To think that Aldi isn’t the answer to everything?

[ShirleyPhallus]

On pretty much every thread here to do with food and drink within about 2 posts someone pops up with “I get mine from Aldi and it’s amazing”. On literally every thread like this it’s praised like it’s the best thing ever. See also Lidl.

Anyway, I went to an Aldi this week on the back of all the MN love and it’s just a cheap supermarket. Not the answer to my prayers. Am I missing something? Am I being unreasonable? (Answer is no fyi)

We get bits and pieces from there but my main shop is from Sainsbury's. A lot of branded items I will stock up when on offer so tend not to save much. I will go to the likes of Home Bargains, Heron, Farmfoods etc for other things. DS has autism and is very brand specific on many items but with his diet being so limited I buy what he will actually eat.

I am always surprised at the claims of massive % savings as many items are the same price or similar, so I wonder if the greatest savings are in areas that I don't spend - nappies/ baby and alcohol.

I am a convert to Aldi's stuffing mix though.

They're a bit crap on quorn type stuff.
I also want to spent 30 minutes clicking on my computer, then have it all turn up later in the week. I haven't got time up be browsing a supermarket or two.

Lidl is much better (Aldi has a lot of cheap knock offs of leading brands which are made of cheaper ingredients; Lidl has a limited range of often more generic products that are generally much cheaper than other supermarkets for often no real difference in quality).

I disagree. I tried with Lidl as there was one close to us, it was all just cheap shite. Aldi has a much better range in its knock offs. It has much higher quality of meat to any of the major supermarkets. With much of their stuff their own brand is better than the other supermarkets too. They don’t have as much branded stuff but they have more than they used to. We do a Tesco shop fortnightly but do a weekly Aldi shop too. Saves quite a bit of money.

@XiCi, how quickly is quickly?
I've heard others say it but it doesn't happen to me

Are you expecting it to last several weeks?

my main shop is from Sainsbury's

I gave up with Sainsburys because it kept taking branded stuff off the shelves and replacing it with their own brand which wasn’t as good.

Most of my shopping comes from Aldi ( such things as good quality cat food far cheaper), lidl is generally better for fruit, after that tesco, and I like my eco cleaning stuff, so either health food shop or online.
I try to buy less processed stuff too

@MissConductUS

What a shame you don't have Trader Joe's.

Trader Joes is actually Aldi Nord. Aldi in both US and UK is Aldi-Sud (the chain and family split).

I'm in the US so can't compare to Tesco, Waitrose etc - but it may comfort you to know that we have the same issue here with some Aldi branches being nice and new and having good produce, and some being much less reliable.

I think it’s rubbish and Lidl’s is worse.
Would never shop in either

No, but it’s quite good!

I love an Aldi shop, I tend to switch between there and a tesco delivery.

It's cheaper than other supermarkets and it does have lots of products that are as good as brand names but I think some of it is poor quality, especially the chicken and it doesn't stock everything I need so I often have to do a top up shop in Asda.

I like Aldi/Lidl for certain things but I've stopped buying fruit an veg as they go off too quickly.
It's probably because they buy cheap at wholesale, ie the stuff that other supermarkets leave, in order to charge lower prices.

Neither has a good range of herbs and spices either .

Pasta, oils, yoghurt sliced meat and cheese are really good as is tin foil, hand wash, dishwasher and laundry stuff.
Wines are good too.

Had awful minced beef from Lidl, very grisly and reminiscent of school mince in the 70s.

Potatoes aren't great either.

The trouble with these supermarkets is that you end up needing to go to another one to finish your shopping.

[quote KirstenBlest]@XiCi, how quickly is quickly?
I've heard others say it but it doesn't happen to me

Are you expecting it to last several weeks?[/quote]
No, I'm talking within a couple of days whereas same items from other supermarkets last far longer. Maybe I've just been unlucky but it put me off.

