Jump to content

Interesting conversation with neighbours


Recommended Posts

[quote user="zarathustra"]I recently bought a slow cooker, and that does a great job of making cheaper cuts of meat tender and tasty.
[/quote]

Yes we have one of those for the winter, stews and that plus they are cheap to run, or so it says on the box. The thing is, as with a little high quality meat mixed with fresh veg type comments, all very good but to many, especially in France, they are too expensive.

As and example, somebody said, I think, about pre made meals and things like lasagna. Well a big one is just under 4 Euros in our local supermarket and it feed four. Now next time your there work out the cost of the milk, cheese, lasagna pasta, mince, tin of toms etc, to a poor person its a no brainer which product your going to buy and there are loads of other examples. Yes of course its the wrong sort of thing to give kids but if you really can't afford anything else what do you do, let the starve?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 92
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

[quote user="sweet 17"]

"I'm a little teapot, short and stout

Here's my handle, here's my spout"

etc.  Can't remember the rest but I hope the song doesn't describe you, Théière?[:D]

Don't mind me, I'm just tired and I have toothache and my mind is wandering after a paracetamol.

[/quote]

No not me at all, lithe, athletic ( ok could use adding a stone but that's not my fault)

I'd rather not discuss my spout [:$]

How many paracetamol have you taken? [blink]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote user="Quillan"]

 Yes of course its the wrong sort of thing to give kids but if you really can't afford anything else what do you do, let the starve?

[/quote]

Quite right Q, gruel for the kids Lasagne for the adults [:D]

As for the cost I will have to examine that can't belive homemade can cost much more even in France.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote user="Théière"]

No not me at all, lithe, athletic ( ok could use adding a stone but that's not my fault)

I'd rather not discuss my spout [:$]

How many paracetamol have you taken? [blink]

[/quote]

Well, Teapot, as long as you don't have one of those spouts that drips..........

Can't abide a teapot with a spout that doesn't pour properly....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What was that other saying 'if you sprinkle when you tinkle- be a Sweetie and lift the seatie'  I had a big sign up in the loo when I used to host teenage boys- ooooops sorry Sweet - didn't make it up! How many paracetamols did you say?

Sorry to hear about toothache - its horrid. Hope you get it sorted soon (before September!) amitiés  Swissie

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I made a vegetable curry tonight with what veg that I could salvage from those bought in the last couple of days.

I had a kilo of endives that I bought two days ago in a sealed bag from Lidl or Aldi, they werent cheap either at €1.59, one of them had already decomposed and the resultant liquid mess had turned the others, I was left with 3 which after trimming off the brown bits weighed less than 500g so after only two days they cost me over €3 per kg and were only fit for a curry.

Looking carefully at the bag I see that they were grown not far from me, I have visited one of the smaller growers that do sell their produce from the farm but they will only sell a tray of 5 or maybe 10kg and even then their price is higher than the supermarkets.

Now I know that Fresh veg doesnt carry a sell by sticker but you can usually see or feel its condition, the prepacked and sealed stuff seems to go off immediately it is opened, I am sure that it is because the bag is filled with an inert gas to keep the contents looking fresh but as soon as the air hits them then bingo, they decompose taking the rest of my veggies with them and by the next morning the bottom of my fridge is a vegetable swamp.

The problem is that most of these prepacked veggies dont have sell by dates in France, the endives and peppers that I have didnt,  I know that the local endive producers had their recolte some time ago.

I buy the self same prepacked veg from Lidl and Aldi in the UK and it has a sell/use by date on the package and guess what, it keeps much longer, I never seem to throw veg away in the UK like I do in France. I dont find that it is any cheaper their though, sometimes a lot more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote user="Théière"][quote user="Quillan"]

 Yes of course its the wrong sort of thing to give kids but if you really can't afford anything else what do you do, let the starve?

[/quote]

Quite right Q, gruel for the kids Lasagne for the adults [:D]

As for the cost I will have to examine that can't belive homemade can cost much more even in France.

