Re: Britain's Worst Supermarket : Sun May 12, 2013 1:07 am  

Dally wrote:

Another one of Tesco's wheezes is, allegedly, that when the in store baked bread doesn't sell they slice it and put it on display next day. I always wondered why that sort of sliced bread of theirs goes stale so quickly or is sometimes stale when you open it.

Pick up a freshly baked loaf and ask them to slice it. Sorted.

FWIW, I use Tesco for the 'basics' and get them to deliver. Saves me a fortune when otherwise I'd be wandering round the store buying stuff I don't really need.

I find Morrisons pretty good, probably my favourite big supermarket. Their meat and fish counters are decent, their wine selections are very good and the bread is fantastic. Fruit & veg is far better than Asda & Tesco - you can actually taste the difference against Asda and Tesco's limp watery offerings and it doesn't go off the next day. They might not be as slick or spacious as the others but it's not like I give a toss.

That said, Bury Market outranks them all for quality and value, if and when I can get there with Saturdays being reserved for RL.

Re: Britain's Worst Supermarket : Sun May 12, 2013 4:42 am  

Cronus wrote:

Pick up a freshly baked loaf and ask them to slice it. Sorted.

You'd end up with something resembling a chapati. The ingredients and process in most supermarket breads mean they don't machine-slice too well without collapsing

Re: Britain's Worst Supermarket : Sun May 12, 2013 4:57 am  

On the subject of supermarket fish, this is what my alter ego wrote on his blog:

I consider myself fortunate that most of the fish I eat has been caught by my own (not so) fair hands. The fish is caught, dispatched and immediately placed on ice in a coolbox. Once I've got the fish home, it will then be filleted, vacuum-sealed and frozen. Quite often, I will then cook off the heads and frames and remove what meat remains to either make fishcakes or feed the cats. But what about those who don't or can't catch their own fish?

Although we have seen a decline in the number of dedicated wet-fish shops on the high street, these have been replaced with fish counters in supermarkets and independent delis. There are also a number of "fish vans" selling at markets or door-to-door. But when you see the sign "Fresh Fish", just how fresh is that fish? The legal definition is: "Fish that has not been previously frozen and has been kept on ice for no longer than 21 days". Yes, fish can still be described as "fresh" even if it was caught up to three weeks prior to the point of sale. This may come as a shock to some but those of us above a certain age can see the reasoning behind such a long shelf-life. Prior to the advent of freezer-trawlers and factory ships, the UK deep-water fleet would often be at sea for up to three weeks: one week steaming to the fishing grounds, one week fishing and one week steaming home. Once back at the home port, the fish had to be landed, sold at market and then either sent for further processing (usually within spitting distance of the market), or loaded onto lorries and trains for delivery inland. So a fish caught on the first day's fishing would be 14 days old before it saw the market.

Much of the fish we currently eat has been caught, processed and frozen at sea and although freezing can cause some slight reduction in quality, modern freezing techniques keep this to an absolute minimum. This may not be the case with fish bought over the counter. Next time you are at a fish counter, take a close look at the labelling of the fish, quite often you will find, in tiny print: "previously frozen - do not re-freeze". More often you will find these fish placed directly adjacent to fish that really is "fresh" and has a whopping great sign declaring that fact. Certainly not unlawful but could easily be construed as misleading. So when you see discounted fish on the supermarket counter, please look closely at the label before taking advantage of the offer and filling your freezer for the future.

Another slight-of-hand practise is labelling a sealed tray of wet-fish as "freshly prepared". This description is no indicator of the age or "freshness" of the actual fish, all it tells you is that it has recently been prepared. In many instances this "preparation" consists of little more than cutting off the head, possibly filleting and throwing on a lump of parsley. Mackerel is often seen labelled in this manner and the reason for cutting off the head is simply to avoid you seeing the dull, sunken eyes and grey-tinged gills. Other fish that regularly get the "freshly prepared" treatment include: plaice, dab, herring and whiting. As for mackerel, unless it has been smoked, I personally wouldn't eat any mackerel that was older than 24 hours after capture. The best mackerel I have tasted is taken straight fron the sea, dispatched, filleted and then eaten sashimi-style, with soy and wasabi. The flesh is sweet with a taste that can only be described as "of the sea". I freeze mackerel and garfish to use as flattie (turbot & brill), bait in the Spring because I can't guarantee a supply of fresh bait. Even the fish I use as bait will be subject to the same icing and vacuum packing treatment as I'd use for table fish.

Re: Britain's Worst Supermarket : Sun May 12, 2013 7:58 am  

Mintball wrote:

Yeah. They want you in and out of their grotesque metal boxes as quickly as possible with the biggest spend possible.

You do the supermarkets a great disservice - they are very aware about customer experience and the need to provide an attractive environment for their customers to purchase product. They are in very competitive situation do you seriously think their attitude towards customers is a basic as you are suggesting?

