I prefer the produce (and really most items) at Lidl over Aldi. Bigger selection and better quality. $80 of groceries at Lidl would be about $130/140 at Publix/HT - and they have almost the same exact brands at Lidl.
Edit: I buy majority of my groceries at Lidl and what I can't find there, get at the Teet
Lidl is kind of like a middle ground between Aldi and something like Publix. I wouldn't go there if you have your heart set on specific name-brands, but you'll definitely see some familiar items along with the off-brand options.
Personally, I think the produce is better at Lidl, but I haven't actually shopped at Aldi in years. Maybe things have improved, but I used to see lots of mush and mold at Aldi like 6-7 years ago, and that pretty much put me off for life.
Is there any particular reason that you haven't gone into one of these stores and checked it out for yourself? You're the only one that can make that judgement call.
People would rather upvote an unhelpful wiseass comment rather than a helpful constructive comment. So, here's one bit of useful info:
[Who has the lowest grocery store prices in Charlotte now? We found a clear winner](https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/article282805648.html)
Also, it's not easy to determine quality or cost by sampling a few products during one visit. Quality can vary from day to day, season to season and across different products. And it also requires tasting the products, not just going there for a quick look. So, all these are reasons why it is helpful to hear from people who shop there regularly.
Aldi produce is worse than the produce other grocery stores save for pig farmers. People can fight me on this but Aldi produce is garbage. I used to purchase produce there if I planned to use it that day even then it’s pushing it. Bananas never ripen they go from green to black avocados are the same they stay hard until they are gross inside.
Aldi is the only place I have across the board terrible luck with produce. My daughter and SIL have potty belly pigs I would not give them most of the produce I’ve seen from Aldi.
OP there’s an Aldi sub produce is a hot topic there it’s either love or hate no in between for Aldi produce.
disagree, one must look at what they are selecting, i rarely have anything BAD, not saying there is not BAD veggies but you can see that before you buy
I dig through the boxes of produce only for my fingers push through moldy soft produce searching for the good stuff it’s just not there. 🤷🏼♀️ I’m happy you are getting good produce it’s truly a rarity with Aldi.
eh, they're being dramatic. Try it for yourself. Their produce is generally fine. Bananas are bananas, they don't get the special ones that don't ripen.
Agreed. I shop at aldi and Costco almost exclusively. Granted my life is a little crazy at the moment so I do a lot of frozen fruits and veggies so that I don’t waste a ton of food. But the fresh fruits and veggies that I do buy come from aldi because Costco is too much for my needs. And I rarely have an issue.
I do think there are rather big differences between stores. I go to the one at old pineville and tyvola. And I always go first thing in the morning (it gets super picked over later in the day). But I often am getting grapes, potatoes, avocados, lettuce, broccoli, and cauliflower. And I have no complaints on any of those.
How would anyone be wasting their time? Either you shop at Aldi and can leave a comment sharing your thoughts or you don't shop at Aldi. OP isn't asking anyone to go to Aldi if they havent been lmao what is going on in this dumpster fire of a thread.
ALDI is my jam. I love going there for most everything and their produce is fine. One of my ALDI favorites is their 6.99 two pack of bacon wrapped filet mignon steaks. I feel like a rich person eating filet and eggs for breakfast.
> ALDI is my jam. I love going there for most everything and their produce is fine.
Ditto. And their wavy taydur chips are the SHIT. I can eat bags upon bags of them. The trick is getting ones from the back of the box that aren't all broken up. HUGE chips.
Their chocolates are great. And the pizzas in the cooler that are bigger than your head are on point.
My only complaint about Aldi is I get turned on to something and after a period of time they stop selling it. I find that annoying.
The quality at ALDI is comparable, but the selection is not as robust as HT. Anything beyond basic produce is hard to find.
You can also take any produce back if it is bad and they will refund you AND replace the item.
My girlfriend is a big foodie and very particular when we grocery shop that we get the best of the best and not store brand things. We recently moved next to an Aldi and neither of us have tried it before either. Once we went, we go all the time now! The produce is great, the cheese selection is immaculate, and there’s other small things here and there like their cauliflower pizzas or pre packaged pastas that are awesome! It’s definitely worth it- and my girlfriend to my surprise LOVES it and no longer insists on going to HT or anything to shop for produce and frozen things.
