Aldi Shoppers Are Trying To Figure Out Why This Butter Spread Tastes So Much Worse Than It Used To
Aldi enjoys a loyal customer base thanks to its affordable prices on a range of groceries, especially its in-house brands that can often hold their own against bigger-name products. But recipes can change, and one former fan favorite product is drawing a lot of criticism online: Countryside Creamery Spreadable Butter With Olive Oil & Sea Salt.
On Reddit, the reviews have been unsparing. "This is the worst butter spread I ever tasted," wrote one user. A different user complained, "It tastes a lot more like the blob [I Can't Believe It's Not Butter] stuff with oil blends, when it used to taste like butter and olive oil." A third person highlighted the perceived formula change as well, lamenting that "the original version was my #1 Aldi recommendation for your everyday butter."
While we can't verify social media claims about changes to the product, a Reddit post seemed to blame the taste on a couple of additions. A photo of the ingredients panel on the container lists both canola and palm oils as ingredients alongside olive oil.
Why is Aldi adding oils to its butter spread?
Oil is typically what makes spreadable butter spreadable, but adding palm and canola oil to the olive oil butter spread could be interpreted as cutting corners and sacrificing quality. The olive industry is facing a global shortage fueled in part by climate change, making products like olive oil expensive — though not quite as dire as the egg shortage resulting in purchase limits.
Oil blends are typically less expensive than using pure olive oil, and they're an easy choice for a budget-conscious brand like Aldi, battling the high price of olives without drastically raising prices on consumers. Some Countryside Creamery products already use such blends, like the Country Recipe Homestyle Spread, 40% of which consists of various oils.
If the olive oil in Countryside Creamery's butter is being thinned out, it might come as a disappointment to any fans who counted it as one of the Aldi copycat products that taste like the real thing. But there is good news: Aldi's pure Irish butter, a budget-conscious dupe of the excellent but expensive Kerrygold, is not known to be watered down by oil blends.