My war on waste!!!

katkin

Not at all Meritaten, this is great information.

I do buy other fish, this week we have pollock and salmon. Farmed salmon isn't too hard to source in Scotland and fairly cheap. Our local *ldi stocks a decent range of local produce and fish. The fishmonger is nearly twice the price for this and it already had been frozen so couldn't be refrozen grrrr...

We are very fond of basa / cat fish, though I believe this import is not sustainable in the countries it comes from / is farmed. It's very cheap here and we love it's meatiness and flavour. It's also versatile.

Other good fish that's seasonal and local here is mackerel and herring. If you don't mind small bones it's lovely and very economical. Great for good fish oils also. Again the supermarkets here do this cheaper than the fishmonger.

If I'm working on the islands which I often do I can also pick up shellfish cheaply that I can freeze - also salmon, langoustines, scallops and lobster believe it or not. You have to get in quick though and know the boat people :cool:

Sardines are divine, you've put me in the mood for them now!

Thank you for a great post x

meritaten wrote: »

katkin - I hope you don't think I am being patronising.....but, do you stick to Cod, Plaice and the other well-known and loved types of fish?
if not, then please ignore the rest of this post! and perhaps some newbies could garner some tips?
there are many cheaper alternatives to these fish - many of them even more tasty!
you may not have heard of some and be afraid to try them - like Megrim (think I spelt it wrong!), John Dory, Monkfish, Pollack and your friendly fishmonger can help you find the right (cheaper) replacement for your usual Cod, Salmon or Haddock.

my OH obviously cant tell the difference between Cod and Pollack - unless I find cod at a good price that's what I buy. or Monkfish.
I have become more 'adventurous' and no longer believe sardines only come in tins with oil round them! fresh sardines are gorgeous grilled esp on the barby in summer. and not that expensive.

meritaten

Katkin - I am so envious - I love shellfish! and its so expensive here in South Wales. not so bad if we are on holiday in Pembroke and happen to catch a fishing boat coming in..........
our last fishmonger in the town closed a few years back - the supermarket fish counter may appear cheaper, but fishmonger was most knowledgable and happy to discuss recipes and the 'right' fish for them.
if you still have one in town - nurture him and if he is anything like ours was - he will obtain what he knows you like at the best price.
luckily I love most fish except those ghastly little packets of 'smoked' neon yellow fish! I do like basa and so does OH - and its soooo cheap in aldis - I mean - 3 or 4 nice fillets for £2.49!!!!! that's four portions! and the fish is so versatile. have had it baked, battered and deep fried, dusted with flour and shallow fried in butter or it can go in a pie with a tin of salmon (I cant justify the cost of fresh salmon for pie).
but my idea of heaven is a big plate of shellfish with a bowl of melted butter to dip into. my mouth is watering at the thought!

katkin

i'll not mention the cheap muscles then! Or pick your own... We are geographically lucky to be able to source shellfish and certain fish here if you know where to go and ask.

It's a pity about our small town's fishmonger, he appears to be struggling and never seems to have much in stock and it isn't a reasonable price. Whereas the butchers next door is queued out. Funnily I do believe the Scots don't tend to eat a lot of our home grown fish etc and it's exported. Though I'm glad shops like *ldi and *idl stock local produce. The same goes with cheese and beer / whisky, dairy and bakery items. Local eggs package free seem harder to find and that shouldn't be an issue, I've just not found a handy source.

I'm not sure I could change the fishmonger, he wasn't that friendly with me when I asked questions! That's a pity.

The supply chains in Scotland are odd, you can buy all sorts from around the world but look for local produce and some of its impossible to find as it's been exported then imported again at a high mark up. The trick is finding it near enough at source locally. There's maybe not enough demand yet to make it worth selling direct to the customer, but hopefully that will change over time. It's very seasonal though.

Btw I like to use the waste from muscles and scallops ie the shells on gravel paths in the garden, they look pretty and save me buying top up gravel. No waste there.

