ALDI Stores: Quality Products at Deep Discount??

Question

Hi, Hounders,

With the holiday cooking season approaching, perhaps you have some opinions...?

I made my first visit to our local Aldi's (after an absense from Aldi's shopping since we lived in Europe many years ago) and was amazed at the low prices for staples compared to Kroger's. 

I thought the prices were too good to be true, but maybe not? So I ask: What is your experience with the quality of your food purchases at Aldi. 

I would like some comparisons especially for butter, eggs, bacon, cereal, crackers, spices, bottled sauces.

What would you specifically recommend and what would you stay away from?

Thanks so much.

Answer

I like shopping at Aldi and think the quality of a majority of their products is fantastic. Butter is the cheapest and no issues in using it when coooking. The cheeses are no different from the name brand basics - as good as if not better than Kraft. They carry a thick sliced bacon in plain as well as maple flavor that my husband loves. I use some of their crackers and cereals but have avoided any sauces - mainly because we use very little bottled products in our home. Sugar and flour are great for baking and I love their fiber bars. Sometime they will have some "one time purchase" items such as honey wheat pretzel sticks and they are GREAT! I have rarely been disappointed by purchases there - have fun shopping and saving money!

Answer

I live in the UK and generally prefer Lidl to Aldi amongst the cheap supermarkets. 

I find that many of their prices are now pretty much in line with the discounted prices at the more mainstream supermarkets and, of course, Aldi tends not to stock premium products that I normally buy, such as free range bacon and eggs or organic butter.

Where I do use them is for their tinned or jarred products. Often they will have products not available at more "British" supermarkets or, alternatively, have similar but at heavily discounted prices - their jarred sundried tomatoes are half the price of my normal supermarket.

So, difficult to answer your question specifically. We probably visit about three times a year and tend to make a shop at both Aldi & Lidl (as they happen to be within a couple of kilometres of each other). We just look for whatever bargains are available at the time - probably spending around £50 at Lidl and perhaps half that at Aldi. Neither are shops I would want to vsiit regularly.

This thread on a money saving forum may be of interest:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=110684&page=64

Answer

I've been happy with basic products. Their corn chip is the closest to Fritos I've found
Produce has been fine and very reasonable. I tried a frozen dinner and it was not so good (even for a frozen dinner).

Answer

I made my first trip to an Aldi's last week too. It was about a 35 mile trip, but I wanted to pick up the Crofton convection oven (the Flavorwave clone) that they had on sale for $40.

I was surprised at how small the store was. I don't think it was even 10,000 sq. ft. I don't know why, but I pictured a huge cavernous warehouse. The layout and registers made the place look like a no-frills supermarket from 25 years in the future. And it was awesome that the cashiers had chairs! (I cashiered for 15 years, and always thought this was a great idea. It reduces fatigue and increases efficiency!) The place was super clean, unlike other bargain supermarkets in the area. Lines at the register got long, but moved quickly.

So, here are some impressions on some of the items I got (don't remember all the Aldi brand names):

Crisp Rice Cereal Treats w chocolate drizzle: OK, but vastly inferior to the original Kellogg's prepackaged ones.

Egg Nog: Very good. Comparable to brand name egg nog.

Jello cups (unrefrigerated): So-so. No Jello.

Toffee chocolate bar: Outstanding. As good as the best stuff at Trader Joe's.

And the convection oven is great. I used it for the first time last night, and cooked a 6 lb chicken perfectly in exactly an hour. The skin was crisp and the meat was moist inside. It is pretty large though, so clean up is a bit of a challenge. Still, I will definitely use it again.

I didn't find the prices to be earth-shattering. They were comparable to sale prices at the major supermarkets for the most part, with a couple of very good bargains in the mix. (For example, the convection oven, and I also got some 100W equivalent CFC light bulbs for around $3. The 60W equivalents were around $2.)

Did I enjoy the trip? Sure! Is it worth driving 35 miles every week for? Not really. Will I return? Sure, when I have the time!

Answer

Just in time for Christmas, one of this weeks special buys is a Nintendo Wii system for $250...
http://www.aldi.us/us/html/offers/58_9412_ENU_HTML.htm?WT.mc_id=2009-10-26-15-27

Answer

The Aldi cooking spray is really good. I think it was $1.19/can!