[/quote]

Well just mince (fresh, made in front of you) is 9 Euros a kilo so that 4 Euros before you buy anything else, chopped toms say a Euro, packet of lasagna say 2 Euros, see what I mean, we are up to 7 Euros already and for the same amount you could buy two of the big pre-made ones.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ah yes Q but now you are comparing fresh mince made for you with a packet lasagna. You should compare frozen mince, a packet of lasagna would most likely make two dishes when compared to the amount the packet ones add. Likewise othe ingredients, herbs etc would make many more dishes and bechemel sauce is easy. Better to knock up several at once for the freezer as otherwise the time factor creeps in.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote user="Chancer"]

Now I know that Fresh veg doesn't carry a sell by sticker but you can usually see or feel its condition, the prepacked and sealed stuff seems to go off immediately it is opened, I am sure that it is because the bag is filled with an inert gas to keep the contents looking fresh but as soon as the air hits them then bingo, they decompose taking the rest of my veggies with them and by the next morning the bottom of my fridge is a vegetable swamp.

[/quote]

Fruit and veg give off ethylene gas as they ripen/decay, as you quite rightly state Chancer as soon as that mixes with a fresh oxygen supply the decay accelerates. Can't offer a reason why UK stuff lasts longer except they must take more care over the time it takes and the sell by dates. France the great food nation doesn't seem to care enough for sell by and consume by dates. Once I get fruit and veg home it comes straight out of any plastic bag and into my brown paper bags. Commercial fridges have ionisers to neutralise ethylene and bacteria especially on things like cruise ships.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote user="Théière"][quote user="woolybanana"] Having lived in HK for a while, I can tell you that the Chinese do spend a lot of their income on food and are often fat. In China itself there is a major obesity problem.
Limited food budget means often buying unhealthy food. Poor Westerners eat cheap food, say the cheapest ranges offered by the supermarkets which are often packed with sugar and salt and other sh** that I wouldn't even give to my dogs, knowingly anway.[/quote]

Me too Wooly, the reason the Chinese are getting fat is down to the American food chains on virtually every other street corner.  I have gradually lowered my sugar intake and don't eat junk food, [/quote]

I am at odds with some of these comments (Having lived in HK for a while); Very few chinese in the new territories and beyond have American chains as we know them, and in those that are there, a tiny chicken wing is the main order, often I've eaten a meal while they are still nibbling the wing[:$]
The traditional Chinese meal was for families in smallholdings and born of very little food to cook and very little fuel to cook with. Consequently small portions of whatever was available, fish, pork, duck (every part of), vegetables, which was cut small to cook quickly and separately in a stir fry method, then put into separate dishes and served to share with the main staple, rice, each member of the family could take a dip from a dish and could taste a little vegetable or meat with their rice. A normal Chinese portion for one person in Europe would feed a family in China.
Now the small holdings have gone and the people are moved into cities to fuel the factories and receive a small wage, which they spend on more of the thing that made them happy, Food. Even so having spent some time with them, their appetites are in the main parsimonious by our standards, except perhaps for No. 1 son who is encouraged to finish all the dishes, even having an extra of something.

[quote user="sweet 17"]  Swissie, you're right about portion control......that's the one that's so easy to overlook.  [/quote]

This is the root of the problem, most people are just eating more than ever, even healthy food on a recent trip to the States, one croissant isn't enough, maybe with a Hot Chocolate or Latte, then maybe a salad for lunch with a 'poussin' and a couple of beers, pattiseries late afternoon, Steak and frites in the evening topped off with a dessert.
And those who have Maccy 'D'  don't just have one, but one for breakfast, lunch, dinner and another after a few beers.[:'(]

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote user="Quillan"][quote user="Théière"][quote user="Quillan"]

 Yes of course its the wrong sort of thing to give kids but if you really can't afford anything else what do you do, let the starve?

[/quote]

Quite right Q, gruel for the kids Lasagne for the adults [:D]

As for the cost I will have to examine that can't belive homemade can cost much more even in France.

[/quote]

Well just mince (fresh, made in front of you) is 9 Euros a kilo so that 4 Euros before you buy anything else, chopped toms say a Euro, packet of lasagna say 2 Euros, see what I mean, we are up to 7 Euros already and for the same amount you could buy two of the big pre-made ones.

[/quote]

I buy family packs (1.5kg) of Salers beef cuts at 6.12€/kg (I've just been to the freezer to check on both packs I still have there). The packs are labelled viande bovine (poitrine, collier, jarret) and the meat is cut in large chunks.