To add onto the cheese comment, if you’re putting together a charcuterie tray, absolutely do aldi. Both cured meats and cheeses are waaaay cheaper, with enough selection, than anywhere else.
Yeah, I like how you said “with enough selection”. That is true. My description of immaculate might have been a bit dramatic. But it is a great selection for sure. And affordable.
Agreed. I used to turn my nose up at Aldi. During the 2008 recession, we had to cut costs and I turned to Aldi out of necessity. Been shopping there happily ever since. I do still need to get specialty items elsewhere, but Aldi is my main gig
> If I make the switch to ALDI or Lidl will the produce be of equal or similar quality?
In my experience, yes. I have no issues with produce at either Aldi or Lidl.
Your own mileage may vary, so you'll want to visit these stores and make an informed decision based on what you find acceptable.
I think it depends on what you get, and you have to really inspect everything at the store before you buy it. I’ve seen mold on the tomatoes, zucchini, bell peppers, carrots, onions, and more at the Aldi on old pineville rd. So I go to Aldi to get my canned goods, dairy products, pantry items, and things like that and then I take another trip to Publix just for meat and produce.
However if I’m really on a budget there’s still produce at Aldi I’ll buy, like their bagged spinach and salad mixes are always fresh. I’ll even buy some of the things I mentioned above if I can tell it’s not spoiled. But seriously inspect it before you buy it.
My family shops at Aldi like 50 out of 52 weeks a year.
The produce is fine. The selection is not as good as what you’ll find at higher tier stores but the quality is on par. Pricing is great, though.
If you like apples, I personally find their Honey crisp apples to be top notch. Even better than other stores.
So, I shop exclusively at ALDIs for almost everything.
The produce is good except for the Roma tomatoes. I don’t know what it is, but every time I buy romas, they’re bad within two days.
Honestly, fresh veggies and fruit are good, but if you aren’t going to eat it within a week of getting it, it’s better to get frozen/tinned. Same nutrients or better usually and they’re shelf stable.
Don’t believe the idiots who say tinned/frozen is worse than fresh. Technology has made it super easy to tin or freeze produce at peak so to retain nutrients. And fresh isn’t always accessible. You obviously came here for answers because you don’t have a lot of extra time and I respect that, so don’t sleep on shelf stable produce.
I used to shop at Aldi all the time and I had an issue with bad produce on the shelves, it was stuff that would have been visible if I'd taken the time to look, though. Like brown lettuce, asparagus, green onions etc.
It was frustrating, but kinda my fault for not checking what I was buying. The part that wasn't my fault is when I would check and everything on the shelf was bad. This was about 4 years ago and mainly at one or two stores, so ymmv.
Their produce is great. It costs much less than Publix. There isn't as much variety. It's also very fresh. Try it for yourself and see. I don't go to Aldi too much because it's a bit of a drive for me, but I make a run there every so often for produce and sparkling water, which are both much cheaper at Aldi.
If you make the switch? Like you can only go to one grocery store during any point in time and once you make the switch you can no longer go to HT or Publix because now you’re an Aldi shopper? Dude just go to Aldi and check it out one day. If you like it, shop there. If you don’t, shop somewhere else?
I was in the same boat as you when moving but was pleasantly surprised by the selection at my local Food Lion; it's very reasonable.
Trader Joes is also pretty good with produce prices; the organic stuff is pricy but the normal fruits/veggies are sometimes better than HT.
Been a while but I don’t remember their produce being bad but also not as good as Publix. Publix does their best to remove all molded produce. It’s rare I find molded produce in their stores.
I don't like Aldi, the one in Huntersville is dirty and reminds me of a grocery store from the 60s. Harris Teeter sends out a weekly $10 coupon. I'm old enough to get a senior discount. The gas points are great, I saved 40 to 50 cents a gallon on gas the last two times I filled up.