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I love the Rodeo Bill kettle chips - they are cheap and good! Also awesome is the "legend of Rodeo Bill" printed on the bag: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_zU2E4zybwZs/SaM1y1o91VI/AAAAAAAAAMQ/zZrd1S805Js/s1600-h/Legend.jpg

Answer

.79 per 15 oz. for canned pumpkin was a half price bargain compared to Libby's even on sale. Their dozen eggs for .79-.99 gets my vote as the best bargain and I actually welcome the no-frills in and out in record time layout of Aldi's. I'm so over the two hour food mall experience. If I could find everything I need at Aldi's I'd be thrilled. Their produce and flower section has grown in size and quality recently and I thanked the store mgr. for keeping the site super clean the last time I was there. My husband & kids love the chocolate selections and even some of the bread (olive oil & rosemary ciabatta) has been surprisingly good. Keep on Aldi's!

Answer

I have said it before but the chocolate chips are really great quality from Aldi

Answer

I've gotten really fond of the Aldi's of Michigan. They frequently have perfectly functional extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegars for low, low prices. My husband really digs the East German WERNESGRUNER beer that they carry. It's no high-gravity craft brew, but it's a very drinkable lil' german pilsner. The Winking Owl wines are a good bet to use for cooking (and not completely disgusting as drinkables), and they also frequently have argentine, french, and spanish wine offerings that are a-okay, particularly considering the price. This week? MALBEC for $3.99. i don't think all the Aldi stores carry alcohol, though.

Answer

I have found a number of good bargains there, though a few misses too, their standard coffee in the large (33oz?) container was so awful I ended up returning it after one pot, and I have never done that with any coffee before, I have purchased their higher end coffee though and found it acceptable, though not a good enough deal to be worth switching from my normal source. 

overall if I had to go out of my way rather than it being in an area I normally shop anyway I probably wouldn't shop there. would much rather see a member of their sister company Trader Joe's around here. unfortunately there aren't any of them in florida at all.

Answer

Aldi's products are generally great...as good as and occasionally better than many "name" national brands. Shouldn't be too much of a surprise since they own Trader Joe's.

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Tried the french onion dip today and it was awesome. Sour cream's the first ingredient, which is why I normally seek out Berne's.....

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Okay, revisiting this post because the chocolate bars sold at Aldi's under the Moser Roth label come 5 bars to one package and run $1.69 each, offered in eight flavors. These are amazingly good and fantastic for baking uses. The Dark Chocolate 70% cocoa chopped in cookie dough or the Pecan Orange added to hot chocolate rocked us last night and is a steal, not a bargain. I'm thinking that buying eight packs; one from each flavor, broken down into the indiv. bars and turned into a chocolate library would make a fun stocking stuffer for our family of youngins. Get your supply while they last! :)

Answer

The quality of Aldi food is pretty good. Some people might not like the particular taste of something, though, if they are used to some other brand. 

That said, their half and half has some odd ingredients in it. I wish they had half and half that was just cream and milk.

Answer

I remember shopping once at Aldis in Dayton. They are now moving moving into the South Florida market where I live. I look forward to checking them out.

Answer

WOW, I am so disappointed! Tiny store, NO brand names that I could find - I don't like taking chances on off-brand names, very limited produce, high ratio pork products to chicken/fish products and the prices are not that great ... especially for off brand items. I won't waste my time shopping there again and I will go back to my local WalMart, Sam's, Kroger, or Tom Thumb. Boo Aldi!

Answer

I am an Aldi's virgin. They have been in my area for years but I am finally going to stop by this week and check them out. My big question is do they sell a lot of natural food items? e.g. If I buy a can of beans, I want the ingredients to be beans, water and salt (no sodium benzoate or other unnecessary stuff).

Answer

"WOW, I am so disappointed! Tiny store, NO brand names that I could find - I don't like taking chances on off-brand names,"

DUDE! you need to pay attention! your comment make you look like a fool! private labels are the entire concept at Aldis's -like walking into Starbucks and ordering a cup of Folgers coffee

Answer

I buy a lot of my "basic" food items here. I love Aldi's EVOO and butter, cooking oils, shortening and dairy products. The EVOO is the best on the market at any price and the dairy is a good as the national brands. I however don't care much for their pasta sauce. It is very pasty tasting. I think they add a lot of food starch to stretch the sauce and thicken it. I have no troubles with their meats fresh or frozen. They are very high quality. The fresh produce is not the best. Its usually not that fresh and suspect at best.

Answer

I so miss my NY Aldis. The very best ham I've eaten anywhere was an Appleton ham I bought there for about a third of what one would cost at Costco. And their Moser chocolate is the steal of the year. Fabulous dark chocolate for almost no money. 
i could go on and on. but everyone finds treats there. 
I don't understand why there are none on the West Coast. i am in Washington. Has anyone heard of any plans for expansion out this way?

