Great 'disguised Own Brand' Hunt.

spidersandsprinkles

St Moriz tanning mousse (Body care around £2.50) has almost the exact same ingredients as St Tropez tanning mousse which retails anywhere from around £15-£20. I can't find any evidence they are made by the same manufacturer but I would encourage anyone to try the cheaper alternative first as I have only heard good things about the results from friends.

charlieheard

jenniewb wrote: »

As much as I (partially) agree with you (wouldn't want to eat fish after its sell by date as even if its not poisonus I know I am ill afterwards if I do this). Alcohol is slightly different- its not really comparable to a box of something more fresh- alcohol gets better with age in many cases but most food does not...

Afraid champagne doesn't really improve with age once it's been sent for sale except in exceptional circumstances. In this case, it's been kept at a constant low temperature and high pressure for years, so who knows? I think it's more for the possession than the drinking...

But I do think many dates are ridiculous. Cheese which may have been ageing for several months or years suddenly has to be eaten in a few days or weeks - why?

The_Miser

charlieheard wrote: »

Afraid champagne doesn't really improve with age once it's been sent for sale except in exceptional circumstances. In this case, it's been kept at a constant low temperature and high pressure for years, so who knows? I think it's more for the possession than the drinking...

But I do think many dates are ridiculous. Cheese which may have been ageing for several months or years suddenly has to be eaten in a few days or weeks - why?

Quality wines are prepared for putting down until they are at their best - some wines are not going to keep like the best reds so it is a case of which wines you choose. Even for the best wines there is an age after which they usually deteriorate to vinegar.
Many spirits ( strong alcohol like whisky, whiskey, vodka etc. ) start off pretty nasty tasting but after many years in the original casks become smooth - hence 18 year old malts are better than their 10 year old forebears. (I make and then keep sloe gin for at least 7 years).
Where there has been alcohol in the container and it has not been opened it is highly unlikely that there will be any bad 'bugs'.
As for cheese, it is made under rigidly controlled temperature, humidity and bulk conditions. Some are 5 or more years old but from the moment they are removed from those conditions (such as cutting bits off) they start to deteriorate. Putting them in a plastic sheeting in the back of a car in a heatwave is just asking for trouble.
Yes - you can get moulds and that was the original source of penicillin (but don't you try putting the mould on an open cut.......). Another source of bacteriocide which was used in the Middle Ages and in my youth is ordinary honey.

I agree that many use-by dates are nonsense but if anyone gets ill before the use-by date and that is found to have been wrongly judged then there will be major court cases. A restauranteur bought oysters which turned out to be contaminated from a reputable source and it cost him nearly a million pounds even though he was adjudged innocent.

Yogibear

Paint...... the brand you see on the TV the one with the big dogs,is not the same quality as the paint the decorators buy from Paint Suppliers same name,different thickness,the ones in DIY stores are inferior Johnstons Paint,Gliddens,Macphersons paint are all good quality and are a fraction of the price as the "market leaders" I know as I was a decorator for 50 years

*pinkchick*

spidersandsprinkles wrote: »

St Moriz tanning mousse (Body care around £2.50) has almost the exact same ingredients as St Tropez tanning mousse which retails anywhere from around £15-£20. I can't find any evidence they are made by the same manufacturer but I would encourage anyone to try the cheaper alternative first as I have only heard good things about the results from friends.

The only problem I've found with St Moritz is, if you don't use it often and go back to it after say a month of it being opened, it turns green! And it applies with a green tinge! Very strange. I'd rather use St Tropez as the application lasts a lot longer too

Honkycat

Ego_Shredder wrote: »

Tonight we had some Taste The Difference Free Range Chicken Breasts, and we normally buy the cheaper stuff but the TTD ones were in a different league altogether; they actually were plump with no fat, and tasted fantastic and were nice and moist. The colour of the meat was far more natural and not pasty white like the cheap stuff. It did not have the usual red/black chicken burn spots either like on the cheap stuff. The cost £5.20 for a pack of two very large breasts.

Gotta love those large breasts...

Kilty_2

More of an "own brand that is the same as other own brand" thing - Aldi Specially Selected Columbian Instant Coffee. £1.69 for 100g.

It used to be in a short, fat round jar and is now in a taller one. Tesco Finest Columbian Instant Coffee is in the same short, fat round jar and costs twice as much! Maybe not exactly the same product but an odd coincidence...

Tesco also sell a "discount brand" Columbian coffee for £1.99 which is very similar in taste to the Aldi stuff, but the jar is completely different to either.

Mary_Hartnell

Yogibear wrote: »

Paint...... the brand you see on the TV the one with the big dogs,is not the same quality as the paint the decorators buy from Paint Suppliers same name,different thickness,the ones in DIY stores are inferior Johnstons Paint,Gliddens,Macphersons paint are all good quality and are a fraction of the price as the "market leaders" I know as I was a decorator for 50 years

But surely all the regulations have totally changed in the last 50 years ?

Modern paint seem to be forced to be based on water because of the volatile hydrocarbon regulations?

That said the white paint with the funny smell - now called "Crown" but used to be sold as "AKZO" must be the same stuff. It seems to be long lasting though it is never like polished "high gloss", Just don't paint it on when rain is in the offing as it might wash off again:D

The_Miser

Mary_Hartnell wrote: »

But surely all the regulations have totally changed in the last 50 years ?

Modern paint seem to be forced to be based on water because of the volatile hydrocarbon regulations?

That said the white paint with the funny smell - now called "Crown" but used to be sold as "AKZO" must be the same stuff. It seems to be long lasting though it is never like polished "high gloss", Just don't paint it on when rain is in the offing as it might wash off again:D

AKZO Nobel were forced by Brussels to sell Crown so it probably is the same thing. Given that AKZO now own Dulux expect to see the same stuff from Dulux (depending on the terms of the sale and purchase). Incidentally it was Brussels who forced paint manufacturers to use water as a baqse.

adark876

M&S Turkey's come from Tesco Farms