[kopchoir]

I think im going to start buying local produce for meat fruit and veg did anyone see dispatches regarding cheap foods and the more expensive ranges. Even the expensive range of foods the amount of crap they put in our foods these days is appaling no wonder we are getting fat it really disturbed me and how much money they make by adding rubbish into the food to make the weight up was shocking anyone else watch it
bring back the local butchers and greengrocers

[sniffer66]

http://www.donaldrussell.com

cannot recommend them highly enough if you dont have a decent local butcher. And its veg from the local farmers markets for us

[Ned Senior]

there's a local butcher Deli who has a shop near me.. my mommy used to work there part time and got to see that it is all local apart from the odd scottish beef joint he gets in whole half animals and cuts the pieces or makes stir fry mixes (with sauce) burgers etc etc
I buy all my meat there and local bread
Sadly use sainsbury for veg or tesco for fruit but after reading this hell I'll find a local produce veg store too
as it is some guy has opened a small shop to try and get on in life I am all for that and would like to think I help them along

[Ian J]

Originally Posted by sniffer66

Please enable your cookies

cannot recommend them highly enough if you dont have a decent local butcher.

The program (and this thread) was about budget processed food so I don't think your link is very appropriate.

I've never eaten much processed food at the best of times but I've always had a quick look at the labels to see the content.

Unfortunately I missed the first two thirds of the program but the major point in the last third wasn't so much how little "content" there was inside the pie or sausage but how much more they could include for the additional cost of a penny or less.

The two couples featured made some quite amazing savings by changing what they ate and where they bought it from.

The main reason why the supermarkets have got away with it for so long is that us Brits are less interested in what we eat than most other countries and we will happily shove anything in our mouths as long as it's cheap and quick to make.

My sister lives in a suberb of Sydney and in their local shiopping centre the butcher, greengrocer, baker and various delis are busy whilst the supermarket at the end has meat and veg counters that look very quiet as people only buy non food stuff there. That shopping centre would soon go bust in Britain as people here seem to prefer tasteless cardboard to real food

[eric pisch]

Originally Posted by Ian J

The program (and this thread) was about budget processed food so I don't think your link is very appropriate.

I've never eaten much processed food at the best of times but I've always had a quick look at the labels to see the content.

Unfortunately I missed the first two thirds of the program but the major point in the last third wasn't so much how little "content" there was inside the pie or sausage but how much more they could include for the additional cost of a penny or less.

The two couples featured made some quite amazing savings by changing what they ate and where they bought it from.

The main reason why the supermarkets have got away with it for so long is that us Brits are less interested in what we eat than most other countries and we will happily shove anything in our mouths as long as it's cheap and quick to make.

My sister lives in a suberb of Sydney and in their local shiopping centre the butcher, greengrocer, baker and various delis are busy whilst the supermarket at the end has meat and veg counters that look very quiet as people only buy non food stuff there. That shopping centre would soon go bust in Britain as people here seem to prefer tasteless cardboard to real food

a lot of this comes down to the life style of many brits:

The cost of living here is very high so for lower income family's value lines are essential

Alot of people here work stupidly long hours which means when you get home you are knackered which makes instant effort free food very attractive. My sister and brother in law live in the states and 99% of the time people there will not work past 5, going home and eating with the family is seen as important.

There does seam to be a large cooking skills gap when it comes to certain social groups in the country. I talk to our trainees about it and honestly 95% could not cook toast or an egg. If they cant microwave it there stuffed. Most of them don't even have a clue how food is produced. And people expect them to eat healthily

[RMCF]

The program didn't really tell us what we already know - these types of programmes have been on a lot over recent years.

As for missing the 1st half, don't worry it was a rather repetitive formula used. He took one meat, did a lot of measurements, concluded that it could be made better for a few pence, produced a better xxx, let the public taste it, and conclusion. Then did the same again with a different meat, then again. It was, like many shows these days, a 20min piece dragged out to an hour.

As for bringing back the local grocer and butcher - they are still out there. Thing is people these days want convenience, and that's why they buy everything at Tesco's or Asda.

