Photo: Willi Weber / ZDF
- The supermarket comparison
- Coffee yes, fish no
- Always look at the ingredients list
The supermarket comparison
Expensive as well? Star chef Nelson Müller has made the test: What can food from Lidl, Aldi and Co really? The big discounter comparison.
Where are the cheapest foods? And where best? Can eggs, fish and meat from discounters compete with the expensive products from the supermarket ? The ZDF has made the test.
The market with the cheap supermarkets is booming. In the meantime, more than 16, 000 branches of Lidl, Aldi and Co are represented in Germany, which accounts for a market share of 40%. But - is the transition to a low-cost discount store really worth it? Can the private labels of discounters compete with the brands of large supermarkets?
In the test: coffee, milk, pasta and fish. Price comparison: unique. On average, the own brands of the low-cost supermarkets are about 30% cheaper than the expensive brands. The quality comparison: mixed.
Coffee yes, fish no
It all starts with the favorite German product: the coffee. Dallmayr, Tchibo and Segafredo - the selection of expensive coffee products is huge. But is that why they are better? The result of the blind tasting is clear: Whether discounter coffee or branded product - the wine sommeliers could not tell the difference.
The test result was different for fish. Even though the frozen fish from Aldi, Lidl, Netto and Penny received the top mark in the quality check, he was not able to convince in the taste test. The experts criticized his 'watery and faded' aroma.
In the case of milk and cereal products, on the other hand, consumers can boldly take advantage of the cheap products of the discounters. More than surprising: the test result of the fresh pasta. Both the pasta of the discounters as well as the supermarkets are produced by the same manufacturer. Big difference: the list of ingredients and the production way. While the filling of the cheap tortelloni is produced by machine, the filling of the supermarket noodle is made by hand. The eggs for the dough of the inexpensive noodles come from ground keeping, the eggs of the expensive variant of free range.
Always look at the ingredients list
What is it? Discounter - yes or no? Nelson Müller gives his viewers the following rule of thumb at hand: Simple products can be safely bought at the discount store. The longer the list of ingredients in a product, the greater the risk of being tricked. Small case example: The custard of a well-known discount chain comes without vanilla, but with numerous additives.
Caution is also necessary with meat and eggs. Not only animals, but also humans suffer here, according to star chef Nelson Müller. Basically you can buy good products at the discount store, but with specialties you should resort to the expensive version of the supermarket.
