Supermarket RANT!!

[Earthbabe]

and that the stuff I wanted whilst advertised as available nationwide in their mag, wasn't actually in store. Something like that anyway - didn't really expect them to do anything much but would have at least liked an acknowledgment.

I had a similar complaint with Sainsbury's a while back and got an apology for the section manager I spoke too. Appreciated as I had looked in three stores of varying size and location for the item my sister wanted for Christmas. I think I may have a similar problem again this year but they have revamped our local sainsbury's (see chicken problem early) and generally it is better than it was.

[dexterdoglancashire]

Agree with brisket - lovely, slowly cooked with some root vegetables and a bit of water to make a lovely gravy...and of course, roast tatties! Yum! DDL

[Snadger]

I do most of the shopping and always take ages choosing the meat. OH cooks Brisket to perfection and I make sure the butchers have'nt sneaked a bit of rubbish meat or fat & gristle into the middle of joint! It's got to be my favourite meat....in fact I think I'll pen an Ode to Brisket ...then again, maybe not!

[Snadger]

Forgot to mention my second favourite cut of meat is a good leg of mince and third is belly pork( or as my daughter calls it "Pork with hairs on" Lol

[Alison]

Ooooh, belly pork. My mum used to do a belly pork casserole which was lovely, must ask her for the recipe.

[Sunbeam]

My fav is belly pork too! My nan used to roast it and we would have it with scalloped potatoes and a fried egg and peas - fat, fat and more fat - YUMMMY

[Waffler]

Forgot to mention my second favourite cut of meat is a good leg of mince and third is belly pork( or as my daughter calls it "Pork with hairs on" Lol

I like that! Pork with hairs on indeed!

Hope you don't mind me tagging on here as it isn't a proper supermarket rant. However, I hate buying eggs from the supermarket as I'm never sure where they came from and they're so expensive. I used to buy a tray of 20 XXXL (usually double-yolkers) hens eggs from our farmshop for £3.50 and they were delish! However, since moving, I haven't found anywhere that sells decent free-range eggs and have been paying £1.29 per half dozen from Sainsbury, and they're nothing special. There's no farmshop near us (our nearest was recently bought and so far hasn't re-opened - whether or not it will, I don't know, but here's hoping) and I haven't found anywhere on the side of the road, as it were. That is, until today! There was a sign saying 'free range eggs', so I pulled in. There was a huge pen in a field with chickens grazing and an honesty box. Basically they're charging 50p per half dozen, which doesn't seem at all bad to me.
What I want to know, is whether this is good or not. The chooks seemed happy enough and seemed to have plenty of space. Haven't tried the eggs yet, so couldn't comment. Are there specific requirements chook people have to follow in order to call their eggs free-range?

[Alison]

Don't think the term free range is protected, it's not like organic where the chooks and their conditions have to be agredited. Think I've read that free range can be very very good but as they're not regulated the conditions can be not quite what we would like to see as free! As you saw yours then you're probably on to a winner. I know of a place which is basically organic but can't afford the registration issues so can't call themselves organic, see what I mean?

[Snadger]

My fav is belly pork too! My nan used to roast it and we would have it with scalloped potatoes and a fried egg and peas - fat, fat and more fat - YUMMMY

Acording to the Atkin's diet books I have read there's nothing the matter with a bit of fat!
Cripes knows what my arteries are like though!

Chlorestorol city here I come!

[Alison]

You can't do Atkins, Snadger, you're not allowed fruit and veg on that!!!!!!! LJ would have to ban you for not joinng in.

[valmarg]

I think we are all 'leaning on an open door' with regard to supermarket meat. It is dreadful. The conditions under which the beasts have been reared are totally unacceptable, and worst of all produce very poor quality meat. It really is a crime that so many animals have been bred and slaughtered to produce such rubbish!!

Our road to Damascus conversion was a long time ago. A chicken seemed good value, aka cheap. When we were eating it as the Sunday roast, the comment we both made was that it was about as tasty as damp cardboard!!

We are lucky, in that within 10 miles we have two very good butchers shops. You can ask for something that is not on display, and they will be only too happy to provide it. If id's not in the plastic packs in a supermarket then we aint got it

At the end of most months we go to the Bakewell Farmers' Market (ie last Saturday of the month). We do a round trip of the market, Chatsworth Farm Shop, and on the return, Hartington for a nice bit of Stilton, (and possibly Wensleydale - Grommit!!) and other cheeses.

The Farmers' market has stalls which provide locally produced organic produce. When we go to the Chatsworth Farm Shop (we mainly tend to buy meat).

The Chatsworth Farm Shop meat has all come from the estate, and can be accountable from the estate.

When you go into the Farm Shop, if ther is something you want that is not on display, then they are only too happy to supply it. Whether it be cheap offal cuts, or the very expensive fillet steak. It is a dream butcher's shop!!

I make no apologies, I am a carnivore. I do eat meat, and I like the taste of meat. There is no way I will stop eating meat.

My angst, is how this meat is produced.

Supermarkets, and particularly Tesco, have a lot to answer for.

[nick the grief]

Not sure Valmarg but I think Chatsworth may be an accredited rare breed finisher as well. It's a strange irony but the best way to preserve the rare breed farm animals is to eat them as if no one wanted them they wouldn't be able to afford to keep them .... & they do taste most excellent !

[kirsty b]

We have a farm just up the road from us that sells eggs at the gate with an honesty box. Was up there most days during the summer/warm weather getting chook, duck and goose eggs for very reasonable prices. They were delicious! I pop up every now and again just in case there are any about, but it looks as though I have to be patient and use supermarket eggs for now. We can see the birds from the gate and they all look happy enough, they are enclosed in generously proportioned pens, these are marked up as free range. They really are nice.

Kirsty

[Brewer-again]

Nice thread this as it covers so many life style choices.
Supermarket meat has never been hung as long as butchers meat which is why, whatever the quality, and they really try hard, it will never taste as good. Perhaps someone might know why the supers will not hang their meat for the same time as a butchers shop. Butchers beef has been hung for 20 days before sale for forty years or more. The other problem that has not been discussed here is packaging. If you get your chicken home and do not want to eat it straight away then take it out of the packaging. As long as it is not sitting on one of those absorbant pads and wrapped in shrinkwrap, it should last a lot longer. How long would you want one of those pads sitting under your meat.

[Waffler]

Don't even get me started on packaging!! When I think of how supermarket foods are double and treble wrapped. What a tremendous waste - and so much of it is plastic or not easily recyclable materials. I realise why they do it (hygiene and food preservation so stuff doesn't get too broken) but is it really necessary? If you buy pre-packed fruit, it usually comes in a polystyrene type tray, and is then covered with clingfilm. If supermarkets were made to use paper bags, instead of plasticm we could hand-select individual items and carry them in our paper bags in the safe knowledge that we weren't wasting all that packaging. Let's face it, most of us simply strip away the packaging and chuck it in the bin. (Except for my Dad, who keeps the clingfilm off things like mushrooms and uses it again! He is truly conscientious!)