Food snobbery

[Feckingfeck]

DM always buys "good eggs" I mean nearly £4 a box from Waitrose. I ate one. Wasn't really too impressed- I mean not sure what I could hope for from an egg really?!

What things do you insist on buying branded?

Are there things you simply wont skimp or get own brands of?

AIBU to think any free range egg is just the same as the next?

Luckily most of us can taste bitterness, eh?

I'm not generally brand-loyal, but I don't see why people shouldn't spend their money on things they like. Just because you aren't fussed or can't tell the difference, that doesn't mean they can't. It's perfectly reasonable to buy what you consider to be better quality, higher welfare, or a nice brand.

Calling that snobbery just makes you sound like you have a chip on your shoulder. Same with calling it 'showing off' or 'virtue signalling'. I mean... if people are actually boasting about it, then you have a point. But most people just buy what they prefer, without making a song and dance about it.

I like good quality stuff but I'm not a brand snob at all. You can get very good quality stuff that doesn't cost loads because they don't spend shit loads on marketing.
There's definitely a difference between being a food snob and only buying certain brands because you're sold by their advertising campaign.
Not food but I'll buy 49p bleach from Home Bargains, whereas DH will spend more than 3 times that on the big brand stuff. Or things like simple table salt, it has to be a brand he recognises. Such folly!

Truly free range eggs will taste completely different, because instead of an all-grain diet, the hens are roaming around eating bits of plants and lots of yummy insects. You benefit from their much better nutritional profile.

My husband said to me years ago that the marketing of food is the biggest con of the 21st century, he’s worked in agriculture for years and so have his family & I didn’t really think much about it until I understood it better, he was so right though & if I knew then what I know now I never would have made the choices I did about what produce I bought . It’s also been shown in many studies that people automatically think things taste better or assume higher quality if they pay more for them which in some cases is absolute nonsense

@BestestBrownies - I have really sensitive taste buds and can genuinely tell the difference between high and low quality food, whereas DP can’t.

This must be one of the most Mumsnet comments ever.

Branded food is not necessarily high quality, or higher quality than supermarket own branded food.

I'm fussy about food when I can taste the difference between brands. DS is lactose intolerant and I started buying Arla Lacto free milk, spread, yoghurts etc and we all prefer the taste, so I take the financial hit on this. Don't buy soya milk because it's awful in cooking.

There's other stuff I pay more for too - ie my favourite brand of tinned chickpeas is bought simply because the chickpeas are larger and softer so nicer to eat and easier to prepare than the cheaper ones IMO. I would cut back on other things rather than my favourite foods ...

I am not brand loyal so will buy what I like the taste of including own brands etc. However, we keep bees and you really can taste the difference between locally foraged honey and supermarket blended stuff. In the summer our honey tastes of blackberries as bees love brambles.

But there are many different brands of meat sold at Waitrose, not just their own label stuff. Spoilt Pig, the Black Farmer among others.
At least some of these won't be stocked at Tesco because the smaller brands would not be able to supply the quantities required.
i buy most of my meat direct from the producers, at Farmers' markets. Some of it is more expensive while some is competitively priced. But the quality is generally better, and I can ask the farmers directly about feed and welfare standards.

I buy organic free range eggs,
chicken and wild fish where possible. Can’t taste the difference. Can afford to make an ethical choice.
On the other hand we only buy meat (chicken) once a week which also helps pay for the ethical choice

I always buy the original green fairy washing up liquid, I’ve tried alternatives but they are never as good. Also I buy good bread, I wish I could make my own but I’m terrible so buy it instead.

Being a food snob also relieves the humdrum of predictable meals that are a consequence of meal planning.
Meal planning makes sense in lots of ways but exciting it ain’t.

So we make the “pasta in sauce” or “salad” with interesting ingredients in season, we try a new brand of marmalade every time, Thursday Roast could be any meat. And we get 2/3 cartons of wine if we visit a local producer or go with Lidl’s pick of the month (they’ve won best supermarket wine department for several years).

So life would be pretty boring if we only stayed with what we know or what costs the least.
But eggs have to be free range as a minimum.

@Thesearmsofmine fairy is the worst you can buy in terms of the destruction to aquatic life. Read the label. I have switched to method which is much better and almost as good in terms of suds!

I would happily be a food snob if I could afford it, but sadly don't have the budget atm!

That said...Taylors of Harrogate Hot Lava Java ground coffee (I don't drink instant at home), Yorkshire Teabags and Branston Baked Beans are non-negotiable. I also like the Richmond meat-free products.

I'm always gobsmacked at how much branded stuff my mum buys considering she hates cooking and lives predominantly on ready meals, yogurts, rice cakes and sweets.

