Am I the only one who detests vacuum shrink wrapped mince?
All very well, but the shrink wrapped plastic isn’t recyclable! At least it wasn’t when I tried a pack or two and it was foul.
Nipped into Lidl the other day and they’ve gone the same route. 
2 Likes
Why would I think I was in Lidl if I was in Tesco???
That’s the least of the issues with ‘Clubcard’ prices.
6 Likes
My favourite mince is venison … but it comes in a vac pack at the market.
2 Likes
Waitrose have great mince, venison included I think, in thin plastic wrappers sitting on a small sheet of greaseproof paper or similar - not vacuum packed and ‘compacted’ squelchy stuff.
Must use considerably less plastic than the vacuum packed stuff.
3 Likes
I said the exact same. Ridiculous waste of time and money.
1 Like
My next bugbear is overpowering cleaning product ‘fragrances’.
We had to change our regular washing machine liquid last year as the overpowering new fragrance from a Fairy product we’d used for years made us nauseous and gave us headaches.
More recently since buying some silicone baskets for the air fryer to make cleaning certain cooked meals easier we’ve noticed in recent months that the liners and silicone utensils have started stinking of fragrances and taint cooked food at the next attempt. Horrible artificial citrus like scents cling to the silicone and affect the next cooked food.
This has to be real as the big companies have started selling ‘fragrance free’ dishwasher tablets/gels etc and they’re probably even more expensive.
Cynical? Moi?
2 Likes
My butcher does 5% Fat Beef Mince and it’s way better than any Supermarket and doesn’t come in shrink wrap.
Always perfect, every time🤷🏻♂️
3 Likes
I don’t eat meat, but it seems far better to get it from the local butcher in the exact amount you want and not have it shrink wrapped. I do eat fish and get it from the butcher, who has a separate fish counter at one end. They take great care over sourcing their meat and they do a roaring trade and are highly regarded. If people have issues with the shrink wrapping and vacuum packing in supermarkets then stop supporting them and use specialist shops. As well as getting less plastic you can get exactly what you want and have a good natter at the same time.
4 Likes
You are fortunate to have a local butcher, the vast majority of our traditional ones closed years ago.
There are other options but it depends on your views regarding slaughter methods I suppose.
2 Likes
Again, I think you’re very lucky to have these outlets available to you, and perhaps the time 9-5 to be able to get to them when many will shop after work. Naturally there are deliveries and so forth so shop times not always crucial.
I won’t buy the vacuum packed stuff so vote with my wallet, but these industry trends often seem inexorable and the local stores are sadly probably a minority these days.
I actually prefer higher %age fat mince, but that’s perhaps just me.
3 Likes
I’m with you support a local butcher, supermarkets over pack over price and generally treat their suppliers with distain.
5 Likes
I prefer the 85/15% mince especially if I’m doing a chilli
3 Likes
I’m very fortunate to have a third generation family butchers in the market square here, and not only is the meat top quality, but weirdly, some of their produce is cheaper than the local supermarkets, which is not what you would expect at all.
Lucky old me.
7 Likes
Yes, I’m lucky with the shops where I live. We have two butchers, a greengrocer where you can buy exactly what you want and put it in your shopping bag with no plastic, a deli that does great cheese and this week the Naked Pantry has opened. This sells unpacked stuff where you take your own bottle etc and I’m looking forward to trying it out. We also have a Coop and a small Tesco that sells beer, crisps and veg in plastic. Then there is the wonderful hardware shop that sells pretty much everything you need. Two good wine shops too. Mrs HH hits Waitrose once a week but everything else is bought in the village and I can easily get there on foot. 6,000 steps there and back, which includes a wander round the harbour.
5 Likes
Same here, the extra fat adds to the cooking/flavour and the leaner mince tends to be more expensive not necessarily better.
2 Likes
The Union Jack flag may only denote the packaging from somewhere within the UK although the contents could quite likely be imported lower quality standards meat that easily undercuts the prices British farmers need to charge in order to meet higher UK quality controls.
2 Likes
It’s interesting you say that. Tuna costs around £25 a kilo in the local butchers that also sells fish, but £42 in Waitrose.
It’s not just quality controls. Many farmers don’t have free ranging cows, they just feed them with imported food which also comes from Brazil or another country like that.
2 Likes
As for the slaughter methods I really believe it should be clearly stated on pre-packaged meat how the meat was slaughtered, I think many would be surprised. I’m not expressing a stance just I think there should be more clarity for consumer choice.
3 Likes