Aldi v Lidl

[delicagirl]

i used Aldi for almost ten year as it was the closest cheap supermarket to my home. Now Lidl is closest. Aldi's vegetables "sell by dates" were invariably very close to my "Bought on " date, and i threw away as much as i ate. Aldi's Greens seemed to get very wet very quickly inside their plastic bags and would invariably go slimy before i could eat a whole packet. Some root veggies also went slimy - so i started removing them from bags and drying them before putting them in the fridge. They kept a day or two longer. (I did have a fairly cheapie Argos F/F bought in 2012 which may have contributed to the fast deterioration.)

Now i dont have a fridge - i have a larder and i am astonished how much longer fresh veggies are lasting. I ate spinach last night which was nearly 2 weeks beyond its sell-by - and it was perfectly good.

I think storing fresh stuff in totally sealed plastic creates moisture and goes off quicker Those sold in bags with little holes in them do last a bit longer.

Lidl's sliced German rye bread in cellophane also seems to lasting for weeks .....

My irish grandparents were poor farmers and they always dried foodstuffs in their barns, separating each potatoe from each other with straw - that's how they got through the winters for both human and livestocks food. i am convinced modern supermarkets know exacly what they are dong.... Some of Morrisons fresh veggies are even "Sprayed for extra freshness" WHAT? I think they are sprayed for a shorter shelf life - so we will all come back and buy more.

No wonder we all waste so much food as a nation.

 

[Clunegapyears]

Agree ... always remove fresh food from its plastic packaging. I do use the green veggies bags from Lakeland though ... they do seem to work.

 

[jagmanx]

Larder is good now it is cold

Hope it keeps cool in the summer.
Now you need to rename your lounge as the Parlour.
Have a Dining Room
Use a hot water bottle !
Go back to an Eiderdown rather than a quilt.
Have Ice on your windows !
Program your TV so it goes on the blink every so often.
Drink tap water rather than bought/bottled.
Get milk delivered every day (Free)..
Get a newspaper delivered (Free)
Walk to the pub.....Stagger back
Drink beer (or Cider) not wine.
Find your Diesel/Petrol coupons
Only use white sugar (not Brown)
Throw your microwave away
Only eat chicken on special occassions
Use tea-leaves not teabags
Make Real porridge

Good on you

Aah Those were the days !

 

[Channa]

I think at longlast people are starting to see through the crap promoted by supermarkets, Asda have started doing the " wonky veg" nothing wrong with it other than not as aesthetically appealing .

We have a good thread going re diets and foodstuffs and as more and more contribute we are seeing for years we have been had. !

I remember my Grandma acquiring a fridge butter and milk still went in the larder, stone slab and a box with mesh. Having my Grandad seven sons and my mother, two world wars I suspect she knew what she was doing and making every bit of food count as money was tight etc.

Sadly markets are not what they were, I personally try and buy British and what is in season. I try and support local businesses.

Very much a case of use it or lose it in lot of instances as witnessed this morning on Dewsbury market one fish stall and the choice frankly appalling perhaps a barometer of how shopping has changed moreso with the big players delivering to your door totally removing social contact even further

Rant over ( for the time being)

Channa

 

[Fletch6]

I've found if I wipe bleachy water over a cucumber they last longer, or if they are starting to go it stops the bacteria in it's tracks. I was sick of them going off in the van fridge. Rinse them after of course.

 

[Minisorella]

I never put my fruit or veg in plastic to start with... haven't done for decades. I always buy loose stuff and put them straight in the shopping bag, which is even easier these days if you scan as you go with those magic doobries. Stuff that I have to buy pre-packed, like blueberries and grapes, I wash, dry and decant into tupperware or something but the rest mainly just goes in the fridge crisper drawer as is, although I lay kitchen towel in the bottom to help absorb moisture. Really good tip for carrots and parsnips... top and tail them and wrap each one tight in foil. They keep for so long you get bored looking at them! I must say my fairly new fridge/freezer has the best veggie drawer I've ever used - really works.

 

[Minisorella]

I've found if I wipe bleachy water over a cucumber they last longer, or if they are starting to go it stops the bacteria in it's tracks. I was sick of them going off in the van fridge. Rinse them after of course.

I was told ages ago to always wash fruit and veg with firm shiny skins in soap and water (rinsed well afterwards of course) because of all the stuff that gets sprayed on them... cucumbers, peppers, chillis, apples, aubergines, citrus fruits if you're going to use the zest, etc. I still do it... it's a habit now!

 

[vwalan]

if the customer will buy it then supermarkets sell it . you cant sell what the customer doesnt want to buy.
the customer didnt want to buy wonkey veg so they stopped selling it .
i spent months studying what customers bought etc .
i worked for tesco at the time .
all over uk surveys of what sold or didnt sell.
no point in filling shelves etc with things customers wouldnt buy . blame the customer not the supermarkets .
but there is no need to chuck food out .
learn how to keep it .
packaging is for transport etc not for storing food .
i blame the parents then the domestic science teachers they do seem to know not alot.

