What foods are a false economy?

Dora_the_Explorer_5

Old Jewish proverb: buy cheap, buy twice

I stopped buying cheap shampoo and conditioner after I'd been given some quite pricey ones by my dear old aunt - couldn't beleive the difference.

bobsa1

Cheap baked beans. Sauce is runny and beans are hard. I usually buy supermarkets own baked beans but never value ones.

Rave

I have to disagree about the value mince- I've always found it tastier, and even once you've drained the fat off it's still a lot cheaper. A bit of fat is essential for transfering flavours to your tongue:). I don't buy economy sausages any more though_pale_.

In general, I tend to avoid value products which are cheap just because they use loads of artificial flavourings in a cheap mixture of corn starch and oil- sauces, etc. I've never had any problem with value veg, tinned goods etc. although I buy a lot of that sort of stuff at Lidl now as it's the same price and slightly higher quality.

squeaky

xmaslolly76 wrote:

i'm a little confused are we saying that market or supermarket fruit and veg are best?

There's a great deal of variation in standards and quality wherever you go. Some people are lucky and have a good market / stalls nearby and others, unfortunately, don't. The same can be said of corner stores and also of supermarkets.

You'll need to shop around all the places close to you and make your own judgements.

ti1980

I used to be a brand snob at times, but when I moved away from home realised that I couldn't stay that way so I was forced to try other things.
I still don't really buy a lot of value brands but I buy a lot of own brand and try to shop wisely so I can buy branded products when they are on BOGOF etc.

A personal false economy for me is a lot of (food) 4 for 3 offers as there is only me that I buy food for so I ended up having to eat the same things for days to use it up but now I don't tend to buy things if they are on 4 for 3 anyway.

nicola1982_2

Anything I can find in Aldi or Lidl. Most value products are approx the same price for a branded Aldi/Lidl product which 9 times out of 10 will be far superior and of better quality.

ti1980

Tinned chopped tomatoes are 15p in Asda, Sainsburys and Lidl (13p for plum) but the Lidl ones seem so much better, less watery.
This is the kind of thing I mean as well, when the price is the same, comparing like for like as they are all supermarkets, yet the actual product can be hugely different.

tee_pee_2

I tend to buy what takes my fancy - the other day in Sainsburys I wanted a bar of white chocolate and the dearer products ( milky bay and Sainsbury's dearer version) were out of stock. So in desparation I bought the basic 25p for 100g and I have to say it was so nice that that is all I buy now. The advertisement on the bar said " no fancy packaging just good chocolate" and it was def true. Try it i would reccommend it.

ti1980

That basic Sainsburys chocolate is good, I second that recommendation tee pee.

twink

cheap cat food the cats wont eat it i swear i spend more time choosing cat food than i do my own