The Aldi Project: Reviewing Aldi Australia Frozen Foods
Frozen foods are already pretty cheap in supermarkets so you’ve really got to wonder where Aldi reduce costs in offering nearly universally cheaper options for your freezer. Let’s not kid ourselves frozen food is obviously less nutritional then it’s fresh counterpart.. but it’s oh so convenient and cheap!
Mamma Mia Ham & Pineapple Frozen Pizza
Nobody buys frozen pizza expecting a gourmet meal. You buy frozen pizza because it’s cheap and nasty and the dough never tastes quite right. They are for when you can’t be arsed and make a good lunch snack on weekends.
On these aspects Aldi frozen pizzas deliver (not literally!). They are excellent value at 2 pizzas for just over $5 and weigh in at 1kg a box. Brand pizzas are usually 500-750g for one pizza and cost around $6-$8 each. The toppings are a little sparse but what frozen pizzas aren’t? Definatly a snack to keep stocked up on.
Manufactured: Australia (from local and imported ingredients)
Amesbury Bakeries Premium Pies 4 pack
The biggest problem with frozen meat pies (aside from trying not to think about what’s in them) is the texture of the meat and the gravy ratio, thankfully Amesbury have got it just right. The pies are noticeably shorter height wise then their more expensive cousins and the pastry is slightly thinner but the meat in there is delicious.
The premium pies retail at $4.49 so it’s a bit of an expensive freezer filler but there is a cheaper non-premium variety that i’ll test out soon.
Manufactured: Australia
International Cuisine Satay Beef
The worst thing about International Cuisine’s Satay Beef is the cooking time. The second worst thing was the taste. As with the Silk’s frozen meals the pack says to put it in the microwave for 6-8 minutes (I chose 7 but in hindsight 6 is more then adequate maybe even 5). Whilst this doesn’t sound bad I decided to try these at work for a week and every day wound up holding up the microwave whilst a queue formed. By the end of the week I dreaded heading to the kitchen to heat it up.
The frozen satay beef was way to sweet, it felt like it had tons of sugar in it. The rice, beef and vegetables were fine but it was really let down by the sauce. I’d definately recommend the Silks Fine Indian Cuisine flavours over this, avoid.
Manufactured: TBA (forgot to check pack)
Silks Fine Indian Cuisine
These come in Rogan Josh and Chicken Tikka Masala flavour and let me just say right off the bat they are delicious. For $4.49 they come in at cheaper then most meals from a cafe and the serving sizes are generous. They aren’t as good as the homecooked versions but on both days I had these I had compliments on the aroma as they cooked in the microwave.
The only problem, as with the International Cuisine Satay Beef version, is the cooking time of 6-8 minutes. However if you have a quiet kitchen at work go for it, these are definately one of the best frozen food meals I’ve ever tasted.
Manufactured: TBA (forget to check pack)
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May 14th, 2010 at
[...] theme & this is what you get. The rice is Maharajah’s Choice Vegetable Biryani rice with Silks Fine Indian Cuisine, Chicken Tikka Masala plus some left over vegetables (Total Fat – 10.2 grams. Total Carbs – 81 grams. Total Protein – [...]