No one forces suppliers to supply them at the prices they dictate - they have an option to sell their produce elsewhere. The problem is they are in a classic global supply and demand market. The problem is that some producer will sell product to the supermarkets at the price they demand. The problem is the producers not the supermarket. I might want to pay £20 for a pair of 501s that is only possible is someone is prepared to sell to me at that price.

Brands are in a much stronger position - supermarkets have to stock them so they hold a stronger hand. Brands cost more for the very reasons discussed here - marketing whether that is BOGOF or TV - it has to be paid for somehow.

Re: Britain's Worst Supermarket : Sun May 12, 2013 8:32 am  

Dally wrote:

Another one of Tesco's wheezes is, allegedly, that when the in store baked bread doesn't sell they slice it and put it on display next day. I always wondered why that sort of sliced bread of theirs goes stale so quickly or is sometimes stale when you open it.

Sliced bread, or indeed any bread, but especially sliced bread SHOULD go stale very quickly, its a product that should be bought and consumed same day (ideally) or within 24 hours, have you ever baked your own using just the basic ingredients and then tried to eat it two days later ?

Of course you could pump it full of chemicals to preserve it for longer ...

Re: Britain's Worst Supermarket : Sun May 12, 2013 8:36 am  

Sal Paradise wrote:

Brands are in a much stronger position - supermarkets have to stock them so they hold a stronger hand. Brands cost more for the very reasons discussed here - marketing whether that is BOGOF or TV - it has to be paid for somehow.

Very few brands could stand being delisted by one or more major supermarkets, just check out what happened to Premier Foods or Daniels Group when they had products delisted by Tesco.

Re: Britain's Worst Supermarket : Sun May 12, 2013 8:39 am  

JerryChicken wrote:

Sliced bread, or indeed any bread, but especially sliced bread SHOULD go stale very quickly, its a product that should be bought and consumed same day (ideally) or within 24 hours, have you ever baked your own using just the basic ingredients and then tried to eat it two days later ?

Of course you could pump it full of chemicals to preserve it for longer ...

But they are allegedly "baking" from pre-frozen ingridients to produce the initial loaf. If they have stuff left then it is sliced and put out next day. I would guess the act of slicing makes it feel pliable and therefore fresh to the unsuspecting customer?

Have baked our own lots of times and it lasts just as long as that stuff, especially if wrapped in foil. PS when you bake your own it takes more that the 9 minutes or so it takes in-store!

Re: Britain's Worst Supermarket : Sun May 12, 2013 8:41 am  

Big Graeme wrote:

Very few brands could stand being delisted by one or more major supermarkets, just check out what happened to Premier Foods or Daniels Group when they had products delisted by Tesco.

The supermarkets cannot afford to de-list the bigger brands - there-in lies the status quo they need each other. No supermarket could afford to de-list Coca-Cola, Cornflakes, Heinz beans etc and these products will form a significant chunk of their turnover.

Re: Britain's Worst Supermarket : Sun May 12, 2013 8:45 am  

Sal Paradise wrote:

The supermarkets cannot afford to de-list the bigger brands - there-in lies the status quo they need each other. No supermarket could afford to de-list Coca-Cola, Cornflakes, Heinz beans etc and these products will form a significant chunk of their turnover.

You are talking about a small list of very select brands and sometimes just key brands within a portfolio, the rest get what they are given.

Re: Britain's Worst Supermarket : Sun May 12, 2013 9:01 am  

Dally wrote:

But they are allegedly "baking" from pre-frozen ingridients to produce the initial loaf. If they have stuff left then it is sliced and put out next day. I would guess the act of slicing makes it feel pliable and therefore fresh to the unsuspecting customer?

Have baked our own lots of times and it lasts just as long as that stuff, especially if wrapped in foil. PS when you bake your own it takes more that the 9 minutes or so it takes in-store!

I don't really understand your point, is it that they are baking instore from product that has been proven off site and frozen at that point - I don't really see anything "wrong" in that, its bringing consistency to a product that would otherwise be different in every store - you might argue that that is the bad thing and that an independent baker will produce a slightly different product almost every day as long as they use raw products to produce their bread and not one of the pre-prepared sacks of dough mix that some of them do - is that wrong too ?

And yes you can extend the life of your home baked bread by a day or two, the wife stores ours in a large Tupperware style sealed box, personally I don't like that as it actually softens the crust then, its better to admit, like the French do so well, that bread is actually a product that has to be baked and then consumed same day and I don't have a problem with supermarket bread not lasting for a long time, indeed I'm very suspicious about the branded packed sliced breads that are often the cheapest on the shelf, taste of nothing at all, last for seven days and are only actually good for toasting or feeding to ducks.