Tag: food

5 Reasons Why People With Discerning Diets Shop at ALDI

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It’s no doubt disheartening, sometimes, for people who have specific dietary needs, that it is usually the cheapest foods that are the least healthy or contain food allergens. This is a by-product of our Industrial Age; food has been designed to be cheaper, not better. In recent times, western civilization has been transforming away from using our food merely to keep us alive, or to sate over-indulged taste buds, to something that can actually keep us healthy. For those who suffer from allergies or gastric disorders, this is a necessity. Fortunately for us, there is hope in several places. One place we’ve found that can help both the palate and the wallet is the global food store chain Aldi.

1. Two Brothers and A Cigarette Dispute

Founded originally in 1913 in Essen1, Germany, Aldi became a “chain” when the owner’s two sons took over the food store in 1946 and began opening stores of their own. In 1960, the two owned three hundred stores around Germany, and then split them over a dispute whether to sell cigarettes. They soon thereafter named the company “Aldi” (from Albrecht, their last name, and “Diskont,” the German word for “discount”). The divisions became Aldi Nord (north) and Aldi Süd (south), and became financially separate operating divisions, except for special regional relationships and volume buying. At first, the stores were ridiculed as the place that people went who couldn’t afford to go elsewhere. This has changed dramatically, as now over 80% of Germans shop at Aldi regularly.

2. ALDI Runs Trader Joe’s (sort of)

In the United States, the two divisions of Aldi are still separate: Aldi Süd runs the stores we all know as Aldi. Aldi Nord runs the stores we all know as “Trader Joe’s.” Aldi as a branded entity still strives to be a low-cost leader, and maintains expense control through well-known measures as charging for bags, only accepting cash and debit cards (true credit cards charge the store a surcharge), and the infamous “coin carts” – the coin used to release the cart from the corral at the entrance to the store is an incentive to return the cart and get the coin back. Even if someone decides that the trip back to the door is just too far, someone else can still get the quarter for returning the cart. All these tactics help keep operating costs low, so they can pass along savings to the customer, who will be hopefully loyal.

3. ALDI Meets The Challenge of Economy and Quality

As far as their offerings are concerned, Aldi has been steadily increasing their healthier fare for some time. This author has been enjoying their “Fit & Active” brand since around 2007 – their turkey franks are tasty, healthy, and very South Beach Diet-friendly (phase one, if you’re wondering). They have also added lines called “Specially Selected” and “Simply Nature” that tend toward more basic ingredients. On my last trip there, I was able to find uncured bacon, preservative-free lunch meat, organic fresh apples, organic frozen blueberries, wild-caught cod, both almond and soy milk, gluten-free pasta, soy-free organic marinara sauce, and the list goes on.

4. ALDI Improves Itself and Pays Employees Well

To be fully open about it, Aldi has had its share of missteps over its 38 year history, including firing an HIV-positive worker, having questionable labor practices over management staff, and an incident of horse meat contamination in a beef product (which the product manufacturer has corrected). While certain actions are always inexcusable, Aldi seems to have genuinely attempted to correct these mistakes, which is what we can hope from any company.

When it comes to staff pay, new hires start with a wage that is “significantly higher than minimum wage.” Store managers seem to be provided with fair management wages upon promotion. As with any store, product line, or food item, always perform due diligence and examine the ingredient list on the products closely, and pay attention to the reputation of the store for ethical behavior. Ultimately, Aldi makes our list of grocers as a place that meets fair practices, offers choices that are healthier in general, including options for those with special dietary needs, all while managing to keep prices down.

5. Room to Grow

Over time, ALDI keeps adding more products that are healthier for many families. Keep in mind that some products are seasonal and not always on the shelves. But when we compare Aldi’s offerings today to ten years ago, the selection has improved remarkably. We do still have a bit of a wish list for Aldi. Those with soy and corn allergies will no doubt run into the same frustration as they do at any food store because these ingredients are so prolific. We hope that one day, they’ll offer packages of tuna without soybean oil. That said, we can still come home with the bulk of our groceries and our wallets still happy.

