Oreo vs. Aldi: Shoddy Goods 048

@narfcake
well said

Not the well known name brand is not the same thing as off brand or knock-off

i often like a ‘named brand’ (see what I did there) better than the one with the marketting budget. Sometimes it is just better and doesn’t give a fucktard. Sometimes the so called off brand / store brand is actually better (TJ’s sells a toasted oat meal for dirt cheap and it’s better than other brands, bothe elite and the big Q)

That being said, sometimes the other brand is actually better in some ways but looses out to the ‘big marketting budget brand’
and sometimes the big marketting budget brand is better if you buy the product as it is manufactured for somewhere outside the US.
Oreo is in the title. If you have not had Korean Oreos you have not had ones where the cookie actually tastes chocolatey yummy

@narfcake

The truth of the matter, IMO, is that Aldi’s house-brands are often considerably better than the “real” ones. Even the savings aside, I’d rather buy the Aldi brand eight times out of ten.

That being said, there are some products that I’ll only buy the name brand, because I truly think they’re better:

Diet Coke
Heinz Ketchup
Pop Tarts* (Don’t judge me!)
Lindt chocolate
Boar’s Head deli meat
Eggos (My wife, not me. I think they’re gross.)
Charmin toilet paper
Bounty paper towels
Dawn dish soap (or Costco’s version)

Otherwise, gimmee that Aldi brand. The same goes for Costco’s Kirkland house-brand — almost always great stuff.

*Much like my beloved Taco Bell, I know it’s crap, but damned if it ain’t some great crap.

@ItalianScallion I was just learning about making ghee a day or two ago, and happened upon Chef Jean-Pierre. This is his video on how to make your own French [style] butter:

(fwiw, it was the first I’d heard that butter from France was anything unusual)

@ItalianScallion @xobzoo
Fun fact … Plugra sounds like plus gras in French (= more fat in English).

@ItalianScallion I actually hate Dawn. It stinks to me.

@Cerridwyn @ItalianScallion SAME! My bother uses it and the smell is so strong, I hate it.

@chienfou Strangely, that’s the one cordless tool brand I don’t have anything from. Tools made by them for Craftsman/Sears back in the days, yes, but none directly.

@njfan I would bet on it
and likely by the Hydrox vs Oreo history.
Hydrox really were better

@njfan the case is the center piece of the shoddy goods newsletter in question!

@Cerridwyn @njfan You can still buy Hydrox ($$$), and they really are better. A couple years ago we did a fun blind taste test amongst about 5-6 family members, with Oreo, Hydrox, two or three store brand knockoffs and Newman’s Own. Newman’s and Hydrox were clear winners, even though Oreo’s were quite identifiable and yeah, better than the other knockoffs. Meaning, our goal wasn’t to determine which of these is closest to Oreo, but rather which is the truly best cookie. Hydrox and Newman’s just tasted less “chemically” compared to the others. We did the same thing with Cola once… and oddly enough, Sam’s Cola beat out some really big names (surprisingly, mexican Coca-Cola was middle of the pack). Top fave of the group was the real sugar Pepsi Soda Shop, with Sam’s Cola right behind it.

@jester747 @njfan order some Korean Oreos. I’m serious they taste so different even though they are truly real Oreos

@Cerridwyn @jester747 @njfan

Newman’s Own are fantastic — far superior to Oreos. I don’t really consider them to be a knock-off brand, but with the exception of their pizza — which I’ve found to be god awful — I always find them to be as good or often better than the “name brand”. Plus they’re a great charity.

@heartny I have 100% given up Target. It was actually difficult, because it was my ‘big box’ of choice. It is less than a block away to start, and I liked for a long time how it positioned itself in the world.

Not anymore. I have decided I would rather give Bezos my money if I cannot find an alternate supplier, and that’s freaking scary.

@Cerridwyn Agree 100%. I’ll vote with my wallet and that no longer includes Target. I wish I could say the same thing about Amazon, but they have stuff that is hard to find elsewhere. Bezos is an odious lackey, so I reluctantly abandoned the Washington Post for the New York Times.

And I’m a “me too!” on Target’s storage bags! I’ll find others that are good quality at a good price.

@ItalianScallion or the item on Amazon is truly honestly half the price of what you can find it somewhere else. I have one item like that. So when I need it I’ll order a few other things that are better to get there. I gave up Walmart ears ago because of his politics.

