Usually I give some semi-long, rambling build-up to the actual review. This is used to “create suspense”, I suppose, but also to feel like I’m actually doing work and accomplishing something, as it would only take me 10 or so minutes to type up just the review part. And I feel like you guys deserve more than just a half-assed effort.
But you know what? I’m going to jump into this one by foregoing all that additional BS and just exclaim right off the bat that these are incredible. You know when you’re cooking (or in my case, when my wife is cooking) something with lots of cheese, and some of that cheese falls over the edge onto the cookie sheet, and turns into a blacked, crispy mess? Do you know the incredible taste of those? Well that’s about what these are: an entire bag of circular, crunchy spheres made up entirely of crunchy clusters of cheese, only without the burnt taste (which I actually happen to like, but to each their own).
And talk about “all natural”: the ingredient list consists of nothing but cheese. And as you can tell from the title, there are actually four of them: aged parmesan, romano, asiago, and provolone. You can’t go wrong with any one of those, but what about all four? As it turns out, you can’t go wrong with that either. Usually white cheeses are known for providing “milder” taste as opposed to many non-white cheeses, but mixing four together obviously heightens their overall intensity. The end result is something that’s closer to a “mild cheddar” in terms of flavor profile, but still a horse of its own color, if that’s even a saying. Either way, I’d say it’s a pretty universal taste that most cheese fans – regardless of their usual preference – are really going to take to.
Most people put these in salads, or soups, or other things, but I tend to eat them directly out of the bag. This isn’t because I don’t think it would be good in those things – quite the contrary, I think they would be good in virtually everything – it’s just that once I get started eating them, I can’t seem to put the bag down. And on the rare occasions I do make a soup or salad while I have these on hand, I always seem to forget to add them.
Even though this has got to be one of my favorite Aldi products ever, I have to say there’s one rather big hindrance preventing this from earning a perfect score, and it’s rather surprising: price. A 2.11 oz. bag retails for a rather high $2.89. That’s only about a dime savings over buying the name brand version from Walmart!
It’s made to feel even more expensive considering the small bag size. Since these are typically used as “accessories” to salads and other foods, I thought maybe there was a lot more in there than it seemed. But there’s not: according to the serving information, one serving is approximately 19 crisps, and there are approximately 2 servings per back. That means you’re paying roughly $1.45 per serving! On the plus side, that means it’s probably made by the same company as the national brand, but on the other, the savings aren’t even all that worth it over buying the name brand.
Shame on you Aldi…I expect this from other stores, but not you! And why did they even go through all the trouble of making this into a private label product, when they could have just carried the regular brand, at roughly the same price?
Overall: 9/10. This taste is so incredibly delicious, that this is one of the few things I get addicted to: Once I start eating them, I literally have to force myself to stop…and by the time I do, half the package is usually gone. The cheese flavor is rather strong, but completely authentic, as the four cheese blend mentioned on the packaging are the only ingredients in the entire ingredient list. The biggest drawback is one I wouldn’t have expected: price. Each 2.11 oz. container, which contains roughly 38 “smaller than a quarter but larger than a dime” cheese spheres, costs $2.89. That’s only about a dime difference over the same size bag at Walmart…for the national brand. Why did Aldi even make this private label in the first place, as opposed to just carrying the regular brand? They’re phenomenal, but not very value oriented.