Where's best to buy your fruit, Veg & meat?

dippydan

Question for you all - Supermarkets are cheap but does the stuff from the butcher and grocer taster better & last longer???

squeekymoo

I am not quite sure where is best for fruit n veg - but i can tlee you fruit and veg from supermarket M is definately not worth buying - it goes mouldy far too quickly - i mentioned this at work this week and several people agree - i was advised lidl and aldi were good though

Gigervamp

Meat is definitely better quality and cheaper if you've got a good butcher. We never buy supermarket meat. We also get our free range eggs from the butchers too. They're 95p for 6 large eggs. They're almost twice that price in Tescos.

nuttywoman

Today, i bought 5lb of Rufford potatoes that were picked yesterday for 90p from my local market.We had some for tea mashed & they were really nice & fluffy.
I buy 2 dozen large free range eggs for £2 from a farmer who comes to our market once a week.
Meat, the last lot was a fresh beef pack from a local farm , all sorts of different beef cuts in it for £30, will last me and hubby ages.
I usually buy 3 free range fresh chickens for £10 from our local Booths supermarket.

foxgloves

You may find that using a butchers isn't as expensive as the supermarket as they'll weigh out exactly how much you need so you're only paying for that, they will also be able to go & cut off whatever you want instead of just what's in the prepacks. You can get all the traditional cheaper cuts that the supermarkets often don't bother with (probably not enough profit margin but butchers are cutting up the whole carcass) such as whole ham hocks which our butcher sells for about £2.50 each. They'll often give you free marrow bones if you like making stock for soups & stews. We use the local market for fruit & veg. I looked at fresh apricots in a supermarket the other week & they were reduced from £2.99 to £1.99 for about 5 fruits. I couldn't pay that, as the previous week I'd bought 2lbs of apricots from the market for £1.50. Also, avocadoes which I love.....89p each in supermarket (have been as much as £1.20 each) and our market has sometimes had them at 3 or 4 for a quid. Also pink lady apples 2 or 3 lbs for £1.20. I'm a late convert to budgetting & in the past, wouldn't have looked twice at prices, but now I've disovered the market (& am trying to be a good girl with money!), I just can't bring myself to pay those prices. And.....sometimes the supermarket fruit's so unripe it's liketrying to eat hand grenades!

determinedtodothis

Thanks every one So obviously it pays to take the time to go to your local - thanks guys :-) mum just always brought from a supermarket so i figured thats where i'd go

next question - what about these stalls you see in the markets where they put a big batch of stuff together??? - steer clear or take advantage of??

avinabacca

determinedtodothis wrote: »

what about these stalls you see in the markets where they put a big batch of stuff together??? - steer clear or take advantage of??

Well - if you think there's value to be had there (and shop around, see what you can get elsewhere first) and if it looks alright, then by all means go for it. You can pick up some real bargains from a good stall, especially if they've lots of gear to shift by the end of the day.

On the other hand, some of those "get a bowlful for two quid" stalls can ship a lot of cr4p (horrid, bruised fruit and other nonsense they don't show you as they tip it into the bag) and you'd do well to steer well clear.

You pays your money - you takes your choice; can any of your friends or family give you a recommendation or something?

Farway

determinedtodothis wrote: »

next question - what about these stalls you see in the markets where they put a big batch of stuff together??? - steer clear or take advantage of??

Have to agree with avinabacca, round here the only fruit & veg stall on the weekly market is normally same price, or even dearer, than supermarket, and the quality is not as good, bruised & damaged or just about rotten the next day

Stall holders have always over the centuries tried to slip the odd dodgy item in as they weigh it out, the squished tomato etc at the bottom of the bag

ragstoricheswannabe

i tried getting my friut and veg off our market but found the fruit was rubbish!!! went off so quickly, the fruit was ok though........i used to love going to blackbush market when i was little and lived down south as they always used to have great fruit and veg stalls.........seen nothing like that up here in the lakes....

helyg

I get a lot of my fruit and veg from a local organic growers stall at our farmers market. They sell the stuff that they have too much of for their own use, and it is fairly cheap. Obviously though I live in Wales so it's no good for oranges or bananas... :rotfl:

kunekune

I get my veg from abel & cole, and have found it's the best. It keeps really well, too(I recommend their bread, btw, and also the mackerel fillets!). It's not obviously the cheapest but my view is that if you get good quality, then you don't wast as much. I read this weekend that 60% of salad bought in supermarkets ends up unopened in the bin. You have to think really carefully about how much you REALLY use, rather than how much you think you ought to use. We are two adults and two children but the large box was too much for us. Also, use the 'hate this' button, and if you've had beetroot two weeks in a row, tell 'em you don't want it again. For fruit, we get it from the supermarket. I usually use Ocado, occasionally Sainsburys, and have few complaints. On holiday at the moment, we've been shopping at Morrisons, and I have to confess the fruit was closer to the edge, so to speak, than I would usually buy.