Vegan Ultra processed food... again

[Pat "5mph"]

This illustrates a dying skill; don't buy more food items than can be consumed before they begin to deteriorate.
Apparently, the UK has the highest food waste record in Europe, although I think that part of this is also down to folk's blind belief in use by / sell by dates.

Aye, but one can only buy a whole cabbage, not a half or a quarter.
Sometimes I share a cabbage with another single person: she is a member of a community fridge, gets lots of veg for pennies.
Still, sometimes the cabbages are really big, so I share the half of my half with another friend

 

[simongt]

Probably something to do with them washing the spuds and carrots which vastly reduces their shelf life.

Agree. Folk now recoil from any veg with earth / soil on them; again supermarket brainwashing and today's obsession with hygiene and 'cleanliness'.
When I buy Fenland celery in season; October / November, it invariably has some good Fenland peat residue on it - !

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Agree. Folk now recoil from any veg with earth / soil on them; again supermarket brainwashing and today's obsession with hygiene and 'cleanliness'.
When I buy Fenland celery in season; October / November, it invariably has some good Fenland peat residue on it - !

I have bought spuds with soil on them from the farm shop

didn;t keep any better - in fact they probably kept worse than the normal ones

mind you - maybe the cupboard I keep them in isn;t as cool as it might be??

 

[The Crofted Crest]

, but one can only buy a whole cabbage, not a half or a quarter.

Really? Go into a greengrocer here in Holland and they will gladly sell you half a cabbage or cauliflower.

 

[Red17]

Really? Go into a greengrocer here in Holland and they will gladly sell you half a cabbage or cauliflower.

Same with our local greengrocer. They are also happy to sell veg in ones or twos rather than multi packs

 

[simongt]

Same with our local greengrocer. They are also happy to sell veg in ones or twos rather than multi packs

As with mine. They sell 'pre loved' fruit & veg which are all a bit past their best, but still perfectly edible with maybe a bit of trimming here & there.

 

[MontyVeda]

Agree. Folk now recoil from any veg with earth / soil on them; again supermarket brainwashing and today's obsession with hygiene and 'cleanliness'.
When I buy Fenland celery in season; October / November, it invariably has some good Fenland peat residue on it - !

It's picky consumers wanting clean veg.

Why would a producer go out of their way to make the process more costly and time consuming for themselves? ...if there wasn't a demand?

I'm sure the dailymail will say it was the EU what done it.

 

[presta]

Washed carrots last barely a week before they go bendy.

They keep ok wrapped in clingfilm (which increases plastic waste).

 

[simongt]

Like making a soup out of old veg rather than chucking it out or stews

When I started in the catering industry in the early 70s, utilising 'leftovers' into something appetising was a skill expected of all chefs and cooks.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

When I started in the catering industry in the early 70s, utilising 'leftovers' into something appetising was a skill expected of all chefs and cooks.

"Masterchef - The Professionals" often comment on this

Chucking bones and the like into a bin results in expressions of great disgust from the judges!

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Guys, I don't have independent greengrocers local to me, so no half cabbages to be had.
There are many Asian independents near my work, but they don't sell their veg in halves either.
Truly, on this thread it's the first time I come across the sale of half cabbages!
I can't remember this happening not even when I used to live in Italy.

 

[simongt]

Chucking bones and the like into a bin

At one establishment I worked at, we had a massive stockpot almost permanently gently bubbling away and anything such as bones, chicken carcasses, offcuts, veg etc., etc. would be lobbed in and our customers would often remark on how good the gravy served with the roasts was - !

 

[annedonnelly]

Guys, I don't have independent greengrocers local to me, so no half cabbages to be had.
There are many Asian independents near my work, but they don't sell their veg in halves either.
Truly, on this thread it's the first time I come across the sale of half cabbages!
I can't remember this happening not even when I used to live in Italy.

They sometimes have them ready halved in the market in Newcastle. I don't think you can ask for the others to be cut though.
But I have no problem buying a single carrot if that's what I need for a recipe. Access to independent shops is very important to me.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

At one establishment I worked at, we had a massive stockpot almost permanently gently bubbling away and anything such as bones, chicken carcasses, offcuts, veg etc., etc. would be lobbed in and our customers would often remark on how good the gravy served with the roasts was - !

Yes, that was the norm in catering then.
The continuous stock pot has been against health and hygiene regs for a number of years now, reason being that drawing meat stock from uneven pockets of temperatures could lead to food poisoning.
I remember my first job in a hotel kitchen as a teen, chef had one of those pots permanently on the go.

 

[KnittyNorah]

Guys, I don't have independent greengrocers local to me, so no half cabbages to be had.
There are many Asian independents near my work, but they don't sell their veg in halves either.
Truly, on this thread it's the first time I come across the sale of half cabbages!
I can't remember this happening not even when I used to live in Italy.

When I lived in Berlin, just a few years after the Wall had come down, at my local baker's (in what had been East Berlin, in Mitte, near Alexanderplatz) I could buy half a small loaf ...