Cheap fruit in the uk! Can anyone help?!

jesz124

This is a question for uk based MFP members. I get through quite a bit of fruit and seem to find myself visiting asda far too often to buy fresh fruit! Also it's so expensive as pretty much everything is out of season at the moment :-( I'm wondering where the cheapest place is to buy fresh fruit? Are lidl or aldi etc actually much cheaper than the leading supermarkets?

Givemewings

jst1986

Have to give another vote for a local market. You probably don't get the most 'attractive' fruit but its usually a lot cheaper, especially if you try and stick with in-season fruit and veg. In my experience places like Lidl are cheap too but it doesnt tend to last as long as when you get it home.

mumreeder

If you have an Aldi near you they are really cheap - they also do 69p deals for fruit/veg that is in season - and on the whole their fruit and veg it a lot cheaper than the super markets - my friend is vegetarian and gets through tons of fruit and veg and always gets hers there.

teshiburu

Local farm shops are usually a good shout as well for fruit and veg, it all depends where you live i suppose

Izzwoz

Local markets are great for in season stuff, I also boost my fresh fruit with some frozen - mostly berries for breakfast and for using in smoothies, they are great and won't go off!
Another trick, if your supermarket is on the way home, is to go shopping at the end of the day - tons of prepackaged fruit gets reduced because it will be out of date the next day but is still fine to eat.

I used to buy fruit and veg at Lidl, but they went off so quickly, I didn't even get a chance to use them. Not sure if that was just bad luck, but it happened so many times that I stopped buying fresh stuff there.

pinky_pinkster

I would say definitely Aldi or Lidl - much cheaper. Or Grocers on the high the street can be cheaper - the small independent ones.

lozadee

Id also vote against lidl and aldi as it doesnt last, aldi is nice if your eating it that day but the next day its really sour and browning.

I buy single stuff rather than bags becuase i cant limit the damaged bumps and bruises ect!

Can you buy stuff make big pots of your meal and freeze it so its ready when you need it but still quality produce?

Similarly frozen veg and fruit as someone else said is good

KarenJanine

I would say definitely Aldi or Lidl - much cheaper. Or Grocers on the high the street can be cheaper - the small independent ones.

This. There was a documentary a couple of weeks back saying how the supermarket prices on F&V are so much higher than independent green grocers and markets. I'm also fond of Lidl and Aldi F&V. Great prices and good quality too. Never had any problems with them.

A01fe

I buy a lot of fruit and veg from local asian supermarkets which are really really cheap. The fruit and veg doesn't last as long as the produce from Asda but fruit and veg doesn't last long in my house anyway

MrsSWW

I buy almost all my fruit and veg from Aldi and have never had a problem with it going off, in most cases I think it's better than the big supermarkets. I used to go to Bolton Market but found last year their prices really shot up. Avocados are the exception to the rule, they're like bricks and wouldn't ripen if you kept them for the next 6 months :laugh: They have a Super 6 on offer ALL the time, sometimes 69p sometimes 39p, usually a mix of fruit and veg. http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/product_range/4862.htm

If you try to buy seasonal stuff you'll find it cheaper - the BBC food site is really useful, this link shows you what's in season (over to the right you can go in month by month so you know what's coming up next )
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/seasons/january

ETA. Don't necessarily just think o fresh fruit, Aldi sell BIG tubs of peaches and pears in juice, really low cals and they are lovely on porridge or Greek yoghurt! Dried fruit is good too, just more difficult to keep the portions a bit smaller xx

jesz124

Thanks guys. All very useful info. I might give aldi a try then. Good idea about the tinned fruit as well. That had never occurred to me before, great idea! Cheers!!

Marmitegeoff

Local Grocer or farm shop

kendrafallon

Local market - simply because you're supporting the local economy and often it's cheaper than the shops. Admittedly it's not always the cheapest option

GuybrushThreepw00d

Local market.
You won't find cheaper.
However, if most markets are like the ones in Staines (which i'm sure they are), the fruit/veg doesn't keep for long. Most the most part i'd say it lasts 1 day.

edit : I buy my fruit from tesco/sainsbury's. I quite like the Sainsburys frozen fruit, i can dump it into my protein shake, blend it and chug it back.... 1 portion of fruit done boshed!

wonderbolt

There are a few random fruit stalls smattered around my city centre (Bristol) in the mornings that sell a bowl of your 5 a day for £1! You might have to get up earlier to snatch one up but then you can just go to the gym before work

bexblonde

Definitely local market or grocers, although I quite often get the Tesco value/Sainsburys basic ranges for the kids when I'm in the supermarket, I think they're pretty good value e.g. you can get a big bag of grapes, punnet of plums etc for £1 and they keep for quite a while as well.

thebigcb

Not sure of the price, but in Ireland Lidl is by far the cheapest and best quality fruit and veg compared to all the others(tesco etc)

beckythump87

Another vote for local market here, in the right season Norwich market is my immediate go-to to satisfy my greengage addiction! I always get a better price there for things like Pink Lady apples too.

