Since the packaging changed Sainsburys mince is awful

[Ifeelabnormal]

Just that really. Mince is now in these vacuum packs and it's horrid and lumpy - hard to get out the pack to start with, but doesn't break up properly while cooking so it ends up full of lumps and really disgusting.

I appreciate the new packaging is probably for environmental reasons but it's making the mince inedible! I think I will stop buying it even though it's one of my easy go-to meals.

Are other supermarkets using the same? I haven't checked.

It is very much like what getting mince from the butchers used to be like. I actually find it better than the long strands that most supermarkets used to sell.

Try Lidl lean steak mince. It is amazing! It in the same vacuum packed package, but beautiful mince. I find the new packaging actually keeps it fresher, than when it was in those awful tubs with the flimsy peel away plastic on the top. I'm all for the new packaging!

Stopped buying it. Just don't like it.

Yuk, it would go to mush? I just loosely break it up and cook it on low and it naturally breaks down without issues.

I watch various youtubers who seem to use a meat masher tool rather than just a spoon.

Interestingly, I was part of the market research team to move to vacuum packs and the ones we were given to try were nothing like the ones you can get now in the supermarket, we were proper conned

Every time I've cooked mince recently, my daughter (3) tells me 'thanks for the meatballs...'

I’m another who dislikes the vacuum packed mince. I have tried it but can’t make it break up in the same way. So no more Sainsbury's mince for me!

Thanks for the various suggestions. I like Sainsburys for everything else so I will try the ideas first, if I still hate it I will switch to Tesco

You can break the lidl steak lean mince without issues, it is the best one imo.

I had a pack from somewhere else and it came out as a mushed block of what looked like sausage meat, with really straight lines uniformly scored on the top; now that was disgusting.

You’re absolutely right, it’s for environmental / net zero reasons. It cooks much better if you get it out of the fridge 20 mins or so before use, and make sure you break it up as you pan fry it. I hated it when the packaging first changed but used to it now

Aldi changed a couple of months ago. I have to admit, I've not bought any mince since then. What things look like really affect my reaction to them. To me it looks like pet food. Just no longer appeals.

I have gotten used to it. Stopped buying it initially but Sainsbury's deliver our big shop, so started buying again, tastes fine but looks grim in the packaging 🤢.

I actually prefer it over the nasty wormy shreds of mince, which I always used to work down into a finer mince before cooking anyway, for a more authentic texture for basically any minced beef dish.

You just need to cook it on medium, while breaking it up with a wooden spoon, stirring consistently to make sure all sides fry evenly.

Judging by the replies on this thread i suspect people have been cooking mince incorrectly to start with. No one should be getting lumps of meat, you are cooking it too high and too fast, without breaking it apart with a spoon as you go. Or you are just leaving it boil in a sauce before you've sufficiently fried it.

No judgement as I'm picky about food textures/tastes myself but this thread is an interesting snapshot into why efforts to reduce pollution and the level of plastic in the environment are just never going to work.

Society as a whole is unwilling to accept even minor inconveniences/changes to try and turn things around 🤷‍♀️

I saw a news article recently where Iceland announced that they’re going back to the old style packaging following customer complaints.

This! I also find getting it out of the fridge five mins or so before using and opening the packet then makes it no harder than the non-vacuum packed to break up etc.

It's such a small adjustment to enable a proportionately large reduction in plastic, I'm constantly amazed by why people feel justified in ranting about it.

@Winterjoy made my above point much better!

We’ve all but stopped eating mince since they started packaging it like that. It’s horrible to cook and won’t brown properly.

It’s vile. I can barely bear to look at it on the shelf

I've stopped buying Sainsbury’s mince but luckily there's a Morrisons nearby and their mince is great.

I stockpile Tesco or M and S mince now and freeze it. My nearest shop is Sainsburys but I won't buy that mince. I don't want mince all mashed up. When you break it up it's not like normal texture mince.

It looks so grim, I tried the local butcher. Amazing! He’s friendly, full of advice , can order in anything, his sausages are lovely and I don’t have to trudge around a ginormous supermarket that’s supposed to be convenient but is actually bigger than the high street actually was.
defin use smaller shops if you can!

Also the labelling is really small to say Irish or British. My advice is go to m and s. Same price but in decent packaging

It’s horrible, I’ve tried all sorts of ways to break it up and whatever I do the result comes out lumpy. What I don’t understand is that things like chicken breasts are still in the old packaging and surely they wouldn’t be affected the same way if they were vacuum packed?