Lidl/Aldi brands v names brands

ha ha hello

"Fresh Meadow" Organic Tomato Ketchup and "Royal Orchard" high juice orange cordial are both nicer than any other brands I've ever tasted

loveisdivine

I saw in one of Lidl's magazines that they sell a Bally Manor Free Range whole chicken for 3.99.

Surely this cant be right? Literally everywhere else charge at the minimum €8 and usually around €10.

I googled this Bally manor and couldnt find anything. Are they legit free range? Anyone know anything about Bally Manor?

Name Changed

The packet stew mix in Aldi is 75c, which is much cheaper than the Knorr version. It's lovely as well.

fasttalkerchat

loveisdivine wrote: »

I saw in one of Lidl's magazines that they sell a Bally Manor Free Range whole chicken for 3.99.

Surely this cant be right? Literally everywhere else charge at the minimum €8 and usually around €10.

I googled this Bally manor and couldnt find anything. Are they legit free range? Anyone know anything about Bally Manor?

Ballymanor is a LIDL brand used for all their chicken. If I remember right, the farmer's name and town is on the box so you can go see for yourself

nudger

Ballymanyor? no?

mmm88

loveisdivine wrote: »

I saw in one of Lidl's magazines that they sell a Bally Manor Free Range whole chicken for 3.99.

Surely this cant be right? Literally everywhere else charge at the minimum €8 and usually around €10.

I googled this Bally manor and couldnt find anything. Are they legit free range? Anyone know anything about Bally Manor?

Correct, and if the chicken is slow roasted it is beautiful

fasttalkerchat

LIDL and M&S have the best chicken (same chicken).
I haven't tried ALDI. Tesco is very poor!

Northumbria

I don't like their meat very much and most of the fruit and veg is rather bland in flavour.
For fruit and veg in Britain I go to Morrisons - very cheap for it, a lot of choice and good quality. I buy grapes from Aldi though when there's a glut in summer and prices go down.

Name Changed

Has anyone ever tried the muesli and if so would it be decent enough both in taste and in quality? I always buy the Neal's Yard brand in Holland & Barrett but they are after putting the price of that up to over €7 a bag. No way would I pay that!

maryishairy

Name Changed wrote: »

Has anyone ever tried the muesli and if so would it be decent enough both in taste and in quality? I always buy the Neal's Yard brand in Holland & Barrett but they are after putting the price of that up to over €7 a bag. No way would I pay that!

I've tried the Lidl own brand muesli (Bixies). You can get a no added salt & sugar version too. It's only OK quality wise (very little nuts/ dried fruit) but it's very cheap.

The Tesco own brand muesli is a bit nicer and a bit more expensive.

If you're looking at the top end of the market, I think the best in terms of quality is Flahavan's Hi8 muesli. It's very nice. It's expensive but still nowhere near the €7 Holland and Barrett are charging for the Neal's yard brand.

SerialComplaint

maryishairy wrote: »

I've tried the Lidl own brand muesli (Bixies). You can get a no added salt & sugar version too. It's only OK quality wise (very little nuts/ dried fruit) but it's very cheap.

Is this not the 'Goody' brand? I use the blue no-sugar version, which is grand. It does need a bit of fruit to liven it up. Throw in a banana or some berries and you're laughing.

Name Changed

maryishairy wrote: »

I've tried the Lidl own brand muesli (Bixies). You can get a no added salt & sugar version too. It's only OK quality wise (very little nuts/ dried fruit) but it's very cheap.

The Tesco own brand muesli is a bit nicer and a bit more expensive.

If you're looking at the top end of the market, I think the best in terms of quality is Flahavan's Hi8 muesli. It's very nice. It's expensive but still nowhere near the €7 Holland and Barrett are charging for the Neal's yard brand.

I'll go to Tesco and buy that Flahavan's stuff so. I've never seen it before. I love the H&B stuff, it's great when training but the price...

copeyhagen

Deleted User wrote: »

What's bad about Aldi on the other hand, i constantly find that their fresh fruit and vegetables. I can never seem to find any best before or use by dates on any Aldi fruit and veg, which is not only concerning for food safety, but as far as i know, illegal under food sale regulations.

i agree about their fruit and veg, last pissing time.

there is a sell by date on the front 'label', you just ened to really look for it. afair there is no year, just, say, 2806 for todays date

Name Changed

maryishairy wrote: »

I've tried the Lidl own brand muesli (Bixies). You can get a no added salt & sugar version too. It's only OK quality wise (very little nuts/ dried fruit) but it's very cheap.

