Reddit Is Losing Its Lunch Over Aldi's Tzatziki Gone Wrong
Tzatziki is a sauce or dip that is generally associated with Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine. The ingredients often consist of yogurt, cucumbers, garlic, herbs, and spices such as dill and parsley (per Taste Atlas).
It is typically paired with meat dishes, the most popular of which is gyros, which are sandwiches of folded pita bread with lamb, chicken, or beef sliced vertically from a rotisserie spit filled with tomato and onion and served with tzatziki on top or on the side. Souvlaki is another Greek favorite that usually incorporates tzatziki.
The precise origins of tzatziki are unclear, with one theory postulating that it may have derived in India, where there is a similar dish called raita sauce. Others posit that it originates from a Greek twist on a Turkish dish named cacik that may have been spread during the reign of the Ottoman Empire (via World Food Story).
Provenance aside, when it's done right, tzatziki delivers a cool and refreshing tang that complements a number of savory foods. But sometimes it's not done right, and Reddit is losing its lunch over an instance of Aldi's tzatziki gone wrong.
There's something freaky in my tzatziki
Redditor u/thiswittynametaken posted a photo of their Aldi-bought tzatziki to the subreddit r/aldi, which appears to contain what they pondered as looking "like a giant blob of something in the middle that was vaguely gelatinous?" Wary, but not wanting to jump to any hasty conclusions, they asked of their fellow community members, "Is this normal?"
A disgusted u/questionmarquee responded decisively. "Gross. No way I'd eat that. Take it back!" User ButtleyHugz related a similar experience: "Gross. I had a blob like this in my Greek yogurt last week." Commenter u/HowNiceDear encountered the same issue, though they found a workaround. "Very off-putting but it looked like mostly dill. I scooped out that part and threw it out ... the rest was fine." A revolted u/SharpCookie232 remarked of the unidentified floating object in the tzatziki, "It looks like slime mold."
Other Redditors offered potential explanations. A commenter named u/ExtremePotatoFanatic mused, "I wonder if it's a weird blob of chopped up cucumber? I've never bought this before but that's just my thoughts on it," while u/StarShineHllo contemplated, "Cucumber gel?" Contributor u/glub-lub shared some reassuring words. "If it's the cucumber one it's normal." So, this Aldi's tzatziki occurrence is either gross or normal. You be the judge. For what it's worth, Know Your Pantry claims that the multipurpose sauce and dip lasts up to three weeks once opened and is prone to growing mold once it's turned.