Why don't supermarkets make meat packaging to keep portions separate.

jvjack

Good idea. I do the cling foil to the meats once opened and put back in fridge.
But i waste the meat because i can't eat 8 chicken thighs in 24 hours.
Just seems would be better to seal them separately in the packaging and wouldn't cost much more. 

sarah1972

Companies are reducing packaging, not adding to it. Whereas you have many options …..

Buy frozen chicken thighs and take one out when you need it.

Buy a smaller pack than one that contains 8 
Buy one from a butcher 
Cook all 8 and freeze the meals 

Vac pac once opened and either freeze or keep in the fridge for a couple of days 

dreaming

There are 2 things that jump out to me from your original post. First, even once opened meat will last longer than the pack usually indicates. Obviously not weeks (unless frozen which you don't want to do) but certainly a few more days. Just do the "sniff" test to see if it smells ok. Especially meats such as bacon, which resides in my fridge for a couple of weeks wrapped tightly in clingfilm. Second, if you are throwing away meat so often, then it is a false economy to buy larger but cheaper packs from the supermarkets rather than the probably better quality single portions from a butcher. This is part of the supermarkets' clever marketing ploys - making larger packs (or bogofs) so much cheaper knowing that people will always buy a "bargain" but how much of a bargain is it when you are throwing half of it in the bin? Try working out how much each chicken thigh that you use actually costs. For example, a "pack of 8 chicken thighs costs approx. £6.14 (Asda) so you could say approx. 76pence each. If you only use 4 and bin the rest, then each thigh used actually costs £1.52 each, so you could compare this with butchers' prices. Personally I use my small freezer and portion out food purchases or batch cook and freeze portions and throw very little away.

jvjack

Thanks. Have never frozen meats , only fish. So will have read about freezing them and switch back on my freezer and give it ago.

gwynlas

You do not need to freeze everything just meal plan to use things within date,

You could cook all your six reaher pack bacon for example and store surplus in fridge reheating in microwave.

Cooked chicken will easily last 4-5 days in fridge if adequately covered

Wyndham

Gosh, I'm enlighted. I've been opening bacon, then putting into a bag and putting it back into the fridge. Often for a couple of weeks. Never thought about it to be honest (I just check the overall best before date).

Hasn't killed me yet!

I would be more careful with chicken though!

I freeze a lot. I also make a lot of 'batch' meals on a weekend and freeze those so I have something quick for in the week.

mikb

Another vote for open it as soon as you buy it, portion it up into separate bags, and freeze. I do this with "family megapacks" of pork chops, chicken breasts (immediately put them into clean bags, often two per bag pushed apart so they don't bond!) and cooking bacon (open pack, split into single portions and reseal. 

The bigger packs are better value for money _if_ you don't systematically throw stuff away.

Freezer running costs for a 99 Litre budget chest freezer ranges 0.25 unit (winter) to 0.5 unit (summer). So e.g. about 7 to 10p per day.

dreaming

jvjack said:

Thanks. Have never frozen meats , only fish. So will have read about freezing them and switch back on my freezer and give it ago.

I live alone and try to do a "big" shop once a month. I have things delivered due to being less able on my feet and no longer driving and do buy packs of things such as sausages, chicken, mince etc. I simply split it into portion sizes, wrap in cling film or foil and freeze. When I cook a chiili (for example), be it mince based or vegetarian, I will cook usually 4 portions and eat it twice in one week and freeze 2 portions (takeaway containers are ideal but you can buy packs of them in the £ shops), which is useful for times when I don't feel up to cooking. Some people freeze packs of ham but I've never done that as it's not something I eat a lot of. Grating your own cheese is also a time and money saver, and freezes well for use in sauces etc. Similarly with bread - a loaf takes a while for me to get through (even the smaller ones) so I freeze those too. It's not so good for sandwiches I find, but you can take out a couple of slices and toast them from frozen. As someone else posted, a freezer doesn't cost that much to run as long as it kept fairly full, and then you can take advantage of any offers.

jon81uk

Sainsbuy's used to sell a 1kg or more bag of chicken breasts with each one invividually wrapped, but they have stopped that.

jvjack

Oh no. Somewhere along the line about 5 years ago I turned it off , thinking what , I can't remember. But just found my proline box freezer manual . Is 40 litres. So if as above it's less than a pound a week to run , I could even just put 4 in a pack frozen fish in parsley sauce. That alone would cover the running cost as I end up throwing one or two.

And of course less journeys to the shop.
By the weekend it's going to be half full.
I'll put a tappo monitor on it , but even if it's £2 or more a week , is still worth it. Crikey,  can't remember why I turned it off. 
Oh well  , will be nice to have ice cream in summer too. Thanks folks.

Edit. Crikey. I never finish a loaf of sliced bread too. Now I know what to do. And I'll get some of those bags. 

Edit. Have switched freezer box on. Is making gurgling sound. Hopefully that's just normal and is reaching the minus 18 degrees that the manual says it should get to.
Edit. Has stopped gurgling and is nice and cold.