 

[jagmanx]

or

I was told ages ago to always wash fruit and veg with firm shiny skins in soap and water (rinsed well afterwards of course) because of all the stuff that gets sprayed on them... cucumbers, peppers, chillis, apples, aubergines, citrus fruits if you're going to use the zest, etc. I still do it... it's a habit now!

Vinegar (mildly acidic)
Or lemon juice (Again Mildly acidic)

SO Rinse in water (or not)
Then the above
Then water again

Soap is mildly alkaline
Water should be neutral

 

[yorkslass]

We changed fridges recently, the one we had worked but was nearly an antique. The difference is amazing. Used some carrots yesterday bought pre Christmas and they were fine.
I'm not happy with some easy peelers I bought recently at Lidls. They certainly don't peel easily and taste more like marmalade oranges. I threw the nets they came in before we tried them, another lesson learned.
I use Lidl rather than Aldi cos it's nearer.

 

[kensowerby]

Hi, you have to be very carefull when chooseing veg., in todays age you dont know what you are buying,we have been getting ripped off for years by the big boys, in a lot of cases the growers are told what to treat their crops with and what chemicals to dress them with so that they will last longer, when was the last time you tasted a veg that tasted anything like the ones your dad or grandad grew in the garden or allotment ?????
Today we are told to eat our 5 a day as they will do you good what a load of crap, sice when have chemicals done you anygood??
One of my grandaughters is a propper townie and the ways of the countryside go over her head and when she sees loads of muck in the fields ready for spreading she often remarks that she wouldnt like to eat anything grown in that, the others have a laugh but always keep quiet, according to her my veg are the best in the world and always have lots of taste.
She hasnt cottoned yet, but everything i grow is grown in real good strong muck, muck 1 year, lime the next year, and leave the next, and then start the cycle again the following year.
A farm near our spot advertises organic produce, question---- how can they be organic when the tops ore sprayed off to get at the veg undereath???
We all buy them at the supermarkets, they look nice but tasteless.
Rant over, keep taking he pills and you will be ok.
Ken

 

[delicagirl]

I was told ages ago to always wash fruit and veg with firm shiny skins in soap and water (rinsed well afterwards of course) because of all the stuff that gets sprayed on them... cucumbers, peppers, chillis, apples, aubergines, citrus fruits if you're going to use the zest, etc. I still do it... it's a habit now!

Soap and water ?

Surely anything that gets rinsed and then cooked/fried will have any externally sprayed substances killed off with the heat of cooking? In the 60's/70's some americans used to soak their raw fresh veggies in water and bleach when they were abroad in the Middle East and self catering. Then they poured lashings of locally-made ice, made with local tap water, into their bourbon....

 

[delicagirl]

Hi, you have to be very carefull when chooseing veg., in todays age you dont know what you are buying,we have been getting ripped off for years by the big boys, in a lot of cases the growers are told what to treat their crops with and what chemicals to dress them with so that they will last longer, when was the last time you tasted a veg that tasted anything like the ones your dad or grandad grew in the garden or allotment ?????
Today we are told to eat our 5 a day as they will do you good what a load of crap, sice when have chemicals done you anygood??
One of my grandaughters is a propper townie and the ways of the countryside go over her head and when she sees loads of muck in the fields ready for spreading she often remarks that she wouldnt like to eat anything grown in that, the others have a laugh but always keep quiet, according to her my veg are the best in the world and always have lots of taste.
She hasnt cottoned yet, but everything i grow is grown in real good strong muck, muck 1 year, lime the next year, and leave the next, and then start the cycle again the following year.
A farm near our spot advertises organic produce, question---- how can they be organic when the tops ore sprayed off to get at the veg undereath???
We all buy them at the supermarkets, they look nice but tasteless.
Rant over, keep taking he pills and you will be ok.
Ken

it is very hard to know what we ingest in our food - even if grown by a reputable supplier. But if we don't eat processed food then that has to be a bonus as at least we are avoiding the fats and salt/sugars and preservatives in them.

 

[delicagirl]

Agree ... always remove fresh food from its plastic packaging. I do use the green veggies bags from Lakeland though ... they do seem to work.

thanks i used to use those and had forgotten all about them. I will get some for the summer.

 

[delicagirl]

Hope it keeps cool in the summer.
Now you need to rename your lounge as the Parlour.
Have a Dining Room
Use a hot water bottle !
Go back to an Eiderdown rather than a quilt.
Have Ice on your windows !
Program your TV so it goes on the blink every so often.
Drink tap water rather than bought/bottled.
Get milk delivered every day (Free)..
Get a newspaper delivered (Free)
Walk to the pub.....Stagger back
Drink beer (or Cider) not wine.
Find your Diesel/Petrol coupons
Only use white sugar (not Brown)
Throw your microwave away
Only eat chicken on special occassions
Use tea-leaves not teabags
Make Real porridge

Good on you

Aah Those were the days !

i did not use my fridge in the van for 4 months this summer. The temperature reached 39degrees in the south of France for a couple of weeks and only one carton of soya milk went off. I shopped for fresh things very frequently and stored food in the fridge (it is a well insulated box after all).

i still drink tap-water

i still have an eiderdown

i dont have a microwave

and whats wrong with having a parlour ???

