Value Range foods compared

[steptoe]

Jenny you will need to change your name soon to the craftytester lol , which brings me to the beans , beans beans good for the heart the more you eat the more you **** the more you **** the more you eat beans beans good for the heart

[jennyjj01]

A couple of biscuit reviews:-

ASDA Just essentials chocolate chip cookies: 39p.

Pack contained over 21 cookies. I got there just after tasting panel so no exact count.

Cookies were small at about 2 inches diameter and 1/3 of an inch thick.About 3 chips of chocolate visible in each.

No artificial colouring or flavouring.

Verdict: at 39p, these were very cheap and the pack was generous. It was easy to snarf a few at a time. Tried dunked in tea and as they came.

Cooked to the right level of brownness. fair texture.
A little less sweet than we would have liked.
Score probably 6/10 on quality but 8/10 on value for money. We'll buy a few more.


And now, Jammie dodgers vs Aldi Jammie wheels.

Oh dear. Epic fail.
Genuine Jammie dodgers from Asda 140g pack: 65p
BUT
Genuine Jammie dodgers from Asda 280g pack: 99p
and
ALDI Jammie Wheels 49p/140g

So, buying a double pack of the genuine article was 1p dearer than the ALDI knock of . Albeit much cheaper than other supermarkets.

Were the ALDI ones any good?
No. Apart from the package, the resemblence was superficial. Different taste to the jam and the knock offs lacked sugar and appeared under cooked,
I'll stick with the real deal while the price is low... Tasting panel agreed that, in the absence of money saving, the 'Wheels' were a no.

[steptoe]

LOL jen you are goinbg to have to add a drum roll lmao , omg me and the mrs sit here waiting the next jen test lol .

I really should do our reviews i just don't find time , she always says oh if your doing nothing lol like i sit down make an imprint on the cushion and it is get up lol

[jennyjj01]

Milk: Semi Skimmed. What the heck!
And a shout out for spuds.

Until very recently, we would buy 2pint (1/1L) bottles from Asda at £1.35. We've watched the price creep up, and it's now a big chunk of our grocery shop.

So a quick price check is an eye opener.
First, bottle size is a big factor. Just looking at the same product on ASDA reveals that....

£0.95 for 1 pinter (£1.68/lt)
£1.30 for a 2 pinter (£1.15/lt)
£1.65 for a 4 pinter (£0.73/lt)
£2.35 for a 6 pinter (£0.69/lt)

So, straight away, We switched from 2 pinters to 4 pinters (6 pinter is a bit to heavy because of arthritis)

But today, checking out lidl, Aldi and Farmfoods, just for the 4 pinter:

ASDA £1.65
ALDI £1.65
LIDL £1.55
Farmfoods TWO for £2.80 = £1.40

It's just semi - skimmed milk. How different can it be? Shorter shelf life? Sadder cows? We will be decanting it into sterilised 2pt bottles.
Guess where I'm buying next week's milk!
--------------------------------------------------------
and a quick mention on spuds.

Lidl Oakland White spuds 7.5kg Paper sack £2.99 (40p/kg)
Farmfoods White spuds 7.5kg Paper sack also £2.99 (40p/kg)
ASDA Essentials spuds 2.5kg £1.15 (44.5p/kg)

These are size graded. A bit small for chips, more consistent than certain places wonky spuds.

[jennyjj01]

Just thought I'd give a little shout out for ASDA Just Essentials 12 Fairy cakes.

What else can you get for 99p a dozen I was surprised and amused to find them.

These were small, of course and very basic, but I found them quite an acceptable and rather quaint treat. Two with a cup of tea.

Long shelf life for what they are. Good flavour and texture. Actually better than I can make.

Tesco do an almost identical product also 99p.
So do ALDI Haven't tried those, yet. I'll try the ALDI ones next week and update this post.

Only downside is the shameful plastic packing.

[steptoe]

Milk: Semi Skimmed. What the heck!
And a shout out for spuds.

Until very recently, we would buy 2pint (1/1L) bottles from Asda at £1.35. We've watched the price creep up, and it's now a big chunk of our grocery shop.

