Farmers market?

Penny-Pincher!!

Thats very expensive.

PP
xx

allIcouldwishfor

tiredwithtwins wrote:

I agree with lily the pink....they are way too expensive.

i find this a real moral dilemma for me, cos it goes through me to buy meat from the supermarkets...knowing they arent kept/slaughtered in particularly humane conditions and that the supermarket makes such a huge profit whislt the farmer struggles, but buying from the butcher/farmers market is just too expensive to justify!
im surprised at the butchers really......and after this morning i just cant afford to shop there any more - i bought half a pound of steak mince - £1.86!! and four small chicken thighs - £1.84!!! and they have to feed 5 of us!
sad, but for now (unless i win the lottery) i will have to buy at supermarkets.

I have the same dilemma as tiredwithtwins, with the whole battery farming thing.

Maybe I'm being a bit naive here, but I feel better if I buy meat from waitrose, knowing that the meat is traceable and they are very ethical in their relationships with their suppliers. It is more expensive, but whenever I see meat near it's date that's been discounted I stock up the freezer, so we only occasionally pay full price for it. I also buy cheaper cuts and chuck it in the slow cooker. Still tastes fab, even if I do say so myself!!!

Sorry to hear about your experience on the farmers market. :eek: I go to our local farmers market (herts), but they sell out of stuff really early, cos it's good stuff and reasonably priced - all labelled with a price though!!!! :rotfl:

lily_the_pink

The other alternative is to find a decent butchers - bit thin on the ground but I think they always have been. I was brought up only eating meat bought from a butchers - we would never have dreamt of buying supermarket meat. We only ever bought from one small independent butchers - and this was probably slightly more expensive than the local market or Dewhursts (the master butchers lol), but all the meat was certainly traceable.

My local butchers (or rather the butchers I use as they are not the closest) makes his own sausage, sells free range and organic as well as good quality non organic/free range and has great cheese (as good as a farmers market). It took me ages to discover him, but I think I would carry on going to this butchers (sausages are the best I have ever eaten) even if I moved away. Also sells a good quality black pudding which is unusual. He is more expensive than Tescos for some things but the quality is far better - I would rather eat a decent roast chicken every other week rather than once a month plus I can get better stock for making soup so that makes is more affordable. I think decent butchers are out there - and worth paying slightly more for - but you have to find them and use them (otherwise they will disappear).

halloweenqueen_2

Its not always the ones with the banter that are the best butchers - we have three to choose from, one has all the patter and has a regular crowd, but the one who quietly gets on with the job has the better produce and the last one is ok!!

fizzel81

i have never been to a farmers market but have been tempted however with my low shopping budget i doubt id be able to buy very much.
im afraid we buy all our meat at tesco or sainsburys occasionally i will buy bacon and sausages from the local butcher

wonderfullife_2

We're off to a local farmers market after lunch. I'm mainly a supermarket shopper and any advice on farmers markets is welcome. What do you buy, stock up on? How long can you expect things to last? What kind of prices would you expect to pay - more or less than the supermarket?
Thanks - any advice appreciated.

JailhouseBabe

I've not been to one for a while as there's none really close to me.
I did find that most (if not all) products were more expensive than the supermarkets, so I tended to buy 'unusual' things that you wouldn't get easily elsewhere. e.g. rabbit, flavoured cheeses.
Locally produced jams/honey make a nice gift (I got some for my parents).

molesworth

Hope you enjoyed the market - this advice will be a bit late! However - we buy free range chicken, pork, bacon etc because we feel confident that it is truly free range (as opposed to buying supermarket free range) and the quality is excellent. Prices similar or not much more than buying from a supermarket. FR eggs, certainly, are cheaper - very, very large ones are £1 a half dozen at our market and they would make three generous omelettes. Good too for organic seasonal veg.

Otherwise it is very much a question of buying "treats", at our market, at least. It is easy to spend quite a lot of money. Delicious goat's cheese, for example. Wonderful cakes (£3-ish a time, but better than buying a birthday cake at a supermarket at £6+), pastries (£1.50 for lovely individual fruit tarts, £6 for a large one which is great if you are having a dinner party.) Yes, I do feel I should be making them myself but if time's short it's an easy answer...

One piece of advice - if you are trying to rein in your spending, politely decline all free samples. Once you have tasted something, it's very hard to avoid buying just for sake of politeness (or so I find - maybe it's just me!)

Did you enjoy your market? What did you buy?

wonderfullife_2

Thanks Molesworth and Jailhouse:D . Unfortunately we got there too late it was pouring down and everyone had packed up early! We will go back next month and check out the one in the city centre. Budget is a consideration but I'm also concerned about the overall family diet.

I do buy sainsburys organic meat and I am interested in your comment about being more confident in the markets free range than supermarkets? Can we ever be sure?

findingmyownway

I'm going to my first ever farmers market tommorow

Any tips on what i should look out for / bargains / stuff to avoid?!?

If the fruit and veg is similar priced to supermarket should i still get it - is the local produced quality really so much better? Or do you old-timers know it will be cheaper as well as tastier!?!