The General Chat Thread

iwantmydinner · 05-08-2015 10:06AM

Right so I think I'm going to Lidl instead of my beloved Aldi this evening to do my shop!

Neyite · 05-08-2015 10:46AM

Merkin wrote: »

I did my first EVER shop in Lidl yesterday, what a revelation! :eek: Two courgettes for 29c?! Um hello?! (I obviously bought more than two courgettes) but I was really very pleasantly surprised by the selection, quality and price of the fruit and veg. I will continue to get my meat in the butchers I think but I picked up lovely duck breasts and confit of duck as well as lots of other lovely things and all for a fraction of the prices I usually pay! For Lidl officionados, are there any particular foodie treats that you recommend?

Their cheeses are good, and a lot cheaper than other supermarkets - other dairy too - the large greek yoghurt is only 1.99 for instance, so I use that for my smoothies.

Things like their cured hams, and chorizo, salami etc are good though their rashers are pretty salty. I find their fruit and veg sometimes have a shorter shelf life, but grand if you buy little and often. Keep an eye on their themed events - spanish /greek/ indian etc, lots of lovely things to try.

I do buy their meats, but that's more for lack of planning and convenience on my part. If I was organised I'd probably get more from the butcher a bit further away.

Kovu · 05-08-2015 10:54AM

I have to say I find Lidl steaks top class, the factory I worked in before supplied them and they have one of the stricter requirements, a lot more than Tesco for example.
I have certain things that I won't buy elsewhere, their pickled red cabbage for one, plus the roasted red peppers in the jar, the vintage cheddar too and their onion chutney! Their fresh baked bread is beautiful too, especially the cheese rolls. I love the Polish weeks, I think it's on this week or next? They have a whole smoked mackerel that is so so nice on toast wth cheese.

I am addicted to Aldi's chilli tuna though, I buy about ten tins at a time, it so nice with pasta.

Neyite · 05-08-2015 10:54AM

Oh and their nuts and chocolate are waaay cheaper.

Doing the cooking club Raspberry and Pecan blondies I used to spend at least a fiver on raspberries, and the Dunnes pecans are eyewateringly expensive. I got a massive bag of pecans in lidl for eh..peanuts. And I use their chocolate bars (white choc for R&P Blondies, dark for Mars bar Treats & Chocolate Orange cake) for baking which are a fraction of the price of branded ones and just as good if not better than some.

Stuff like oils, baking supplies and so on are overall cheaper. And just wait until the Deluxe Christmas range comes in - Those Germans have got the Christmas treats nailed.

Tinned stuff is not bad - I use their tinned chopped tomatoes in my lasange and spag bol, coconut milk is the same. Stuff like their tinned sweetcorn is not quite as nice as say, green giant.

Their ordinary pasta is a bit meh, but their italian weeks ones are lovely.

MissFlitworth · 05-08-2015 11:01AM

Kovu wrote: »

I have to say I find Lidl steaks top class

Oh yes! Lidl Ribeye is very popular round mine. Very popular indeed.

Kovu · 05-08-2015 11:09AM

MissFlitworth wrote: »

Oh yes! Lidl Ribeye is very popular round mine. Very popular indeed.

I'd be very, very picky about my steaks (duh :P) and there was one customer, a supermarket chain, that accepted any animal under six for it's 'premium' meat. Was never properly hung either in my opinion. I love my steak proper aged, I'll buy it and leave it in the fridge until it's just on the date. I fnd it makes them much nicer but maybe my taste is a bit odd!

Dolbert · 05-08-2015 11:10AM

The Lidl flat iron steaks are so good and sooo cheap! Their versions of Mars bars, Twix etc are identical too. My favourite ever is their Greek style yoghurt, it's the creamiest. Mmmm, Lidl.

Toto Wolfcastle · 05-08-2015 11:29AM

I've stopped buying the Lidl flat iron steaks. The last two packs I bought were incredibly tough. Their rib eyes are beautiful though.

Neyite · 05-08-2015 11:39AM

Actually, the OH is a bit snobbish about Lidl meats.

He's got no idea that he's thoroughly enjoyed them in nearly every dinner for the last year.

Dizzyblonde · 05-08-2015 12:21PM

I discovered Lidl's packs of 2 frozen yellowfin sole fillets last weekend and they're so nice I'll be buying them regularly. I also bought two ribeye steak and while they were nice, they weren't as nice as the Aldi ones. It could have been the pack I got though.

My two gooseberry bushes from Aldi yielded 250g of fruit - not bad for their first year. It was enough for one full jar of jam, and a little bowl.