@XiCi

I find its a false economy as their fruit and veg goes rotten incredibly quicky so I end up binning a lot of what I buy there. I just don't bother doing a full shop there any more. Occasionally I'll run in and pick up sone wine, cheese and a salmon en croute (which is deliciousand such a bargain). I find Lidl slightly better quality than Aldi.

Same. I actually save money on not needing to throw out rotten fruit and veg by buying from Tesco instead. I really, really wanted to like Aldi but the money I saved on my big shop, I lost on doing a top up shop elsewhere for the things Aldi didn't stock and also having to re-buy the wasted rotten veg and fruit. Not to mention the absolutely inedible horrors that were poor imitations of our usual products. (Aldi's Pepperamis or Chicago town pizzas would make you weep)

Then there's the needless shite I couldn't help but buy from Aldi's Aisle of wonder. (As in, "I wonder why we can buy plasters, a balloon animal making set, a wetsuit, a magnetic travel tool kit and a spare wheelbarrow wheel in one single aisle?!)

I save money by shopping wisely, bulk buying things on offer and spending a couple of pence more on veg that will last from Tesco.

Also, who buys sushi in a supermarket??? you are being unreasonable for that!
Millions of people that fancy some sushi for lunch. Why do you think the supermarkets sell it . Not everyone has a Japanese takeaway next door to them when they fancy a bit of sushi!

@XiCi, that's not right is it. I find it's ok for at least a week

I keep a lot of 'veg' like peppers, courgettes and tomatoes in a veg rack as they don't keep in the fridge and my kitchen is cold, and that might make a difference

Do people keep fruit for ages? My Aldi fruit never goes off- in fact I have the opposite issue with their pears, can’t get them to ripen

@speakout

Fruit and veg last a more "normal" time imo.

Larger suppliers pick their fruit very underipe, stored and transported in warehouses, weeks before it hits the shops. It lasts longer because it has been harvested very prematurely.
I want to buy tomatoes that will last only a few days in the fridge, stuff that lasts weeks puts me off, I don't think fruit and veg produced under such artificial conditions is as nutritious.
I like to buy ripe produce that lasts a few days- as it should be.
Produce sold in Aldi isn't older or past its sell by date, it just has not been subjected to such industrial processes which extend its shelf life.

I don't really care it doesn't look as fresh and I only want to do one shop per week not 2-3 as have to keep topping the fruit and veg up. The meat goes off a lot quicker as well I've had chicken go off 3 days before the used by date and salmon. It's a false economy for a lot of things.

home delivery is my answer to everything!

@XiCi

Also, who buys sushi in a supermarket??? you are being unreasonable for that! Millions of people that fancy some sushi for lunch. Why do you think the supermarkets sell it . Not everyone has a Japanese takeaway next door to them when they fancy a bit of sushi!

They have sushi in every 7/11 in Japan which is a cheap convenience store

@OnlyFoolsnMothers

Do people keep fruit for ages? My Aldi fruit never goes off- in fact I have the opposite issue with their pears, can’t get them to ripen

My strawberries, raspberries and prepped mango always goes off atleast a day before it says is its Best before which is frustrating.

I think what did it for me was the thread on supermarket sushi and someone said “try Aldi!” but the Aldi sushi was all sad and dry looking

Was it the basic ‘eat and go’ Aldi sushi that you saw, or the Specially Selected? For £3 why didn’t you just try it and bin if you didn’t like it. That’s the beauty of Aldi - everything’s cheap enough to try.

groceries.aldi.co.uk/en-GB/p-specially-selected-salmon-selection-1-pack/4088600451442

groceries.aldi.co.uk/en-GB/p-specially-selected-crispy-prawn-cali-rolls-1-pack/4088600451459

Their fruit goes off before I've left the shop.

For me the main bugbears are,
loads of products have potential nut/peanut contamination,
inconsistent quality,
fruit and veg mouldy on the shelves,
the way they stock items so there's two or three options in a box rather than a box of each. I know it's part of how they keep costs low but it's annoying when one variety is always more popular,
the packing situation.