Get Cooking with Aldi's Quality Kitchen Range - review

I love food. I love cooking. I quite like my kitchen. But even I'll admit it could do with brightening up, and there are some pretty basic items that I don't have. So it's no surprise that when I found out Aldi where releasing a new kitchen range from the 22nd October 2015, I was excited to take a look! It's made up of appliances, utensils and baking equipment, and it all looks great. Whether your kitchen is fully equipped or if you're just starting out, there's bound to be something for you! 

I'll start by telling you exactly what the range contains, and then I'll tell you some more details on a few items.. keep reading!

The full Aldi Kitchen range contains:

• Espresso Maker £59.99
• Soup Maker £49.99
• Halogen Oven £29.99
• Kettle & Toaster twin pack (see above) £29.99
• LED Strip Lights £29.99
• Oxo Softworks Pop Containers £29.99
• Salter Sweetie Scale £29.99
• Deep Fat Fryer £24.99
• Milk heater/frother (oooooooooh) £19.99
• 42L Modal Touch Bin £17.99
• Slow Cooker £16.99
• Ceramic Coated Frying Pan £14.99
• Sandwich Toaster £14.99
• Large Marble Effect Pans £12.99
• Coffee/Spice Grinder £12.99
• Self Standing Utensils £9.99
• Small Marble Effect Pans £8.99
• Ceramic Coated Cake Pan £7.99
• Mixing Bowls £6.99
• Premium Icing Accessories £6.99
• Twin Pack Utility Mats £4.99
• 3D Cookie Cutters £2.99
• Coffee Glasses £2.99
• Traditional Tea Towels, 3 pack £2.79

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Quite  a big range isn't it?! How will you choose what to buy first? Well hopefully I can help with that...

Starting with appliances...

• The Espresso Maker is designed to be easy to use, whilst still providing Barista quality coffee. It features a steam nozzle for frothing milk, and comes in red, gunmetal grey or pearl. At £59.99 it is cheaper than other machines of the same spec and if you think that each coffee costs approx £3 you only need to buy 20 cups and you're at the same price as this machine (and you don't need to leave your house)!
  
• The digital Halogen Oven ​is something that I was quite surprised to see included in the range as I don't know much about them. The idea of halogen ovens is that they grill, bake & roast quicker than conventional ovens. They're also more efficient. This has a digital temperature control that goes up to 250°C. I'm actually really interested in this, I think it would get a lot of use in our house.. but then why did I buy a new cooker earlier this year?! If you don't use your cooker often, or if you don't have a lot of space, this could be a great option for you!
• It's autumn which means we all want warm, hearty food and Slow Cookers are a great way to make them. I don't have one (yet) but I've been coveting one for a while! If you take a quick look online (pinterest is great) you'll find all sorts of recipes for a slow cooker. It's not just for stews and casseroles, I know people who make cakes in them! It's a good price at just under £17 and you can choose from 3 different colours. Don't be surprised if one of these turns up in my kitchen very soon..
• Anyone for soup? This Soup Maker is so much easier to use than hanging around the stove for ages. It has different settings for you to ensure you don't boil your soup dry, as well as preventing overflow. It also steams eggs, blends and you can use it as a juicer. Put down your blender, this does it all! I eat quite a lot of soup in winter, and although I know I should make my own I'll admit I normally just open a tin (shhhh).. perhaps a soup maker that would simplify the process would convince me to finally take the plunge! 

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I love toasties. I could happily eat them all day, every day. Unfortunately that would make me v.bloated so I don't but I would! So it's no surprise that I simply couldn't resist this Sandwich Toaster. Until now I've been using those toastie bags, but they no longer work in my new toaster so this is a life safer! It's so easy to use, reaching temperature quickly and toasting evenly to perfection. It has a handy light on the top so you know when it's reached the right temperature to pop your sandwich in, which I found very useful. This really does make perfect toasties, it's going to get used for a long time to come.. I might have a cheese toastie when I've finished this post actually *stomach rumble*.
​Extra bonus point: so easy to clean!

But perhaps you don't need any more appliances? How about some utensils or baking equipment instead....

I can't quite believe I'm going to say this but... I've never made a bundt cake. This is made even more shocking by the fact that I have a qualification in food & cooking. But it's all about to change because I am going to make one now, because I have the right tin! At just under £8  I couldn't really resist temptation and leave this Ceramic Coated Cake Pan could I ? Now I just need to decide which recipe I'm going to use.. any suggestions would be very gratefully received! This pan has a good weight to it (the bakers will know what I mean) and looks to have a fantastic non-stick finish! I will definitely show you the cake when it's baked, I'm excited already!

Now if you're going to bake a cake, you're going to need some utensils. I realised that I have no wooden spoons at all. I'm not sure how that happened (I think I used them to mix paint), but now I have rectified that situation! These wooden utensils come on a self-standing rotating carousel and include: slotted spoon, solid spoon, holed spoon, pasta server, slotted turner and solid turner. I love the bright colours as they've really brought my worktop to life, and I am so impressed with their built in stand, which stops them from dripping everywhere and making a mess! I've already used these in so many different dishes, and now I'm not sure how I managed without them.

So you've used the utensils and pan, you've got your cake, but how do you cut it up to share? I know you probably don't want to share your yummy cake.. but you probably should! These 3 cake knives are perfect for the job. They are easy to hold, which is so important for cutting cakes! You also don't need to worry about one being too big or small, because with three you've pretty much got all bases covered. I normally struggle with a normal kitchen knife and then complain when it all falls apart, but now that's a thing of the past. I've used these to cut soft sponges, hard shortbread and sticky parkin.. they've handled everything I've thrown at them with ease so I am definitely impressed! 

I've been blown away by the new kitchen range from Aldi, I didn't know what to expect but it's clear that their cooking products are as good as their food! They've put real thought into each and every item, making it the best it can be without costing a fortune. This means that not only do you get high quality products, you're getting a bargain too! 

There are a couple of items that I'm definitely going to take a second look at; particularly the slow cooker. Items in the range would also make a great Christmas gift; perhaps to a newlywed couple, a student just starting uni or friends who have moved into a new home! 

I'd love to know what you think.. which item would you buy first? Do you have a suggestion for my bundt cake? What's your favourite toastie? Drop me a comment below! 

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Stay safe, x

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