I mince the lot myself (KitchenAid) which allows me to remove any gristle I find, although I must say I hardly find any at all on these Salers packs (I know many will disagree, but this really is my experience), which is why I buy them. I find there is hardly any waste and hardly any fat.

I add onions, garlic, a tin of toms, spices, chili flakes, salt, pepper and bang the lot in the slow cooker (20€ from Géant) during the heures creuses in the afternoon and I then have enough to prepare chili con carne, lasagne, spag bol... for 10 hefty servings or 5 meals for 2.

I make a lot at home, from bread to yoghurt and ice-cream too, though I draw the line at curry from scratch (very limited access to even a basic range of spices), and I find I never buy the kind of supermarket prepared meals similar to those I used to buy when I lived in the UK.

The main problem I have regarding fresh fruit/veg is one of access.

As mentioned earlier, the village shops (we have 2) are expensive. Their fruit/veg range is very limited and not terribly fresh.

Access to fresh fruit/veg requires a 50 km return trip, which I certainly cannot justify on more than a weekly basis.

I cannot (yet) grow my own, so I buy frozen veg from Lidl and Aldi for practicality and on shopping days, I get fresh fruit/veg from the same.

The monthly village market is dying through lack of support and the nearest weekly market (no daily market around here) requires a 20 km return trip, which is fine in summer, not so fine in winter.

I stopped comparing French/UK food prices a long time ago. As I have no access to any UK supermarket, it's a pointless exercise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote user="just john"]

I am at odds with some of these comments (Having lived in HK for a while); Very few chinese in the new territories and beyond have American chains as we know them, and in those that are there, a tiny chicken wing is the main order, often I've eaten a meal while they are still nibbling the wing[:$]
[/quote]

I wasn't talking about the new territories, specifically the Island and Kowloon side.

It was several years ago but the children on the island were consuming burgers just as in western chain.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote user="bubbles"]The last line is "Lift me up and pour me out" The one before that just might be: "When the water's boiling, hear me shout" Does that help at all? Think I'll stick to the vino tonight though.[/quote]

Oh, yes, Bubbles, I remember the last line now.

Not sure about the third....could it be

"When the kettle's boiling, hear me shout?"

To me kettle is a nice counterbalance to teapot.  Must try and remember the tune now.  See what living in the French countryside plus the aging process do to us? 

That's right, returns us to childhood.

Talking about tea and the making of, I remember trying to explain to Italian teenagers how tea is made.  In fact, I found a little clip in an exercise book about making tea and I thought it would be a good exercise for comprehension for them.

What totally flumoxed them was why we put the boiling water into the teapot, only to tip it all out again!  No good explaining to them that it was to warm the pot as they then wanted to know why we would need or want to warm the pot?[:D]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Clair, do you think the french leave the produce lying aroud too long before it gets to the shops in the typically relaxed french way? The major supermarkets in the UK buy in from all over the world but ship it all so fast that it's very fresh when it hits the shelves.

Love the fact you make all your own food, highly commendable, doing more of that myself as I just don't trust a lot of mass produced stuff, way too many additives so it keeps so long. Did you see the lamb shanks that can keep up to two years without going in any refrigerator [+o(]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A couple of months ago one of the French TV channels did an investigation into just this -  the question was basically "Have food prices risen as much as the French believe they have following the introduction of the Euro"?.

The answer,  interestingly,  was "Not that much".    How truly scientific it was I don't know,  but what came out loud and clear was that the French "feel" poorer.   The reason -  because a LOT more of their disposable income since the turn of the century is eaten up by a number of new costs,  particularly ADSL and mobile phone subscriptions.    So there's less to spend on food.    But the people interviewed had "forgotten" how much they now spend on "non-essentials",   and blame the € for the seemingly high cost of food.

Returning to the OP,   I'm fairly out of touch with the young,  but most of the ones I have contact with have what I consider to be outrageously expensive mobile phone contracts (in order to get their paws on the latest model).    I imagine their ADSL is free on their campus in most cases,   but certainly they have a lot of what I would call "non essential" expenses higher on their list of priorities than decent food.

I can only speak of my very limited experience in this case,  but translated back into "old money" from the time I was at university in the late 1970's a mobile phone contract would have bought quite a lot of decent food.

