Why Aldi Themed Weeks Are The Best Time To Shop

Aldi's weekly specials are akin to those infamous "limited-time offers" that every fast food chain is constantly rolling out and then rolling right back again. Sure, it can be a real bummer to fall in love with a new product and then see it disappear from the store shelves before your next visit, but it's also exciting to see what the store will have on hand for any given holiday, season, or random Wednesday morning. One way Aldi keeps things fresh is by making up its own celebrations, too, usually revolving around a certain culture. These themed weeks are our favorite times to shop as they allow us to discover new foods and revisit old favorites.

Aldi pays homage to its own German roots with twice-yearly German weeks, but the fun doesn't stop there. Reddit notes that Italian week is also a great time to visit the Aisle of Shame, as is Greek week, Spanish week, Asian week (often timed to coincide with the Lunar New Year), and even Advent calendar week. While it seems as if Aldi is trying to cover the diversity spectrum, the European grocery chain doesn't quite have everything under the umbrella just yet. As one Redditor points out, "Soul food week doesn't sound bad!" but such a celebration has yet to be adopted. Interestingly enough, other Redditors note that Aldis in Germany have an American week, but this seems to be more about peanut butter and Pop-Tarts than sweet potato pie and fried catfish.

Aldi, as can be expected, goes all out for German week(s) each year. One must-buy, if you're into sweet stuff, is the delightful cake known as Bienenstich, which translates to "bee sting." The moniker is somewhat of a misnomer in that this dessert is entirely lacking in sting (nor is it stingy), but the "bee" part references the fact that the topping is made of honeyed almonds. The Deutsche Küche Bavarian soft pretzel sticks and beer mustard are also a best bet, particularly if paired with a classic German pilsner like Wernesgrüner (our pick for the top beer carried at Aldis with a license to sell booze).

During Italian week, if we're lucky, Aldi might have tiramisu in store for us, along with Priano brand pastas and sauces as well as Mama Cozzi calzones and strombolis. For Asian week, we like all of Aldi's different noodle dishes like Thai-inspired Fusia curry bowls and Japanese, Korean, and Chinese-style miso, kimchi, and Szechuan soups.

One thing we're disinclined to try, however, is hot dogs in a jar, which, inexplicably, seem to be a featured item for Aldi's American week. Sure, grilled hot dogs are as emblematic of the stars and stripes as baseball and apple pie, but these briny wienies look more like Vienna sausages to us.