I agree basa is an amazingly good value fish, one of my favourites.

meritaten

It seems each region has its bargains and its 'expensive' produce considering its farmed/caught here!
for example - here in Wales you would think Lamb would be cheap? is it eckaslike! its dearer than fillet steak!
Yet if you KNOW a farmer who uses a proper butcher - you can buy a quarter or half lamb for the freezer quite cheaply!
in certain areas - a 'knowledge' of the local 'ahem characters' can obtain you wild rabbit or game.
Mussels are not my favourite, but OH loves them and they are so easy to cook, I often do buy some for him - but the staff in the supermarket do look at you a bit odd if you pick them off the counter to sniff and tap the shell! I wont buy them if I suspect they are not as fresh as they could be.
the shells from any shellfish, I put in a plastic bag and crush a bit - they are then used as 'slug defences' round favoured plants!

katkin

Welsh lamb is lovely, we holidayed in Snowdonia last year and I really enjoyed eating out, always lamb. Oh and faggots, they were amazing in Wales.

Lamb is also expensive here and rabbits, game meat I've not been able to source since my old dad passed away. Him and his friends enjoyed hunting when they were fitter and my mum always had it on the menu.

Local beef is good value though, so that and salmon / fish and chicken makes up most of our meat diet. I'm fussy with pork and would like to eat more of it but the supermarket buys are a bit hit and miss. The butcher's pork was quite pricey though his sausages are gorgeous.

I think the point of this is that buying local doesn't have much waste, it's worth spending time sourcing but I know how hard that is when you are working have kids etc. nothing comes in lots of packaging when it's local!

But it's pricier I think.

meritaten

The big 4 supermarkets are I think very pricey with most meats now they have decimated the competition (local butchers).
I do like the Aldee Shoulder of pork though. very good value and I don't mind the long slow cooking. its quite versatile in that it makes a good slicing joint but I have taken off the skin and done it as 'pulled pork' and that's delish too (the skin didn't get chucked - it got oiled and salted and went in the oven with some roast potatoes and other veg.)
We do have some farm shops round by us - but they are a bit disappointing in that not ALL the produce is local - unless the farm has a branch in Egypt! cos that's where the potatoes were from last time I went in there!
I don't mind if the produce is from anywhere in the UK - at least it hasn't accumulated 'air miles'!

silvasava

Meritaten - found your fish post very interesting. I'm not a great fish lover and tend to eat more of it when abroad. I don't like salmon but I do like mussels, sardines, the occasional kipper. I am quite conscious of the problem of overfishing so will have a look for Basa & give it a try. Some years ago I used to be able to get Hoki but hav'n't seen any for ages but I think it's probably imported.
I do have a local farm butchery - its not cheap so I'm very selective on what I buy but the quality is so good that it's worth paying a bit more. Lovely proper slices of lambs liver not scutty little pieces like the SM. They also do local grown veg. Freezer running down at the most so I do need to pay them a visit

FunBrum

I've really enjoyed the last few posts about fish.....very informative. Cheers!:)

Over the last few years I've become concerned with the amount of waste there is. Every day I walk, and have noticed increasing amounts of rubbish just laying on the streets and country lanes, not to mention the plastic bags caught up in trees. I don't see this in countries I've visited, and I'm embarrassed to think what people visiting our country think of us! It amazes me at the amount of wrapping and packaging it takes to cover even the simplest item, such as an apple!:o

It's true that I rarely buy anything, and have food either donated to me from friends and family that are about to throw it out, mainly because they have bought too much. Consequently, there is no wrapping to dispose of as food is distributed in reusable containers.
I always find a way of using every scrap of food and often, when I have a glut of food, as I did last week, with tomatoes. I made and shared a large batch of soup and pasta sauce. So no waste!
I'm conscious of my utilities usage, and monitor it carefully, not only to keep costs down but to also refrain from depleting the earths resources any further.

I just thought I'd share my thoughts with you, with the hope that we can all become more conscious about the vast amount of waste that there is in our every day life., and try to do something about it.:A

VJsmum

I don't eat Basa as the jury seems to be out on it both environmentally, ethically and in terms of the pollution in the Mekong river where they are grown.

Also don't assume locally caught stuff has fewer air miles - wasn't there a story that one big company was farming stuff (prawns I think) here, flying them to Vietnam for processing and then flying them back and marketing them as local? Not sure if that still happens.

It's a minefield isn't it?