But the thing that always shocked me was how the local butcher is able to sell you meat cheaper than a massive chain. Surely if he can buy good quality meat in small quantities then the likes of Tesco could sell you the same or better quality meat for the same or less?

As for the Brits eating anything, unfortunately the main requirement for many now is price. Thousands will buy the whole Tesco chicken for £5 because its £5. The quality of it doesn't matter really, or the fact that it was forced to mature 3 times faster than normal. To buy a free range, organically rared chicken may cost £15, but how are struggling families meant to afford that?

[RMCF]

Going slightly off tangent, the guy who hosted that Dispatches last night (can't remember his name, but big shot food critic) introduced Heston Blumenthal as a "good friend" last night in the show.

Yet the night before on TV Heston was in a show called "Big Chef Takes on Little Chef", where he had to try to turn around the failing Little Chef menu and business. As a finale, this big shot food critic was among a group of hard to please critics who came to give the Little Chef experiment his opinion. It was bummed up on the show just how the opinion of these people would make or break the idea.

Well I would be fairly confident of a decent review if I was bringing "a good friend" in to review my work !! Who's to say he wasn't "good friends" with all the panel who came to review his experiment?

TV is all make believe isn't it?

[Ian J]

Originally Posted by RMCF

As for the Brits eating anything, unfortunately the main requirement for many now is price. Thousands will buy the whole Tesco chicken for £5 because its £5. The quality of it doesn't matter really, or the fact that it was forced to mature 3 times faster than normal. To buy a free range, organically rared chicken may cost £15, but how are struggling families meant to afford that?

I was bought up in a different age before the advent of much of the processed food that is now available and we weren't exactly flush with funds but there was no expectation to eat meat every day and what meat that was bought went round much further.

The price difference between a free range chicken and a battery hen isn't as extreme as in your example but most people nowadays would roast the chicken, carve the breast off it and chuck the rest away whereas a large chicken would do us for two roastie type meals and I would then boil the bones and make some sort of mulligatawny soup out of the stock and remaining meat on the carcass which could well do for another two meals for the two of us so a single chicken could do us as the basis for four meals.

It's the same with other meats with a leg of lamb ending up in the stock pot too

[Ned Senior]

Well said that man!!
I am warming to you Sir

Originally Posted by Ian J

I was bought up in a different age before the advent of much of the processed food that is now available and we weren't exactly flush with funds but there was no expectation to eat meat every day and what meat that was bought went round much further.

The price difference between a free range chicken and a battery hen isn't as extreme as in your example but most people nowadays would roast the chicken, carve the breast off it and chuck the rest away whereas a large chicken would do us for two roastie type meals and I would then boil the bones and make some sort of mulligatawny soup out of the stock and remaining meat on the carcass which could well do for another two meals for the two of us so a single chicken could do us as the basis for four meals.

It's the same with other meats with a leg of lamb ending up in the stock pot too

[Jenn]

Originally Posted by Ian J

in their local shiopping centre the butcher, greengrocer, baker and various delis are busy

Now that's an idea, replace big supermarkets with shopping centres full of independent traders. Like a market but under a roof and with a big car park and possibly the usual clothing brands and supermarket for branded tins/jars and non food items.
That'd be ideal !

[indianwells]

I would rather have top quality chicken once a month rather than a £3 cheapo one every week, and as mentioned above, most people will throw a good amount of that in the bin. People obviously don't buy chicken thighs much, otherwise they wouldn't be so cheap but that's where all the flavour is, and for longer cooking, in a casserole for instance, they are perfect. I guess it's all down to education. Not so long ago I saw a news item following a low income family around a supermarket where the wife was moaning about her food bill and saying they could barely afford to eat. At the same time she was throwing tinned carrots, crisps, chocolate, bottles of coke, ready meals and all sorts of other rubbish into her trolley. Not her fault, she just didn't know I guess.