Notes:

1. This is only a note because the German word essen translates as “food” or “to eat”

French Fries From Scratch – Much Easier Than I Thought

Collage part 2Most food-allergy sufferers cannot order french fries, even if they can eat potatoes.  Why is this? While they sit and watch their friends and family enjoy heavenly crispy morsel after another (french fries are very popular for a reason), the food-allergy sufferer must think of all of the allergens that have been in the frying oil such as breaded chicken, dropped bits of beef, cheese and (for people who suffer from nut allergies) the oil itself is in question. Many restaurants cook french fries and other things in peanut oil. For peanut-allergy sufferers, they can’t even walk into a restaurant using the oil because it gets everywhere. Soy oil is also problematic.

And even if one could go into the restaurant and be okay, how horrible is it to sit there and take in the intense and tempting aroma of golden fries right out of the cooker? I am no psychology expert, but I can say first hand that it is a special kind of torture. And the longer it goes on, the more intense it is. For this reason, food-allergy sufferers have altogether stopped going into fast food chains and restaurants because it’s just too depressing not to be able to order the fries. Lucky for my family, my strong cravings for these things became a bit overwhelming , resulting in a strong intent to learn how to make them once and for all.

Honestly, french fries shouldn’t be unfriendly to the food allergic. When simply prepared in the right oil, they are crispy, salty, delicious hot morsels of heaven that are safe for everyone. And what joy is this? To master the art of preparing french fries?  I really thought it was going to take me several weeks to months (as has the gluten-free baking experiments). Ultimately, it was not as overwhelming of a task as I had thought.

I won’t lie, it isn’t initially easy if you don’t know the art of the fryer. But, aside from my continuing biscuit experimentation, this is a much quicker learning curve. Potatoes are a little finicky. They need time and/or surface area to cook. At first I tried to oven fry them and that took way too long – mostly because I cut them too big. And then I tried a soak and oven bake method, along with a frying method while I was waiting for the oven fries. All of those fries came out with decent results but the process was just too long and time-consuming. I don’t have time to soak and dry and all of that. When you want fries, you want them ASAP. So, I skipped all of the soaking that my tome of cooking wisdom instructed me to do and cut them smaller (which creates more surface area for cooking), and everything came out just the way I wanted.

So, here is how to do it. Remember, it’s an art. So forgive yourself as you learn the nuances of how the oil behaves according to your burner. And don’t walk away from the fries… ever. (Trust me on this).

Directions:

Note:  don’t let the oil get too hot because once it reaches the smoke point, your fries are going to taste burnt. Once your oil reaches the frying temperature of “water test” (when you put a tiny drop of water in the oil and it sizzles), keep it at a medium to med-high.

So, learn that, know it, and fry some heck out of your fries.

You will need

– russet potatoes (a 5 lb bad will do). Figure about 1.5 potatoes for each person.

– canola oil or a vegetable oil that has a high smoke point (do not use olive oil)

– salt

– ketchup (if you like it)

1. Peel, wash and cut your potatoes into french fry shapes (about 1/4 inch thick). If they are too big, they are going to take longer to cook. I cut about 4 russet potatoes for the 3 of us.

2. Warm about 1 inch of oil in a heavy bottom large deep skillet. (Do not use non-stick skillet as it will warp – they are not meant for deep frying).

3. Drop the french fries in the pan, but not too many. Just enough to cover the bottom of the pan as you want all of the fries immersed in the oil.

4. Cook for about 10-15 minutes. Look for a very deep golden brown color. If they are light brown, they might be soggy.

French Fries Ready
This is the color you want before you take them out.

5. Scoop them out and set onto a plate lined with paper towels to absorb the oil. Salt fairly generously – be careful with the salt. Too much and they’re ruined. You can always add a little more and a little more. Salt while they are hot or the salt won’t stick to the fries. I used the edges of the paper towels to shuffle the fries around in the salt.

There you go! Fries craving = Satisfied. (The boys loved them, too).