Answer

I recently tried the feta cheese at Aldi's (1.99 for a small container). It was just the size I needed for my stuffed peppers. Once the dish was prepared it had no flavor from the feta at all. 

I'm generally happy with my Aldi's purchases so this was a surprise. Live and learn!

Answer

I hate to be a dissenter here (o.k., not really) but... With me it's the principal of the thing. I'll be damned if I am going to pay 5 cents apiece for bags, or put a quarter in the slot in order to get a shopping cart. First of all if I make a really big trip I might fill ten bags. No, the extra 50 cents won't break me, but it won't break them either. But like I said, it's the principal of the thing. If I only put five things in each bag, and they amortized the cost of the bags across my entire order, they would only add a penny to each item I bought. Fercrissakes! Add the penny and chuck in the bags! The more I put in each bag the less the price goes up. I am sure they have priced the bags so they aren't losing money on them. I suspect they are a (small) profit center. And, yes, I know get the quarter back when I return the cart, but I don't want someone else's diseased quarter. Seriously, I realize this is to to ensure the carts get returned to the front of the store, but I do that anyway. I'm getting punished for other's laziness.

Answer

There is a new shopping center going in near the mall I frequent when running errands, and I'm finally going to have an Aldi close enough to be worthwhile (currently the closest is 45 minutes away, and not near anything else I need). I doubt it will be a one-stop-shop for me, but I'm still excited to have the option at all. I already try to bring my own bags most of the time, so that isn't a problem. The quarter for a cart might take some time to get used to since I rarely have change on hand, but I expect I will just end up keeping an Aldi-quarter in the car ash tray.

Answer

currently they are carrying in my area, a 1# bag of pastachios for around $6. they are compariable to the nuts we were able to get before the embargo with Iran many years ago now.

Answer

my first visit to Aldi's was about a month ago, prices were good for things I would use like canned beans and creamed corn at 49c a can but beware a lot of their goods are Made In China including foods which I won't buy.
The large size Half and Half was $2.49 I was pleased with that. Much of the food is junk food like sodas, candy, chips, instant ramen, stuff that I rarely ever buy. I think Aldi is great if you are having a party and want and need those kind of things and paper products and if you don't mind the no-brand items. I would go again with a bit more time on my hands and see what's worth having.

Answer

Stop & Shop is selling 15 oz. cans of pure pumpkin for 1.99/can this week and Aldi's is and will be selling the same size can of pure pumpkin for .99/can until their supplier stops offering it.
I'd call that a bargain.

Answer

Their weekly meat special could use some help. $1.59/lb for pork shoulder...Wegmans sells it for $ 1.29/lb.
I have some cooking in my slow cooker right now. I am however using some Aldi Tuscan garden bottled cole slaw dressing to make some cole slaw. It was good before,, and I think it was only .99cents a bottle.

Answer

I'll preface my post by saying I'm not much of a coffee critic or coffee 'snob' but I do like a good cup of coffee (although I no longer even drink it daily). Several months ago I bought a 3/4 lb. bag of the Walmart brand of whole coffee beans and was not impressed. I went back to the Aldi pre-ground grocery store variety of coffee. A few days ago I bought a 3/4 lb. bag of the Aldi 'Donut Store Blend' of whole coffee beans. The package was the same color as Dunkin' Donuts, you get the idea. Anyway, I found it to be quite good and worth the extra money, I think it comes to about $6/lb. I should say I have never purchased the real thing, the Dunkin' Donuts whole coffee beans. They might be far superior.

Answer

I actually live right next to an Aldi's...personally, I love it! 

A gallon of milk (Skim, 2%, or Vit D) is always under $3. They always have great deals on fresh produce! I've gone several times to find 99 cent pineapples and 29 cent avocados. Their spices are also quite cheap...99 cents for an entire bottle, affordable extra virgin olive oil, 99 cent tortillas.

I wasn't a big fan of their knockoff Oreos though. I have noticed that they've started carrying Fage yogurt (about $2.29 for a tub of 0%) and they also have Kefir.

Answer

This is a pretty good blog but will be better when/if guest contributors can review products.

http://aldishopper.blogspot.com/

I'm not affiliated with this blog in any way.

Answer

My experiences:

Most commodities - milk, eggs, coffee filters, canned foods - identical with major store brands.