[Urien Rheged]

When we took our baby to our local community centre for a weigh in, we noticed they ran a fruit & vegetable scheme. You can get a vegetable bag, fruit bag, salad bag or potato bag. The potatoes are 90p for a 7 pound bag, the salad, fruit & veg bags are £1.50 for a half bag and £3.00 for a full bag. A full bag is a large plastic carrier bag. You never know what you are going to get, it's whatever is in season or available. We find a full bag of vegetables last us a week at least. The produce is all local.

I think this is a great idea. Worth asking at your community centre!

This is our local Butcher. They are fantastic and good value for money. Locally produced meat from Cumbrian farmers. Cumberland farmhouse sausage is 95% meat. No rubbish at all. Cumberland sausage from the supermarkets is very poor compared to the real thing. They don't taste like the real thing at all.
http://www.cranstons.net/

My other tip for saving money is buy 'brisket' when you do roast beef. Cook it in a pint of beef stock, 3 squirts of tomato puree & two bay leaves in a cast iron pot (like a le creuset) for 3 hours at 155 degees C. You can buy a piece of brisket for £3 odd and it will feed 4 of us! It is melt in your mouth tender and the gravy it makes is incredible.

[Stoatman]

I have seen that many times . People moaning how expensive food is while cramming expensive (relatively) rubbish into their trolleys.

Personally I see the food we eat into our own and kids bodies as one of the most important priorities in our house. I would rarther sacrifice most other things , for example :

Newish car
DVDs/CDs
Booze / Fags (I dont smoke personally though)
New TVs (etc)
Socialising
Online Browsing (Amazon is the worst - so eay to click buy!)
Knives ( A Personal thing)

A lot of people may have other priorities but I feel something that affects directly the health of my child (and me) should be top of the list.

As proven , better quality ingredients can be sourced for the same or less cost. I just think the excuses given are too quick to be spouted ie Too busy , cant cook etc.

Even if people have to go to the supermarket (dont most people) there are some easy choices regarding food to go in the trolley. Most seasonal veg is cheap , there are some excellent cheapers cuts of meat. Pasta , rice , potatoes , etc they are all cheap for the amount of meals you can prepare from them. If your packing your trolley full of processed rubbish then usually it is more expensive and alot worse for you.

[Hi-Def]

the big point is that you have to read the labels

if you are buying sausages then make sure the meat content is high - 85%+(your buying meat at the end of the day you dont want to end up with minced up connective tissue and rusk etc)

the program was interesting but not exactly scientific - they showed you the difference between the different supermarkets/brands but they did not once compare it with the contents of 'quality' local produce they were pushing to consumers. you have to think about that

EDIT: it was a brilliant program and great advert for your local fruit/veg producers and butchers etc and they must be pleased - we need to shop more in these and maybe it looks like we will be going back to the shop owners now all the big guys are closing down.

[IronGiant]

As some of you are aware I make my own sausages. When the El Cheapo sausages were first in the limelight a year or so ago I attempted to make my own sausage to a budget for a comparison. At the time of the test the cheapies weren't on the special cost cutting promotion and so were 7p each. I made a sausage which was 90% real pork and tasted quite acceptable, for an additional 3p. And that was buying the joint of meat from the same supermarket for processing into the sausages at home.

I haven't watched this program yet, but I recorded it to watch tonight.

Dave

Dave

[johntheexpat]

I know lots of ex-pats who, while surrounded by markets* still go to the local Super-U or InterMarche and still moan about the quality of supermarket food. Perhaps its a well-to-do Anglo Saxon thing? Perhaps you should never underestimate the power of convenience over quality.
(*there is a market somewhere round here (within 10 miles) every day of the week and after a while you realise that on your way to the market, you have passed several of the farms where the food is produced! )

As for using cheaper cuts, can I recommend pig or beef cheeks? Cheap, gamey and very tasty. Failing that oxtail - an absolute winner, stewed slowly with seasonal veg (lots!). A fabulously tasty cut and marrow to chew on when you've finished.

[Iccz]

We use our local butcher and farm shops when possible, the village greengrocer went out of business sadly


Can't beat the sausages from the butcher, but i've never tried home made etc, I imagine they're also way better than packet bought cheapo ones.