So a quick price check is an eye opener.
First, bottle size is a big factor. Just looking at the same product on ASDA reveals that....

£0.95 for 1 pinter (£1.68/lt)
£1.30 for a 2 pinter (£1.15/lt)
£1.65 for a 4 pinter (£0.73/lt)
£2.35 for a 6 pinter (£0.69/lt)

So, straight away, We switched from 2 pinters to 4 pinters (6 pinter is a bit to heavy because of arthritis)

But today, checking out lidl, Aldi and Farmfoods, just for the 4 pinter:

ASDA £1.65
ALDI £1.65
LIDL £1.55
Farmfoods TWO for £2.80 = £1.40

It's just semi - skimmed milk. How different can it be? Shorter shelf life? Sadder cows? We will be decanting it into sterilised 2pt bottles.
Guess where I'm buying next week's milk!
--------------------------------------------------------
and a quick mention on spuds.

Lidl Oakland White spuds 7.5kg Paper sack £2.99 (40p/kg)
Farmfoods White spuds 7.5kg Paper sack also £2.99 (40p/kg)
ASDA Essentials spuds 2.5kg £1.15 (44.5p/kg)

These are size graded. A bit small for chips, more consistent than certain places wonky spuds.

It is funny the price of milk , a while back farmers where being told throw it away and now it is going up in price i wonder why , i use to go to the local farm as a kid and get milk , they all got stopped with the eu and rubbish they tell us , but i notice more local farms now do fresh milk again and even milkshales woo hoo , the only trouble is it is full fat .
The other thing i do not understand a pick your own farm also has workers that pick for the supermarkets yet the price to you or i say for 1lb of carrots is like £1 but to the super market they sell to them for a few pence i know they are buying in bulk but come on farmers cut the locals a good deal and more of us would buy from you . it is like the so call organic that to me is just a rip off

[jennyjj01]

The other thing i do not understand a pick your own farm also has workers that pick for the supermarkets yet the price to you or i say for 1lb of carrots is like £1 but to the super market they sell to them for a few pence i know they are buying in bulk but come on farmers cut the locals a good deal and more of us would buy from you . it is like the so call organic that to me is just a rip off

The local farm shops around here are mostly selling produce that they did not produce, even stuff that they bought from the wholesaler. Their veg prices are usually stupidly high, even compared to Waitrose. I guess the farms are selling close to a loss to the supermarkets and sell at realistic prices at the gate.

Our local Veg market trader is dearer than ASDA! Shouldn't be that way! Never used to be.

Exception is carrots. I can pick up a big sack of 'Donkey' carrots for a couple of pounds. They're the wonky mis-shapes that supermarkets used to sell as wonky. But the supermarkets now sell them as if they were A1 grade carrots at A1 grade prices.

Roll on the supermarket Christmas veg 19p deals. I'm going to buy as much as we can store, freeze, dehydrate, leave in sand, whatever works. Except Parsnips. i can't give those beggars away

[steptoe]

The other thing i do not understand a pick your own farm also has workers that pick for the supermarkets yet the price to you or i say for 1lb of carrots is like £1 but to the super market they sell to them for a few pence i know they are buying in bulk but come on farmers cut the locals a good deal and more of us would buy from you . it is like the so call organic that to me is just a rip off

The local farm shops around here are mostly selling produce that they did not produce, even stuff that they bought from the wholesaler. Their veg prices are usually stupidly high, even compared to Waitrose. I guess the farms are selling close to a loss to the supermarkets and sell at realistic prices at the gate.

Our local Veg market trader is dearer than ASDA! Shouldn't be that way! Never used to be.

Exception is carrots. I can pick up a big sack of 'Donkey' carrots for a couple of pounds. They're the wonky mis-shapes that supermarkets used to sell as wonky. But the supermarkets now sell them as if they were A1 grade carrots at A1 grade prices.

