$2.99 at Vernon Hills Mariano's yesterday.

Milk at Aldi varies wildly by store. It used to be a huge bargain at certain stores. In 2018 or so, the Antioch Aldi had gallons for around $1.20 along with 50 cent eggs. At the same time, the Waukegan Aldi sold milk for over $2. Last time I looked, it was more than $2.50 at some of the cheap Aldis so ones like the Evanston store are probably well over $3.
Most products at Aldi are consistently priced chain wide but certain produce and dairy items are set at the store. Some snack foods, too. The Racine Aldi used to have the cheapest prices on chips, around 2/3 of the price in the Chicago area.

Today at Aldi in Gurnee, I bought a quart of heavy cream for $3.25. My last purchase at Woodman's was around $5.

I remember jlawrence01 commenting Wednesday was a good day to visit, because a number of items are discounted. There were definitely a number of mark downs, especially my favorite when done by hand.

There were several packages of 80/20, or is it 20/80, ground beef at 50% off or just short of $2. per pound. I bought several, then repacked into one-pound freezer zip bags.

I went in there for one time only, ha ha ha!

Regards,
CAthy2

Aldi Is Looking for a Couple to Win the Grocery Store-Themed Wedding of Their Dreams

https://www.foodandwine.com/news/aldi-f ... ng-contest

I was at the Evanston Aldi's today, and they finally had 1% milk in stock, and it was only $2.77, and so I bought a gallon of it. This is the first time in at least six months, that I have actually seen 1% milk. They are always out of 1% and skimmed milk. I also got some bananas, which were only $.48 a pound, and I got two bags of green onions, which were $.85 for each bag. Each bag contained about twice as many green onions as you get in a bunch anywhere else. The only bad thing is that they were from Mexico, but I decided to buy them anyway.

They had blueberries for $2.49 a pint, but they were from Peru, and I decided to pass on them.

I noticed they had canned pumpkin. That is a seasonal item at Aldi's, and last year I believe they were $1.09 a can. This year they are $1.29 a can. I am not sure how plentiful the pumpkin crop is this year. I believe Illinois is the #1 grower of pumpkins. I usually get most of my canned pumpkin at Aldi's. They usually have the cheapest price. Whole Foods canned pumpkin is not much more expensive though.

I noticed that Aldi's had Swanson natural goodness chicken broth for sale. It was $1.24 a can, which is more than I am willing to spend. I can usually get it for $.49 a can during the holidays at Food4Less and Mariano's. It is my favorite chicken broth, and I stock up when it is on sale at Food4Less.

I was at the Evanston Aldi's today, and I got two loafs of their 100% whole wheat bread, which was $2.04 a loaf, and some bananas that were $.48 a pound. When they set out the bananas, they just leave them in the boxes they came in. The bottoms of all of the boxes contain, a coated plastic wrap, which ripens the bananas. They are supposed to remove the plastic wrap when they set out the bananas, but who ever set them out did not remove the plastic wrap. Most of the bananas were loaded with brown spots on them. I had to dig into the boxes to find any that were not overripe. Their blueberries were from Peru, and so I passed on them.

What's the deal on blueberries (or produce in general) from Peru? Asking for a friend.

Buddy

BuddyRoadhouse wrote:What's the deal on blueberries (or produce in general) from Peru? Asking for a friend.

Buddy

I had some of the Peruvian blueberries this week that were from my local Kroger affiliate. They were excellent as good as you will find in-season from the US.

It comes down to whether you want seasonal produce available year around or not. I like the wide variety that is now available.

It is because all of the miles it takes for the blueberries to get here contributes to global warming. Also, I don't know about Peru, but in Mexico pesticides are used that are banned in the US such as DDT. They are not supposed to be used on produce being transported to the US, but I don't trust the system to work. I would much rather have my blueberries travel 110 miles, as opposed to thousands of miles. You can buy local blueberries, and freeze them. When I buy them at the farmers market, I know the money is going directly to the farmer, and plus most of the blueberries I bought at the farmers market, are certified organic.

BuddyRoadhouse wrote:What's the deal on blueberries (or produce in general) from Peru? Asking for a friend.

Buddy

All I know is that Driscoll's set out some years ago to make the four main berries (straw, blue, rasp and mull) available year round, and did a huge amount of recruiting farmers at different latitudes.

In my opinion, off-season blueberries are a non-locovore evil I can live with, nay, embrace.

