Fruity June Aldi Finds For A Sweeter Summer

Starting in spring and extending into summertime, fruit-flavored foods are seemingly ubiquitous. Perhaps our penchant for equating warmer weather with fruit stems back to the days before refrigerated transport trucks, since the only produce people got to eat then was, by necessity, local and therefore seasonal. While we've long been able to eat most types of fruit — frozen, if not fresh — all throughout the year, and fruit-flavored items may be produced at any time,  summertime = fruit time is a long-established food trope so modern retailers like Aldi don't want to upset the fruit cart. That means that Aldi's June Finds, as might be expected, are a rather ripe and fruitful bunch.

Aldi will, of course, be featuring fruity beverages galore (expect lots and lots of lemonade) along with fruit-flavored desserts. There will be various fruit-patterned household items, too, because fruit is also a standard summertime decorating motif, and there's even fruity soap if you want your hands to smell thematically appropriate. The pièce de résistance, however, may be found in Aldi's produce section where actual fruit-flavored fruit will be offered for your seasonal delectation.

If summer had an official beverage, it would likely be lemonade — in a Mashed poll about favorite summer drinks, only 19% of respondents preferred soda surprisingly enough, while even fewer picked boozy beverages. If you, too, are Team Lemonade, look for Nature's Nectar pink and strawberry varieties at Aldi starting on June 12 priced at $2.49 per two-quart jug.

If you're heading for the beach, the pool, or even the nearest fire hydrant, you may want to bring some stuff with you. In this case, you may need a bag to carry it in, so why not pick a cheery fruit-themed one? Aldi will be offering $9.99 beach bags in watermelon, orange, and grapefruit patterns as well as more staid yellow and teal stripes starting on June 26.

When the weather gets so hot it seems like your lemonade might start boiling in the glass before you can raise it to your lips, that's when it's time to break out the frozen stuff. Aldi's Sundae Shoppe will be offering Alex's Lemonade Stand-branded frozen lemonade bars in plain, pink, and strawberry varieties for $2.99 per box of four beginning June 12.

You know what tastes the most fruit-like? Real fruit. Go figure. Aldi just so happens to sell this stuff, too, not only the fresh kind but also the frozen and dried varieties. On June 26, dark sweet cherries and pomegranate arils will be joining the lineup in this last-named category and both will be priced at $5.49 for a hefty, pound-and-a-half bag. While you could use these dried fruits in baking, they also make for healthy snacking straight out of the package.

Baked ricotta is something that seems to bridge the gap between an American-style sweet dessert and a more European-style meal-ender consisting of cheese. You might think of this item as a kind of a crustless cheesecake, or you could use it as a dessert dip paired with shortbread cookies. Aldi's summer flavors include not only chocolate chip but the more seasonally-appropriate lemon, and both will be available on June 12 for $3.99 per 6.4-ounce package.

If you are out and about on a hot day, you may want to take a cold beverage along with you. It might not stay cold for too long, however, unless you give it a fighting chance by keeping it in a cooler bag until you're ready to pop the top. Aldi will be selling a selection of insulated carriers starting on June 12 for the price of $9.99. These bags will come in plain blue and yellow if you prefer solid colors, but if you're more of a pattern person, you can choose between beach ball and strawberry themes.

Water is something we should all be drinking every day, but unless you're really, really thirsty, plain water can be a bit blah. Dump a little flavoring in it, however, and suddenly it's much more exciting. Aldi's somewhat ironically-named PurAqua brand is offering lemonade-flavored water enhancers in raspberry, strawberry, and blackberry varieties beginning June 12, with each $3.39 container providing enough flavoring for about 30 glasses of water.

Cheesecake is truly a dessert for all seasons — in wintertime, you might see peppermint and chocolate flavors, while in fall pumpkin reigns supreme. In summer, however, citrus-flavored cheesecakes are de rigueur, so Aldi's Belmont brand will be featuring a key lime one as well as a flavor known simply as "All American." Both cakes can be found in the frozen foods section beginning June 12 and will be priced at $12.99 apiece.

In today's tough economy, we could all use a side gig, and Aldi's helping out by offering a lemonade stand starter kit for a mere $49.99. Sure, this item — which will be available on June 12 — may be intended for children, but there's no law against adult entrepreneurs trying to make a few bucks selling cold beverages. (Well, actually there may be, so check your community's food vending laws first even if it's kids who want to use this lemonade stand for making money instead of make-believe.)

If you want to keep your lunch cold and your hands free, what you need is a backpack cooler. Lucky for you, Aldi will be selling these beginning on June 26 for $9.99 apiece. There will be four different styles to choose from, including basic black and white, tropical pink palm trees, aquatic blue scales, and of course the obligatory fruit-themed bag. This last-named pattern features a sunny yellow body, green trim, and a pattern of citrus fruits on the zippered front pocket.

As promised, Aldi will have fruit-themed soap for your summertime sanitation needs. The Lacira brand of foaming hand soaps will come in sparkling lemon and lemonade sunshine scents, and no, we don't know the difference between the two so you'll need to buy them both if you want to find out. You may do so on or after June 12, and each squirty soap will set you back just $2.49.

And now for something completely different: Aldi's obligatory fruity summertime gelato (available June 12) isn't citrus-flavored, nor is it some variety of berry. Instead, the retailer is going with coconut and layering it with chocolate gelato, sauce, and cookie crumbs. The other Specially Selected summer gelatos don't feature fruit at all, since the flavors are chocolate vanilla cookie and coffee vanilla delight. Fruit, schmoot — chocolate, vanilla, and coffee are good all year round and the price for each multi-layered gelato is a reasonable $3.49 per package.

If you'll be attending a picnic or potluck this summer and have been assigned to bring the napkins, don't feel bad. Instead of it being a knock on your cooking, it may be an acknowledgment of your superior decorating skills. Don't disappoint by bringing boring white napkins; instead, opt for these cheerful lemon-printed ones. They'll set you back a mere $1.89 per package, and you can find them in the Aisle of Shame starting on June 12.

If you need a quick and easy appetizer for a summertime get-together and you'd also like to demonstrate how au courant you are with today's food trends, you can, er, stun two birds with one entirely non-lethal projectile by purchasing a bag of chips and some fruity salsa. Sweet and savory flavor pairings are still very much in vogue and Aldi's Park Street Deli smoky peach and mango habanero salsas certainly fit that description. These will be priced at $2.79 per 14-ounce tub and you should be able to find them with the other refrigerated dips starting on June 26.

While lemonade isn't technically a fruit, it does contain the stuff, and the same could be said of fruit strips. Thus, it seems reasonable that fruit strips might consider lemonade to be a valid flavor. In fact, if you buy these Simply Nature lemonade fruit strips, which you may do on or after June 12 in exchange for $4.65, you'll be getting a fruit two-fer (or rather, four-fer). Each variety pack contains a mixture of strawberry lemonade, raspberry lemonade, and peach lemonade flavors.

Wafer rolls are so much more fun to eat than flat cookies — before your first bite, put one up to your eye and pretend you're a pirate looking through a spyglass, then complete the cookie-consuming ritual by exclaiming "Aarrhh!" and taking a ferocious bite. Benton's will be featuring these wafers in summery flavors including berry and lemon meringue starting June 26, but you'll need to fork over $2.29 to claim your cookie booty since Aldi doesn't accept doubloons.

In summertime, the living is easy, or so the song goes, and we're taking this as a license to skip out on dish-washing duty all season long. The best way to do this is by using paper plates, and on June 12 Aldi will be offering ones with a cute pattern of lemons and lemonade. For $1.89 a pack, these should carry you through a few mess-free meals.