Snack foods vary. Some of the chips distinctly have that off-brand flavor (IE, you'd never confuse their potato chips with Lay's.) The snack meats such as beef sticks and pepperoni are pretty good and cheap but not as full flavored as major brands like "Old Wisconsin". 

Fresh vegetables are surprisingly good, if you select well and take care of the veggies. Example: their asparagus is quite cheap by the pound. However, theirs is somewhat dry and has dried out stem ends, because it's; shrink wrapped the store does not mist veggies.At home I trim the ends off and place the bunch in a can of water in the fridge like a "bouquet" - this keeps the asparagus lively and brings it back. Onions, fresh garlic, mushrooms, potatoes, and fruits are usually a great bargain. 

The worst experiences I've had have been with Aldi's store brand meats. 

"Grandessa" thick sliced bacon in a 1.5 lb package for $5.49 seemed identical when cooked to normal non premium store bacon. It was definitely not comparable to Wright bacon which WalMart has on sale for $5.99 at times. (I returned it after one meal using it and got a refund.)

The individually wrapped beef filets at $1.89 for a 5 oz filet seemed like a great bargain. I grilled a few several months ago that were wonderful. One I grilled recently was full of tough connective tissue, almost like silverskin, and it was so "stiff" that it hurt my gums to chew. I will not buy these now. However, a pair of beef filet mignon filets for $4.99 we got a month ago was tender and succulent. 

The small pork tenderloins at $3.99/lb are a good bargain. Two things: again like the beef filets, the tenderloins I've bought and cooked recently are full of tough connective tissue that really should have been trimmed, which reduces the yield. And the Aldi pork tenderloins shrink like crazy when cooked. 

Aldi runs some fantastic deals on Smithfield products, like ham steaks for $3.99/lb and smoked pork chops for $4.99/lb (one third less than Kroger per pound.)

I think with meat at Aldi's, you definitely get what you pay for. I do not consider Aldi very reliable for fresh meats.

Answer

Overnight our local Aldi's was transformed! The crew rearranged the aisles and merchandise, added new refrigeration units, there's a new bread dept. New products in every aisle, a larger home appliance/housewares dept., countless new cheeses and dairy products, more produce and fresh flowers to select, on and on. I even found fresh herbs today. More jarred imports too.

Well...I've been a fan of this location since it opened but my loyalty meter just went up. 

Has anyone else experienced a remodel at their Aldi location?

Answer

Just got back from our local Aldi store. Pleased to find out they are tip-toeing into the organic arena. I picked up jarred salsa and a bottle of olive oil. They also had dried pasta and a few other packaged goods. I'd love to see this trend spill over into the produce and dairy sections!

Answer

Danger! I just noticed Aldi stocking their Benton brand of samoa cookies (the ones with the coconut and chocolate) for about $1.79. Yeah, I realize I'm only supporting my growing belly rather than the GS organization, but at 1/2 the price, I can live with that. And they are damn good out of the freezer (where I store almost all GS cookies). 

Edit: I mispelled samoa! Great tip on the crust HillJ.

Answer

I generally look at the Aldi's ad just for what the weird specials are that week. Picked up some nice silpat knock offs very cheap. In general, the store in my location is small and dismal, the produce not worth the bother and the clerks are surly.

Answer

We've only dashed in to our local Aldi in the past. Remember buying our last two Thanksgiving turkeys there. Also trays of frozen hash browns...

But we're weaning ourselves from Kroger. Just have had tooooo many bad experiences with that mega grocer. So earlier this week my wife and I dedicated a exploratory trip to Aldi. 

Our major impression, was a "wow" for the prices and freshness of the produce offered. Brought home a five pound bag of baking potatoes, a package of three broccoli crowns, a head of cauliflower my wife declaired "beautiful", four sets of green onions, an artisan mixed greens tub, and mini sweet pepper package. 

Baked four of the six potatoes in that five pound package for dinner that night. Could have been a meal in themselves. They were fresh, firm and tasty. 

Did some other light shopping while there (more frozen hash browns, a package of frozen five inch cheese pizza rounds...). But the small, but impressive produce section won us over. Looking forward to the next shopping stop there.