I bought some blueberries from the farmer's market three weeks ago, and I bought a pint of red raspberries today, as well as some slightly bruised pears, a gallon of cider, and a quart of ripe Stanley plums. I did not even need the bananas I bought at Aldi's yesterday.

Just read that, in Europe, Aldi stores are now supplying kits for preparing meals from insects.

Kinda gives you new perspective on the whole Peruvian blueberry thing, don't it?

Buddy

Cynthia wrote:Just read that, in Europe, Aldi stores are now supplying kits for preparing meals from insects.

Do you have a link to this article? That would be a fun read.

jlawrence01 wrote:I had some of the Peruvian blueberries this week that were from my local Kroger affiliate. They were excellent as good as you will find in-season from the US.

Other talk about pesticides and travel concerns aside, my local Tony's has these Peruvian Blueberries on sale for $1.50/pint, and they were FAR better than I was expecting them to be. Super sweet, and they have decent flavor, not just sweet. 20 pints in the freezer of them so far. I'll grab some more on Tuesday before the sale is over.

Are there any Chicagoland Aldi stores that carry housewares? I've seen a few products that look interesting but none of the Chicagoland stores I've visited seem to carry them. Their website doesn't appear to be useful in this regard.

Thanks,

=R=

What do you mean by "Chicagoland"? Are you talking about the city proper, or the entire suburban area?

Our Aldi in Des Plaines has all kinds of housewares, although they're not necessarily stocked as regular items. Most of them are part of their weekly specials.

Over the last few years, we've bought an 8 quart pasta pot with strainer, a set of lightweight cast iron pans, multiple non-stick pans, and all kinds of cooking utensils and drawer organizers.

Buddy

BuddyRoadhouse wrote:What do you mean by "Chicagoland"? Are you talking about the city proper, or the entire suburban area?

Our Aldi in Des Plaines has all kinds of housewares, although they're not necessarily stocked as regular items. Most of them are part of their weekly specials.

Over the last few years, we've bought an 8 quart pasta pot with strainer, a set of lightweight cast iron pans, multiple non-stick pans, and all kinds of cooking utensils and drawer organizers.

Buddy

Okay, thank you. Those are the kinds of items I had in mind. I always consider Chicagoland to mean the city and the suburbs.

Thanks again,

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:Chicagoland to mean the city and the suburbs

and Northwest Indiana!

Cathy2 wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:Chicagoland to mean the city and the suburbs

and Northwest Indiana!

Yes!

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:Okay, thank you. Those are the kinds of items I had in mind. I always consider Chicagoland to mean the city and the suburbs.

Thanks again,

=R=

I do too. My confusion came in your statement, "...none of the Chicagoland stores I've visited seem to carry them."

I see them all the time, but I usually shop in suburban stores, not those in Chicago proper, hence my request for a definition of terms.

I wonder why the stores you visit aren't carrying those items. Most of the non-food items featured this week are Holiday related, but there's a nice looking baking sheet/cooling rack combo on special for $14.99. Couple of other items, but nothing significant.

Buddy

BuddyRoadhouse wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:Okay, thank you. Those are the kinds of items I had in mind. I always consider Chicagoland to mean the city and the suburbs.

Thanks again,

=R=

I do too. My confusion came in your statement, "...none of the Chicagoland stores I've visited seem to carry them."

I see them all the time, but I usually shop in suburban stores, not those in Chicago proper, hence my request for a definition of terms.

I wonder why the stores you visit aren't carrying those items. Most of the non-food items featured this week are Holiday related, but there's a nice looking baking sheet/cooling rack combo on special for $14.99. Couple of other items, but nothing significant.

Buddy

Yeah, I wonder too but my guess is that the specific items I've been interested in either don't make it to every store or have come and gone before I had a chance to visit. It's mostly cookware but also a few other non-food-type items.

=R=

BuddyRoadhouse wrote:Our Aldi in Des Plaines has all kinds of housewares, although they're not necessarily stocked as regular items. Most of them are part of their weekly specials.

There are really limited quantities in most stores, and the mix changes weekly. Much like Costco, if you wait too long, it's gone.

ronnie_suburban wrote:Yeah, I wonder too but my guess is that the specific items I've been interested in either don't make it to every store or have come and gone before I had a chance to visit. It's mostly cookware but also a few other non-food-type items.

=R=

Aldi has definitely had a lot of supply chain issues lately. They've gone for weeks, and even months without some staple items, like 1/2 & 1/2, orange juice, and some popular cracker varieties.

