ALDI & LIDL Food and Drink Worth Trying?

ALDI & LIDL Food and Drink Worth Trying?

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Discussion

FiF

44,200 posts

252 months

Thursday 4th April 2019
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21TonyK said:
Am I missing a trick with Lidl? Just opened a new big Lidl local to me and have been round a few times but yesterday I couldn't find naans or any ready made samosas or anything like that?

The range of products seems very limited compared to Aldi?
When a big new Lidl opened at first the different layout locations made it difficult to find stuff, without realising one had been programmed into looking for things in a particular sequence. Having said that they do seem to be changing and dropping some lines, for example we've previously bought their Simply Oats to go into home made muesli mix, now nowhere to be seen and replaced by some Oatilicious rubbish. Naans were there definitely, not sure about samosas, we get ours from the local butcher done by his own chef, presumably Lidl's are quite good then?

V8mate

45,899 posts

190 months

Thursday 4th April 2019
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21TonyK said:
Am I missing a trick with Lidl? Just opened a new big Lidl local to me and have been round a few times but yesterday I couldn't find naans or any ready made samosas or anything like that?

The range of products seems very limited compared to Aldi?
Lidl is a very different proposition to Aldi and you just need to get past that. It's much closer to the German original in terms of its offering style. Smaller core range but a lot of both food and non-food specials in the 'Middle of Lidl'.

In terms of booze, for example, Aldi's core range is better, but Lidl is much better at finding one-off drops of great wines (and beers).

We discuss them equally here as they have a common profile of invading German discounter, but there are distinct differences as you dig deeper.

21TonyK

11,553 posts

210 months

Thursday 4th April 2019
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FiF said:
presumably Lidl's are quite good then?
No, they're barely passable TBH but needs must mid-week.

Trustmeimadoctor

12,654 posts

156 months

Thursday 4th April 2019
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around here lidl is far superior to aldi.

V8mate

45,899 posts

190 months

Thursday 4th April 2019
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Trustmeimadoctor said:
around here lidl is far superior to aldi.
I think they're just different.

I mainly shop at Aldi, because they have the core stuff I need for a week's meals.

But I love Lidl because they still import lots of stuff from the Fatherland. On many occasions I'll find that I've returned from Lidl, clutching a fifty or sixty quid receipt, and only have one 'dinner'. The rest has been spent on life's luxuries.

Trustmeimadoctor

12,654 posts

156 months

Thursday 4th April 2019
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For me around here aldi looks like its been ransacked or the manager just forgets to order stock

HOGEPH

5,249 posts

187 months

Thursday 4th April 2019
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V8mate said:
Aldi/Lidl fanboi, I may be, but all supermarket hot cross buns are sure. The dough is, inevitably, cheap and dry. Whilst 'split and toasted, with butter' is the correct way to enjoy them, you can tell you've got a good bun when you can quite happily eat it straight from the packet.

M&S Luxury are the only acceptable packaged variant.

And as for the the recent fad of random (generally extremely sweet) additions... FFS. Someone at work the other day had 'chocolate and salted caramel' hot cross buns. Filthy soandso.

Edited by V8mate on Friday 29th March 17:01
The chocolate and salted caramel hot cross buns are my new favourite hot cross bun flavour.

Condi

17,283 posts

172 months

Thursday 4th April 2019
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Lidl has more continental stuff, which is good. Fun things at the moment are a full range of Jaffa Cakes - cherry, raspberry, strawberry, apricot etc. Also picked up a bar of Polish (?) chocolate with a white chocolate and raspberry filling. Very tasty.


Aldi better for brands, but less interesting things to pick up as you go round.

Welshbeef

49,633 posts

199 months

Friday 5th April 2019
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How much of the Aldi and Lidl produce that you buy are produced in the U.K.?

I saw a commend above made in the fatherland like it’s good to be supporting another country instead of our own

anonymous-user

55 months

Friday 5th April 2019
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What do you mean produced in UK.

They don't import German chickens.. most will be contract manufactured in the UK, fresh is UK as it usually says on the label. The thing is Lidl and Aldi are very different to the German ones, sone many British specific products.

Evanivitch

20,206 posts

123 months

Friday 5th April 2019
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Welshbeef said:
How much of the Aldi and Lidl produce that you buy are produced in the U.K.?

I saw a commend above made in the fatherland like it’s good to be supporting another country instead of our own
Their milk, much of their cheese and increasingly their yogurts are British dairy.

Welshbeef

49,633 posts

199 months

Friday 5th April 2019
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Thesprucegoose said:
What do you mean produced in UK.

