Tumbled chicken in supermarkets

HPoirot

pakokelso93 wrote: »

feel sick at what? eating water?!

It's cheap, it has water in it. Boom value range. Some can only afford that. I would eat corn feed if I could afford it, so some people/posters don't patronise with the "oh just go to the butcher."

I guess you are missing the point, cheap meat does not have to be adulterated meat, in fact it should be just that, meat.

stephen77

HPoirot wrote: »

I guess you are missing the point, cheap meat does not have to be adulterated meat, in fact it should be just that, meat.

why does meat have to be free from anything?


If meat was eaten pure, we would not enjoy bacon or ham for a start.


I can go on to honey glazed gammon, chicken marinated in BBQ sauce, hot & spicy spare ribs.


Plus on what I was saying earlier, adding water allows people will less cooking skills to keep the meat moist as well as it does not dry out as much.


If they take the water out, the price will go up.

geordie_joe

HPoirot wrote: »

I guess you are missing the point, cheap meat does not have to be adulterated meat,

No but the thought adding water to meat shouldn't make someone feel sick, not even a parsons wife. Which was the point pakokelso93 was replying to.

Ash_McCloud

stephen77 wrote: »

If they take the water out, the price will go up.

If they're adding 20% water and you knock that off the price, the price per kg is the same as in the butcher's anyway.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

Its not only water that is added to the chicken though, there is a solution, with added stuff, including additives they get from pork, its injected into the chicken breasts, to help them retain the water that is pumped into them...( this is what was said a few years ago... )

satchef1

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote: »

Its not only water that is added to the chicken though, there is a solution, with added stuff, including additives they get from pork, its injected into the chicken breasts, to help them retain the water that is pumped into them...( this is what was said a few years ago... )

True enough. It's not just about bulking up the meat though. Much cheap chicken is actually pretty poor quality meat. This process helps to stretch out and tenderise the fibres, supplying the customer with a product that is much more pleasant to eat at a low price point.

I'm not sure I agree with the process, but then I don't eat the stuff. My budget can (and does) stretch further up the range. If cheap frozen chicken was all I could afford then I'm note sure I would appreciate the organic food brigade getting up on their high horses if there was a chance it could result in increased prices or poorer eating quality.

As an aside, Asda, Aldi, and Iceland are selling this chicken as part of their own label ranges. In Sainsbury's it is a brand name that is using the process - their own label chicken isn't tumbled.

~Chameleon~

pakokelso93 wrote: »

feel sick at what? eating water?!

It's cheap, it has water in it. Boom value range. Some can only afford that. I would eat corn feed if I could afford it, so some people/posters don't patronise with the "oh just go to the butcher."

But the point is you're actually paying for WATER. If you don't have much money then why on earth are you willing to pay for water?!

If you've ever bought a proper chicken breast from a butcher/farmer's market then you'd know that just a single breast will feed two people because it's pure meat, no added water. Whereas I've often read on here that those using supermarket value or frozen chicken often need to use 1-2 breasts per person to compensate for the water loss during cooking.

So who is getting the most value for money? Certainly not those buying the value/frozen chicken

~Chameleon~

stephen77 wrote: »

If they take the water out, the price will go up.

Not necessarily. I buy unadulterated chicken breasts and pay £25 per 5kg which gives me on average 20 breasts @ 250g each. And this is high quality halal chicken sourced by most of the top restaurants.

This is around half the price that Tesco charge for their packs of chicken breasts which are pumped full of water and other nasties and weigh on average 125g-150g each...even less after cooking!

BAGGY

I buy frozen chicken from Aldi/Lidl and Farm Foods. I am fully aware in the basic range especially, there is water added at 'whatever' %. It is 'whatever' % cheaper though and as we have no butchers near us it IS economical to have a bag in the freezer. I use 3 breasts for 2 adults and two children. We should be eating less meat, whatever quality, and up our veg quota. I think using too much meat is costly and unecessary.

bsms1147

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

I buy unadulterated chicken breasts and pay £25 per 5kg which gives me on average 20 breasts @ 250g each ...

Yes but chances are the price-per-kilo is lower as you are buying £25 worth. You're essentially buying in bulk which is often cheaper anyway.

How much would it be if you just wanted to buy 2 chicken breasts? And what if that was all you could afford?