are you losing faith in the food industry ?

COOLTRIKERCHICK

it nice to see all your opinions on this.......

and i know most of the time we got to go on trust......

Cazzdevil

I agree wholeheartedly Gingernutmeg. I remember my home-ec classes, we never made anything exciting either but I think the basics should be taught as compulsory. Everyone should know how to boil an egg/prepare vegetables/make a basic tomato sauce in my opinion. In home-ec we only ever made cakes and sweet things, I mean I LOVE baking but I wanted to be shown how to cook myself a meal, not bake a treat!

spiddy100

Agree with a lot of what Gingernutmeg has said. For me, a lot of the problem is that supermarkets have (quite deliberately IMHO) changed our expectations and the way that we shop. For my generation (I'm early 30s) we have been brought up to expect that a shop will be open long hours, that meat and fish will be cheap and canned goods practically given away, that there will be large areas of free parking so we can stock up once a week and drive loads of bags home, that all our fruit and vegetables will be the 'right' shape and colour, that we will be able to get the ingredients we want for the recipe we're making, regardless of the time of year. We have also been told that ready meals are the easiest option when we come in from a hard day at work, and that Value nuggets and tins of beans are the cheapest food available if we're short of cash.

Most people, through no real fault of their own, don't have any idea how much they have been brainwashed by the big supermarkets into shopping this way. And when you shop like this, no local shop or 'real food' producer will ever meet your standards - they will always be too expensive, too inconveient, too little choice. We forget what shopping and cooking was like even one generation ago, and sadly, most of us don't know how much better our food could taste if we took a bit more trouble to source decent stuff.

I absolutely agree re cookery lessons. I went to school in the 80s and we learnt *nothing* about cookery. I think we had about 5 hands-on lessons in the home ec kitchens, but the teacher spent most of her time trying to prevent kids from doing themselves or each other a nasty injury with the knives and hot plates. The rest of the year we spent doing 'projects' like deisgning a sandwich and drawing a picture of it (but not actually making it). I am lucky in that my Mum taught me the basics of cookery, but when I went to college I was shocked by how little most of the other students knew about how to cook a meal, especially on a budget.

Plum_Pie

My mother trained as a Home Ec teacher in the early 60s, went back to it in the early 90s and was horrified at what the job had turned into (she switched jobs again!). She always felt that it should be taught along with budgetting and other life skills. Seeing as space is now made for that and in 'citizenship' classes, I don't see why COOKING shouldn't be taught in some of these classes as well.

I also agree about the unwillingness to handle raw ingredients - meat, bread dough etc. You need practise become adept at this and as I have worked with children (in the past) I have noticed that their dexterity is terrible and a lot of non-cooks my age (20+) are squeamish to the point of blenophobia (sp?! - fear of slime, anyway). Once you can cook, fooling with pizza bases, stuffing a chicken and chopping soft fruit all become a pleasure.

Busybody

I think that supermarkets have got far too big and sell mostly ready meals and processed food. I tend to like the smaller places like Aldi (very good at the moment) and Lidl as you don't get carried away by too much choice.

They should bring back proper domestic science in school to teach youngsters the basics! too many people are encouraging the food giants to produce rubbish.

LETS BOYCOT RUBBISH FOOD.:T

COOLTRIKERCHICK

there was another thread here only a few days ago.... where an os ms'er had cut their shopping in mr t.. to practically next to nothing... only very basic store cupboard household items i think.....

i put a suggestion out that maybe we could see if we could totally boycot the supermarkets for a trial type thing.. and see if we could still stay within our budget..... by using local independant stores..farmers markets......etc.....

would it be ok with the mods.... if we have a thread.. maybe for a months trial on this to see... if it was possible.. and to find out the pit falls etc.......

i must admit this would be hard for me as i am addicted to tescos loyalty points.... and coupon exceptance...so if i done this it would really mean me going cold turkey... on the supermarkets.. ( sorry about mentioning turkey lol..)

would anyone else be interested

Cazzdevil

My mother thinks I'm quite a rarity because I'm 26 and I really enjoy baking (made them a batch of muffins and a Brack tea loaf last night), and I've been like that since I bought my own house at 19. I knew I couldn't cope with eating junk every night so I taught myself to cook the basics and progressed from there. I'm still not a great cook and I'm not very inventive, but anything I try turns out fine.

I often wonder how many of the people I went to school with are like me and cook from scratch most of the time. I'm currently avoiding shopping in supermarkets just to see how easy it is to cope without that "everything in one place" ethos that most of us have become so used to with the big chains.

Is anyone a teacher - can anyone provide an answer to why domestic science/cookery class isn't taught as compulsory in schools now? In the same breath it should be as much the responsibility of parents to teach their children these valuable life skills.

Cazzdevil

I'd be interested CTC, I'm kind of doing that right now anyway so it'd just make it an "official" challenge!

ViksB

I just to work in the food industry for 10 years as a food safety manager and I have just got so sick of it that I have left (That and having a little one!!).
The food industry is going down the pan. The retailers put huge pressure on all the mnaufacturers which mean they in turn squeeze the farmers for every last penny yet Tescos/Asda are making huge profits. There won't be a huge food industry left in the UK soon as more and more is being imported from cheaper countries.
I just can't bare the industry and now live on a smallholding eating my own pork, lamb, chicken and eggs as well as lots of veg and fruit and I feel SO much healthier for it.
I would love to boycott the supermarkets as they are responsible for it.

Sorry rant over.

Viks

iceicebaby

Great thread.

Wholeheartedly agree with the comments made that kids are not taught basic cookery in school. I too grew up in the 80's and Home economics lessons really werent that useful. I left school not knowing how to cook. Its only as I have lived on my own I have taught myself and my cooking isnt brilliant now but I get by.
I used to work at a food manufacturer for marks and Spencers, a supposedly "quality" food retailer. After knowing how their "quality" food is made and the ingredients used, I dread to think how the cheaper foods are made.