Aldi Taste Test
One of my random weekend ideas was an Aldi taste test. For the past few months, Jay and I have shopped almost exclusively at Aldi. The first time we finally stepped foot inside their store (located literally one minute from our regular grocery store), we were pleasantly surprised. The low prices drew us in, but the quality of their store brand products and availability of all our grocery staples keep us coming back.
To celebrate and test our love for Aldi, we decided to conduct an Aldi Taste Test to compare a few of their generic items versus national brand names. We performed blind taste tests to see if we could identify the brand name product.
Almond Milk (Unsweetened)
Friendly Farms Almond Milk – $1.99
Silk Almond Milk – $3.19
Results – Jay and I both thought Aldi was the brand name almond milk! He thought they tasted the same, but I picked Aldi as my favorite of the two. Silk had less flavor and tasted grittier.
Breakfast Pastry (Brown Sugar Cinnamon)
Millville Toaster Tarts – $1.99
Pop-Tarts – $3.00
Results – Jay and I both correctly identified Pop-Tarts. However, he adamantly preferred the Aldi brand. He mentioned the Aldi Toaster Tart has a stronger cinnamon flavor and more filling.
Cereal (Honey Nut Cheerios)
Millville Honey Nut Crispy Oats – $1.39
General Mills Honey Nut Cheerios – $2.97
Results – I performed this test alone and successfully identified the brand name Honey Nut Cheerios. Cereal is one category where I feel the brand name is worth the extra cost. Honey Nut Cheerios have a stronger honey flavor. However, Jay has purchased other cereals from Aldi and notices absolutely no difference.
Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Aldi Baker’s Corner Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels – $1.99
Toll House Semi-Sweet Morsels – $2.50
Results – I guessed incorrectly! I thought the Baker’s Corner morsels were the name brand. Before I knew which was which, I said the Aldi chocolate chips had a stronger semi-sweet flavor. Surprising since I consume Toll House chocolate chips like a fiend.
White Cheddar Popcorn
Aldi Clancy’s White Cheddar Popcorn – $0.32 / oz
SmartFood White Cheddar Popcorn – $0.38 / oz
Results – I successfully identified SmartFood since I thought it had a slightly cheesier flavor. However, Jay thought the exact opposite! These were very similar, though, so I’m more than happy to purchase the Aldi brand.
Overall Thoughts:
With the exception of cereal, every Aldi product we tried side by side was comparable to the brand name version. I’d call this Aldi Taste Test a success. For the cost savings, it’s a no-brainer for us to shop there. The only caveat I’ll note is to keep an eye on the ingredient list. If I notice the Aldi brands have more preservatives or unpronounceable ingredients, I consider switching to the brand name instead.
As an added note, I didn’t compare fruits and veggies, but Aldi has an awesome selection of regular and organic produce, too!
Have you shopped at Aldi? What do you think of their products?
I love shopping at Aldi. There are some things that I religiously buy at Aldi that I love better than other brands and are much cheaper. I also love how I can find brand name things (like Babybel cheese) for a much lower price. It’s definitely an art shopping at Aldi though. There are some things that taste cheaper and sometimes their produce turns faster. I like the taste test comparisons. Fun post!
I’m pretty sure I consume Aldi’s Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt more than any other product 🙂 Completely agree about it being a trial and error experience. Luckily if something’s a bust you didn’t spend a lot on it!
We love Aldi too! You do have to be careful with produce sometimes and really look over what you’re considering buying, but for the most part, it’s just awesome. I totally understand what you mean about cereals, though – they’re similar but juuuust not quite the same. We LOVE their staples, like milk, eggs, cheese, and bread. They also have great snack mixes, chips, and randomly, frozen fish. Great idea to do a taste test, this was super fun to read!
My husband loves fish but I can’t stand it, so I’ll have him check out their selection next time we’re there! Exciting to hear you’re a fellow fan!