tesco chicken tikka makhani....too much chicken, yes, really!

apprentice_tycoon

I know that it's not HM but it is Old Style in a 'if you have to have them at least get them for less money' way, these ready curries are (or were last week at least) BOGOF and the unusual thing about them is that they have LOTS of chicken in them, enough for 2 people I'd say and they taste great. We have between us, had 4 or 5 of these and it wasn't a fluke that there was so much meat in them, they all have the same

AussieLass

Our supermarkets are so boring compared to yours. The first time we went into Tesco's to get a few supplies. We made our own lunches etc and bought a thermos for our coffee I was gobsmacked. So much variety. I was practically running down the aisles at all the variety and so many things I had never seen or heard of. I can't wait. :j

Pal

Strange to see a comment like that these days. It is the sort of thing that used to be said in the 1960s before the supermarkets grew too large and greedy.

There is a growing movement in both the UK and the US of people who avoid supermarkets because although they offer a lot of different foods, most of them are awful compared to natural, locally grown foods.

Supermarket veg is invariably blanketed in pesticides and grown specifically for storage and transport rather than flavour. Supermarket meat is almost all from caged pigs, chickens, ducks, turkeys etc, that are routinely fed huge doses of unnecessary antibiotics and so on before being injected with water to increase the meat weight and so increase the price.

Even the organic products in supermarkets are usually flown in from New Zealand, Thailand, Africa etc, so it isn't exactly eco-friendly either.

When you arrive in the UK, visit a good farmer's market or farm shop and buy what is in season and has been produced locally. Not only does it taste a lot better, but buying seasonally is a cheaper way to shop anyway.

Tesco's e-number curry anyone?

Trow

Pal - some of us don't have the luxury of buying from farm shops or markets I'm afraid. You do make a rather blanket statement about supermarket food however, but if you look you can find local, organic and free range products. I am not condoning supermarkets but if you live in an area like mine then sometimes even the local shops buy from the supermarket to sell in the shop because of the deals they can offer. Locally produced products are limited to potatoes and strawberries (in June and August, total of about 4 weeks of the year). The climate is such that there is only a very limited amount growing season and currently we are being battered by high winds which means that some produce that we have planted will be ruined.

And there is nothing wrong IMO in having a convenience meal every so often when time and circumstances don't allow for home made.

AussieLass

If there is a farmers market or likewise around my area I will certainly buy my produce from there and gladly. I buy most of my food stuff locally here as well but I still have to buy staple food from our supermarket. What I was saying, was that I couldn't get over the variety of food that is in your supermarkets compared to ours. And yes, I will try different foods that look good. That's not a crime is it? Thanks again AT for your comment about the chicken dish. If I so desire to buy a ready made meal I will know what's good value.

Pal

Trow

Unless you live somewhere very strange it is relatively easy to get to farmers markets or farm shops. There is even a farmer's market in the middle of London near london bridge every friday. Most large town centres have them on a regular basis. Take a look at the big barn website.

As for eating local food, I don't necessarily mean from just down the road, but sticking to UK produced food means that it is usually fresher and more eco-friendly, and helps the UK economy. I have no problem with buying cornish cheese, norfolk bacon or scottish beef (although there are major labelling problems with the latter). I also have no problem buying bananas, mangos, oranges, chocolate, decent wine etc that cannot be grown in this country.

What I try and avoid doing is buying New Zealand apples when UK apples are in season, or tescos organic chicken that has been flown from argentina when there is a farm producing organic chicken a few miles away that sell at the local market.

Convinience meals are fine as long as you know what is going into them and are happy to eat them. Just remember that anything on the ingredients list with more than three syllables is probably an e-number. They just put the whole name to avoid putting the e-number as they know it puts people off buying the product.

Also remember that although they call them "finest" or some other marketing terms, the meat ingredients will be the cheapest they can possibly find, probably flown from Brazil or somesuch to avoid UK animal welfare laws and pumped full of chemicals to help it retain water to increase the amount you pay for the meat.

As I say, if you are happy to eat that then fine, and I am not so much of a saint that I don't eat the odd takeaway or quick meal. Just recognise it for what it is: Bad adulterated food that is filled with chemicals to make it taste palatable.