Also, as spinynorman99 says, many items, especially housewares, arrive in limited quantities so you need to get in there on a Wednesday or Thursday before they're gone.

Buddy

There are few if any continuously stocked housewares, just Aldi Finds. Some items repeat annually for a few years, like fake Silpats, turbo ovens, cherry pitters, stackable planters, bike speedometers, greenhouses, garden clogs and stuffed animals for the pool*. Others are once only like the faux instant pot accessories or pruning shears*. So, going to Aldi on any given day in hopes of buying a skillet or a miniblender can be a goose chase.
On top of that, some Aldis used to have lots of Aldi Finds left over and would clearance them for up to 75% off. From around 2019-2021, Aldi had been overrun with people who bought Aldi Finds and sold them on FB Marketplace, Ebay, even Amazon. Candles and kiddie pools were the worst. Now with supply chain problems and market saturation, even that's died down a bit. Still, it's not a reliable source.

*all items I've bought at Aldi

tjr wrote:There are few if any continuously stocked housewares, just Aldi Finds. Some items repeat annually for a few years, like fake Silpats, turbo ovens, cherry pitters, stackable planters, bike speedometers, greenhouses, garden clogs and stuffed animals for the pool*. Others are once only like the faux instant pot accessories or pruning shears*. So, going to Aldi on any given day in hopes of buying a skillet or a miniblender can be a goose chase.
On top of that, some Aldis used to have lots of Aldi Finds left over and would clearance them for up to 75% off. From around 2019-2021, Aldi had been overrun with people who bought Aldi Finds and sold them on FB Marketplace, Ebay, even Amazon. Candles and kiddie pools were the worst. Now with supply chain problems and market saturation, even that's died down a bit. Still, it's not a reliable source.

*all items I've bought at Aldi

Nah, nothing specific. Every once in a while I'll see something touted on a youtube channel or elsewhere that piques my general interest. And sometimes that prompts me to take a general look at the housewares section of the store when I'm there. But almost every time I go, there is no actual section. Just a few oddball housewares that seem kind of randomly placed throughout the store or on half a given shelf, etc. It's interesting that some 3rd party outlets so heavily tout Aldi's non-food items, when the reality is the company itself doesn't seem to assign them the same level of importance.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:It's interesting that some 3rd party outlets so heavily tout Aldi's non-food items, when the reality is the company itself doesn't seem to assign them the same level of importance.

=R=

I think that is a bit strong.

Aldi customers are aware the weekly special deals are short term. Aldi is such a huge volume customer, it is an important customer to whomever lucks out to get an order.

I remember a friend going to a local chain to complain how expensive they were compared to Aldi. The grocery manager said their store's volume is a drop in the bucket compared to Aldi. If they had anywhere near the volume, they could command lower prices, too.

The day after Thanksgiving a few years ago, Aldi sold cranberries for 10 cents a bag. Clear the decks Thanksgiving over, now it is on to Christmas! I canned cranberry sauce that year.

What Aldi does, it does very well, but you have to get used to their thinking.

Regards,
Cathy2

Agreed, I think Aldi has a different model in the general merch area from typical retailers. Aldi doesn't have the shelf space or customer base to continually stock a countertop ice maker or mini popcorn wagon. And, like Marshall's or TJ Maxx, Aldi offers "now or never" excitement for budget shoppers. But Aldi has gone to the trouble of creating brands for these products: Ambiano (appliances, cookware), BikeMate, etc.

I would love to visit the similar German-based Lidl stores, which appear to have a more standard selection of home goods, clothing, etc along the lines of a mini-Meijer. Sadly, they haven't come to the midwest yet. Perhaps an east coaster will comment.

Also note Aldi's other very successful non-food items that are stocked year round: Winking Owl wines and the extremely popular candles, supposedly worthy competitors to the much more expensive White Barn ones.

And, not as cheap as Cathy's dime bags of cranberries, but I recall post-Christmas hams with $5-off stickers. 7 to 10 lb hams that started at .79/lb suddenly jumped into my cart. With two adults and a toddler, February that year approached Ms. Parker's definition of eternity.

No, I get it. But when a third party spends 75% of their column inches (or video equivalent) on Aldi's houseware offerings, it's clearly disproportionate to the reality of the situation.

=R=

I am now at Union (no link - read why). I will comment on this topic, as Aldi is one of the stores I shopped on Wednesday.
But the battery on my laptop is dying, and I don't know if I will get a plug-in here at Union, so I stick this here now.
The Xmas Advent Beer box is in. All 12-oz. cans this year. Go get it.