To think that the 'best' ranges in supermarkets..

[Joysmum]

...are actually akin to how food used to be 30 years ago and the standard of our food has dropped considerably?

I'm thinking meat here in particular, not Findus Crispy Pancakes which always been shit, although have shrunk.

And one last thing - when I were a lass there were no "supermarkets" (yes, I'm that old) in the small towns I grew up in so everything was bought in smaller grocers, butchers etc.

I think the first proper supermarket I ever saw was when Wm Low opened up in one of the towns I lived in during the 70s!

I don't take any blame whatsoever, if there hadn't been a recession and our wage halved, we'd still be paying for the expensive nice organic meat.

But then I don't get the hand-wringing over why 50% of the population are overweight- it's fairly obvious that the quality of our food, even the cooked-from-scratch meat and veggies stuff is lower than it used to be, even without taking into account the mountains of rubbishy snacks on offer.

I agree with the OP, to eat a healthy diet similar to what my parents had just after the war, it would be very very expensive indeed (except for the courgettes from the allotment but both working f/t, there's a limit to how much food you can grow yourself in your spare time, we do try!)

30 years ago? As in, food in the 80s? YABU - because as someone born in the 70s old enough to remember, supermarket food in the 80s was bland and plasticy. Meat from a butcher might have been more like the 'best' ranges, but it still is now.

They got away with it more in the 80s as well, you had less choice in most towns,, you didn't have a Tescos and a Sainsburys and an Asda and a Waitrose, you had one supermarket (possibly a coop too) or expensive independent shops that didn't open on Saturday afternoons. It was a period when woman were returning to the work force in large numbers so driving the move to the easier option of supermarkets (open in evenings and all day on a Saturday), but before there were so many in each town that they actually competed with each other on price and quality.

But napoleonofcrime would it not be the case that if customers had not been so keen to abandon the small independent grocers! butchers and bakers etc. they would have forced the supermarkets to look at what quality they were offering.

I'm not a business person or retail expert though

I agree that meat used for stews is supposed to be full of fat and gristle, it breaks down to form the most gloriously rich gravy. Morrison's shin of beef is lovely.

There was a programme on TV several years ago bit I can't remember the name that compared food nutrients in the 1940s/50s and now and it was a real eye opener. The only thing I can really recall was that You had to eat 8 supermarket tomatoes to get the same vit&mins as a homegrown one from years ago.

At least we're not living in Victorian times when your average pie might well have been laced with rat poison and all sorts.

Salmotrutta I guess the truth is that modern living, two f/t working parents aren't prepared to drive into town, pay parking fees then visit lots of different shops that close at 5.30 before we've even left work. This retail model is pretty much dead, unless you want to buy a nice birthday card from one of the gift shops or charity shops that populate our town.

I am not always sure that independent butchers are brilliant anyway, we have a 'chain' local store butcher in our town and their meat is terrible if you don't eat it on the day you have bought it.

I don't see why, just because you have an economy of scale, you have to then set the bar much much lower and pump everything full of water. Why is this inevitable if you have a supermarket? Surely companies just do what is legally allowed?

Ooh yes, and sawdust mixed in with the bread flour to bulk it out.

Sawdust- yummy mine won't notice, used to rice cakes

Susie - what about compared to home grown now?

A lot is our desire to not eat seasonally, so varients that can be grown in different seasons and/or transported well take priority. Foods should look 'pretty' so tasty yet ugly fruit and veg are rejected.

that and the idea that meat should be bright red, not hung, so less flavour.

It's driven by desires to lower costs, but also consumers wanting other priorities.

oh, and we want cheap, cheap tastes crap compared to 'expensive' so they give you a choice now, you can have cheap or you can have the best range. If everything was the quality of the best range everything would be the price of the best range. Could you afford that? Most people couldn't anymore.

For steak, I find co-op and waitrose do nice sirloin or ribeye, fair bit of fat, but it should have that! And no gristle at all.