I’m with your MIL,
i try to buy pasture raised organic eggs as much as possible , but recently I hardly find any,
they taste so much better than Normal supermarket ones.

bread , I buy sourdough bread from a well known bakery, can never have supermarket ones , they all seem to be thawed then re heated, never fresh no idea why!

tea , probably the one single thing I’m most snobbish about, it’s always from speciality tea places, like Mariage Freres.

baking chocolate , it has to be the good stuff from Valrohna , they make a huge difference.

spices and good olive oil, they more expensive the better,

but I’m not bothered by dairy stuff like cheese and yogurt , the artisan or organic stuff irritate my stomach so badly, and taste so strong ,
so I just get them M&S !

For us it's meats have to come from a local farm shop. We only eat meat a couple of times a week so can afford the extra expense.
I do also prefer in season fruit from the farm shop too, I do think they have more flavour, but as DD is a fussy sod I still buy fruit from the supermarket out of season, but I can taste the difference between say fresh in season local strawberries and ones bought in the supermarket out of season.

And my husband insists on Heinz baked beans!

The only things I insist on are free range eggs and chicken, and strictly U.K. origin meat only, not that we eat nearly as much meat any more.

I can’t tell any difference in taste with eggs, FR, dark yolks or not - it’s a question of welfare. A dd has chickens and TBH their eggs don’t tast any different to me.

Tinned tomatoes - I do usually buy Napolina, far better ratio of tomatoes to water.

Always Colman’s mustard and proper Marmite. I only buy U.K. butter, too - I don’t feel like supporting French or Danish farmers - particularly Danish, when the country is notorious for factory farming. Even mink - 17 million of them slaughtered because of COVID - and many of the pelts would have been destined for China - not exactly noted for its animal welfare, either.

You can change the colour of yolks by changing the hen's diet. I think you can also do this with the shell colour.

I don’t eat animal corpses.

save yourself a fortune and quit meat n fish and you can easily go organic for everything fresh

we eat so much better now

Nigella swears by the orange yolked hens eggs , others say duck eggs are better for baking. I can't judge the hens eggs as I don't eat poached, boiled , fried or coddled yolks. I just don't enjoy the texture and the sight of yolk dribbling seductively over asparagus or out of eggs Benedict just puts me right off.

Dry cured bacon or ham are as they used to /should always be. Yes, more expensive but definitely worth it , even if you have it less often as a result.

I know that most supermarket chicken/turkey is processed in the same places so buying a differently reared bird may guarantee you slightly better flavour but only minimally better welfare standards. The most expensive I have tasted was
Poulet de Bresse , once, in Paris.The flavour was much stronger, almost gamey and the flesh much more "meaty" when sliced.At €50 per bird though, I couldn't justify the expense, even for more than 1 meal

I'm finding myself having to cut down on quantities of meats at the moment, as many others are and also looking at more creative ways to cook vegetables and alternative sources of protein so I suppose my answer would be that yes, some labels are worth the extra cost but no, I don't insist on them all the time

It's Heinz ketchup or nothing for me! Same goes for Philadelphia soft cheese. The others taste like paste by comparison.

I can afford to buy free range eggs for ethical reasons but I would eat any egg if needs be. I would not eat meat at all if I couldn’t afford organic meat. The antibiotics used in conventional meat production are really bad for your health. Organically produced vegetables are also better for your health.

I pay extra for very locally produced foods in particular milk which is from the organic farm I can see from my window, eggs and meat and even chocolate 1. because I want to support local producers and 2. because they are more sustainable; low food miles etc 3 because meat in particular taste better than the rubbish that’s sold in supermarkets. I also buy some of my cheese from the Ethical Cheese Company which isn’t a million miles away either.
Inevitably they are more expensive but then I don’t drink or smoke or have any other vices (I’m pretty boring) so this is my vice.

I'm not into brands, but got to say I am a food snob especially when it comes to coffee. Most of my food comes from the local farm shop and butchers, but it's a very affordable farm shop not one of these fashionable deli ones.
I bulk buy meat from one of the other local butchers as well, works out much cheaper than a supermarket.

Eggs come from the butchers or there's loads of people that have their own chickens and sell the eggs here. Can't beat them.

We buy high welfare meat and eggs. I don’t think that’s food snobbery - I’d rather go without than buy non-ethical meat & eggs.

I’ll admit to snobbery around butter. Dh will only cook with Lescure and we have Isigny Ste-Mère for spreading. We also only buy ‘proper’ pasta from the Italian deli where we also buy our oils. So yes, we’re poncey.