@Cerridwyn I gave up on Walmart long ago because they depend on government programs, like SNAP, to make up for paying their employees so little. They’re so symbolic of owners being filthy rich while so many of their employees struggle to put food on their tables and pay their rent.

@ItalianScallion yeah pretty much and their stores look like the one that in the other thread where it just looks nasty. I won’t say I’ve never bought anything from them in the last few years but it’s incredibly rare

@Cerridwyn @ItalianScallion

I just can’t get away from Amazon. Their selection is so vast, they’re so fast and convenient, and their returns just couldn’t be easier. I know they’re the most mega of mega-corporations, but damn if they aren’t so much better than the competition.

I know it’s a problem, but I personally have never had an issue with receiving knock-offs, at least as far as I know. If I have, it hasn’t been discernible.

@ItalianScallion @kevincoleman
I think it depends on what you tend to order from them. I agree you can get interesting stuff from them (not my statement about Korean Oreos before, they were from Amacrap). And I have an OTC prescribed med that is 1/2 the price from anywhere else. However, much of the Chinese kitchen junk (that is definitely fascinating at times) Is the same thing over and over and over again under different names. And most of their clothes are 100% polyester garbage of fast fashion,

So yeah, giving them up 100% not happening. But if something is basically the same price there as the local place, I’m’a gonna pay the extra 2 bits and give the money to the local place.

@Cerridwyn @kevincoleman

much of the Chinese kitchen junk (that is definitely fascinating at times) Is the same thing over and over and over again under different names.

I read that often these different (alphabet soup) names are made-up “retailers” that are actually the factories that make this stuff for real retailers. They’re either getting rid of excess inventory or (secretly?) competing with the retailers they sell to.

Oh, and speaking of Chinese junk, here’s a classic from The Onion that’s about to celebrate its 20th anniversary:

Chinese Factory Worker Can’t Believe The Shit He Makes For Americans

@tinamarie1974 much better products than Q-tips for your ear. I know where you’re coming from but don’t put them in your ears.

@Cerridwyn I know, I know and my mom has been nagging me about it for YEARS…since I was a kid. I just have to swab them out good after my shower every day. Get the wet and the itchy spots then Im good.

@tinamarie1974 There are some things where it’s hard to hide poor quality. Yes, q-tips is definitely one. I’d say liquid cleaners of any kind are too: within a minute or two, you know when something like dish detergent or floor cleaner is way too diluted. What are some others?

@ItalianScallion @tinamarie1974 what makes it really to dilute it? I use my dishwasher most of the time but I have one of those glass bottles like you are supposed to use for olive oil but I wouldn’t dare but has the spout on it and I put a squirt of dish soap in it the cheap stuff not the dirt cheap stuff but fairly inexpensive stuff, and fill it full of water and that’s what I use for my hand washables. It’s maybe a 1 to 100 or maybe even more dilute than that of one of the dish soaps that smells good. And it works perfectly fine. Now there is a point like adding junk oil to dilute olive oil doesn’t get you good stuff. But that’s food that’s not cleaner

@Cerridwyn @tinamarie1974 I’m glad that works for you. It’s sure saving you some money. Maybe it’s different when you don’t have a dishwasher, so you do everything by hand. It’s annoying for me to not use detergent that can handle everything. (I buy the half-gallon bottles of Dawn at Home Depot.)

@Cerridwyn @ItalianScallion now, for windex I make my own. It is much better than store bought

@ItalianScallion @tinamarie1974 actually do very little by hand. Maybe that’s why it lasts a million years. But there are some things that just don’t go in the dishwasher or you need to wash and then immediately use again. And the housekeeper always uses it to wash up a few things that she might find in the sink when she comes

@tinamarie1974 I came in here to post the exact same thing. I buy a lot of knock off products, but you just can’t beat a real Q-Tip. Although I have noticed lately that the “stick” part is more bendy than it used to be. They’re clearly cheaping out a little there.

@jsh139 Ive noticed that AND there is less cotton on the end as well. It just doesnt feel as cushion-y.

@tinamarie1974 yep. Shrinkflation at its finest.

@Cerridwyn @ItalianScallion @tinamarie1974

In my experience, Dawn (and Costco’s version) cut grease far better than any other brand I’ve tried. YMMV.

@Cerridwyn @ItalianScallion @kevincoleman agree on dawn. Never tried the costco version

@ItalianScallion @kevincoleman @tinamarie1974

The thing that cuts grease the best is hot water, LOL.

