Reply to: An end to poverty (stripes)

[greenlake]

I remember seeing a tin of curry sauce for 3p in Asda, the tin itself was probably worth more than that.

Shudder to think what was in it.

3p? Damn, I knew I should've gone to Asda instead of Tesco....

[petergriffin]

They're probably banned by the EU now, on the grounds that the purple ink might cause cancer or something.

So what is it? Cancer or something?

[vetran]

When I was a student, the supermarket meat counter had a big tray of bacon offcuts with purple print on them. You could buy loads for practically nothing.

They're probably banned by the EU now, on the grounds that the purple ink might cause cancer or something.

£1.09 in Sainsbury.

[bless 'em all]

It's the rice grains that snap in the milling process and the packaging machines and are then filtered out. Basically there's a big sieve like thingummy that seperates the nice shiny whole grains that go in a pack of, say, Uncle Bens, and the broken grains that the premium brands don't want. Very very cheap and nothing wrong with it at all.

Broken rice - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Exactly. Just like the 'value' fruit and veg - not perfectly round apples or mis-shapen carrots taste the same as a perfect one.

Value ready meals is an experiment too far for my likkle tummy though.

[Mich the Tester]

They're probably banned by the EU now, but only Britain takes any notice of that kind of regulation anyway

ftfy

[Mich the Tester]

Broken rice?! What kind of force could break rice grains?

Did you buy a rice sack that had survived a high speed air crash?

It's the rice grains that snap in the milling process and the packaging machines and are then filtered out. Basically there's a big sieve like thingummy that seperates the nice shiny whole grains that go in a pack of, say, Uncle Bens, and the broken grains that the premium brands don't want. Very very cheap and nothing wrong with it at all.

Broken rice - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[OwlHoot]

When I was a student, the supermarket meat counter had a big tray of bacon offcuts with purple print on them. You could buy loads for practically nothing.

They're probably banned by the EU now, on the grounds that the purple ink might cause cancer or something.

[d000hg]

How have we got to the position that people with small incomes are resorting to processed food? Is it really cheaper than the grotty veg that's left over at the end of market day?

Well value ranges typically include ingredients and ready meals, although what you define as processed food might be wider than that. But ready-made food is often cheaper to buy than making food from scratch... they can buy all the ingredients at bulk prices after all.

But it's mainly time rather than money. You can make cheap food from scratch or you can buy cheap food someone else made.

I think we mostly cooked, but a box of Value Mushrooms was better than spoiled mushrooms from a market.

[OwlHoot]

LUXURY! We survived on Lady Tester's junior nurse salary, usually eating broken rice, corned beef and ...

Broken rice?! What kind of force could break rice grains?

Did you buy a rice sack that had survived a high speed air crash?

[gingerjedi]

I remember seeing a tin of curry sauce for 3p in Asda, the tin itself was probably worth more than that.

Shudder to think what was in it.

[original PM]

it is all they know - they were bought up on this sh!t and cannot cook

[Mich the Tester]

Loved the branding, stand out as "this is the cheap product". As poor newlyweds we survived almost entirely on the range.

LUXURY! We survived on Lady Tester's junior nurse salary, usually eating broken rice, corned beef and whatever grotty looking veg I could scrounge from the allotments around the corner or get cheap from the market traders at the end of market day. Tell you what though, we learnt to cook and we ate quite well.

How have we got to the position that people with small incomes are resorting to processed food? Is it really cheaper than the grotty veg that's left over at the end of market day?

[d000hg]

I go to supermarkets only when necessary and if I do I try not to buy own-brand food.

You're an advertiser's dream then.

[oracleslave]

I liked the stripes. Made it very obvious what NOT to buy.

Did the big Tesco sign outside not help?

[DirtyDog]

I liked the stripes. Made it very obvious what NOT to buy.

There were certain products where there was next to no difference (veg etc.) apart from the price. For some things, in blind taste tests people couldn't taste the difference between the no frills, ordinary, and posh priced ones.

For some things, there's no chance I'd go near them. I remember a university flatmate living off Kwik Save No Frills things - when we swapped his tin of meatballs with a tin of dog food, he struggled to tell the difference.