10488 Lidl British food week

MargaretM mentioned this in a post on foodstuffs in hand luggage, but I thought it worth a bit more prominence for anyone interested.

Lidl (and since it is happening in both Puglia and Umbria I think it is a fair bet that it is all over Italy) are having a British Food week starting Sept 29th, with shortbread, 'instant' porridge oats, scampi (? British!), frozen fish and chips and other weird and wonderful delights.

Plus - for any budding or established artists amongst you - there are some very good offers on painting materials as well.

Category

Food & Drink

Can you tell me where you saw this as looked on the website under "offerte della settimana" but they weren't showing food and I'd like to see what else they're getting in.Thanks

I would be a trifle concerned that as Lidl isn't exactly the Waitrose of Italian supermarkets, the offers will be mainly of the baked beans and pork scratchings variety of British "delights". However, [URL="http://www.lidl.it/it/home.nsf/pages/c.o.20080925.index"]looking at the website[/URL], they are being very quiet about a "British Foods Week" - as, indeed is the local Lidl up in these 'ere parts oop north. Perhaps the marketing department are just targeting British enclave areas for the promotion?

[I][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][COLOR="Teal"]ducks[/COLOR][/FONT][/I]...:winki:

In Lidl's weekly leaflet which we picked up on Monday, their "Specialità britanniche" week will have on offer:

Potato Waffles (Waffer di purea di patate) 680g €1.79
Shortbread Rounds (Biscotti al burro dalla Scozia) 150g €-.99
Caramel Shortcakes (Pasticcini ricoperti di caramello e cioccolato) 240g €1.49
Oh So Easy Oats in Original and Golden Syrup flavours (Fiocchi d'avena assorti) 270/312g €1.99
Corned Beef (Carne bovina in scatola) 340g €1.49
Frozen Scampi (Scampi impananti) 300g €3.49
Frozen Fish & Chips (Fish & Chips) 1kg €3.99
Frozen Roast Beef Dinner (Roast Beef in salsa) 400g €2.99
Frozen Roast Chicken Dinner (Bocconcini petto di pollo) 400g €2.99
Sweet Pickle (Salsa Sweet Pickle) 454g €1.29
English Mustard (Snape tipo inglese) 180g €-.99
Mint Sauce (Salsa alla menta) 185g €-.99
Black Currant Jam, Thick Cut Orange Marmalade, Orange, Lemon and Ginger Marmalade (Marmellata inglese) 454g €1.29

[I]EDIT[/I]: Nardini, I really don't think that Teramo -- the Lidl where we picked up the leaflet -- counts as a "British enclave". We're around, but not that thick on the ground. :winki:

[QUOTE=AllanMason;97718]In Lidl's weekly leaflet which we picked up on Monday, their "Specialità britanniche" week will have on offer:

Speaks for itself.
Sprat

Lidl's usually has their "American" week around the 4th of July, so is there any special holiday in the UK next week to tie in with this sale?

I excitedly rushed to the Lidl Deutschland website to see if it was a Europe wide thing but it's not happening here. :frown:

[quote=pilchard;97721][QUOTE=AllanMason;97718]In Lidl's weekly leaflet which we picked up on Monday, their "Specialità britanniche" week will have on offer:

Potato Waffles (Waffer di purea di patate) 680g €1.79
...etc[/quote]

Speaks for itself.
Sprat[/QUOTE]
I take it you're not terribly impressed.

We won't be rushing off first thing Thursday morning either. Would have been tempted if there was dry cider and some really good cheddar cheese on offer, though. My Dutch partner and I generally manage to find everything we need to eat the sort of meals we enjoy here but, as much as we like many different types of Italian cheese, she misses her favourite Dutch cheese and I miss mature cheddar.

LIDL is having "themed" weeks throughout the year. So far, in Spain, they have had Italian, Thai, Indian, Japanese, Swedish, German, French and Brazilian. No British week at the moment, but I think that the dates vary for each country. A limited number of products, but some are very good.

Hi Alan
If you're ever at Pescara airport, pop into Auchan they usually have Wyke Farms mature cheddar on the deli counter.

Stribs

[quote=Stribs;97859]If you're ever at Pescara airport, pop into Auchan they usually have Wyke Farms mature cheddar on the deli counter.[/quote]Stop, youre killing me! I odn't know about the Brits, but I'm betting cheddar cheese tops the list of most-missed food for most American expats!

[quote=Stribs;97859]If you're ever at Pescara airport, pop into Auchan they usually have Wyke Farms mature cheddar on the deli counter.[/quote]
Thanks very much for that info!

