Prepared veg VS do it yourself

Kernow666

I am bored here at work so was looking on the ASDA website at prepared veg ( for lazy folk ) and do it yourself


some crazy prices


Potatoes peeled -( maris piper ) prepared £3/kg - DIY - 75p/kg
carrots chopped - £2.50/kg - 29p/kg
swede diced - £1.00/kg - 97p/kg
onions sliced - £2.22/kg - 70p/kg
peas shelled - £6.67/kg - 76p/kg ( although frozen )
leeks trimmed - £4/kg - 58p/kg
cabbage shredded - £4/kg - 29p/kg
sweet potato diced - £7.50/kg - 85p/kg
mushrooms sliced - £4/kg - 85p/kg
sprouts trimmed - £4/kg - £1/kg
green beans trimmed - £6.25 - 93p/kg ( frozen )
broccoli - £4/kg - £1.13/kg
cauliflower - £4/kg - £1.00 each
parsnips trimmed - £4.00 - 58p/kg


crazy how much its extra and people will continue to buy it


don't get me started on prepared mash potato

missbiggles1

Some people have more money than sense.

PasturesNew

There's a third choice ... frozen.

Taking one item, the cabbage, I'd not fancy shredding a whole cabbage by hand, with my small paring knife (not safe with big knives/no posh machine) .... but they do sell frozen shredded cabbage at £1.27/Kg, so that's the route I'd go down. It's mixed cabbage too - so more than one sort!

Kernow666

I actually go the frozen route every month I go Iceland and spend about £10 on the veg , only thing I don't buy is spuds & onions

robin58

Funny your question will soon have an answer from the kind people of Which?

Just received an email from Which? saying they are doing an article about this very subject in their April magazine.

My feeling is, for basic vegetables and fruit it is not worth buying the prepared.

If you ain't got time to do veg cutting, you ain't got time to live.

Anyway chopping the hell out of vegetables can sometimes be very therapeutic.

It is only worth it when buying the right amount for a special mix of food that will cost you a lot more for the individual items than a mixed prepared, eg. salad leaves.

wdah

A lot of preprepared fresh veg is a bit grim too - carrots especially. I'm a big fan of frozen though, it's so convenient.

sharond101

Frozen never has the right texture in my opinion. I bought a packet of peeled potatoes that were oopsied in Tesco for 5p. It was so good just bunging them in the pan to boil however definitely a luxury at full price.

Callie22

It's not just prepared veg that's expensive. I was in Waitrose last night (ok, not the cheapest place but I've seen this elsewhere too) and broccoli was something like £1 a kilo. The same broccoli crowns, shrinkwrapped in plastic, were four times more expensive. Same for things like onions - so much cheaper loose than packed three to a bag. I know this is something that we're all supposed to know and look out for but so many people don't, and it can make a huge difference to how much you spend.

freyasmum

Prepared swede looks like a winner though, only 3p/kg more expensive and a LOT less annoying.

jenniewb

Kernow666 wrote: »

I am bored here at work so was looking on the ASDA website at prepared veg ( for lazy folk ) and do it yourself


some crazy prices


Potatoes peeled -( maris piper ) prepared £3/kg - DIY - 75p/kg
carrots chopped - £2.50/kg - 29p/kg
swede diced - £1.00/kg - 97p/kg
onions sliced - £2.22/kg - 70p/kg
peas shelled - £6.67/kg - 76p/kg ( although frozen )
leeks trimmed - £4/kg - 58p/kg
cabbage shredded - £4/kg - 29p/kg
sweet potato diced - £7.50/kg - 85p/kg
mushrooms sliced - £4/kg - 85p/kg
sprouts trimmed - £4/kg - £1/kg
green beans trimmed - £6.25 - 93p/kg ( frozen )
broccoli - £4/kg - £1.13/kg
cauliflower - £4/kg - £1.00 each
parsnips trimmed - £4.00 - 58p/kg


crazy how much its extra and people will continue to buy it


don't get me started on prepared mash potato

Are you sure that's right for mushrooms? In Tesco (and Sainsburys) the mushrooms are £1 for 250g sliced or £1 not sliced. There are value mushrooms at Tesco (79p a 350g box) but in my experience, by the time you've cut the mud from the stalks the pack is well below 300g and they have still to be cut into pieces to cook. The fresh (select yourself) version are great...if they're ever in stock and haven't been manhandled to the point of gross and are normally closer to £3 a kilo! But to say I'm a bit unsure of your calculations there

jenniewb

freyasmum wrote: »

Prepared swede looks like a winner though, only 3p/kg more expensive and a LOT less annoying.

...and by the time you've peeled and lost half of it....the only reason to buy fresh swede is because it will keep a lot longer if you only cut off what you want to cook per day and then can spread a swede across a week rather than needing to get through a whole packet in one sitting.