Why Aldi Shoppers Aren't Happy About Its Cooking Spray Selection

Finding the right cooking spray can prove trickier than you might anticipate. Discerning shoppers need to consider how well it keeps food from sticking to surfaces, the flavor of the oils on the ingredients list, and even the smoke point to avoid burning fried eggs to a bitter mess. Stores don't always make this selection process easy: With everything from classic PAM to trendy sprays made with ingredients like avocado oil on shelves, it can be hard to choose the right oil spray for your cooking project.

Instagrammer @aldifavoritefinds recently shared a photo series that could help ease this frustration for Aldi shoppers. "Ghee Blend cooking spray found in the AldiFinds aisle this week," they posted, along with photos of a few of the chain's other sprays, from canola to coconut. On the other end of Instagram, @aldiforpresident was also evidently excited about the product, sharing their own photo of the $3.49 Carlini-brand bottles. In both comments sections, however, fans had some gripes to share about the find.

Ghee consists of clarified butter and has a high smoke point and nutty flavor. Though commenters on @aldiforpresident's post seem to love this cooking fat, which is popular in Indian cuisine, they seem to wish that it were the only ingredient in the blended cooking spray. "I love how they added sunflower oil in there as well," one user said with a suspicious emoji, while another echoed, "Just wish the sunflower oil wasn't added." 

One shopper even said, "Horrible ingredients Why?????? why not just the ghee????" Presumably, they were referring to the soy lecithin and propellant gas listed on the label. While lecithin may make you think twice about using cooking spray on your pans, the emulsifier is safe for consumption, even if it does have a tendency to build up on pans and lower their quality. As for the scary-sounding gas, these propellants are FDA-approved. 

Other Instagrammers sounded more open to the ingredients list, saying, "It being a blend is a little disappointing but I would imagine it wouldn't spray otherwise," and, "I love Ghee! I really enjoy the one Aldi sells in the jar but I avoided this due to the added oils." Though this Aldi spray has fallen flat among some customers, it does provide other oil- and butter-based options for concerned shoppers.