I find Tesco and Sainsbury steak to be the worse.

Waitrose often do 3 good steaks for £10.00, butter soft, good price IMO

Troubleinstore I didn't know the Supermarkets did that!... Always wondered why the meat looked so bright red. Thanks.

I don't about homegrown now tbh the programme was mainly focused on supermarket produce.

Whenever I hear the word 'price wars' between the big 4 supermarkets I think 'oh no, that's even less quality than before if that were possible'. They have to cut corners somewhere and that will be on quality.

The trouble is, we are all to blame for wanting 'cheap' - you can't have quality and cheap. Why the hell supermarkets don't stock misshapen fruit and veg, god alone knows, they often taste nicer. I like a bent cucumber me. Tomatoes in supermarkets are pretty disgusting and taste like cottonwool and this is all because of our demand for cut price. Last year I saw at the beginning of September, runner beans from Zimbabwe in Marks and Spencer. Anyone who grows them knows this is prime season for runner beans and you can't pick 'em quick enough and have to give them away because you have so many. I emailed them asking why on earth were they not supporting our farms and got a very mealy mouthed reply back - so long and disjointed I lost the will to live reading it.

My DH used to work for a meat supplier to a supermarket years ago. The margins are absolutely tiny and the supermarket (it was what was Safeway and is now Morrisons) was continually cutting that margin and that means something has to give.

I don't understand why the population is getting bigger. I would rather eat less and have quality then eat rubbish. I haven't bought meat from a supermarket for years because I prefer to just spend more and have it less.

As far as steak - I buy a whole fillet from the butcher. Yes it is a big outlay initially, but I cut it up and freeze it by the portion and this way it works out much much cheaper than buying it at a supermarket. Often I buy fillet ends too, taste just as good and much cheaper.

We get an organic meat delivery. We're not rich but we only eat meat three meals per week so we can have this. It hasn't been messed with and it's high welfare. I agree that standards have gone down because of the demand for cheap meat though. I cannot believe it when I read budgeting or meal planning threads on here and so many people eat meat every single day, sometimes twice per day. If we want quality available in supermarkets, it's going to take a major attitude/lifestyle change and for that to become the norm.

Now want to eat a Findus crispy pancake, which I've not had for about 35 years

Nothing wrong with the meat I get in Morrisons.

The other thong they do with meat especially is have different lighting on it, cutting out some of the wavelengths. If you compare meat under that lighting with normal light you'll notice a big difference in colour.

I go to an independent butcher, or if I buy in the supermarket pick exactly which chops etc I want!

Now want to eat a Findus crispy pancake, which I've not had for about 35 years
No you don't. I thought I did and bought some as a 'oh look, it's like the 70's' thing. They were bloody dreadful.

Pipbin
Thanks for the heads up.

YANBU
Fruit and veg from supermarkets is really expensive compared to markets and mostly smaller, harder and tasteless.

Tescos have on offer at the moment 2 corn cobs for £1. In the local market you get about 6 for £1. The tesco ones come peeled, ends chopped off and in a plastic packing. Market ones come in their hairy wraps, different sizes and shapes and without a plastic packet. But are much tastier.
No wonder people say they don't like fruit and veg when loads on sale is flavourless and expensive - for that £1 in tesco you could buy a huge bag of frozen chips and some biscuits.

I realise not everyone lives near markets or has the time to shop there. If you are able to it's worth the effort though.

I never buy meat from supermarkets, unless its Lidl's Three Bird Roast. Otherwise it is always a disappointment.

I picked up loads of fruit and veg of our local market stalls on Tuesday. Looked better and is tasting fantastic.

Trouble is, most of the time I just can't get to our local independent shops except on a few Saturdays, as I work out of town.

I'm saving up to get a tall freezer with drawers to keep in the garage, then I can try and buy from the local shops and freeze for the rest of the week.

We do have at least 2 old fashioned butchers in town, so I plan to use them more once I have a suitable freezer (and clearing out the garage will be a bonus )