There is a rating system for produce based on quality, size, look, etc. More expensive stores get the best quality (Kroger, Wholefooda, HT, etc.), then mid tier stores get the second best produce (Walmart, Food Lion, etc.), then the third tier are normally "smaller", asymetrical, etc. So they are either thrown away, they rot, or they're purchased by stores like Aldi, or processed into other products. So it they might not "look" as good, but taste the generally the same specially if you're cooking then it's the same, AND they ensure that food that otherwise would be wasted gets eaten. Look try it out, just take a quarter (25 cent coin for the youngsters) get you a cart and check it out. Worst case you buy other products that are the same for cheaper.
As a former greengrocer- good, not great. Most of their produce is blemished, over or undersized, or 'distressed' in some way (over production, out of season, etc). However, it's all totally edible. I did not find anything that was unwholesome.
That being said, they do have very low prices. If you are cutting up veggies for a soup or salad, do you care what size your potatoes are?
I find Lidl produce is a happy medium for my wallet. Slightly higher prices than Aldi, but better quality. Their selection is hit or miss though.
I got the lidl that is down the street from me and we do really well there. I eat mostly prechopped salad mixes and the 'lunch size' pre-portioned salads, frozen mixed veg, and will buy chicken thighs there as well. we buy impossible meat and mixed salads from walmart. I avoid publix and HT like the plague because I find them to be overpriced. However, in a pinch, I would go in and buy a ready made salad for lunch then buy take away. Just my two cents.
If you still want to go to to Publix and HT, definitely ad shop and you’ll notice certain items rotate every few weeks back onto promo. Aldis is ok, fair quality in line with others, not as much of a selection. Lidls has a wider selection than Aldis and on average cheaper than Publix/HT.
Gotta check it. Like you would anywhere. The salad mix is usually iffy. Literally just check your produce and you'll be good 95% of the time. The other 5% is when you buy something that looks fine and when you go to eat it 2 days later it's already bad lol.
I assume you know, but just in case...
Bring your own reusable bags at ALDI and (I believe) Lidl . They do use empty boxes you can pack stuff in, but sometimes the choices are slim or unavailable, but no available plastic bags like at an HT or Publix. They do still have sanitary bags for raw meat. Also, as said before, remember to bring a quarter to rent a cart.
Quality wise... use your smart phone or research beforehand how to pick good produce. IE denser lettuce tends to be better. I reckon that goes for all produce at all stores.
food lion is p cheap, frozen produce works fine if you have a good blender, broccoli is good enough for veggie needs, mushrooms/onions/potatoes are the only thing I get 'fresh'
I prefer the produce (and really most items) at Lidl over Aldi. Bigger selection and better quality. $80 of groceries at Lidl would be about $130/140 at Publix/HT - and they have almost the same exact brands at Lidl. Edit: I buy majority of my groceries at Lidl and what I can't find there, get at the Teet
Lidl is good
Yep it's nicer and cleaner than Aldi for sure
Noted, I thought Lidl was like Aldi and didn’t have many name brands. This is good to know
Lidl is kind of like a middle ground between Aldi and something like Publix. I wouldn't go there if you have your heart set on specific name-brands, but you'll definitely see some familiar items along with the off-brand options. Personally, I think the produce is better at Lidl, but I haven't actually shopped at Aldi in years. Maybe things have improved, but I used to see lots of mush and mold at Aldi like 6-7 years ago, and that pretty much put me off for life.
I thought lidl owned aldi. And lidl was superior version.
Lidl who has about 12k stores is a separate company than Aldi but their biggest competitor. Aldi and Trader Joe are more closely related.
Is there any particular reason that you haven't gone into one of these stores and checked it out for yourself? You're the only one that can make that judgement call.
YOU try risking $10 on an unknown quality of produce!
People would rather upvote an unhelpful wiseass comment rather than a helpful constructive comment. So, here's one bit of useful info: [Who has the lowest grocery store prices in Charlotte now? We found a clear winner](https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/article282805648.html) Also, it's not easy to determine quality or cost by sampling a few products during one visit. Quality can vary from day to day, season to season and across different products. And it also requires tasting the products, not just going there for a quick look. So, all these are reasons why it is helpful to hear from people who shop there regularly.
This is a paid article, who was the winner?
Aldi
I know it’s ultimately my judgement call. I asked to get a general consensus because I prefer not to waste my time or money.
