Money Moral Dilemma: Is it OK to snap off the broccoli stalk before weighing it?

consumers_revenge

I also take the pips out of the oranges pre sale!

You only get to go in the shop once though.

jenniewb

MSE_Nick wrote: »

This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks...

My girlfriend was shocked to see me break off the stalk before weighing it when we were shopping recently. I'm not going to eat that part and it saves on the price - is that not okay?

If you haven’t already, join the forum to reply!

[purplesignup][/purplesignup]

Pretty pointless; the stalk is where most of the nutrients are. Why take the roughage above the vitamins and minerals?

melanzana

No. That is taking money saving to Scrooge levels and is not necessary at all.

Just buy frozen. Saves on water bills when washing the fresh Broccolli.

God Almighty.

mistygirl1

I took my elderly Mother shopping to Tesco and to my surprise she asked a member of staff to cut off the stalk from the Broccoli, and they were very pleased to do so. Apparently she does it every week. I personally think it's the best part. Perhaps Broccoli Stalks should be sold separately. It seems a lot of people would buy them. :rotfl:

penarthian

If the option of buying loose grapes is not available, I always tip out content of bagged grapes, discard loose ones and make the bunch smaller to my requirements.

Rossc

I think it's absolutely fine. Some people want the stalk, some people don't.

Think about it this way: you are paying for an item by weight. Why pay for something you don't want?

It's similar to taking 4 bananas from a bunch of six, because you only want 4.

Another comparison is at some fish counters. The fishmonger will ask you if you want the fish gutted. The fish is weighed after. If you say no, you will be paying for the weight of the guts.

jagu

My fishmonger weighs the fish first, then guts or skins it if you want. It's not as if he's going to be able to sell the guts and skin to anyone else. My butcher, similarly, if you want the meat removed from the bone.

I agree that the broccoli is priced with the stalks on. That is probably not reasonable if it isn't what most people want. However, if everyone broke them off, the price would just go up.

runrosyfox

No. You're buying broccoli, per kg. Not broccoli florets. Besides, you can use the stalks in a soup or roast them.

Boatlinda

Definitely okay to snap off the Brocolli stalk. It usually weighs twice the weight of the Brocolli. You don't pay for the stalk on other vegetables, why should you pay for the Brocolli. If I can't break it I pick the smallest stalk but if it's possible to break it go for it.

Sanj1699

Here in Germany and Switzerland, the supermarkets lay out bins in the fruit and veg aisles so any unwanted leaves, stalks, shoots, etc, can be thrown away prior to the item being weighed.