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Manchester Evening News

Business

Emma Gill

I cooked roast dinners from Aldi and Iceland to see if fresh or frozen is cheaper and was shocked by the result

Aldi Iceland (Organization)

As households continue to struggle with rising bills amid the cost of living crisis, it's not surprising that shoppers are making big changes.

One of the ways that people are trying to keep costs down is by switching from fresh to frozen food.

The most recent retail data shows that grocery inflation is at a new high, hitting 18.2% over the year to February, which is the fastest food price increase since August 1977.

With meat among the products hit with the biggest hikes, shoppers are turning to the freezer aisles for cheaper packs. In the 12 weeks to March 20, demand was strongest for items such as frozen chicken, for which volumes rose by 5.9%.

Fresh ingredients from Aldi (Manchester Family/MEN)

Sales of frozen prepared foods, including ready meals, pizzas and chips, increased by 2.6%.

So how much can be saved by shopping frozen? I decided to put it to the test by making roast dinners for my family - from both fresh and frozen.

For the fresh meals, I bought the products from budget retailer Aldi, while for the roasts made from frozen packs, I bought them from Iceland, the frozen food specialist which has recently increased its market share to 2.3% of UK grocery spending.

I used the same amount of food from each store to work out the cost. It was obviously a bit trickier to compare the Yorkshire puddings because of the several ingredients needed for the fresh ones. I've only included a fraction of the cost of flour for instance, because of the amount left over. The same with the cooking oil and cheese.

The roast cooked from fresh Aldi products (Manchester Family/MEN)

If anything, the added upfront costs - such as £2.40 for a litre bottle of sunflower oil and £2.79 for that 400g block of cheese - is just another indicator of why so many would be choosing frozen over fresh right now.

Likewise with the pigs in blankets. While Iceland sells a 12 pack for £2.40, there were no fresh ones in Aldi, so I had to buy a pack of chipolata sausages for £2.49 and a pack of bacon for £1.75.

But in some instances there was an upfront cost with frozen too, as the cheapest way to buy chicken breasts was to get a large 1.38kg bag of them for £8.

It's probably no surprise that the frozen meal worked out cheaper overall - but I was shocked by how little I saved.

Frozen products from Iceland (Manchester Family/MEN)

In total the frozen version came to £15.37 for a family of two adults and two children, compared with £15.88 for the fresh.

Of course it's not just in the price of products that's relevant here - there's no doubt a bit of a saving when it comes to cooking the frozen items, with many of them being quicker to cook.

Then there's the issue of waste. With a few leftover carrots from the fresh bag, it's hit and miss whether they'll actually get used before turning to mush.

Whereas the remaining frozen green beans, which came in a huge 780g pack for just £1, are tucked away nicely in the freezer for whenever we choose.

You can certainly see the appeal, especially for those cooking in smaller quantities. But you can't get away from the fact that the fresh one tastes much better, especially when it comes to the Yorkies and mash.

The roast cooked from frozen Iceland products (Manchester Family/MEN)

If anything I think it's made me think more about using a combination of fresh and frozen as a means of cutting waste. It makes much more sense to have bigger bags of veg we can dip into in the freezer, particularly when there are certain things the children simply won't eat. We don't have that same problem when it comes to dessert.

Have you started buying more frozen food to keep costs down? Do you ever have a roast dinner from frozen? Let us know in the comments.