They don't import German chickens.. most will be contract manufactured in the UK, fresh is UK as it usually says on the label. The thing is Lidl and Aldi are very different to the German ones, sone many British specific products.
It’s was just the comment about “the fatherland” all the good stuff.

A lsicilian drizzle whatisitsname isn’t produced in the U.K.
and lots of the pics I’ve seen here “ohhh look at this grab em while you can” style posts.

FiF

44,200 posts

252 months

Friday 5th April 2019
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Welshbeef said:
Thesprucegoose said:
What do you mean produced in UK.

They don't import German chickens.. most will be contract manufactured in the UK, fresh is UK as it usually says on the label. The thing is Lidl and Aldi are very different to the German ones, sone many British specific products.
It’s was just the comment about “the fatherland” all the good stuff.

A lsicilian drizzle whatisitsname isn’t produced in the U.K.
and lots of the pics I’ve seen here “ohhh look at this grab em while you can” style posts.
A lot of stuff is UK, and equally a lot isn't, you just have to use common sense. For instance Lidl have recently been doing boxes of Swedish biscuits, oat thins and all various types, don't seem to be selling that well. Having lived over there they aren't from the better bakeries so I've been avoiding, also because of trying to lose weight. From time to time they do frozen Swedish meatballs, again not from the best manufacturer, but iIn this case a more than acceptable offering, pity not been in stock for some time.

What we like is that when they have a regional specialty in it's generally the real McCoy, not some 'British' interpretation. You may like them, equally may not. Some Polish sausage got mixed reviews at home the other day, not because it wasn't decent stuff, properly decent meaty stuff, just too garlicky. Obviously the rip off lines, e.g. cereals are a branded 'equivalent', some are ok even as good as or better than the original branded version, others are sadly not worth the shelf space, which is where this thread excels in pointing out the good, the bad and the ugly. As earlier, open mind and common sense required.


V8mate

45,899 posts

190 months

Friday 5th April 2019
quotequote all
Welshbeef said:
Thesprucegoose said:
What do you mean produced in UK.

They don't import German chickens.. most will be contract manufactured in the UK, fresh is UK as it usually says on the label. The thing is Lidl and Aldi are very different to the German ones, sone many British specific products.
It’s was just the comment about “the fatherland” all the good stuff.

A lsicilian drizzle whatisitsname isn’t produced in the U.K.
and lots of the pics I’ve seen here “ohhh look at this grab em while you can” style posts.
Maybe the person celebrating is 'of German extraction'?

matchmaker

8,504 posts

201 months

Friday 5th April 2019
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Thesprucegoose said:
What do you mean produced in UK.

They don't import German chickens.. most will be contract manufactured in the UK, fresh is UK as it usually says on the label. The thing is Lidl and Aldi are very different to the German ones, sone many British specific products.
Here in Scotland the majority of Aldis fresh meat is Scottish - far more so than in the likes of Tesco. Both Aldi and Lidl source their milk up here from Grahams of Bridge of Allan.

V8mate

45,899 posts

190 months

Friday 5th April 2019
quotequote all
matchmaker said:
Thesprucegoose said:
What do you mean produced in UK.

They don't import German chickens.. most will be contract manufactured in the UK, fresh is UK as it usually says on the label. The thing is Lidl and Aldi are very different to the German ones, sone many British specific products.
Here in Scotland the majority of Aldis fresh meat is Scottish - far more so than in the likes of Tesco. Both Aldi and Lidl source their milk up here from Grahams of Bridge of Allan.
Indeed. Their local supply chains are very strong; Aldi especially. More that every mile less hauled saves £££s, rather than them caring that we 'eat local', I'm sure!

louiebaby

10,651 posts

192 months

Friday 5th April 2019
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V8mate said:
Maybe the person celebrating is 'of German extraction'?
I doubt that's it...

V8mate

45,899 posts

190 months

Friday 5th April 2019
quotequote all
louiebaby said:
V8mate said:
Maybe the person celebrating is 'of German extraction'?
I doubt that's it...
It was just a suggestion... a guess... other options are available.

Gretchen

19,052 posts

217 months

Friday 5th April 2019
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V8mate said:
louiebaby said:
V8mate said:
Maybe the person celebrating is 'of German extraction'?
I doubt that's it...
It was just a suggestion... a guess... other options are available.
Is there an inferior British interpretation?


V8mate

45,899 posts

190 months

Friday 5th April 2019
quotequote all
Gretchen said:
V8mate said:
louiebaby said:
V8mate said:
Maybe the person celebrating is 'of German extraction'?
I doubt that's it...
It was just a suggestion... a guess... other options are available.
Is there an inferior British interpretation?
Germanophile?