English cuisine week in Lidl shops in Poland

Which is 27.47/kg. My local Kaufland sells a cheddar of comparable quality for 73PLN/kg. You are lucky to have an enlightened local Lidl. Still, I stocked up with enough (@9PLN) for a few months.

Did you try the Biedronka cheddar?

My wife brought something claiming to be cheddar back from Biedronka a couple of months ago. Inedible. Perhaps there's another one I missed, but the one I tried was like Polish Gouda and simply did not have the distinctive cheddar flavour. What's the Belgian cheese you mentioned?

This is mostly unavailable here. However, it contains animal rennet (podpuszczka) and I never knowingly consume that. It came in 2 flavours (as below) and the older one is slightly gritty like the farmhouse variety. The product is OK for the price.

There is little point in stocking up with Hatherwood cheese because it will almost always lose flavour and quality towards the use by date. You can freeze it but I've never tried and it may lose texture or other qualities.

This is the Biedronka cheddar (not available in every branch or every city, if it's still available anywhere)

I've bought lots of the stuff every British week since Lidl started having them. It's true that towards the end of its very long shelf life it gets a bit crunchy in places (calcification?) but the flavour is still good. It beats having none.

Is the Biedrona stuff real imported English cheddar or a Polish stab at it?

I don't know, but probably German or Portuguese.


I bought 5 or 6 in the past and once it was just past the best before or whatever it is the taste was just not good any more. So I don't buy too many these days. I suppose I should be brave and freeze one to see what happens after 6 months.

Well, cheers for the Biedronka info. I'll certainly give it a whirl. I'll be in UK next week so I'll be stocking up on Stilton and gravy granules!

Is that because you are a vegetarian?

Ethical reasons mainly
caloriecount.about.com/forums/vegetarian/disgusting-truth-rennet

And also, there's no reason to use animal rennet. British cheesemakers largely removed in 30 years ago. I recall Prewitts cheese was the first vegetarian rennet cheese I had in the UK, and within 10 years the majority (probably all) British cheeses were suitable for vegetarians. I'd rather pay a little more and not have it, but the cheddar's not unduly expensive in Britain as result of this vegetarian enzyme substitute.

This is very true for almost all cheeses you can buy in the supermarket, as they cater to a much larger audience and it would be stupid to alienate a growing group of consumers. However if you head to a cheese shop then a huge number of them will still contain animal rennet. I am not to fussed about the rennet issue, but I can't say I can tell a huge amount of difference between a really good cheese made with rennet and ones using vegitarian alternatives.

Just noticed the Hatherwood Marmalade product from Lidl is made in Germany!

What next - cheddar from China?

Saw in our local Lidl that they will offer from the 5th or the 7th (I am not sure) five different British cheeses. Don't recall all names but Stilton for sure, also Gloucester and Wensleydale.

gazetka.lidl.pl/4f9340a8-fd5f-4e33-91e6-cabaf539a5be/#/20

Can anybody from the UK on this forum advise me which of the cheeses offered by Lidl this week are good / so-so / avoidable?
Stilton I don't like at all, besides of that they have on offer:
Red Leicester, Gloucester, Wensleydale, Cheshire. I am not really familiar with English cheese so some guidance would be welcome :)
What also mystifies me they are all from the same producer, but still are meant to be regional cheeses?

Hi Sobieski, They may be from the same supplier but they will get them from the businesses who make them and then package them.
You will find a description of all the cheese's on Wikipedia or the link below

britishcheese.com

Hope that helps you

They're all good if you like them.


See? The only way to see if you like them is to try them. For me Stilton is the king of cheeses, and a good mature Cheddar is a thing of beauty. I tend to leave Wensleydale to Wallace and Grommet. For everyday eating I've stopped paying crazy prices for cheddar now that Biedronka offers a perfectly good cheese at a fair price. Unfortunately, I still have to fork out over 70PLN/kg for Stilton in my local Kaufland. Still, it's available, unlike just a couple of years ago. btw Biedronka now have pretty good microwavable curry and rice for 7PLN.

Hi Roger5, 'now that Biedronka offers a perfectly good cheese at a fair price'
Whats the brand name? I havent noticed cheddar in my local Biedronka. I can get a decent Irish Cheddar at Carrefour but, as you said, its a bit pricey.

Światowid, which, despite the name, is made in the UK. It's a touch under 20 PLN/kg. I see Lidl have got a Stilton for 37 Pln/kg. I've just bought some but haven't tried it yet.

Thanks Roger5, I will look out for that next time Im in there

So how would you rate that Red Gloucester?

Red Leicester is very similar to Cheddar and has a slight nutty flavour. If you have tried Cheddar cheese and like it you will probably like Red Leicester. Its good for cooking with, making sauces, cheese on toast because it melts easily.

The Lidl Stilton is awful. Acidic and not at all creamy, although it claims to be 35% fat. The rest of what I bought is going in a brocolli soup.

Yep - Stilton has to be made in the Vale of Belvoir, preferably Colston Bassett to be precise - no idea why Lidl are allowed to call their offering Stilton, when it simply is not what it says on the tin.

Teed off with Lidl for their gimmicky ***** for foreign climes - they wouldn't sell rubbish in their UK stores but are determined to try it on with the European public at large.

They do sell Italian "Parma" in UK stores and have been rightly ridiculed for their efforts.

That's interesting, which section do they hide it in?

They've had two types in my local Biedronka for about a month now. Just had one for lunch, as it happens. They keep them in the same place you find their cooked chicken bits and micro-ready gyros. They're not very big (400g in total) but at the price they make a very palatable light lunch.