The Tesco own brand muesli is a bit nicer and a bit more expensive.

If you're looking at the top end of the market, I think the best in terms of quality is Flahavan's Hi8 muesli. It's very nice. It's expensive but still nowhere near the €7 Holland and Barrett are charging for the Neal's yard brand.

Just checked the Flahavans stuff in Dunnes. I was just over €4 for a 1kg bag, which ends up more expensive that the €7 for 2kg for Neal's Yard muesli in H&B!

I think I'll just have to wait until H&B have their buy one get second half price deal and stock up. According to their website, the deal is on now in Ireland for the muesli but I checked in the shop and it's not!

username123

Name Changed wrote: »

Has anyone ever tried the muesli and if so would it be decent enough both in taste and in quality? I always buy the Neal's Yard brand in Holland & Barrett but they are after putting the price of that up to over €7 a bag. No way would I pay that!

I get the Really Nutty Muesli in Aldi - its 1.99 for 500g. Its so nice that the first time I bought it Id the entire bag eaten in 3 days. Theyve a Really Berry and a Really Exotic version - but I only like the Really Nutty.

username123

jimmeboy wrote: »

Been using the Indian sauce range at Aldi recently and it's amazing! It's those jars that come with the dry spices on top of the lid. Probably the best Indian sauces I have used from a supermarket!

Yeah, because of this thread I went and got two of them during the week. Tried the Rogan Josh - with chicken/peppers/onion/tomatoes/garlic - it was YUM.

I have the Jalfrezi to try, but already am planning to go back on get more. What other flavours are nice and what are you cooking them with?

Tbh Im not a big red meat eater so was planning to use them with chicken.

Alun

username123 wrote: »

Yeah, because of this thread I went and got two of them during the week. Tried the Rogan Josh - with chicken/peppers/onion/tomatoes/garlic - it was YUM.

I have the Jalfrezi to try, but already am planning to go back on get more. What other flavours are nice and what are you cooking them with?

I also tried the Rogan Josh one first and it was quite nice, so bought a Jalfrezi and a Madras. The Jalfrezi one is actually quite hot for a cook-in sauce, and have yet to try the Madras although it also has 3 chilli symbols on the front so I expect it to be just as hot.

Heroditas

I remember talking to someone who works in a large food processing plant here and we were discussing ready made meals and the ingredients etc.
He said that the plant has the production line and simply varies the ingredients when it comes to making the "premium" brand sauces/meals.
However, when they make them for the likes of Lidl and Aldi, only the premium ingredients are used. The reason for this is that German standards for ingredients are extremely high and only the best produce is used for it.
As a result, many of the Lidl and Aldo ready meals and sauces are of a higher quality than the vast majority of similar branded "premium" products.... and a lot cheaper too!

snubbleste

Name Changed wrote: »

[*]Golden Sun jasmine rice

I notice this is on offer this week at €1.59/kg. Is it nice, much of a difference to ordinary long grain white rice?

leahyl

snubbleste wrote: »

I notice this is on offer this week at €1.59/kg. Is it nice, much of a difference to ordinary long grain white rice?

If this is the one from Lidl in the blue box then it is absolutely perfect - so cheap but tastes fine (to me anyway rice is rice!) and there are loads of sachets in it.:)

Also, Dulano lightly smoked ham from Lidl is the nicest packet ham I have ever tasted and is 95% pork

snubbleste

leahyl wrote: »

If this is the one from Lidl in the blue box then it is absolutely perfect - so cheap but tastes fine (to me anyway rice is rice!) and there are loads of sachets in it.:)

No.

leahyl

snubbleste wrote: »

No.

Ok well I'm pretty sure I got rice in Lidl in a blue box and the name Golden Sun rings a bell....yes here it is....



