We've been tracking Aldi prices and products for years as the German discount supermarket has expanded in the U.S. to more than 1,900 stores in 36 states. In the process, we've shared tips and tricks for shopping at Aldi, as well as advice on the best and worst things to buy at Aldi. Now, we'll take a deep dive into the 23 most popular grocery items at Aldi, based on the chain's 2019 survey of its shoppers.

Our thinking was simple: Just because the products were voted " Fan Favorites" by shoppers (and labeled as such on store shelves) doesn't necessarily make them good or even tasty deals. So we took the challenge. We bought all 23 products across 23 grocery categories, taste-tested them, price-compared them and, in some cases, ran them by one of our go-to shopping experts, Trae Bodge of TrueTrae.com. There were lots of surprises. See how we ranked all 23 of Aldi's Fan Favorites, from best to worst, based on price, taste, quality and value.

1. Favorite Fruit: Strawberries

Getty Images

The 1-pound plastic container of Wish Farms strawberries was, right out of the box, the first surprise in the Fan Favorites lineup. That's because, in my experience, Aldi doesn't have the best track record for fresh produce. But the strawberries in this container were ripe, deep red and luscious - every one of them. (Typically in these containers, there may be a few strawberries that are still a bit green; not here.)

While the $1.89 price tag was a bit more expensive than the $1.77 pound container of Central West strawberries