Aldi Product Reviews

Curds remind me of spiders and that little horror, Miss Muffet, violently attacking some poor cow and gluttonously gorging on her raw milk products.

So a lemon curd yoghurt sounded particularly vile – as everyone knows, citrus and dairy, like navy and black, do not mix.

Turns out I’m wrong on that one. Aldi’s lemon curd yoghurt (or, to give it’s full, ridiculous title: Aldi’s Specially Selected West Cork Indulgence Yoghurt: Lemon Curd) proves that lemon into cream does go. Think of a thick, creamy, lemon cake, without any of the unnecessary biscuit or flour – just sugar, cream, and lemon.

The lemon curd yoghurt recently picked up a Bronze award at the third annual Blas na hEireann Irish Food Awards. It should have walked away with gold.

Aldi came away with 12 gongs, making them the top Irish retailer at the awards. Their Angus fillet steaks took a Gold medal, as did the salt and vinegar handcooked crisps, a much cheaper and equally delicious alternative to other brands (such as Kettle).

I’ve been hiding in cupboards and pouring their Eucalyptus honey straight down my throat like – to stretch an analogy to breaking point – some sort of deranged Miss Muffet who has realised that honey is a much better alternative to curdled milk and milk plasma. Aldi also sell Manuka honey, which helped clear a nasty cold last week. A big bag of “Jelly Belly” style (remember that Jelly Belly craze in the mid-90s, anyone?) were really delicious, and devoured by adults and kids alike. And I’ve mentioned their delicious ice-cream before.

I think Aldi deserve all of their awards, with one notable exception: Aldi’s Specially Selected Casa Barelli stonebaked pizza (goats cheese, spinach, and roasted red pepper) was just about tolerable, given that I’d already put it in the oven and had no other alternative for dinner. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think goats cheese works well on pizzas at all: overwhelmingly strong and cloying and sour when melted. I don’t see how Aldi got this award at all.

I still reckon Aldi trumps Lidl every time.

Their current specials include:

• Laptop covers – €9.99
• Ainsley Harriott dinner kit – €2.79
• Chapattis – €1.09

Click here for more information.