We visit that Auchan fairly regularly, partly due to it's proximity to Obi and Castorama, but not least because they regularly have Scottish and Irish beef that was cut by Scottish and Irish butchers and so doesn't require vigorous chewing for five minutes.

We've often bought stuff from the deli counter, but somehow never managed to spot any cheddar there. Mainly, I suspect, because I've never thought to look for it.

Thanks again.

You can't call that typical English foods (hmmmmm...I suppose you can really). I'm not a lover of any of the foodstuffs they are selling. Nearest thing is the oats for porridge in winter, but they are bound to be the microwave ones....My friend will be over the moon to hear that they are selling corned beef. He misses his corned beef hash. I do miss chedder cheese.
My OH likes a steak but not italian steak...they do not mature there meat, and, it's tasteless and tough. So, Allan.. I presume when you say the steaks at Auchan are cut by Scottish & Irish butchers this implies that if it's not cut by Scottish & Irish butchers it was never reared in Scotland/ Ireland?. I do know that if the last place the product went to (say for wrapping) then it has that country as the place of origin...Thank you Tony..
Sprat

I'm off for some corned beef- with the cold setting in a bit of (non illegal) hash is just what the doctor ordered. Shame there's no salt & vinegar crisps though!

[quote=umbria lover;97862]Stop, youre killing me! I odn't know about the Brits, but I'm betting cheddar cheese tops the list of most-missed food for most American expats![/quote]

You can buy cheddar cheese in Perugia. From the Corso, go right down to the bottom of Via dei Priori and you'll find The Wee Shop (heaven knows how Italians translate that!!) They sell lots of English, very ordinary, food stuffs. Looks like someone regularly takes a van and loads it up at Dover!
Think opening hours are 10.30 - 13.30 and again from 16.30-20.00Tel 075 5726800

[quote=pilchard;97876]So, Allan.. I presume when you say the steaks at Auchan are cut by Scottish & Irish butchers this implies that if it's not cut by Scottish & Irish butchers it was never reared in Scotland/ Ireland?. I do know that if the last place the product went to (say for wrapping) then it has that country as the place of origin...[/quote]
I [I]think[/I] I understand what you're asking!

My reading of the label of the beef in question is that the meat is from Scottish cattle and the cuts were prepared by Scottish butchers. Unlike my partner, I'm not a huge fan of great lumps of bloody meat, but the stuff certainly has a taste and texture very similar to what I remember beefsteak being like when I lived in Scotland.

I mentioned the Scottish butchers because the main problem that I and my partner have with beef bought in Italy is that it is very tough and we assume that's at least partly due to how it's cut. That may very well be wrong. It could be something to do with how the meat is raised, how old the cattle are or how long it is left to hang before being butchered.

It's also the case that steaks in restaurants almost always seems much nicer than what we manage to produce using Italian meat, so maybe it's just all down to us not knowing how to cook the stuff. :veryconfused:

[quote=AllanMason;97915]I [I]think[/I] I understand what you're asking!

Yes...I agree. Couldn't understand a word of what Pilchard was saying!
What does he/she mean. Please explain.
Bunch

[quote=pilchard;97876]My OH likes a steak but not italian steak...they do not mature there meat, and, it's tasteless and tough. [/quote]My advice to you (and your OH, of course Pilch) is to suggest that you get hold of a book called the "[URL="http://www.phaidon.com/silverspoon/"]Silver Spoon[/URL]". It is a cookbook that is an English translation from the Italian "bible" of cooking. You will find that it has comparative diagrams of the different cuts of meat used by British and Italian butchers. With that, you can talk to your local butcher (whom you should nurture and then cherish!) about how you want your meat cut - including the thickness of the cut. NEVER buy your meat from a supermarket! For beef, I would suggest that you hang it for a couple of days, somewhere cool and free of flies, etc. You will find a great improvement - in fact, you may get around to actually preferring it in the end! Good luck.

We have had some excellent steaks here. The butcher we use in Amandola supplies really good fillet and T-Bones. Normally just buy the fillet uncut and use it over a few days. I believe his beef comes from Charolais cattle.

Sacre bleu!!! French beef in Italy!! :bigergrin:

The Irish beef is from Irish cows , A lot of them reared in the beautiful West Cork area and the meat is cut by Irish butchers. I was surprised at how pale and thin Italian steak is served but must admit we never got a tough one and loved the idea of serving it with lemon and salt.

Apologies for turning this thread from one promoting Lidl to one promoting the Auchan next to Pescara airport, but I feel compelled to mention that we did our shopping there today and discovered that the cheddar on offer is -- to my way of thinking -- really very nice. Might be possible to get something better in a proper cheese shop in Britain, but the Wyke Farm cheese is certainly as good as, say, Tesco's mature cheddar.