Sometimes a packet of crisps, a frozen pizza or a readymeal is what we want to eat, but lets not pretend that it is quality food, particularly on an OldStyle board.

Pal

AussieLass wrote:

And yes, I will try different foods that look good. That's not a crime is it?

Absolutely not, but I have found that trying to buy what is in season in the UK rather than what the supermarket happens to be stocking leads you to buy things that you might not otherwise try.

For example, I had never tried turnips (yuk!) or cellariac (yum!) until last winter. I also have started trying to buy different varieties of tomatoes when they are in season instead of just the tasteless cherry/normal/beef red varieties that supermarkets stock.

If you want a test - compare the taste of imported week old asparagus from a supermarket with fresh asparagus picked that day from a local farm shop. The fresh can be eaten raw. The supermarket version tastes rubbish no matter how well you cook it. (Note: you will have to wait until next June to do this!)

Personally I think it would be shame if you were put off a particular food because of your supermarket experience, when the actual food itself can be so much better if bought differently. I honestly believe that the reason some people are vegetarians because they "don't like meat very much", is because they are buying crap supermarket meat (or meat from crap butchers for that matter).

It also helps my cooking a great deal. Last weekend I came home with a pile of courgettes that looked great. They had been grown in someone's garden and bartered with the farm shop that I visit. I spent the weekend making different meals with them.

apprentice_tycoon

Pal wrote:

Sometimes a packet of crisps, a frozen pizza or a readymeal is what we want to eat, but lets not pretend that it is quality food, particularly on an OldStyle board.

I'm begining to regret ever posting this and I will think twice next time - I mentioned the curry on Old Style because not only was it a BOGOF but in my opinion a single meal will feed 2 people and because, as you pointed out, ready meals, although not ideal for a number of reasons, are a handy fall-back in most households and if one is going to buy a ready meal it may as well be the one giving most value, I considered this to be Old Style.
I assumed that some people would find a recommendation useful.

Pal

I am not having a go at your post in any way. If anything I was responding to AussieLass's eagerness to sample British supermarkets at just the time when many British people are turning their backs on them. If you want to buy ready meals then by all means go for it (not that you need permission from me ). It is no different from my drinking coffee or coke, or eating frozen apple strudel. Just bear in mind what goes into them and make an informed choice.


If you haven't read "Not on the label" by Felicity Lawrence then it is well worth a look. The book isn't perfect, but there is enough in there to change most people's shopping habits. In one chapter she lists the ingredients in a lamb readymeal: it takes over a whole page of the book and is mainly different types of chemical sugars and sweetners.

As this is a money saving site then the stating the best way to buy or use something is entirely reasonable as well, although no doubt we could debate whether tips on purchasing readymeals is really "oldstyle" or not! Then again, I doubt my breadmaker really counts as "oldstyle" either!

squeaky

In all the thousand plus threads I've indexed, and the thousand plus others that I've read here - I haven't seen a single RULE for Old Style written anywhere.

The main ethos of Old Style is the same as that anywhere on MSE - use your money wisely.

And if there's a codicil it is - as best you can to fit your needs.

There are no right ways and no wrong ways to be Old Style. Nobody gets drummed out of the Forum and have their Money Saver's Badge formally stripped from them before they are placed in front of a firing squad just because they do something that isn't quite as Old Style as some other member might do it.

While there has, of late, been a definite move towards home cooking and avoiding e-numbers - it's not a rule that people do so. Each person is entirely free to choose just how Old Style they want to be and everyone is encouraged to find a level that they are comfortable with.

So if you want to have a ready meal or a shop bought power cleaner - fine!

No problem.

But do try, when you're buying them, to be MSE and get the best deal you can.

AussieLass

Pal wrote:

I am not having a go at your post in any way. If anything I was responding to AussieLass's eagerness to sample British supermarkets at just the time when many British people are turning their backs on them. If you want to buy ready meals then by all means go for it (not that you need permission from me ).

You have again taken it the wrong way. I am not eager to sample British supermarkets. Read my quote - I was eager at the "variety" of foodstuffs that you have. I am a keen advocate of buying Aust owned & made and I think I have said on a past posting how when we come over I will support UK brands. I refuse to buy Made in China etc. I personally have never bought any packaged main meals. But again, if I felt like buying one it's nice to know what a good value one is.