I agree there are a lot of things that are far better now, but also some good things we have left behind - and we all have different ideas as to what those things are.


One of my great joys of long journeys in the van is the lack of choice, the simplistic life, the lack of noise, the solitude and the ability to enjoy nature in a way i never make time for in my house-life.

 

[delicagirl]

I never put my fruit or veg in plastic to start with... haven't done for decades. I always buy loose stuff and put them straight in the shopping bag, which is even easier these days if you scan as you go with those magic doobries. Stuff that I have to buy pre-packed, like blueberries and grapes, I wash, dry and decant into tupperware or something but the rest mainly just goes in the fridge crisper drawer as is, although I lay kitchen towel in the bottom to help absorb moisture. Really good tip for carrots and parsnips... top and tail them and wrap each one tight in foil. They keep for so long you get bored looking at them! I must say my fairly new fridge/freezer has the best veggie drawer I've ever used - really works.

Just before Christmas Morrisons had a "loss-leader" of 3 scrawny parsnips in a bag for 0.19p just inside the door. Further on into the store they had loose parsnip - possibly 3 times the weight of the scrawny joes - £1.29p !!!!! i had a rant at the till but nowt will change.

i found a tiny fridge freezer in a friends BnB last week.... £120 and its only table-top height. Prior to summer arriving i may get one, but i may continue to use the larder and put a blackout curtain over the window to keep the light out.

Having a tall, albeit small, f/f in the past i realise i was shopping to fill it... there's only me - so a lot got thrown away. Thats gonna stop now as well.

 

[phillybarbour]

Big Aldi fan, but that might be because we don’t have a Lidl in our home town.

 

[Channa]

if the customer will buy it then supermarkets sell it . you cant sell what the customer doesnt want to buy.
the customer didnt want to buy wonkey veg so they stopped selling it .
i spent months studying what customers bought etc .
i worked for tesco at the time .
all over uk surveys of what sold or didnt sell.
no point in filling shelves etc with things customers wouldnt buy . blame the customer not the supermarkets .
but there is no need to chuck food out .
learn how to keep it .
packaging is for transport etc not for storing food .
i blame the parents then the domestic science teachers they do seem to know not alot.

Alan I disagree, no one stopped selling wonky veg it was never offered in the first place by supermarkets, The perfect "size10" cucumber or tomato etc has been pushed by the supermarkets as good price. consistent quality. It is only the relatively recent highlighting of food waste that has shamed supermarkets into offering the less than "perfect " produce . Perhaps the suits at Tesco et al saw the bottom line more than consumer demand, That is borne out by supermarkets general reluctance to inform consumers of sugars and additives in labelling not illegal but not assisting in a truthful choice either. " just doing enough" Equally recent legislation in France has seen supermarkets unable to dispose food waste. The cynic in me see the UK operators attempting to be seen to follow suit so that legislation here doesn't need to follow and the industry seen as adequately self regulating.

Channa

 

[Minisorella]

Soap and water ?

Surely anything that gets rinsed and then cooked/fried will have any externally sprayed substances killed off with the heat of cooking? In the 60's/70's some americans used to soak their raw fresh veggies in water and bleach when they were abroad in the Middle East and self catering. Then they poured lashings of locally-made ice, made with local tap water, into their bourbon....

Soap and water is what I was told - obviously well rinsed in cold water afterwards. I seem to remember Linda McCartney was a fan too. I know it sounds daft but I do it anyway Water alone wouldn't get rid of the wax coatings I wouldn't think and I don't like to take a chance on the chemicals. A lot of the stuff I wash is used raw but for everything else, I agree cooking/heat will kill off germs... but chemicals? I just don't know to be honest.

Having said all that, I don't wash strawberries or other really soft fruit because it ruins it... I just wipe over with kitchen towel. Well I never said I was logical... just a creature of habit! :raofl:

 

[delicagirl]

Soap and water is what I was told - obviously well rinsed in cold water afterwards. I seem to remember Linda McCartney was a fan too. I know it sounds daft but I do it anyway Water alone wouldn't get rid of the wax coatings I wouldn't think and I don't like to take a chance on the chemicals. A lot of the stuff I wash is used raw but for everything else, I agree cooking/heat will kill off germs... but chemicals? I just don't know to be honest.

Having said all that, I don't wash strawberries or other really soft fruit because it ruins it... I just wipe over with kitchen towel. Well I never said I was logical... just a creature of habit! :raofl:

some folks have weird habits !!!!!