Roll on the supermarket Christmas veg 19p deals. I'm going to buy as much as we can store, freeze, dehydrate, leave in sand, whatever works. Except Parsnips. i can't give those beggars away

I use to work on a fruti and gev van and well it was great fun , i just do not understand if farmers want to sell they should sell fair see so many jump on the olod organic we grew it but i have see them claim the eggs are farm fresh and my wife spotted the epmty supermarket boxes at this so call fruit and veg shop in the car park of a big garden centre , i was tempted to say hmmm so who's are those lol but i just walked away .
I am all for supporting the local farms but not if it is a rip off , the other thing i notice with farms is they want to pay peanuts for workers , i would be happy to pay a little more if they were paying a fair wage that british workers can live on , local to us a farm imported workers had them living in caravans on site doing the picking , oh well jen i guess we can not putthe world to rights lol
keep up the good work but try the hubbards sweet and sour we are struggling to get it each time put 12 on the delivery and not been able to get it , wife said we got to pop in to check the genius pastry as that also is hard ot get now , i do try and make our own pastry to but it is hard GF it crumbles a bit and genius we have found is perfect , little pricey but for making sausage rolls hehehe yum , i will say morrisons do the best gluten free sausages

[jansman]

So who is REALLY growing food? Or rearing it? Or shooting or fishing it? You don’t have to go mad. My own ground - and intense in for two of us in 75 x 40 foot - in which there is ( now) spuds,kale, Jerusalem, perpetual onion, carrots, stored beans,stored fruit, and some salads in the now very small greenhouse, which works great. In there are my ( now reduced) 6 fowls,and the eggs right now are about four a day. More than enough. Further up we have rabbits- 9 does and two does right now. That pays!

Then shooting,and fishing if I fancy trout or a Jack pike.

Folks here are moaning about food cost. Wages have to be paid. Next year minimum wage is going up to £10 + . And so it should! Food is THE most important thing ,and health is in there too. I am not a rich man,by far, indeed my mother has a bigger pension than our combined wages! But we eat anway!

Granted, not everyone can supply their own food ,even on a small amount- although I find that a mystery- but I won’t go there. Even a pot with salad can help ….

Tomorrow,I’ll feed the rabbits and fowls, and off to nails a pigeon or two. Nice time,with a dinner or two. Enough wood for the fire for five days, and I’ll fish on Tuesday. Our shopping will be - I am told - about fifty quid tops - and a fifth of that,our two elderly cats and VERY old dog.

I don’t worry about comparing food,any more than petrol .Fuel is the issue.

[jennyjj01]

So who is REALLY growing food? Or rearing it? Or shooting or fishing it?

Jansman and British Red. Probably a few others

You don’t have to go mad... More than enough. Further up we have rabbits- 9 does and two does right now. That pays!

True. I salute you guys. Don't underestimate your skills, which you share most generously.

Folks here are moaning about food cost....I am not a rich man,by far, indeed my mother has a bigger pension than our combined wages! But we eat anway!

Granted, not everyone can supply their own food ,even on a small amount-

Jansman, some of us are hopeless townies, whose idea of hunting extends to hunting yellow stickers and supplying our own food means cancelling the ASDA delivery. It must look pathetic to the enlightened, but we are what we are. Sorry to moan. Call it a coping mechanism while we adjust.

Tomorrow,I’ll feed the rabbits and fowls, and off to nails a pigeon or two. Nice time,with a dinner or two. Enough wood for the fire for five days, and I’ll fish on Tuesday. Our shopping will be - I am told - about fifty quid tops - and a fifth of that,our two elderly cats and VERY old dog.

I envy you. Couldn't even imagine doing as you do.

I don’t worry about comparing food,any more than petrol ( everyone seems to accept that one! ) Soon it will be local supply - and worth looking at locally.

All the comparing and bargain hunting is, perhaps akin to urban foraging. Hunter gatherer instinct for townies. We have a long way to go before we get to be self sufficient.
But I know some of us are trying. The odd raised bed, or cloche. Far short of self sufficient, and dreadfully slow learners, and probably taking many wrong turns.
Takes all sorts.

For now, I'll take the hint. No more moaning or comparing for a day or two

Oh.... And I must chase up my place in the allotment queue...