The weather is heating up, so what better way to keep cool than with a refreshing ice cream?
From Magnums to Fabs, to new kid on the block Little Moons, we’re certainly not short of tasty frozen treats to enjoy during the summer months.
But how do your favourite branded lollies and ice creams compare to “dupes” at Aldi? Can you get the same taste but cheaper?
We’ve put some of the top names to the test against their less pricey equivalents to see which were best and which - ahem - melted under the pressure.
Aldi is well known for its cheeky “copycat” products that look incredibly similar to more expensive products.
But the discounter recently found itself in trouble after M&S started legal action over claims its Cuthbert the Caterpillar cake is too similar to Marks’ Colin.
We don’t know what will happen to Cuthbert, although he is temporarily back on shelves as part of a #FreeCuthbert campaign.
However, it’s got us wondering about what its other “dupes” are like - we’ve already tested out Aldi crisps and biscuits and last week we slurped on Aldi booze to see how they compare against Gordon’s, Baileys and others.
Here’s what we happened when we tested out Aldi ice creams and lollies - most of which come under its Gianni's range - against more expensive brands.
Like with our previous taste tests, these results are based on just one opinion.
You may completely disagree, so if you're looking to save cash, it's worth trying out the cheaper products for yourself to make up your own mind.
Magnum vs Aldi Milk Chocolate
There isn't all that much difference in terms of how Magnum and Aldi Milk Chocolate lollies look.
They've both got that smooth milk chocolate finish and are even the same in terms of volume (110ml) - although the Magnum looks a bit flatter compared to Aldi.
As we bite into them, there is that familiar snap of the chocolate shell covering the ice cream centre.
The vanilla ice cream with both lollies is pretty much identical - both creamy and packed with vanilla - but what separates these two is that chocolate.
The Magnum is much nicer compared to Aldi, while the Gianni's chocolate almost reminded us of what you'd get in a cheap Christmas advent calendar.
Magnum price: £3 (four ice creams)
Aldi price: 99p (four ice creams)
Fab vs Aldi Ice Blitz
The Ice Blitz from Aldi do look smaller as we take them out their packets, but the packaging says they are in fact pretty much the same volume size as Fabs.
Ice Blitz should be 60ml each while Fabs are 58ml.
On to the taste, the top layer of each ice lolly - the chocolate and sprinkles - is eerily similar. We can't really taste the difference at this stage.
But as you get further down, it's the bottom, red fruity part that isn't the same.
We did find the Fab lolly was juicer compared to Aldi, and just tasted more of real fruit.
Saying that, the Aldi one had a nice taste too but the Fab just edged it for us.
Fab price: £1.50 (six ice lollies)
Aldi price: 89p (six ice lollies)
Cornetto vs Aldi Cones
Cornettos come in all different flavours but we stuck to its original version, which is vanilla and chocolate with hazelnuts, for this part of our taste test.
Straight away, we notice the Aldi Cone has vanilla and chocolate ice cream - as opposed to just vanilla in the cornetto.
This earned Aldi major points on the taste front - and each one is 110ml compared to the 90ml Cornettos.
The spread of hazelnuts was good with both cones - but what about that famous chocolate tip at the bottom?
I'm pleased to report that both had an equal amount of chocolate, so neither was better on that front.
So for that delightful extra swirl of chocolate ice cream, Aldi wins this round.
Cornetto price: £2 (six ice creams)
Aldi price: 75p (four ice creams)
Mini Milks vs Aldi Milk Lollies
Who doesn't remember tucking into a Mini Milk ice cream when they were little? Aldi has a tough job competing with that nostalgia.
But out of the whole taste test, the Mini Milks and Aldi Milk Lollies were the most similar in looks and taste.
Mini Milks typically come in three flavours - strawberry, vanilla and chocolate, so we went with our favourite strawberry.
The colour was the same and the taste was identical - creamy and with a delicate amount of fruitiness.
Price-wise, the pack of Mini Milks work out at around 16p per lolly compared to 10p at Aldi - so you may as well go for the Aldi lollies as they're better value and taste the same.
Mini Milks price: £2 (12 ice creams)
Aldi price: 85p (eight ice creams)
Ben & Jerry's vs Aldi Cookie Dough
I'll confess - cookie dough is my favourite Ben & Jerry's flavour, so I have high standards for other ice creams.
Sadly, the Aldi version did come up short for several reasons.
The flavour of the ice cream tasted more bland compared to Ben & Jerry's which is bursting with vanilla and cookie tones.
The chunks of cookie dough in the Aldi ice cream are also much smaller, which is shame as they're the best bit.
But it should be said that Ben & Jerry's is much pricier at £4.50 - sometimes up to £5 - whereas you can pick up the Aldi version for just £1.69.
Ben & Jerry's price: £4.50 (465ml)
Aldi price: £1.69 (500ml)
Little Moons vs Aldi Wao Mochi Balls
Little Moons are the latest food trend - if you've not heard of them, they're balls of ice cream covered in a rice flour dough called mochi.
They've been selling out super quick, but we were lucky enough to find the coconut flavours for this test.
On first appearance, you can see the Little Moons has shredded coconut across them which we really like.
The Aldi Wao Mochi Balls are instead dusted with an icing sugar type substance which left a bit of a weird texture on our teeth.
In terms of the coconut ice cream, there wasn't much difference in the taste - both were refreshingly tropical and very creamy.
However, we did find the Aldi mochi dough around the ice cream was a bit more stodgy.
They're still a good "dupe" if you can't afford - or find - Little Moons.
Plus, they're cheaper at £2.99 compared to £4.50.
Little Moons price: £4.50 (six balls)
Aldi price: £2.99 (six balls)
