Replacing Your Old Favourite English Brands for Spanish ??

[peteroldracer]

For our "big shop" we get two trolleys, so there is a flow from one to the other via the scanning, and either have bags ready in the receiving trolley so it is easy to rapidly pack, or (more frequently) simply transfer trolley to trolley and bag/box the stuff when we get to the car. Where possible the goods have been 'zoned' as purchased, so perishables, chilled & frozen, tinned etc are in their batches on the belt.
Just needs a few seconds thought really!

[BENIDORM]

Wicksey, I agree that different shops in different areas have different problems, in my area I find Lidl not as good as Mercadona with regard to staff service, and again it can be the buyers approach to staff, Olive uses the same shops as me but seems to have different experiences ,perhaps he argues the political state of Spain with them instead of using light hearted banter...
But in general I don't have that many problems with shopping it's just a little bit of hassle and I do actually find Lidl staff quite chatty and friendly .!

But 'hats off' to Peter who employs strategic logistic planning to supermarket trolley loading,

And what a good range of bread both Lidl and Mercadona have now, 25 years ago Mercadona only really had either 'jaw breaking-mouth ripping barras or sickly sweet Bimbo bread...
So much choice now with varieties of bread from the small bakers and supermarkets, I actually like the integral large sliced loaf from Lidl at about 90 cents or their French narrow sticks...

And May I Wish Everyone a Pleasant and Relaxing Long Weekend .
Regards,
Gordon the Shopper....

[Wicksey]

Where possible the goods have been 'zoned' as purchased, so perishables, chilled & frozen, tinned etc are in their batches on the belt.
Just needs a few seconds thought really!

Yes we do the same but only have the one trolley so we need to empty it before we can shove everything back into it at the other end of the till. It's a race to get everything out before it all shoots down the other side of the cashier!

I am a bit OCD about packing and like everything to fit neatly into the coolbox that we have in the car, so all the cool stuff goes down one end of the trolley ready for me to do my packing magic when we get to the car. OH is in charge of packing the bags which are in the car, so we have quite a practiced routine.

Agree with you Gordon about the bread, although I do make my own each week, we always have a spare in the freezer. We have found a nice loaf in Dia, quite malty with seeds.

[peteroldracer]

"Yes we do the same but only have the one trolley"
There's your answer........just start out with 2 - you can divide purchases appropriately between them as you shop, then the first one emptied onto the belt is moved to the loading point - easy peasie!

[wollie]

Have to say we use Spanish brands for just about everything and we love Mercadona butter, (we use the small restaurant/hotel style butter containers in the summer as it can turn to liquid so rapidly in the heat)
Mercadona's fresh pasteurised milk leche fresca is great, and their nata fresca isn't bad either. We also love their mascarpone and queso curado mature cheddar.
As for my essential beverage,tea, we are relatively spoilt down here as all of our local supermarkets sell at least 3 brands of "British" tea PG tips Tetley and Brooke Bond.

"and their nata fresca isn't bad either"
I have not noticed this product, is it beside the fresh milk?

The Mercadona i go to is abit off the coast so it may be they do not stock...

thanks

[Lyric]

It is usually in the same fridge as fresh milk, butter etc.

[markwilding]

Have you played spot the English speaker in there ? there are at least four, only one placarded as such.

No I haven't. As it's usually the only chance I get to speak any Spanish I prefer not to speak English! I am pretty good with the ingredients and foodstuffs in Spanish and only have to ask if I can't find something. When I was in Dia the other week I was asking for harina (a-ree-na) and the girl kept taking me to the avena (a-vay-na) (porrage oats) .... I really don't think my Spanish accent is that bad!!

I would suspect you don't have a Spanish accent at all. It's more about pronunciation. You gotta get that r rolling.

I only like teas from the typical supermarket brands such as typhoo etc. In Ireland Aldi sells bags of 200, which is good value, tastes nice and is easy to bring over.I have bought English breakfast from Lidl but it was extremely weak and that's saying something because I drink it without milk so I don't like it too strong.