Whistlejacket · 05-08-2015 01:09PM

The fresh baked Lidl pretzels with the lumps of salt on them are delicious. I love them!

the beer revolu · 05-08-2015 02:03PM

About the only Aldi products that trump Lidl for me is their chocolate. Fruit and nut and white chocolate, in particular.
I also check out Aldi's super 6 deals - aubergines for 29c at the moment!

I love Lidl unsalted pistachios and mixed nuts. . They had amazing wasabi almonds lately too.
Regularly buy duck breasts and confit legs,flat iron steaks. Their Veg is generally good. +1 on their Greek style yoghurt. Love their Serrano ham. Their top end loo roll ðŸ¥ is great too.
There is no better apple juice available better than their cloudy apple juice.

challengemaster · 05-08-2015 03:49PM

Toto Wolfcastle wrote: »

I've stopped buying the Lidl flat iron steaks. The last two packs I bought were incredibly tough. Their rib eyes are beautiful though.

If you're inclined to eat your steak burnt overdone further than a medium, you won't really want to go for flat iron steaks.

MissFlitworth · 05-08-2015 04:11PM

the beer revolu wrote: »

About the only Aldi products that trump Lidl for me is their chocolate. Fruit and nut and white chocolate, in particular.
.

Aldi white chocolate is the business! Best white chocolate I've ever bought here.

Toto Wolfcastle · 05-08-2015 04:27PM

challengemaster wrote: »

If you're inclined to eat your steak burnt overdone further than a medium, you won't really want to go for flat iron steaks.

Medium, usually. Medium rare on occasion. Still tough.

The Black Oil · 05-08-2015 07:51PM

MissFlitworth wrote: »

The extra mature white cheddar.

Bland cheddar is rubbish.

SarahBeep! wrote: »

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times. I bloody LOVE butter.

Saw some goat butter in the Super Valu the other day, bit expensive.

the beer revolu · 05-08-2015 08:01PM

MissFlitworth wrote: »

Aldi white chocolate is the business! Best white chocolate I've ever bought here.
]

Isn't it.
i think it's that it's less sweet than any others.

I ate pretty much only dark chocolate for years until that and the fruit and nut one came on my radar.

BaZmO* · 05-08-2015 08:25PM

Has anybody ever made their own butter?

I was watching a programme the other day about butter making and it got me doing a little research on it. Seems easy enough but I wonder if it's worth it? Cost of double cream could be an issue too.

MissFlitworth · 05-08-2015 08:28PM

The Black Oil wrote: »

Saw some goat butter in the Super Valu the other day, bit expensive.

Picked up some in Sainsburys last week, really nice, very smooth with a teeny goatsmilk tang. It seemed like it would be lovely in a cake.

tickingclock · 05-08-2015 09:02PM

Neyite wrote: »

Actually, the OH is a bit snobbish about Lidl meats.

He's got no idea that he's thoroughly enjoyed them in nearly every dinner for the last year.

Snap!!! I did this for years and finally revealed the truth..........
Now he proudly tells guests the meat they have just eaten is from a German discounter!!!!

kylith · 06-08-2015 08:26AM

I love their free range chickens. I usually get my meat from the butcher but E15 is too far for me to stretch for a chicken, so the E5 ones in Lidl are a godsend.

Neyite · 06-08-2015 12:26PM

BaZmO* wrote: »

Has anybody ever made their own butter?

I was watching a programme the other day about butter making and it got me doing a little research on it. Seems easy enough but I wonder if it's worth it? Cost of double cream could be an issue too.

Parents used to when I was little. It was a bit too strongly flavoured for me then, I hated it, but I daresay as I like loads of stuff now I hated as a child, I'd probably enjoy it.

Would you need double cream in Ireland though - we never used it? Was it a US programme? Irish single cream is so much richer than a lot of other countries so you dont always need double cream.

BaZmO* · 06-08-2015 12:38PM

Neyite wrote: »

Parents used to when I was little. It was a bit too strongly flavoured for me then, I hated it, but I daresay as I like loads of stuff now I hated as a child, I'd probably enjoy it.

Would you need double cream in Ireland though - we never used it? Was it a US programme? Irish single cream is so much richer than a lot of other countries so you dont always need double cream.

I think the double cream is required due to the fat content, but technically you could use standard milk but you wouldn't get much butter.

Did your parents make it with unpasteurised cream?

It was a programme on TG4 about cheese. Some guy travelling around Europe trying different cheeses (great job!). There was a bit about artisan butter made in France (Normandy) and they showed them making it and it looked pretty simple. I knew that you could make butter by over whisking cream but didn't realise (or make the connection) for some reason that that's how butter is essentially made.

