ALDI & LIDL Food and Drink Worth Trying?

[BrabusMog]

FiF said:

Agree with those who prefer these when you have just a few items, nothing as frustrating as standing carrying 5 items behind a queue of those with trollies piled up with a month's shopping for a family of 6, at least that's what it feels like.

I only ever buy a few bits at a time in Aldi or Lidl and unless I’m super lucky, I always find that people loaded with a full trolley will always let me go ahead of them. Perhaps it’s just my good looks and charm that get me by

[sean ie3]

From Aldi, soft and mellow on the palette so easy to drink



Have a celebrational Cinco De Mayo. 👌👌👌

[ambuletz]

Much as I do like going to LIDL/ALDI it seems I'm not the only person who feels that the fruit & veg seems to go off quicker from them than other places. Anyone got any thoughts to why? or perhaps is it just from everyone saying it.

[psi310398]

ambuletz said:

Much as I do like going to LIDL/ALDI it seems I'm not the only person who feels that the fruit & veg seems to go off quicker from them than other places. Anyone got any thoughts to why? or perhaps is it just from everyone saying it.

I am fairly sure that I was told that they kept retail prices low for fresh food by paying bottom dollar for stuff that was days older than the usual supermarket fare and, resultantly, it appeared to spoil faster.

[Welshbeef]

What’s that big bottle of beer “pilser”(?) that Lidl sell?

Tried a couple and it was barely £1 600ml+ yummy

[V8mate]

psi310398 said:

ambuletz said:

Much as I do like going to LIDL/ALDI it seems I'm not the only person who feels that the fruit & veg seems to go off quicker from them than other places. Anyone got any thoughts to why? or perhaps is it just from everyone saying it.

I am fairly sure that I was told that they kept retail prices low for fresh food by paying bottom dollar for stuff that was days older than the usual supermarket fare and, resultantly, it appeared to spoil faster.

Lidl bananas are the best of any supermarket!

In general, I'd say that Lidl F&V is better quality and longer lasting than Aldi.

[LeadFarmer]

psi310398 said:

ambuletz said:

Much as I do like going to LIDL/ALDI it seems I'm not the only person who feels that the fruit & veg seems to go off quicker from them than other places. Anyone got any thoughts to why? or perhaps is it just from everyone saying it.

I am fairly sure that I was told that they kept retail prices low for fresh food by paying bottom dollar for stuff that was days older than the usual supermarket fare and, resultantly, it appeared to spoil faster.

Maybe this gives a better chance of picking up fruit that is already ripe and ready to eat, I hate it when supermarkets sell things like rock hard peaches that have to sit in your fruit bowl for 5 days, and then one day when your back is turned it goes ripe and then rotten in the same minute, and ends up on the compost heap. Bananas are usually always green and have to wait a few days for them to turn yellow. It's as if the supermarkets use the customer as their storage solution.

[21st Century Man]

Something I've always struggled with at Aldi is the shelf life and quality of the fruit and veg, it's been similar with Lidl. I therefore try quite hard to check before putting something into my trolley, but I'm still coming a cropper. Cheesy veg tonight and the packet of cauliflower and broccoli florets I bought on Wednesday is rank, it smells and is pretty dirty. The pack of carrots have a couple of rotten squishy ones in there and many of the spuds in the pack of potatoes are grey/black inside. I then open the mixed grapes and they have a small amount of white fluffy mould on them as do the vine tomatoes. This is every item of fruit & veg that I bought.

I wouldn't mind so much if this was a rare occurrence, but it's not, I've grumbled many a time on this thread about it. I'm going to keep shopping there, but I've resolved not to buy anymore fruit & veg, I'll make a separate trip to the High St fruit & veg shop from now on.

[hotchy]

21st Century Man said:

Something I've always struggled with at Aldi is the shelf life and quality of the fruit and veg, it's been similar with Lidl. I therefore try quite hard to check before putting something into my trolley, but I'm still coming a cropper. Cheesy veg tonight and the packet of cauliflower and broccoli florets I bought on Wednesday is rank, it smells and is pretty dirty. The pack of carrots have a couple of rotten squishy ones in there and many of the spuds in the pack of potatoes are grey/black inside. I then open the mixed grapes and they have a small amount of white fluffy mould on them as do the vine tomatoes. This is every item of fruit & veg that I bought.

I wouldn't mind so much if this was a rare occurrence, but it's not, I've grumbled many a time on this thread about it. I'm going to keep shopping there, but I've resolved not to buy anymore fruit & veg, I'll make a separate trip to the High St fruit & veg shop from now on.

I find my local lidl the best in the town for veg tbh. Always fresh and good qaulity. They are the only place that buys local though and we have a huge veg place up the road so could be down to your area. Yet asda etc import...

I do however find aldi bananas a disgrace. Pure green and u don't think iv ever managed to get them yellow. Lidl ones alot better half yellow n green so ripen during the week perfectly.

[Trustmeimadoctor]

im having that with tesco stuff while still on the shelf and aldi and lidl they all weem to be like it except m&s, waitrose and morrisons

on bananas my tesco had 4 bananas the other day yes a whole 4!

[R56Cooper]

andburg said:

21TonyK said:

LeadFarmer said:

My local Aldi have just replaced one of their tills with 6 x self service basket tills which is a great idea.

Thats a positive sign! One of the reasons I use Lidl more for odd bits is the self checkout. I'd rather use Aldi but queueing when all I want is a bottle of wine and some cheese is a real pain.

I'd lean the other way, its a terrible sign.