Same brand so just different type of rice - anyway the one in the blue box tastes fine and is great value:)

snubbleste

But that's like €1.95/kg!
Sure you can get it for €1.19/kg without the sachets

leahyl

snubbleste wrote: »

But that's like €1.95/kg!
Sure you can get it for €1.19/kg without the sachets

:eek: you're right it is dear!;)

snubbleste

Oh what the heck, I'll buy the jasmine rice and see if it enhances my day.

Qualitymark

Lidl organic vegetables are tasty and fresh, at a good price. Their avocados are lovely, and at the moment 59c each. Their growing herbs - €1.50 to Superquinn's €2.50 each (I'm rounding up the cent) are excellent: use the tops then plant them out and you'll soon have a nice herb bed. Their fresh-baked breads are delicious.

Aldi's three-cheese pizzas and their goat's cheese (the cylindrical one) are lovely. I've got organic bananas there that are tastier and last *much* longer than the non-organic kind.

I find Lidl's meat ok, but for really good meat I'd go to Superquinn.

I tend to avoid fish from both Aldi and Lidl because it's often cod, a fish which is endangered though the EU refuses to acknowledge this and ban cod fishing. Got some nice sole from Lidl recently, though, delish fried in butter and then served with lemon juice and a grind of pepper.

The chicken from both is very good and a good price; I like to cover it with honey, sea salt and lemon juice, put the empty lemon inside and cook it on a bed of whole peeled carrots, onions, potatoes and garlic cloves, with a drizzle of olive oil over the vegetables, a bay leaf or two under them, and near the end a glass of white wine thrown in when you're turning them. If you start the chicken on its breast and only turn it at the end to toast the skin, the breast and legs will be juicy and flavourful.

Aldi's porridge - an Irish brand, can't remember which - is excellent; I haven't tried the slightly dodgy-looking 'Easi-Cook' or some such name in Lidl.

Those little bacon bits Lidl do are lovely toasted in a salad, or in lentil soup.

For electronics (not that I'm buying much of that kind of thing right now), I've found Lidl to be useless and Aldi to be good, usually.

Oh, and the organic milk, which is €1 in both (compared to €1.50 in corner shops for ordinary milk) - very good; the Lidl one is easy to open but the Aldi package is pretty nasty. These also make really tasty yogurt.

Neither of them does leaf tea, so I go to Superquinn and get Barry's leaf tea; Aldi used to do a really good one but has obviously found that its customers like their tea to taste of paper and now only sells tea bag breakfast tea. Ick.

Lidl and Aldi both currently do Fuji apples, by the way - around €1.50 for eight - and they're very, very, very, very, very nice; try them sliced up and drizzled with honey, with plain yogurt.

leahyl

Qualitymark wrote: »

I find Lidl's meat ok, but for really good meat I'd go to Superquinn.



Aldi's porridge - an Irish brand, can't remember which - is excellent; I haven't tried the slightly dodgy-looking 'Easi-Cook' or some such name in Lidl.
t.

My mum gets alot of her meat in Dunnes and it's lovely - beef and steaks really good and good offers on them :-)

I get that porridge in Aldi too - Kavanaghs I think it's called - nom nom!

Qualitymark

leahyl wrote: »

My mum gets alot of her meat in Dunnes and it's lovely - beef and steaks really good and good offers on them :-)

I get that porridge in Aldi too - Kavanaghs I think it's called - nom nom!

Especially if you eat it with toasted almond flakes (I toast two packages worth at a time on the wok), honey, brown sugar and cinnamon. Nommest.

snubbleste

Lidl are introducing a new entry-level range in the UK. This is similar to Aldi's everyday essentials range.
Has anyone seen Lidl's Simply in store?
http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/companies/discounters/lidl/lidl-trials-budget-line-under-simply-name/237058.article

Qualitymark

Having switched more or less my entire weekly shop to Lidl for price reasons, I was shaken to see the Show a Lidl Respect demo outside an Irish Lidl store last week on YouTube; I love Lidl bread and their organic milk especially, but not at the cost of a nasty workplace for the people serving me. And apparently in Aldi the same kind of crap goes on - checkout people required to pass 1,150 items through till in specified time, only 15 minutes' meal break and then they pay for it themselves. Horrified.