Butter Factoid: Salt used to be heavily taxed in Ye Olde Worlde France and as a result the French taste nowadays is for unsalted butter. Brittany is one of the only areas that prefers salted butter.

Markcheese · 06-08-2015 12:38PM

BaZmO* wrote: »

Has anybody ever made their own butter?

I was watching a programme the other day about butter making and it got me doing a little research on it. Seems easy enough but I wonder if it's worth it? Cost of double cream could be an issue too.

If you're near cork get some cream from Ned McCarthy in Douglas and Wilton farmers markets- so thick it's hard to get out of the bottle-tastes gorgeous too- if you've anything like a kenwood chef make it in that with the K beater-
(Total cheat but if you want spreadable easy to wash out butter , put a spoon of sunflower oil into your bowl of butter before you beat it . Heresy I know )

Neyite · 06-08-2015 01:06PM

BaZmO* wrote: »

I think the double cream is required due to the fat content, but technically you could use standard milk but you wouldn't get much butter.

Did your parents make it with unpasteurised cream?

It was a programme on TG4 about cheese. Some guy travelling around Europe trying different cheeses (great job!). There was a bit about artisan butter made in France (Normandy) and they showed them making it and it looked pretty simple. I knew that you could make butter by over whisking cream but didn't realise (or make the connection) for some reason that that's how butter is essentially made.

Butter Factoid: Salt used to be heavily taxed in Ye Olde Worlde France and as a result the French taste nowadays is for unsalted butter. Brittany is one of the only areas that prefers salted butter.

Unpasteurised straight from the moo-cow in the field beside the house.

I remember being grossed out when my father would drink the beestings. Still am grossed out.

As far as I can remember, they'd just let the milk settle in the fridge, wait for the cream to rise to the top, skim it off and beat it in a churn with a pinch of salt. There was a mild cheesy smell and taste off it. The buttermilk would then be a treat for Dad and also used in the soda bread.

They don't have livestock now though.

quaalude · 06-08-2015 03:35PM

I've made butter loads of times using the whisk attachment on my Magimix, and normal cream like Tesco Fresh Cream 500Ml: http://www.tesco.ie/groceries/Product/Details/?id=261908656 - it takes like 15 minutes or so.

500ml of cream makes loads. I shape it into two log shapes, and wrap it in greaseproof paper.

It goes off in 3 or 4 days, so when I've made it I usually give one away - it makes a great present for a dinner party. Or you can freeze it, of course.

The Hill Billy · 06-08-2015 03:58PM

This reminds me of a story that my folks told me.
I was only a couple of months old when they brought me on Easter holidays to Inishbofin.
They were renting a room from an elderly farmer (known as The Boult) down there.

Anyway, a storm blew up & they couldn't get off the island, & ended up running out of SMA baby milk. My mum was distraught.
The Boult produced his milking pail & says, "Shure haven't I plenty of milk fresh from my cows here. You can give that to the young lad."
"But there's grass & flies & all manner of shite in that bucket!" my mum wails.
"It'll be grand girl, shure we'll shtrain it through my hanky."

I'm still alive & kicking.

Alun · 06-08-2015 04:12PM

Neyite wrote: »

Unpasteurised straight from the moo-cow in the field beside the house. I remember being grossed out when my father would drink the beestings. Still am grossed out.

I didn't know what that was until very recently .. we were staying in a B&B on a farm on the Isle of Man, and part of the fun was that you got to help out with the animals sometimes, and the pigs got the beestings to drink/eat. They loved it.

It's supposed to be very good for you I hear.

StripedBoxers · 06-08-2015 04:18PM

Hi all,

I'll be in Dublin on Sat and I'm hoping to hit up an Asian supermarket or a shop/supermarket where I can get Asian ingredients?

I know there is (or was?) on on Abbey St beside the Luas stop, is that still there? What's the name of it? It been a few years since I was there, is it still good?

We've been obsessed with a new Asian take away near us, but rather than rely on take away for the food, we'd like to try cooking some at home.

Some of the dishes we like are

Pad Thai (with chicken)
Bang Bang Chicken
Crispy chilli beef (this was unreal)
Gyoza
Shredded salt chilli chicken (wok fried, not deep fried)
Japanese rice
Singapore Noodles
Teriyaki Ramen with beef/chicken

Does anyone here know of any great recipes for these meals? I will have a look for some, but if there are any you've tried and tested, I'd love if you could share the recipe(s).

Would appreciate any help with this

Thanks.

iwantmydinner · 06-08-2015 06:25PM

Just had a bit of the Moser Roth Madagascan vanilla white chocolate from Aldi, after all the talk of it the last few days.

Mother of god.

Definitely the nicest white chocolate I've ever had.

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