Aldi was one of the last gasps for having somebody actually serve me. If they put them in at my local i just won't use them. If I'm just nipping out for 1 thing i go to the local coop which is full of self service after a recent refit but everyone queues at the cigarette counter, as yet I've not seen anybody use them

To be fair whenever I go to Lidl or Aldi it seems to be convention that if you have a basket, the person ahead of you will let you nip in.

Doesn't happen anywhere else but I guess it's because they have historically only had trolley checkouts whereas Asda etc have had the basket only checkouts for years.

Self-checkouts at Aldi are a mistake, their till operators are so fast I really don't see the time saving by the time you've waited for someone to approve any age restricted items.

[V8mate]

21st Century Man said:

Something I've always struggled with at Aldi is the shelf life and quality of the fruit and veg, it's been similar with Lidl. I therefore try quite hard to check before putting something into my trolley, but I'm still coming a cropper. Cheesy veg tonight and the packet of cauliflower and broccoli florets I bought on Wednesday is rank, it smells and is pretty dirty. The pack of carrots have a couple of rotten squishy ones in there and many of the spuds in the pack of potatoes are grey/black inside. I then open the mixed grapes and they have a small amount of white fluffy mould on them as do the vine tomatoes. This is every item of fruit & veg that I bought.

I wouldn't mind so much if this was a rare occurrence, but it's not, I've grumbled many a time on this thread about it. I'm going to keep shopping there, but I've resolved not to buy anymore fruit & veg, I'll make a separate trip to the High St fruit & veg shop from now on.

If cauliflower has deteriorated that much, that quickly, you can't be choosing your items very carefully. Did you refrigerate any of your items?

[andyA700]

V8mate said:

psi310398 said:

ambuletz said:

Much as I do like going to LIDL/ALDI it seems I'm not the only person who feels that the fruit & veg seems to go off quicker from them than other places. Anyone got any thoughts to why? or perhaps is it just from everyone saying it.

I am fairly sure that I was told that they kept retail prices low for fresh food by paying bottom dollar for stuff that was days older than the usual supermarket fare and, resultantly, it appeared to spoil faster.

Lidl bananas are the best of any supermarket!

In general, I'd say that Lidl F&V is better quality and longer lasting than Aldi.

I pretty much agree with this. I love the San Marzano tomatoes from Lidl, plus the individual red peppers, pears, pineapple, red potatoes, shallots, green beans, whole brocolli. The packaged veg is sometimes a bit rough, red onions not that good. We are fortunate that we have a Turkish run "international" shop not far from Lidl, where we can get really good quality fruit, veg, nuts, tea and cheese.

[21st Century Man]

V8mate said:

If cauliflower has deteriorated that much, that quickly, you can't be choosing your items very carefully. Did you refrigerate any of your items?

This was a pack of cauliflower and broccoli florets and straight into the fridge. Buying a separate cauliflower and broccoli is too much for my requirements, with hindsight I wouldn't have been so lazy buying prepared.

Why should I have to check my items carefully anyway? What am I supposed to do? Open the damned packet? I actually do carry out rudimentary checks because this issue is so prevalent, perhaps I should open the packets?

[V8mate]

21st Century Man said:

V8mate said:

If cauliflower has deteriorated that much, that quickly, you can't be choosing your items very carefully. Did you refrigerate any of your items?

This was a pack of cauliflower and broccoli florets and straight into the fridge. Buying a separate cauliflower and broccoli is too much for my requirements, with hindsight I wouldn't have been so lazy buying prepared.

Why should I have to check my items carefully anyway? What am I supposed to do? Open the damned packet? I actually do carry out rudimentary checks because this issue is so prevalent, perhaps I should open the packets?

Definitely. Maybe eat all your fresh produce in the store and just scan the empty packaging at the checkout?

[21st Century Man]

V8mate said:

21st Century Man said:

V8mate said:

If cauliflower has deteriorated that much, that quickly, you can't be choosing your items very carefully. Did you refrigerate any of your items?

This was a pack of cauliflower and broccoli florets and straight into the fridge. Buying a separate cauliflower and broccoli is too much for my requirements, with hindsight I wouldn't have been so lazy buying prepared.

Why should I have to check my items carefully anyway? What am I supposed to do? Open the damned packet? I actually do carry out rudimentary checks because this issue is so prevalent, perhaps I should open the packets?

Definitely. Maybe eat all your fresh produce in the store and just scan the empty packaging at the checkout?

Like chocolate, crisps and biscuits you mean?

[wobert]

21st Century Man said:

V8mate said:

If cauliflower has deteriorated that much, that quickly, you can't be choosing your items very carefully. Did you refrigerate any of your items?

This was a pack of cauliflower and broccoli florets and straight into the fridge. Buying a separate cauliflower and broccoli is too much for my requirements, with hindsight I wouldn't have been so lazy buying prepared.

Why should I have to check my items carefully anyway?What am I supposed to do? Open the damned packet? I actually do carry out rudimentary checks because this issue is so prevalent, perhaps I should open the packets?

I concur.

Aldi are buggers for stock rotations to the point I’ve bought a curry or ready meal which has gone out of date on the day of purchase.

I now take stock from the rear of shelf to ensure I maximise any available stock dates…

[andburg]

I shop after 8pm and just pick from the pallets in the middle of the aisle

[21st Century Man]

wobert said:

I concur.

Aldi are buggers for stock rotations to the point I’ve bought a curry or ready meal which has gone out of date on the day of purchase.

I now take stock from the rear of shelf to ensure I maximise any available stock dates…

Yes, I check dates, it's taken me an age to get into the habit of doing it for absolutely everything though.

[MonkeyBusiness]

andburg said:

I shop after 8pm and just pick from the pallets in the middle of the aisle

Thats a great top tip.