is a bit soft/about to turn but I have had exactly the same at other supermarkets.

The only branded things I buy that I prefer are Hula Hoops and Mars Bars but I save the branded Hula Hoops for me and leave the Lidl ones for the DC.

@Lovemusic33

Different shops are good for different things.

Aldi...
Rump steak is great and good price.
Love their Christmas food.
Fruit and veg are reasonable
Pizza

Lidl..
Fish
Cheese (good selection)
Bakery items really good and cheap, something Aldi doesn’t have.

I do my main shop in Tesco’s (online) and then pop into Aldi or lidl mid week, I don’t think I could do a full shop in either because there’s some items I just can’t buy and there’s not as much choice. I do like the middle isles especially Aldi for craft items.

Exactly this. I can shop in one shop but I prefer to be able to get stuff from different shops because they all have their pros and cons.

I am a bit of a supermarket tart in that I like to vary my shopping (otherwise I get bored). I really don't find Aldi and Lidl produce inferior to the other supermarkets with the possible exception of Waitrose. I find that when I'm doing online shopping, I struggle to put some things in my 'trolley' knowing they would be so much cheaper in Aldi and Lidl. I also like their interesting 'foreign foods' which would cost a fortune sourced from Waitrose or even Sainsbury's.

Our Lidl is pants, but the food in Aldi is lovely.

I find some things in Aldi high quality and great value for money, and some things I'm not keen on.

My current Aldi favourite items are:
Frozen Salmon Wellington
Frozen Calamari
Big bags of frozen white fish
Continental meats and cheeses (much, much better in both value and quality than other places)
Chocolate chip sliced brioche loaf
Dishwasher tabs
Ridge valley individual diet tonic cans
Freshly squeezed OJ
Frozen fruit for smoothies
Greek yoghurt
Filled pasta! In fairness this is for my teenage son and I've never tasted it myself, but he's never complained. It's his favourite go-to snack and the ambient packs in Aldi are easier to store than fridged ones, plus they're a slightly smaller size, so perfect for a one ever hungry teenage boy snack.

I do buy jazz apples and candyfloss grapes from Aldi, but only if we're going to eat them straight away. Ditto I might pick up salad or veg, but only if we're using it that night or the next day. On the whole I find their fruit and veg doesn't last very long, although its fine if you eat it straight away. I don't think I've bought much fresh meat from Aldi, so can't really comment on that.

@Londonmummy66

Goji berries, quails eggs and avocado oil really are niche foods

On my list every week ......

No shit Londonmummy

To be fair, I do think some of the processed stuff in Aldi is less good than the 'finest' type ranges in some other supermarkets. Aldi have their own 'specially selected' range, but not for all products. They also don't have a deli, cheese or fresh meat counter, which bothers some people.

For me, doing the main shop in Aldi and getting a few bits in lovely Booths is perfect. I did a week's shop in Sainsbury's a few weeks ago and it was eye-wateringly expensive compared with my usual Aldi shop. Honestly almost double the price (and no noticeable better quality)! Not doing that again in a hurry!

Apart from stoneground pizzas and some of the special national ranges, the ready-meals and anything processed is less good at Lidl and Aldi, IMO. Their quiches, prepared salads and ready meals, for example, are horrid. IMO.

Aldi cottage cheese is sour and rank compared to Lidl.

Things that are as good or better in Lidl for the same price:
Jam / preserves
Halloumi
Frozen berries
Toilet rolls
Tubs of vitamins
Many cereals
Eggs
Wok noodles
Cous Cous
Shower gel
Deodorant
Jars of anti pasti
Fresh bread
Packets of tortillas
Linda McCartney burgers and sausages
Versions of Mars Bars etc

Really concerned about your tastebuds if you think "veg is veg". Especially if you don't eat meat!

I shop at both Lidl & Aldi. I find that the produce is often a bit iffy at Aldi, but the Christmas range is good. Lidl is a bit nicer than Aldi (but slightly more expensive). The bakery at Lidl is great.

Nuts. I buy a lot of nuts (pistachios, cashews etc) from Lidl, they're so much cheaper. Also think the bakery goods are great and very cheap at both. Where I am the Lidl is better than the Aldi. Aldi is usually badly stocked and the veg is on its way out.

I really am not a fan of our local Aldi, nor the old Lidl, however they have opened a huge Aldi near us a two minute drive. Goodness it is like waitrose, big, airy, some interesting foods. I do cook from scratch most of the time, but I found their frozen potato gratin gorgeous. Their 3 fish roast is sublime. Never tried stuffed pasta so could not comment.

Sorry a huge Lidl not Aldi near us.

Maybe, just maybe, people have different tastebuds 🤷🏻‍♀️

I don't have much experience of Aldi but more so with Lidl. @Marcelduchamp YANBU (and great user name BTW). Whenever there's a thread on here about how much people think the quality of food there is excellent and the same quality as Waitrose, etc I just think, "All of your tastebuds are broken."

Desserts and fruit yoghurts in Lidl are overly sweet and chemical tasting, even their "Luxe" range. I don't touch any of the frozen foods/entrées because they similarly taste like chemicals and really fake.

Their "Greek" yoghurt looks like paint emulsion and doesn't really taste of anything other than fat but not in a good way. Fage yoghurt all the way here, please.

Veg and fruit quality is extremely regional and localized. Some places it's okay while others it's rotting in the store or bland as hell... sometimes both paradoxically.

In terms of meat, I don't bother buying steaks from there anymore since the beef is always mushy or tough. This judgement is from shopping at Lidl in several countries. Even though it may be "British" doesn't mean it's good quality. I think they're giving the funky/low quality steaks to Lidl. The chicken seems to be okay though for the most part. I tend to only buy dark meat like leg quarters and don't buy chicken breasts which could be more easily filled with water.

Honestly, the only versions of Lidl I vaguely trust on a regular basis are Lidl in France where they have extremely high national standards for taste as well as provenance of their food. Just because something is "British" or supposedly local doesn't mean it's better quality if your area is getting the dregs of the harvest.

I find the veg is good but doesn't keep as well as from the other supermarkets (Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury) but most other products are ok - some are better than what I've had from other places, some are worse.

Not that much difference in prices except for biscuits and cake etc which are considerably cheaper, and DH just inhales this sort of stuff.

I always think of orange juice when I see posts like this.
Lidl cheap fresh orange juice is really nice
Sainsburys is crap, their more expensive one is nicer. But it’s more expensive.

The crisps from Lidl taste of nothing. Cereal is rank, ditto pizza.

Good things - some of the alcohol, the bread and bakery, the veg is fine, the beef mince is good. The French and greek cheese is good. The Ritter chocolate. The jams are great.

I adore Aldi. Food quality is excellent - Yogurt; Granola; Cheese; Ham; Sausage; fish; beef; tinned goods; fruit juice (fresh); Chocolates;

And non food household cleaning and detergents are brilliant.

I don't buy veg there as it is not great.

I am a total food snob and don't shop there because I have to, I shop there because the value for money is excellent and who would spend more money for less quality if they had a choice?

When we are in Spain the local store is a Lidl and we love all the food there too.