Supermarket food that's much better that you expected: pls name.

I wish you hand' t said that sook. Love shortbread and co-op very accessible.

Shortbread from the Loved by us range at the Co-op. One of the nicest I've taste in a long while, sweet buttery flavour that melts in the mouth. Haven't seen this range before so it maybe just a seasonal one.

Good to have another endorsement for the gammon hocks, caz , think I will give it a go next time I'm there. Did you do it in a slow cooker?

Mr P and I have been using our local Lidl (nearest Aldi is too far) for quite a long time now, and have noticed that it's getting a lot busier lately.

I think the recent coverage in some of the broadsheets (which included some blind taste tests) has resulted in quite a few of the people who would usually use Waitrose or Sainsburys giving them a try.

Many thanks for this thread which I've just discovered. I'm made my list and heading off for aldi shortly. According to my OH who works in food production industry, they produce for m&s, sainsbury's, Iceland, morrison's, aldi's, all products more or less the same, just different packaging but can mean a difference of £s when shopping. He drives me mad when shopping cos he reads the bar codes and checks where everything is produced

As someone said on the "slow cooker" thread, Morrisons do a gammon hock for £1.99 which I tried just before xmas and it was excellent value with loads of meat on the bone. Don't think you can get them anywhere else?
And yes, I agree about the Lidls choc ices, just as good as Magnums.

Oh shoot! Bet the wine was crappy.

Excellent thread.... am making notes. Do wish we had a Morrisons near here, but we do have Aldi and Lidl Tesco Waitrose and Sainsburys, so a fair choice. When we lived near Bideford I used to love the Morrisons there, always bought one of their own freshly baked apple pies which were best ever!from the cakes counter [on top and wrapped often still warm, yum.]Currently I prefer the small Sainsburys in Wantage, it's an all round nice shopping experience and the staff are good and helpful.Aldi and Lidl do some good food, and we do use them, but not the same shopping experience all round, but certainly good value. I shall try some of the mentioned goodies next week.

That doesn't sound such a bargain jingl. M&S's used to include a bottle of wine, all for a tenner!

Popped into a Budgens halfway round a walk yesterday and they are doing an "eat in for two" thing. Had lamb tagine with apricots and sultanas, red cabbage with cloves and cinnamon, and a lemon tiramisu dessert. Eight pounds in all for the two of us. I added some carrots and a bit of potato.

Was lovely! Very good value.

Yes they are good aren't they - we don't have one nearby but there is one 40 mins drive away, I was passing through with my son on a long journey and 'he' wanted some sweets. I dropped him off at the entrance with some cash, went to park and he came out 5 mins later. I pulled away without checking his purchase only to find that instead he had bought a multipack of 'magnums', on a hot day, in a car!

So of course we had to pull over and eat them.

I do keep a good check on Iceland prices as they as well having some very tasty and additive free meals do good reductions every week,last offers where Fridge Pack of Heinz Beans for £1.00 instead of £2 at Asda and Daz Liquid (large) at £2.00 as opposed to £4.20 at Asda,their multiseed bread is £1.00 as opposed to £1.40 in other shops and their packs of Carrots are 75p for a kilo,I know that is a lot of carrots but they can be used for soup during the week so well worth dropping into Iceland if you have one close by andr remember they do free delivery if you stock up on freezer stuff.
anno I love Lidls choc ices banned at present due to eating plan

Lidl's choc ices are the equal of Magnum, though much cheaper. Please don't ask me how I know that.

I shop at Aldi occasionally and am impressed with the quality of the stuff I do buy. However, they have no gluten free stuff range or section and they have a very limited range of herbs and spices which means that I have no option but to go to Tesco, Sainsburys, and Waitrose.

Talking of Iceland, I use it mainly for milk and bread as it is convenient for me being only a few minutes from where I live. I was feeling lazy last Saturday and browsing the frozen ready meals curry section, I decided to try a chicken Tikka Masala. Well, it was absolutely delicious and at £1.75, I cant recommend it highly enough, no additives whatsoever and lots of moist pieces of chicken in a very tasty sauce. There are quite a few different curries to choose from and I shall certainly be trying some of the others.

We have an ICELAND nigh on our doorstep Eliza and get a lot of stuff from there .
We find the quality good and inexpensive , good value all round I"d say.

I had to pop inti Iceland the other day because I was tired and it was convenient--usually I would never buy from Iceland because I thought the food would be bad quality BUT I was very wrong--it was lovely and so resonably priced--I later found that research has shown that some Iceland food is of a better quality that Marks and Spencers!!

I don't now eat meat, but I did try various German wursts in my younger days. I have to admit Aldis continental cooked meats look really good.

There is lots of lovely stuff. Aldi sold some very good Long Clawson farm Stilton this Xmas. They also do a good line in proper Greek Feta. Wonderful cold pressed olive oil, some very good pickles and chutneys. A wonderful range of frozen deserts, often robust continental style fruit flans! You cannot buy anything to beat them in other places.

I have a feeling the smaller food producers may try out their goods in Aldi where people might be less concerned about having "the top brands" than in the big four.

Our local Lidl has started stocking loose pistachio nuts and also almonds, in huge (husband says they're one ton) bags and sold by weight. They are so fresh and much, much more reasonable than any of the bagged branded nuts. We've been going through them by the kilo since before Christmas.

I'm surprised no-one has mentioned Aldi's camemberts. They are incredibly cheap and usually just at the right point of ripeness, unlike tesco's hard dry tasteless wheels of cardboard.

Aldi's washing liquid is wonderful and smelss gorgeous, not too strong. I think it won Good Housekeeping awards a couple of years back. I don't buy burgers apart from venison, but I do buy Aldi's frikadellen. They are so meaty and fatless by comparison with normal burgers and don't shrink, also they only need microwaving. Their meatballs are the same. Also not all onion, like some burgers can be.

I love turkey sooo much so am glad of anything to do with it .
Not really sure why
a] is not so easy to get hold of
b] quite expensive , relatively speaking

keep your chin dear PHO
X

A friend of mine makes home made spicy turkey burgers, very popular with her boys.

Aldi are selling turkey mince at £1.99 for 450g, so I have bought some packs and intend to make turkey and potato hash which I have never done before !
Bet it will be tasty !

Wasn't sure whether to start a new one?

Lidl sell a brand of biscuits called Tower Gate.

So far have only tried the digestives, but they were lovely. Lidl also sell Mc Vitie, but with a price comparison of 30p a packet for Tower Gate, as opposed to over £1 for Mc Vitie, no contest!

Even if you are not a biscuit eater, they would be a cheaper option when making a cheesecake.

Just had the venison steaks cooked by DH they were fantastic, even at £6.99 there were 4 pieces in the box more like medallions great value, would highly recommend them.

Aldi has very reasonably priced packages of hot smoked salmon (with or without black pepper) which I make into a paté (or dip) with phili or any other cream cheese or fromage frais. Add a little lemon juice.