I love Cadbury's chocolate but all chocolate is good. Nestles do a nice fruit and nut. I will treat myself to Lindt if a supermarket has a multi-buy offer

[El Cid]

I use Prima tomato ketchup. It tastes every bit as good as Heinz and has less sugar. I haven't found a Spanish alternative to HP sauce yet!

Sid

[BENIDORM]

With regard to the comments about Lidl tea bags, I agree that they are weak, however if they are placed in a tea pot and left to stand for 3-5 minutes I have found them fine, making tea in a cup is really not the way to do it !...
The other day we made a very rare visit to an 'English shop', really only making a point of supporting an 'English ' business venture, and I have to say we were very disappointed, not just with the selection available but with the surly manner of the Brit shopkeepers.
I won't mention the name of the shop, and probably won't go again !
As for buying Brit products, well....we could only find 3 products that we haven't been able to replace with Spanish products...HP brown sauce, malt vinegar and Marmite...

Regards,
Gordon

[Pamela1]

This may have already been covered so i apologize if it has...I have a question about flour. Can someone please tell me the different variations and their uses..I've heard there are a few different types and what i want is one for cake making, sweet pastry...also one for batter and yorkshire puds..If i was to make a steak and kidney pie instead of a sweet pastry pie would i buy the same flour as for sweet pastry but just not add sugar...All sounds confusing but a baker or cook should understand what i mean. Thank you in anticipation.

[Pamela1]

It's interesting reading through the shopping preferences etc..i hate grocery shopping but it has to be done and i do prefer various stores for certain items...I like lidl for some items but there always seems to long ques in the one in our area...due to staffing shortage and slow service.. Mercadona has a great fish counter and Danni offers a few brands and items that our local Mercadona doesn't stock.... i do try to buy fish, meat, bread, fruit and veg from the local small shops or the local indoor market but it all depends on how much time i have, the time of day and if we can get parked..one of the things i find frustrating is the waiting in the butchers shops and i've encountered the same problem in all of them..Staffing seems to be an issue and of course no one ever seems to be in a hurry..

[olive]

Anyone seen salad cream for sale? We have visitors. My fall back will be Iceland in Fuengirola!

[firsttango]

Heinz salad cream Iranzo Nerja, Supersol Caleta de Velez, Eroski El Ingenio, Carrefour Rincon de la Victoria, Arkwrights Puente Don Manuel are a few I know of, oh and Mas used to do it but not been into a Mas for ages.

[sujee]

Harina trigo is the flour you need for general baking. Its plain flour so you need to add baking powder. There is harina galetta used for cakes and biscuits but Ive never tried it! Trigo makes excellent yorkshire puds I have never found a basic self raising flour.

The other flours are for different types of coatings, one for fish etc. There is also tempora flour, which can be used to replace cornflour.

[Pamela1]

Thank you for that information sujee

[El Cid]

There is also tempora flour, which can be used to replace cornflour.

If you want Cornflour, buy Cornflour - Harina de Maiz - lots of it around. Tempura flour is entirely different.

Self Raising flour does exist, I think the Gallina brand does it. I can't remember the exact name but it will have "levadura" in the ingredients.

Sid

[firsttango]

Bizcochos is good for cakes, it's their equivalent of self raising, Mercadona sell it, Brand name is Aragonesa

[sujee]

Hmmm I bought harina de maiz but it was nothing like cornflour as it was far too granular. Good for making mexican tortillas tho

[El Cid]

I think you must have bought the wrong stuff. Look for the Maizena brand http://www.maizena.es/

Sid

[BENIDORM]

We use Harina de Maiz from Lidl, their own store make I think and as good as Maizena brand and cheaper.

Lidl does have a good range of flour products including strong flour for bread making etc., as usual for Lidl the instructions seem to be in every language except English..though..
Regards,
Gordon