Answer

Here's a good article in my local newspaper about Aldi's. It covers some comparisons to other chains and Aldi's history: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20130721/BUSINESS/307210029/No-frills-foodstore-Aldi-is-expanding?Frontpage

My wife and I shop there for fresh produce and commodities [eggs, milk, bread] a few times per month. Prices for commodities can be up to a dollar cheaper [such as milk] and are of acceptable quality. Produce is incredibly well-priced and often of average to above-average quality. However, do look at it closely. I have bought private-label canned veggies and beans that are well-priced and decent quality. I read some comments that people feel that the fresh produce may not last long, but with a look over it before selecting, I have had produce last as long as any high-end store or farmer's market. I really think where some of the real cost-savings comes from is Aldi's sells irregular [and smaller] sized citrus, for example [versus buying old and nearly expired produce as some have suggested]. The most frustrating thing is that if I find something that I really like, it may or may not be in stock each time we shop there. Overall, I really like Aldi's for produce and commodities.

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I shop at Aldi's once in a while, but their stores kind of creep me out. Is it just me or are all of their employees stone-faced and emotionless? They don't even smile, or acknowledge you, or offer any help with anything - they just walk right past you and ignore you, and when you're checking out, they just robotically ring your stuff up with a blank look on their faces.

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Our Aldi has the 4.99 mandolines if one is looking to tiptoe into using that particular cooking tool.

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I have to confess I haven't tried either one, but I got a Vermont Country Store (VCS) catalog yesterday after having been at Aldi's for the first time the day before that. The various stollens and the descriptions in the VCS catalog looked suspiciously like the ones at Aldi's- for a lot less of course. Aldi's $4.95 vs. about $20-25 from the VCS catalog. Edited to add that the ingredient lists for the Aldi's stollens looked pretty good.

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The cheese selections at Aldi are way up. I counted 12 different styles. All within the $1.99 to $4.99 price range., The brie pallet was whipped out. Holiday goodies.

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My local Aldi has eggs for .49 per dozen,limit of 3 dozen per person. I just stocked up.

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I found that they had good prices for baguettes in France, which is to say, it's not hard to find a cheap good baguette in France, unless Aldi is the only option...

The quality is decent enough, particularly when I don't have a choice. Greens, cheese, baguette, and fruit juice for less than €3-4? Good.

Haven't been to one in the US yet, though every time I'm by the 46th St. SEPTA station in Philly, it's tempting.

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Two years ago I bought strawberries and left them in the fridge whilst I was on holiday for a month - they still surprisingly good, so i left them in the fridge for a further two weeks, then notified Aldi... A week later that brand of strawberries were no longer on the shelves!? Been shopping on and off at Aldi and have enjoyed many products but have wondered about why the grass fed rump appears to be marinated or tenderised. The chicken tenderloins just do not go off either... I smell a rat again!

Answer

Herbs.

My local Aldi had small basil, thyme, sage, and flat leaf parsley plants for 1.99.

Great since my summer plants have flowered and are "done".

I planted my purchases in small indoor pots and plan to keep them in my sun-room, using them throughout autumn and winter.

Answer

90% of Aldi's food products are as good as competitor brands, if not better. What they do well, they do very well. Their loaf breads, baking goods, jarred & refrigerated condiments, cheeses, cold cuts, canned vegetables, fresh meats - hams, chicken, ground beef - all great! Their fresh fruit & vegetables, albeit occasionally imperfect, cost about 30% less than Kroger & Wal-Mart. And Aldi's Fit & Active smoked turkey kielbasa is always in the fridge. (Good with eggs, in soups, on a bun in place of hot dogs.). Aldi also always has a nice interesting variety of seasonal home goods & hardware items. Good quality & well priced. But when a product is bad - it's WEIRD bad. eg. I find their butter always strangely off-tasting & it goes rancid very quickly. But all of their other dairy products are just fine. Last year I bought a bake & serve Belmont pumpkin pie for the holidays. It was pretty awful. Very strong margarine taste & an inedible soggy crust you could not cut. And a very odd spice blend. Swear it was mostly... paprika?! The same with their canned soups - some very good, some... blech! Their coffee is not bad - if you like it strong. Aldi blends all taste nearly the same to me so I buy that elsewhere. Much better are Aldi's frozen Italian foods, esp. the Mama Cozzi line. They also have some frozen pastas that are simply excellent, add your own sauce. The German products are always pretty good, too. esp. fun to try if you're German. Not easy to find these foods in the US. You just have to figure out what you like best. Will say, it's worth it to browse the store & buy a few things. You'll save about 40% on staples. That's a lot of money!

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Your quality, sanitary conditions and services vary in different stores based on the income of the customers. In my neighborhood, the best is at the Seminary Road, Alexandria, VA (high- income area) and the worst is Richmond High way, Alexandria VA (low- income area).
The one in Richmond Highway, perhaps would not pass the sanitary inspection requirements. The store is not clean.

Jim R

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