Failing that, I will say that the fruit and veg at Aldi is well-priced and good quality, in my experience. Maybe I've just been lucky, but I work for a large UK supermarket (as does my partner, he used to work on fruit and veg) - and we still prefer going to Aldi for our fresh goods

roolmc

I would think local markets, Middle Eastern/Chinese supermarkets, loose supermarket fruit, frozen berries and aldi/lidl are your best bets.

Also, food in season tends to be cheaper, I subscribe to a weekly email from http://www.eattheseasons.co.uk/index.php to get an idea of what I should be looking out for.

bio_fit

Another vote here for Aldi.
Especially over summer when they have blueberries in the super 6 - 69p for a pack of blueberries! When the same can be upwards of £2 in the 'big' supermarkets... currently 1kg of carrots is 39p, last week they had butternut squash for 69p. I have never had a problem with things going off quickly. With regards to fruit, grapes are noticeably cheaper than elsewhere - Apparently from the 10th Feb they will have pineapples, mangos and packs of 8x kiwi fruit all at 69p each.

lokidip

Local markets again - you can freeze it too if you use it for cooking. I like frozen grapes in the summer but that might be slightly odd. Supermarket wise- I use Iceland. Not a lot of variety but a lot of good deals.

Angie1366

Or buy an organic box delivered once a week - Seriously more filling as organic has more fibre and less water - you are eating real fruit that way rather than mass produced fruit. It may be a bit more expensive but you may only eat one apple rather than two supermarket ones!

SRH7

I buy almost all my fruit and veg from Aldi and have never had a problem with it going off, in most cases I think it's better than the big supermarkets. I used to go to Bolton Market but found last year their prices really shot up. Avocados are the exception to the rule, they're like bricks and wouldn't ripen if you kept them for the next 6 months :laugh: They have a Super 6 on offer ALL the time, sometimes 69p sometimes 39p, usually a mix of fruit and veg. http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/product_range/4862.htm

If you try to buy seasonal stuff you'll find it cheaper - the BBC food site is really useful, this link shows you what's in season (over to the right you can go in month by month so you know what's coming up next )
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/seasons/january

ETA. Don't necessarily just think o fresh fruit, Aldi sell BIG tubs of peaches and pears in juice, really low cals and they are lovely on porridge or Greek yoghurt! Dried fruit is good too, just more difficult to keep the portions a bit smaller xx

I agree. The Aldi Super 6 offers are really good - I got a couple of packs of three onions this week for 39p each, which is fantastic. Expensive items such as red and yellow peppers are also often cheaper. Although do keep an eye on size - they had some savoy cabbages in this week for 39p but they were half the size of the ones on sale for 80p at Sainsburys, so perhaps not such a bargain.

And the idea about buying seasonal is spot on (and also helps our local farmers as local produce is in stock in different seasons - lettuce from down the road in Lancashire tastes infinitely better than the ones shipped over in the middle of winter from Spain). Just print off an onilne list of seasonal produce and stick it inside your kitchen cupboard for reference.

SRH7

Local markets again - you can freeze it too if you use it for cooking. I like frozen grapes in the summer but that might be slightly odd. Supermarket wise- I use Iceland. Not a lot of variety but a lot of good deals.

Frozen grapes are amazing - reminds me of lemonade ice lollies I used to have as a kid!

I also buy bananas when they are cheap and peel and freeze them - then just take out as needed and blitz in a food processor until they turn into Mr Whippy style icecream. Amazing - especially if you add some cocoa power!

AliceKlaar

Another vote for supporting your local independents! Our local greengrocer is a lot cheaper than the big supermarkets, it's locally grown, delivered fresh every morning and lasts for ages - plus I prefer to give my business to a local independent over large corporations.

KelliH729

This is a question for uk based MFP members. I get through quite a bit of fruit and seem to find myself visiting asda far too often to buy fresh fruit! Also it's so expensive as pretty much everything is out of season at the moment :-( I'm wondering where the cheapest place is to buy fresh fruit? Are lidl or aldi etc actually much cheaper than the leading supermarkets?

I agree with the suggestion for the local markets, they have the best (and freshest!) fruit around. Or Aldi is a great option, I buy a lot of my fruit there as well and it is pretty cheap. Another option is Tesco (they usually have sales on their fruit like buy 2 for £3 on grapes, etc).
Side note, my husband is US military and we are stationed here in the UK and I buy the majority of my fruit off base since it is cheaper (even with the exchange rate) and fresher than the commissary on base.

TheKeithEllis

Lidl is a good source for frozen veg I find, not tried them for fruit, but tbh I don't put a value on fruit other than the health benefits. I also churn through fruit daily, mostly oranges, pears and apples, but I also love the berries. I use a combination of www.riverford.co.uk for a weekly veg/fruit box and visit local farm shops for fresh veg and topping up the fruit. Like I say I don't worry about the cost of fruit, I enjoy it, it's good for me and ultimately what I spend on fruit means I don't spend it on crap. *





* usually

Westy5866

Local Grocer or farm shop

100% agree, i've read and watched docs on the TV about supermarket F&V. If you brought one piece from each and tasted you would know the difference straight away.