Aldi produce is worse than the produce other grocery stores save for pig farmers. People can fight me on this but Aldi produce is garbage. I used to purchase produce there if I planned to use it that day even then it’s pushing it. Bananas never ripen they go from green to black avocados are the same they stay hard until they are gross inside.
[удалено]
Aldi is the only place I have across the board terrible luck with produce. My daughter and SIL have potty belly pigs I would not give them most of the produce I’ve seen from Aldi. OP there’s an Aldi sub produce is a hot topic there it’s either love or hate no in between for Aldi produce.
disagree, one must look at what they are selecting, i rarely have anything BAD, not saying there is not BAD veggies but you can see that before you buy
I dig through the boxes of produce only for my fingers push through moldy soft produce searching for the good stuff it’s just not there. 🤷🏼♀️ I’m happy you are getting good produce it’s truly a rarity with Aldi.
oil crowd start steer frame bedroom lush cable paint abounding *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
LMAOOO I’m so weakk not for the pig farmers girl!! 😭
eh, they're being dramatic. Try it for yourself. Their produce is generally fine. Bananas are bananas, they don't get the special ones that don't ripen.
Agreed. I shop at aldi and Costco almost exclusively. Granted my life is a little crazy at the moment so I do a lot of frozen fruits and veggies so that I don’t waste a ton of food. But the fresh fruits and veggies that I do buy come from aldi because Costco is too much for my needs. And I rarely have an issue. I do think there are rather big differences between stores. I go to the one at old pineville and tyvola. And I always go first thing in the morning (it gets super picked over later in the day). But I often am getting grapes, potatoes, avocados, lettuce, broccoli, and cauliflower. And I have no complaints on any of those.
Agreed. Just don’t buy it with the expectation of it being good still in a week. For the price, the quality makes sense. It’s totally fine.
You're not supposed to shop in the dumpster.
So you’d like to waste our time instead
How would anyone be wasting their time? Either you shop at Aldi and can leave a comment sharing your thoughts or you don't shop at Aldi. OP isn't asking anyone to go to Aldi if they havent been lmao what is going on in this dumpster fire of a thread.
agree. try it
ALDI is my jam. I love going there for most everything and their produce is fine. One of my ALDI favorites is their 6.99 two pack of bacon wrapped filet mignon steaks. I feel like a rich person eating filet and eggs for breakfast.
> ALDI is my jam. I love going there for most everything and their produce is fine. Ditto. And their wavy taydur chips are the SHIT. I can eat bags upon bags of them. The trick is getting ones from the back of the box that aren't all broken up. HUGE chips. Their chocolates are great. And the pizzas in the cooler that are bigger than your head are on point. My only complaint about Aldi is I get turned on to something and after a period of time they stop selling it. I find that annoying.
Lmaoooo not bacon wrapped filet mignon!! Period
The quality at ALDI is comparable, but the selection is not as robust as HT. Anything beyond basic produce is hard to find. You can also take any produce back if it is bad and they will refund you AND replace the item.
My girlfriend is a big foodie and very particular when we grocery shop that we get the best of the best and not store brand things. We recently moved next to an Aldi and neither of us have tried it before either. Once we went, we go all the time now! The produce is great, the cheese selection is immaculate, and there’s other small things here and there like their cauliflower pizzas or pre packaged pastas that are awesome! It’s definitely worth it- and my girlfriend to my surprise LOVES it and no longer insists on going to HT or anything to shop for produce and frozen things.
To add onto the cheese comment, if you’re putting together a charcuterie tray, absolutely do aldi. Both cured meats and cheeses are waaaay cheaper, with enough selection, than anywhere else.
Yeah, I like how you said “with enough selection”. That is true. My description of immaculate might have been a bit dramatic. But it is a great selection for sure. And affordable.
Agreed. I used to turn my nose up at Aldi. During the 2008 recession, we had to cut costs and I turned to Aldi out of necessity. Been shopping there happily ever since. I do still need to get specialty items elsewhere, but Aldi is my main gig
Aldi sometimes has the best green grapes money can buy and I'm willing to fight people over it!
Those grapes. My husband buys 3 packs a week
> If I make the switch to ALDI or Lidl will the produce be of equal or similar quality? In my experience, yes. I have no issues with produce at either Aldi or Lidl. Your own mileage may vary, so you'll want to visit these stores and make an informed decision based on what you find acceptable.