I might feel different if (1) it didn’t smell like ass no matter what scent it is, (2) it wasn’t all 100% disgusting chemical additives, (3) I washed more by hand than good knives, wooden cutting boards, and the occasional something else, and (4) my hands didn’t feel like dried out shoe leather after using it (probably related to #2)

I honestly thing it is at least 75% hype. They wash wildlife in it because they get it free so it can be used for an add.

@kevincoleman @tinamarie1974

@Cerridwyn, after I read your first comment about the smell, I put some in my hand and took a deep breath. I’m just not getting much of a smell at all. Maybe it’s because I use it every day for all my dishwashing or maybe it’s one of those things like cilantro. I’m sure you’re partly correct about the hype, but I do find it works much better than, for example, Trader Joe’s dish detergent.

@Cerridwyn @ItalianScallion @kevincoleman for sure hot water is an important component, but by itself will not fully remove grease from the surface. Some sort of soap/detergent is necessary and like IS, on original scent I dont notice the scent so much, now some of their other ones

@Cerridwyn @ItalianScallion @tinamarie1974

Yeah, IDK — I don’t get any of that from it. Smells fine to me. And in my experience, it absolutely does a better job with grease than any other brand I’ve tried. Different strokes, and all that.

@OnionSoup i was going to come to mention Kirkland products! Seriously the way to go, when we can

@OnionSoup

In general, I agree that Costco’s stuff is fantastic. The only thing I’ve been disappointed in is their toilet paper — it seems like I have to buy it about once a year to remind myself how thin and terrible it is. Life’s too short to skimp on toilet paper*.

*I should install a bidet, really. I’m just too cheap to hire an electrician to install a power outlet near our toilet, and I don’t want a cold water-only one.

@OnionSoup Trader Joe’s is my go-to grocery store and I wonder who makes some particular items. One day when they were stocking the shelves, there was some fair trade coffee being unpacked from an Equal Exchange box. I guess there isn’t a “hide our company name” agreement between them. I still wonder who makes their ice creams. They’re all low-overrun and really good quality.

@kevincoleman, I’ve been using a cold-water-only bidet for years and with municipal water, it doesn’t seem cold at all. Having lived in a house with well water which was quite a bit colder, yeah, that might be a bit much, but I think it would not likely to be cold enough to put me off of having a bidet.

The idea of a heated bidet reminded me of when my ex- and I were having our house built. Local(?) code prioritized water conservation over energy conservation apparently. For the upstairs bathroom sinks, we were required to put in a passive hot water circulation system. It was quite simple: a return pipe connected to the hot water supply under the sinks to form a loop. The water from the water heater would naturally rise and the cold water would sink back down to the basement, so that you’d have a constant circulation and almost instant hot water instead of having to waste water by running it until it got hot. Seems like that would be essential to get the benefit of a hot-water-fed bidet.

@ItalianScallion

Hmmm. Maybe I’ll try a cheap cold water one just to see, and get a better one if I like it. Thanks for the advice!

@ybmuG

My sister, who lives in Buffalo, swears by Wegman’s, but sadly there aren’t any even vaguely close to us.

@ketchupqueen Aldi’s’ organic ketchup is soooo good! I don’t think they’re imitating any other brands with it either!

@jester747 I don’t like it! Only ketchup I’m willing to eat besides Heinz is Whataburger. And I only ever got that in a bottle at HEB, when visiting South Texas.

@ketchupqueen So wacky how taste works, huh! We only tolerate Heinz now, but no longer prefer it. Well, I shall defer to the authority of your username your highness.

@jester747 @ketchupqueen whataburger ketchup is actually avaliable on Amazon now

@ironcheftoni @jester747 cool! Heinz is in my store though, and I don’t actually like Whataburger better, just equally, so I’m not going to go to trouble to buy it

@jester747 @ketchupqueen

Maybe I’m missing something, but we recently got two Whataburgers near us, and I found them to be thoroughly meh. I don’t get the hype.

@jester747 @kevincoleman I’m not saying the burgers are great, though now that I’m 6+ hours from one I occasionally crave one. I’m saying I find their ketchup to be acceptable to eat. That’s all.

@jester747 @ketchupqueen

Gotcha. It was just weird — when they were building them here, all I heard was how amazing they are, etc., and when they opened there were literally people waiting an hour+ to get it. When I finally tried it after all the hype died down, I didn’t think it was bad, but I certainly didn’t think it was great, either. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

But now you’ve made me want to go back to try the ketchup!

@ketchupqueen
If I were to show up in our house with any mayonnaise other than Hellman’s, I think my wife would divorce me.