everyone is talking about horsemeat:
after commenting on a tweet on my timeline
I realised that I hadn't considered the people
who are actually eating the mislabelled convenience foods:
at first I fell into the trap of thinking it must be low income or lazy
people who are buying this stuff, but wait!
I hadn't considered those who are time poor, too busy to
cook from scratch every day, those who just are not into food:
those who can barely use fuel to heat the house
let alone cook a meal
let alone cook a meal
the microwave dinner is quick and convenient and cheap:
when I was a kid, Findus crispy pancakes were a novelty
an expensive treat we could not afford:
but those were the days of local shops
greengrocers and butchers
not everyone has the luxury of shopping close by now:
for too long supermarkets have dictated to us price and range:
too much choice and too much wasted in my view:
the big providers should be accountable:
let's get back to quality over quantity
I'd try horse meat in a heart beat, eating horse meat is not a moral issue in my view, I bet I have already and just not known about it, that's the morality issue in horsegate.
ReplyDeleteI've almost always eaten for survival, it's just part of my Irish culture, my grandparents on my fathers side were subsistence farmers. Food waste is a cardinal sin (says the atheist)and every class is guilty of it.
I do know a lot of people with plenty of time but limited funds. There's many a nan that knows what that feels like. It's when funds are short that it makes most sense to go home made. It' a food education issue, but being broke is crushing and zapps mental energy. I can recall sitting with somebody that was woried about the amount of electricty cooking a frozen pie would use on there pre payment meter which was running low on credit. You never hear Nigal Slater giving advice on situations like that
Cookery programmes on tv are a specator sport and are not really made for people getting by on minimum wage. Those prgrammes are entertainment, what's needed is public service and as a public service provider the BBC is failing a large section of soceitey, not in just its cookery shows but throughout its programming. I can recall sitting with somebody that was woried about the amount of electricty cooking a frozen pie would use on there pre payment meter which was running low on credit. You never hear Nigal Slater giving advice on situations like that
We got in to batch cooking a couple of years ago and it has dramatically reduced our food and take away and energy bills. I think Diane managed to cook 54 portions of food in five hours, on Sunday. Simple food like stews and bolognese but all from fresh ingredients and the kind of simple food we like. We dont have to do it and we're certainly not doing it for the thrill of it, its just the smart thing to do. We get back far more time than is put in to it and we're still at the weight were were at nineteen, so it seems to be working.
I'll be honest though. There's a butcher round the corner and we've never stepped foot in it
Cheers
Sean
if I ate meat I would definitely eat everything: nose to tail:
ReplyDeletebut I would buy from good butchers and pay a good price:
you are right about cookery programmes and there has long been a need for real life, real budgets kitchen planning:
simple doesn't mean bland or time consuming:
batch cooking is an excellent idea, providing you have enough lecky to keep the freezer powered up!
Plenty of lecky, small oven!
ReplyDeleteI guess I would have to do some research on our local butcher to see how his products were comparable to what we typically buy from supermarkets. There's only so much I'd want to pay for braising steak, I've got to be honest about that.
I wouldnt mind learning how to bake cakes (off topic but you're the expert!)