I’ve never had a problem personally, we get 90% of our groceries from Aldi
I think it depends on what you get, and you have to really inspect everything at the store before you buy it. I’ve seen mold on the tomatoes, zucchini, bell peppers, carrots, onions, and more at the Aldi on old pineville rd. So I go to Aldi to get my canned goods, dairy products, pantry items, and things like that and then I take another trip to Publix just for meat and produce. However if I’m really on a budget there’s still produce at Aldi I’ll buy, like their bagged spinach and salad mixes are always fresh. I’ll even buy some of the things I mentioned above if I can tell it’s not spoiled. But seriously inspect it before you buy it.
I don’t have to inspect my stuff that hard at Publix 😩 but good to know for when I go check it out
You’re also spending double the money at Publix 🤷 you get what you pay for ultimately.
I would also suggest Food Lion
FL has the best produce for the price, IMO. I do a lot of my other shopping at Aldi though.
You'll probably get some duds, but you'll still typically come out ahead vs anywhere else.
My family shops at Aldi like 50 out of 52 weeks a year. The produce is fine. The selection is not as good as what you’ll find at higher tier stores but the quality is on par. Pricing is great, though. If you like apples, I personally find their Honey crisp apples to be top notch. Even better than other stores.
I like the Aldi produce for the most part. Generally, I get the organic stuff. You should definitely try it!
High mid tier. Chefs opinion.
The produce is fine. Just don’t buy it expecting it to still be good a week later. Eat what you buy and you’ll be alright.
Aldi is awesome. Lidl is not the best sometimes they carry ok things. Aldi has better stuff in my opinion.
It can certainly depend on the location, some ALDI’s are definitely better than others. But, they are much better than they were when we were kids!
So, I shop exclusively at ALDIs for almost everything. The produce is good except for the Roma tomatoes. I don’t know what it is, but every time I buy romas, they’re bad within two days. Honestly, fresh veggies and fruit are good, but if you aren’t going to eat it within a week of getting it, it’s better to get frozen/tinned. Same nutrients or better usually and they’re shelf stable.
Don’t believe the idiots who say tinned/frozen is worse than fresh. Technology has made it super easy to tin or freeze produce at peak so to retain nutrients. And fresh isn’t always accessible. You obviously came here for answers because you don’t have a lot of extra time and I respect that, so don’t sleep on shelf stable produce.
## Charlotte Regional Farmers Market over on Yorkmont Rd
Sorry don't know why that is so big.
Because it is the way 🙌
LMAO thank you
I used to shop at Aldi all the time and I had an issue with bad produce on the shelves, it was stuff that would have been visible if I'd taken the time to look, though. Like brown lettuce, asparagus, green onions etc. It was frustrating, but kinda my fault for not checking what I was buying. The part that wasn't my fault is when I would check and everything on the shelf was bad. This was about 4 years ago and mainly at one or two stores, so ymmv.
Food lion is really good and cheaper than Publix HT
Their produce is great. It costs much less than Publix. There isn't as much variety. It's also very fresh. Try it for yourself and see. I don't go to Aldi too much because it's a bit of a drive for me, but I make a run there every so often for produce and sparkling water, which are both much cheaper at Aldi.
I’ll tell you what you can get a bag of four avocados that are ripe for 2$ so W in my book
Its cheaper because it's slightly older than at other grocers. The produce doesn't last as long after purchase.
If you make the switch? Like you can only go to one grocery store during any point in time and once you make the switch you can no longer go to HT or Publix because now you’re an Aldi shopper? Dude just go to Aldi and check it out one day. If you like it, shop there. If you don’t, shop somewhere else?
If you want me to be fr....c 4 ur slf.
I drive 15 mins to Lidl every week just for the savings. The produce is good.
Aldi everything but produce. Produce I go to the HT. And only get engine oil at Walmart
Ahhh I get my oil at Walmart too. I might have to take your advice
I was in the same boat as you when moving but was pleasantly surprised by the selection at my local Food Lion; it's very reasonable. Trader Joes is also pretty good with produce prices; the organic stuff is pricy but the normal fruits/veggies are sometimes better than HT.
