Supermarket Secrets revealed?

BWZN93

Why thank you all for your kind promises of votes!!

Now how does one become Prime Minister????

JO xx

Kippsy

I am really looking forward to the programmes although I don't really want to think about poor chickens, I am going to start buying the stuff from my local farmers market I think.

But as all I can eat is chicken I really can't be put off it right now!

Also, the fruit I get in my organic box every week is so sweet and juicy I am always amazed and I call it real fruit! Not at all bland like the stuff at tesco. I also agree about the whole cosmetic appearence of supermarket food. Whenever I am on holiday and you to the supermarket the fruit especially places like France it is shaped how you expect it to be, all wierd and with marks on but it is always better tasting!

Beauty on the inside is important, what is on the outside is not so!!!

billieboy_2

Kippsy wrote:

I also agree about the whole cosmetic appearence of supermarket food. Whenever I am on holiday and you to the supermarket the fruit especially places like France it is shaped how you expect it to be, all wierd and with marks on but it is always better tasting!

Beauty on the inside is important, what is on the outside is not so!!!

I totally agree with this. When we were on holiday in Italy in June we shopped at the local co-ops and all the fruit and veg looked like it should look - not uniform shapes and sizes, a few blemishes, etc. When did supermarkets start this ridiculous thing of everything being the same size "due to customer demand"? I've never demanded it.

Pal

Ah, but the problem is that "consumer demand" is not necessarily a concious choice by consumers.

How many times have you gone through a supermarket vegetable box choosing the nicest looking veg? Almost everyone does it. How often have you chosen the nicer looking veg in the full box instead of taking the horrible looking ones at the bottom of an almost-empty box? You ought to try selecting the odd looking and slightly old looking veg as an experiment. I tried it the other day and it is really weird, picking out crap looking stuff while nicer looking veg is all around. In practice of course it is pointless as it all tastes the same anyway (ie you are not rewarded for buying the weird items) but it is an interesting thing to attempt.

The policy of supermarkets providing single size and shape veg and fruit has evolved from this. The supermarkets realised that consumers were shopping more in shops that had nicer looking veg. They also kept getting left with horrible looking ones in the bottom of boxes that no-one would buy. As a result, they started demanding nice looking veg and their purchasing power means they can reject produce that does not conform. Unfortunately, all that means is that farmers started growing for size, colour and uniform skins rather than flavour.

50 years later and here we are.

Turning_into_scrooge

I shall look forward to watching this also. I read on a web site a while ago that an orange back in 1945 contained 80% more vitamin c content than an orange does today. How they worked it out i dont know but we do seem to have more health problems today and deficiencies. Worrying really

churchmouse_3

Looking forward to viewing as well, i am fed up with supermarkets forcing you into buying ready meals, or prepackaged selections, jars of ready to pour sauces ,cook in sauces ....all filled with goodness knows what when all i want are the raw ingredients to create my own meals.
Sadly the Farmers markets are too few and far between, but support your local butcher as they can usually tell you from which herd / farm the meat came from and even which breed of cattle, so you know exactly the quality of the produce, dont be afraid to ask any shopkeeper for advice, and that also means that you should not be afraid to complain at your supermarket, after all the customer is always right.

Rage_in_Eden

jw1096 wrote:

Why thank you all for your kind promises of votes!!

Now how does one become Prime Minister????

JO xx

hang on a bit - there might be a vacancy if Gordon has anything to do with it :rolleyes:

competitionscafe

churchmouse wrote:

Sadly the Farmers markets are too few and far between, but support your local butcher as they can usually tell you from which herd / farm the meat came from and even which breed of cattle, so you know exactly the quality of the produce, dont be afraid to ask any shopkeeper for advice, and that also means that you should not be afraid to complain at your supermarket, after all the customer is always right.

Very true - I used to buy meat at the supermarket, but when I tried my local butcher I was amazed at the difference in quality - and he was cheaper too!
Apparently beef carcasses need to be hung for up to 3 weeks to mature and tenderize but supermarkets don't generally do this for cost reasons. They only do this with their premium lines, eg Sainsburys Jamie Oliver Taste the difference beef, then they charge you extra for the privilege! But this is what any decent butcher should do with all their beef, so basically they are admitting that their standard beef is below par.

Agree with the comment about fruit too - the nectarines I got in my weekly organic box this week tasted gorgeous even if one or two of them had blemishes - the last time I had some nectarines from Tesco they hardly tasted of anything.

P.S. I also posted about this (Dispatches) on the River Cottage site, where it generated quite a lively debate.
http://forum.rivercottage.net/viewforum.php?f=30

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nearlyrich

In the last two weeks I have returned fruit to Tesco, Oranges one week and Peaches the other both were completely mouldy before the sell buy date. I buy all my meat and fish on the local market, same stalls every week I also buy cheese, eggs and veg but not usually fruit. I tried some oranges last week, they were much nicer than Tesco's finest and whilst they sounded expensive at 30p each, Tesco were charging more for their net of 5 fruits £1.61. The veg I buy isn't always uniform in shapebut it tastes much nicer than supermarket stuff.

N9eav

You don't have to buy the stuff in supermarkets?