[Beany31]

If you live in Kent, I can't recommend this butchers enough Butchers in Kent: J.C. Rook and Sons, Suppliers of Fine Fresh Kentish Meats they use only Kentish meat and are very very good.

[Naaktgeboren]

I use JC Rook, fantastic quality meats, supermarkets can only dream of serving up that kind of quality.

I visited a farm shop this morning for some ingredients for a delicious home made casserole this weekend.

1.5 kg of root vegetables
500g minced beef
Medium sized bag of potatoes

+ some apples, all in for £4

Fantastic value, had a chat with the owner who said business is thriving, he has extended his opening hours and hired to extra helpers.

I agree, Supermarkets will 90% of the time pull out all the stops/tricks to maximize profits by some very dubious methods.

2 weeks ago, visited Asda and tried an Extra Special chicken casserole with dumplings after cooking it was shameful just how little casserole there was (dumplings accounting for well over half the weight. That was a one off though really, we make over 75% of our meals from fresh ingredients without all the additives.

[Beany31]

The thing is, I had some bananas from the Fruit company Fyffes, and they were the best bananas ever. I find that fruits from fruit companies like Fyffes and local stalls sell the best fruit, when you go to Asda or Tesco, I find that fruits are nowhere near as good value.

[Jenn]

Originally Posted by johntheexpat

I know lots of ex-pats who, while surrounded by markets* still go to the local Super-U or InterMarche and still moan about the quality of supermarket food.

Even supermarket food in France is better quality than here! My mother in law couldn't believe the taste of tomatoes she bought at a Super U while on holidays.
And have you seen the size of the fishmonger stalls? Now that's something compared to the local tesco one with 3 salmons, 2 cods and a sole

[Ian J]

Originally Posted by R1PLEY

My other tip for saving money is buy 'brisket' when you do roast beef. Cook it in a pint of beef stock, 3 squirts of tomato puree & two bay leaves in a cast iron pot (like a le creuset) for 3 hours at 155 degees C. You can buy a piece of brisket for £3 odd and it will feed 4 of us! It is melt in your mouth tender and the gravy it makes is incredible.

Why not go the whole hog and cook the root vegetables in with it to make a proper pot roast. That's what we do most with beef as the quality seems to have deteriorated recently with even expensive rib joints not tasting of much.

Originally Posted by Jenn

Even supermarket food in France is better quality than here! My mother in law couldn't believe the taste of tomatoes she bought at a Super U while on holidays.

Tomatoes in this country are grown for firmness, shelf life and uniform size and most supermarkets don't bother to specify taste when buying. I gave up on supermarket tomatoes a long time ago and only buy them when there is no alternative. Some of the orange coloured rubbish on sale would defeat most people in a blind taste as they certainly don't taste like tomatoes.

Originally Posted by indianwells

People obviously don't buy chicken thighs much, otherwise they wouldn't be so cheap but that's where all the flavour is,

Please don't tell everyone as the price will rocket up. People don't seem to realise that the tastiest meat is one that is cooked on the bone yet very few roasting joints are now available with the bone and even some farm shops are selling them boned. If we have pork I always look for a loin joint on the bone but can't find it very often and even legs of lamb are now being sold more and more either boned or butterflied.

The most expensive part of a chicken is the breast and invariably it's also the part with the least flavour.

Originally Posted by Hi-Def

if you are buying sausages then make sure the meat content is high - 85%+(your buying meat at the end of the day you dont want to end up with minced up connective tissue and rusk etc)

You have to be careful with food labelling as pork meat in sausages includes snout and testicles etc whereas most people think that it's just the prime cuts.

They say that the only part of the pig that's wasted is the grunt

[Jenn]

Originally Posted by Ian J

You have to be careful with food labelling as pork meat in sausages includes snout and testicles etc whereas most people think that it's just the prime cuts.

Well to be honest as long as it comes from the animal and isn't bad for your health it doesn't matter that it contains testicles does it?
I mean better that than chemicals.

[Marky1973]

mmmmmm testicles........