Having said all that,   we've kept prices in check by patronising a LIDL that opened not too far away in Lubersac four years ago,   and I would agree that our local Champion in Excideuil now seems outrageously dear.    We've always been incredibly impressed with Lidl's fruit and veg,    when they opened in Okehampton in 1999/2000 they were selling the most WONDERFUL peaches for a third of the price of the rubbish on sale in Waitrose next door.    But all those snobby people wouldn't come into Lidl with us,   and it's only the current crisis that has really put Lidl on the map for a lot of people in our area back in Britain.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, I was thinking last night (actually around 0230hrs) about freshness related to fish. We know that fish on a Monday is always stale as it was fished on Saturday at the latest. But hang on, given the time to sort, sell, transport and prepare, that means fish for Saturday would be caught latest Friday, but that is too late for the Friday surge, so Thursday, but that leaves no time to prepare it, so Wednesday. Thus, fish sold on Monday could be 6 days old or old or more. Hmmm.

Now apply this to veggie!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote user="Théière"]

Clair, do you think the french leave the produce lying aroud too long before it gets to the shops in the typically relaxed french way? The major supermarkets in the UK buy in from all over the world but ship it all so fast that it's very fresh when it hits the shelves.

Love the fact you make all your own food, highly commendable, doing more of that myself as I just don't trust a lot of mass produced stuff, way too many additives so it keeps so long. Did you see the lamb shanks that can keep up to two years without going in any refrigerator [+o(]

[/quote]

I doubt they "leave the produce lying around b4 it gets to the shops", but I suspect the smaller/village shops don't get more that 1 or 2 weekly deliveries and the quantities they buy for retail are relatively small. i don't frequent them enough to be sure, though.

The supermarket I frequent the most (twice a month) is the Géant in Aurillac and it has a great selection of fruit and veg, including exotics and bio. The display is excellent and clean and the produce is fresh and in good condition.

I rarely buy pre-packed produce, as there's no way of telling how long they've been packed, and I look at the goods before weighing them.

There's also a local producers' co-op round the corner from the supermarket, where they sell locally produced fruit and veg per kg or per tray as well as bread, cheese and meat.

The display is excellent there too, not a bad apple/peach/tom/radish in sight!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fresh veg should be used asap- sell by dates are silly as it depends whether the weather is hot, humid, etc - whether kept if the fridge or not , whether stored away from light, etc. One reason I can think for UK fruit to keep longer, is that it is usually sold way before it is ripe - still rock hard. Like apricots for instance. Here I buy apricots which are  full of sunshine and ready to eat - ad yes, if you don't eat them within a few days, they'll go. I gave up buying such fruit in UK because they were inedible when bought - and were still tasteless a week later. Fruit and veg need a little planning - and I try and cook them within a day or 2- and freeze if necessary. Much prefer buying tasty, ripe fruit- even if it means buying little and often.

The meat minced in front of you can't be compared with the c*** in cheap ready prepared lasagna. When you watch them mince the meat, they can't throw all the rubbish in. A cup of lentils soaked overnight extends the meat hugely and actually tastes nice and full of good protein. To cut down calories and cost, I make the bechamel with cornflour and a few herbs. With a bit a planning - it needn't cost much more- and as said above a batch make cuts on time.

Clair - many British people here have access to UK supermarket via the internet. They buy food, white goods and anything else on line and have it delivered to an 'agency' in the UK, which will then deliver to France. They swear it saves them lots of money - but to me, personally, does not make sense.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To answer someones question about food in Uni canteens, the food was good in the one I frequented in Poitiers, with lots of salad choices.  Students have cards to buy food with, I guess these are allocated as part of funding but I didnt have one (being a mature strudent) so have no idea.   There were two types on campus though, fast food style (with loads of chips) or more restaurant style with healthy choices.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote user="woolybanana"]

That might be local stuff of course, Clair, given you seem to live so far from the real pleasures of stale food!

[/quote]

You're probably right, WB!

I tend to stick to the shops where I find what I want in terms of cleanliness, choice, service and prices (in no order of preference) and I refuse to shop nearer from home if the goods aren't up to scratch.

I could shop in either of the two Leclerc supermarkets closer than the Géant in Aurillac (50km return trip instead of 70km), but they are so crowded, dirty-looking (note, I didn't say dirty, but dirty-looking) and staffed by such unpleasant people that I haven't set foot in either for a few years now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share


×
×
  • Create New...