They also have Stilton. It was cut in a most peculiar way (slices across the cheese rather than in wedges), but it too is very nice. When we got home we discovered that the cheese is so dry that it had turned into a pile of large and small crumbs in the wrapping paper, but I think the taste is very good.

[quote=AllanMason;98012]Apologies for turning this thread from one promoting Lidl to one promoting the Auchan next to Pescara airport,.[/quote]

No problem (or need for apologies) from the 'original poster'! And more power to the elbow of the Perugian promoting 'The Wee Shop'. I have recently been alerted to a Rumanian shop in Umbria - Castiglione del Lago (selling taramasalata? spelling? Rumanian? English?) and who knows what else. If some immigrant has had the balls and the patience to open a shop, it has got to be worth a look, if not a great support.

[quote=Bunch;97938][quote=AllanMason;97915]I [I]think[/I] I understand what you're asking!

Yes...I agree. Couldn't understand a word of what Pilchard was saying!
What does he/she mean. Please explain.
Bunch[/quote]

Sorry Bunch... I re-read my post and realise it was a trifle difficult to understand...even I didn't know what I meant!
Sprat

[quote=pilchard;97876]You can't call that typical English foods (hmmmmm...I suppose you can really). I'm not a lover of any of the foodstuffs they are selling. Nearest thing is the oats for porridge in winter, but they are bound to be the microwave ones....
[/quote]
If you want porridge oats & happen to be passing the Cityper at Civitanova Marche (sorry- not sure where you are) the have Quaker Quick Cook Oats (not the microwave ones). They are sold in brown tins and are on the bottom shelf of the cereals. Then if you want some golden syrup carry on down the autostrada to Val Vibrata 7 they sell it at the supermarket there

I believe that the reason for the toughness of some Italian meat is that legally they aren't allowed to hang it for as long as you can in the UK or France. I was told this by a guy who, when he wants a good bit of beef nips over the border to France. When it comes to lamb, butchering seems to consist of random chopping.

Anyway, having just come back from the UK by car I'm well stocked with oats, golden syrup, tea and cheddar!

[quote=Noble;97898]You can buy cheddar cheese in Perugia. From the Corso, go right down to the bottom of Via dei Priori and you'll find The Wee Shop (heaven knows how Italians translate that!!) They sell lots of English, very ordinary, food stuffs. Looks like someone regularly takes a van and loads it up at Dover!
Think opening hours are 10.30 - 13.30 and again from 16.30-20.00Tel 075 5726800[/quote]
I think this shop has now closed. Does anyone have any news?:wideeyed:

Graham, all I am able to suggest is go to [url=http://www.lidl.it/it/home.nsf/pages/i.home]Lidl Online[/url], bottom right of the page and type in say "Perugia/whatever" for the branch.

[quote=Graham Lane;103407]I think this shop has now closed. Does anyone have any news?:wideeyed:[/quote]

Perhaps you can ring them as their card has a phone number Graham?
075 5726800

[quote=noelle;98007]The Irish beef is from Irish cows , A lot of them reared in the beautiful West Cork area and the meat is cut by Irish butchers. I was surprised at how pale and thin Italian steak is served but must admit we never got a tough one and loved the idea of serving it with lemon and salt.[/quote]

if you're getting "pale and thin slices" then you are not asking for the right stuff.
you're probably getting fettine di vitello (veal slices)which i don't consider steak.if you want good steak (although they won't do all the varieties of steak you may be used to in the uk )you can ask and get: fillet,entrecote and of course the fiorentina which is basically the t bone steak but definitely worth going to a good butcher for this as it will be properly hung etc and ensure that you insist on beef (manzo) as opposed to veal(vitello)

Quite agree about buying meat in France - the only way to get a tender steak with some flavour. However, we tried some beef from Lidl, labelled Roast Beef which came surprisingly from Austria and it was delicious.

I know this thread has been going for some time, but I have found that where I am now and where I come from (south italy from south England) the quality and tenderness of steak is much better here. But you have to cook it less, thick cuts have to be so underdone that I now go for medium thick cuts (about 15mm) and just oozing blood in the middle. The more you cook it the tougher it gets, don't ask me why! You have to learn how to cook as the locals do. I would not say that I am the cook in our household, but we are still learning to cook local way otherwise why come to Italy?:nah:

If we get back to Lidl and what they sell, I am told by a friend to look out for the trays of duck they sell, in pieces and ready to cook. They seem to sell it only at this time of year. Inexpensive and delicious.

10488 Lidl British food week

Cheddar cheese

The Wee Shop

steak