I didn't see the program last night as I was out at a mates eating loads of processed food, but the wife told me all about it this morning in a rather disgusted tone of voice......just to echo what everyone on here is saying, you really don't have to break the bank to get good quality meat and vegetables.......the old estate where I used to live had a market every friday, but people were still crammed into the Sommerfield to buy their 'cheap' ready meals and coke.....

Its made me hungry this thread....gonna have to pop to the butchers at lunch for some thighs......which I agree are the nicest bit of a chicken! Did a lovely curry with them the other day - recipe called for breast....no chance! Thighs, cheaper and tastier!

[sniffer66]

Originally Posted by Ian J

The program (and this thread) was about budget processed food so I don't think your link is very appropriate.

Wasn't the OP stating that we should bring back local butchers ? My point was that if you don't want to buy supermarket cheap meat products with god knows what injected and fed to it AND you can't get to a local butcher as they have all shut, there are decent online alternatives.

We also use chicken thighs and the cheaper less well known cuts of meat , cooked for a long time the flavour and texture is superb. The other thing I love is offal, I was raised on stuffed hearts, liver and kidneys as a boy. They are good for you and very cheap. I just have a job convincing the rest of the household to eat them

[Hi-Def]

Originally Posted by Ian J

You have to be careful with food labelling as pork meat in sausages includes snout and testicles etc whereas most people think that it's just the prime cuts.

They say that the only part of the pig that's wasted is the grunt

yea some are labelled as having no head meat etc not great but better

id much rather buy all my meat products at my butchers still as its a good one

but i think my point stands that really there should have been a control from a butchers etc

you can not slate all supermarket food by their contents when you haven't given the same value in a butchers shop - because there are plenty of dodgy butchers + fruit/veg shops out there

they showed how much 6 budget sausages were, how much 6 premium sausages there value of protein in then but never once did they say we took 5 types of sausages from butchers around a city and the average price was £x.xx and average protein level x%

[Stoatman]

Yes it seems everyone has just got used to have having say the breast of chicken like its a staple food . Whereas in essence its almost a treat , there are so many other foods out there , like you say offal etc but noone will try eat. But people gorge down the sausages with anus and eyeball in like they are going out of fashion. If we labelled hearts/livers etc with ""100% Pork Meat" I bet alot more people will eat them. Although the supermarkets label the ingredients in say sausages they dont actually spell out whats in them, if they did perhaps they would't sell as well !.

[Jenn]

One thing that I find interesting as well is how little people eat rabbit in this country. It's virtually no fat food (well before it's cooked with cream etc. ), nice and sweet and easy to cook.

Saying that, last time we bought some rabbit from the local market it happened to be hare which I wasn't very impressed with. Doesn't cook the same way AT ALL.

[kopchoir]

sorry to go off in a tangent at the beginning of the thread the program shocked me, and thought it was a worthy thread i think it was more the fact of the following.

1.budget brands/finest range in supermarkets are not much different they all contain the same crap and not much more meat for the price.
2.shoving water and other crap in chicken breasts to up the weight so it costs more
3.The couple who used local markets and butchers were actually saving money as they were not throwing away food that were unsuitable for eating, shelf life in fruit and veg in a supermarket is poor becuase of the distance it has travelled
4.Supermarkets now make that much cash now its not funny for a few extra pence they could increase meat content and remove the crap they put in and still make a fortune.

I am now going to start looking for alternatives

[eric pisch]

Originally Posted by kopchoir

sorry to go off in a tangent at the beginning of the thread the program shocked me, and thought it was a worthy thread i think it was more the fact of the following.

1.budget brands/finest range in supermarkets are not much different they all contain the same crap and not much more meat for the price.
2.shoving water and other crap in chicken breasts to up the weight so it costs more
3.The couple who used local markets and butchers were actually saving money as they were not throwing away food that were unsuitable for eating, shelf life in fruit and veg in a supermarket is poor because of the distance it has travelled
4.Supermarkets now make that much cash now its not funny for a few extra pence they could increase meat content and remove the crap they put in and still make a fortune.

I am now going to start looking for alternatives

number 4 is bang on, they have a few lines with small margins, they also have alot of lines with big margins and they make big money, they could easily improve value line quality and absorb the cost