meat from butchers V supermarket

Spendless

I have a big market in my town and I buy all my meat there. The prices are a lot cheaper than I would buy in a supermarket. The produce is local and the butchers are very helpful at answering any questions you may have. I've asked how to cook stuff before, queried what I should buy when my iron levels were extremely low after giving birth.

When I buy mince off the market there is barely any fat coming off it compared to when I used to buy supermarket mince.

I would never go back to buying supermarket meat.

bektoria

I too would suggest that you try your butchers. My butchers is only a 10 minute walk away, I have lived in my house for 7 years but for some reason have only started using the buitchers in the last 6 months ?!!! I only started to seriously think of our eating habits after watching a couple of Dispatches programmes and when I started using this board. I will never go back to Tescos for my meat now. I can buy a cooked bacon hock for £2 and that gives us enough meat for sandwiches which you would get in the average ham packet. I have then made a ham and pea soup from the bone which was delicious !!! Check if your butcher does special freezer offers, mine does 5lb of mince for £5 and he bags them up in 1lb bags which is just right for meals.

Bek

gravitytolls

With the exception probably of chicken, the butchers is best for most meats.

The joints are slightly dearer, but htey taste great, and are generally from local sources, so hopefully animal wlfare is less of an issue.

Also, use your fish monger for fresh fish.

I use the green grocer, but the veg doesn't keep as long as from the supermarket. What do they put on it int he supermarket?

Debt_Free_Chick

gravitytolls wrote:

I use the green grocer, but the veg doesn't keep as long as from the supermarket. What do they put on it int he supermarket?

They pick it young and store it in refrigerated units.

Do you not find that the veg in the supermarket is absolutely tasteless? No offence ... genuine question. I grow my own (currently harvesting leeks, swiss chard, cavolo nero and using potatoes, onions, garlic & shallots from storage) and can really taste the difference. Wishing the days away as my purple sprouting broccoli has itsy-weeny florets that will soon be ready to pick :j

Spendless

Debt_Free_Chick wrote:

They pick it young and store it in refrigerated units.

Do you not find that the veg in the supermarket is absolutely tasteless? No offence ... genuine question. I grow my own (currently harvesting leeks, swiss chard, cavolo nero and using potatoes, onions, garlic & shallots from storage) and can really taste the difference. Wishing the days away as my purple sprouting broccoli has itsy-weeny florets that will soon be ready to pick :j

Yes I do find it tasteless. Most noticeable when my neighbour gives me cherry tomatoes each year, which are not all round shapes like supermarkets;) but have the most beautiful taste.

The market veg is cheaper and not travelled as many miles but still doesn't have the taste of home-grown out the garden.

mercurystar999

I know that Morrisons have fully trained butchers as my best mate works for them! They actually cut all the meat that you get on the shelves instore.

gravitytolls

Yes, it is tasteless. We're planning to get a veggie plot going this year.

We had one a few years ago, before we moved here, and there's nothing like the flavour of veg straight from th eground.

gravitytolls

Mercury, thanks fo rthat, yes the butchers in Morrisons are not half bad. I certainly can't complain about them.

Really, the ony discernible difference between them and our local butchers is that the meat is reared locally.

funky-footprints

being a farmers daughter i would be slaughtered by my dad if i bought any meat from the supermarkets !! i go to the local butcher who very often can tell me the very farm the meat i am buying is from.

likewise i would only buy organic if i was buying from a source i knew and could trust. i know far too many stories of people selling items labelled as organic at one market to make more pennies and non organic on the stall next door. in fact i know of one farmer who buys his lamb from his non organic neighbour and sells it on as organic to his customers, ooh i loved telling my organic 'pay above the price' only mother in law that one !!!! there was she telling me how it tasted better etc ...twaddle !!

Wickedkitten

funky-footprints wrote:

being a farmers daughter i would be slaughtered by my dad if i bought any meat from the supermarkets !! i go to the local butcher who very often can tell me the very farm the meat i am buying is from.

likewise i would only buy organic if i was buying from a source i knew and could trust. i know far too many stories of people selling items labelled as organic at one market to make more pennies and non organic on the stall next door. in fact i know of one farmer who buys his lamb from his non organic neighbour and sells it on as organic to his customers, ooh i loved telling my organic 'pay above the price' only mother in law that one !!!! there was she telling me how it tasted better etc ...twaddle !!

That's funny because mine does the exact same except for it was with Sainsbury's Taste the difference range. They came down last year for a visit and everything they ate from the bacon and egg sandwiches in the morning to the steak we made them the last night they were here was from the butcher.

It certainly did shut her up because by the end she was like "ooh it just has so much taste!!"