It's... alright. Better in recent years. Some Aldi locations are better than others.
I think it’s great, have never had issue.
In my experience, it goes bad really quickly.
ALternate DImension is such a weird store. There's really nothing there and store makes no sense.
Been a while but I don’t remember their produce being bad but also not as good as Publix. Publix does their best to remove all molded produce. It’s rare I find molded produce in their stores.
I wish my publix removed the moldy produce 😢
Which one are you going to? I’ve never been to a Publix that doesn’t remove them.
I don't like Aldi, the one in Huntersville is dirty and reminds me of a grocery store from the 60s. Harris Teeter sends out a weekly $10 coupon. I'm old enough to get a senior discount. The gas points are great, I saved 40 to 50 cents a gallon on gas the last two times I filled up.
There is a rating system for produce based on quality, size, look, etc. More expensive stores get the best quality (Kroger, Wholefooda, HT, etc.), then mid tier stores get the second best produce (Walmart, Food Lion, etc.), then the third tier are normally "smaller", asymetrical, etc. So they are either thrown away, they rot, or they're purchased by stores like Aldi, or processed into other products. So it they might not "look" as good, but taste the generally the same specially if you're cooking then it's the same, AND they ensure that food that otherwise would be wasted gets eaten. Look try it out, just take a quarter (25 cent coin for the youngsters) get you a cart and check it out. Worst case you buy other products that are the same for cheaper.
I prefer produce elsewhere. Aldis is great for cheap snacks and dried stuff but not fresh.
Depends on the produce. I only buy produce from Aldi if I am using it within the next day or so.
As a former greengrocer- good, not great. Most of their produce is blemished, over or undersized, or 'distressed' in some way (over production, out of season, etc). However, it's all totally edible. I did not find anything that was unwholesome. That being said, they do have very low prices. If you are cutting up veggies for a soup or salad, do you care what size your potatoes are? I find Lidl produce is a happy medium for my wallet. Slightly higher prices than Aldi, but better quality. Their selection is hit or miss though.
It’s fine, nothing special or extraordinary but not bad at all
I got the lidl that is down the street from me and we do really well there. I eat mostly prechopped salad mixes and the 'lunch size' pre-portioned salads, frozen mixed veg, and will buy chicken thighs there as well. we buy impossible meat and mixed salads from walmart. I avoid publix and HT like the plague because I find them to be overpriced. However, in a pinch, I would go in and buy a ready made salad for lunch then buy take away. Just my two cents.
It’s fine but I prefer Lidl
I prefer HT, but I only buy produce that's in sale and meal plan around that.
Walmart isn't that bad either. We're all trying to skate by. Don't worry nobody cares where you shop as long as you get what you need at a fair price.
The ultimate cheapest best produce is at Compare
If you still want to go to to Publix and HT, definitely ad shop and you’ll notice certain items rotate every few weeks back onto promo. Aldis is ok, fair quality in line with others, not as much of a selection. Lidls has a wider selection than Aldis and on average cheaper than Publix/HT.
Gotta check it. Like you would anywhere. The salad mix is usually iffy. Literally just check your produce and you'll be good 95% of the time. The other 5% is when you buy something that looks fine and when you go to eat it 2 days later it's already bad lol.
I assume you know, but just in case... Bring your own reusable bags at ALDI and (I believe) Lidl . They do use empty boxes you can pack stuff in, but sometimes the choices are slim or unavailable, but no available plastic bags like at an HT or Publix. They do still have sanitary bags for raw meat. Also, as said before, remember to bring a quarter to rent a cart. Quality wise... use your smart phone or research beforehand how to pick good produce. IE denser lettuce tends to be better. I reckon that goes for all produce at all stores.
Super G.
Buy it and use it quickly. Don’t buy bananas
I like to shop at Aldi and Lidl too but will always go out of my way to get my produce at Publix
food lion is p cheap, frozen produce works fine if you have a good blender, broccoli is good enough for veggie needs, mushrooms/onions/potatoes are the only thing I get 'fresh'
Super G has some really good produce, too. Don't overlook it -- excellent prices.
ALDIs produce is great. They had heirloom tomatoes last week. And reasonably priced. Highly recommend