Topic: NEW POTATOES??

[tim]

I do object to the conning of the less-well informed.
New potatoes have been in the stores for a month.
Oh, yes - Egyptian? Oh, no - British!!
Grown in Staffordshire.
So when were they lifted? Even the Jersey stock is not in yet.
I asked both Tesco & the Coop.  A month ago.

The Coop responded after 2 weeks, after only one reminder.

"The aim of the Co-op is to supply it's customers with UK produced product
for the majority of the year, relying on alternative imported sources for
the least amount of time possible.  In the case of new potatoes only a
small number of varieties, which exhibit the true characteristics of a
'new' potato are used, with the main variety used being Maris Peer.
Production in the UK will start in Jersey in April before moving to the
Mainland starting in the south and slowly moving north.

Production of new potatoes are managed in a way that meets the needs of the
varieties grown, and ensures that a product is produced that exhibits the
typical characteristics of that variety and of a new potato.

Clearly in an effort to deliver a UK product for as long a period as
possible there is a need to store these potatoes at certain times of the
year, ensuring that their organoleptic characteristics are maintained.  The
length of time that the stored product is used is kept to a minimum."

Tesco, after 3 reminders, finally came back today with a phone call - I paraphrase -

 " they have been in store" - so when were they lifted? - "sorry, that's sensitive information".

NEW POTATOES??

[sandersj89]

Tim, could not agree more.

But the average british consumer does not care or know what they are eating, they just want stuff on the shelves 12 months a year and at the lowest possible price.

At home on the farm we gave up on growing commercial vegetables years ago, the supermarkets have scr*wd the whole job to make it unviable and we could grow the best parsnips you have ever seen or tasted!

Disgusted of Sussex.

Jerry

[tim]

And this is all by public demand!!

What if we were still allowed choice??

[bennettsleg]

And this is all by public demand!!

What if we were still allowed choice??

Not allowed to have choice, Tim.  Their sales/marketing/research departments all ensure we are treated as homogenised lowest-common-denominators.

The only exception is that they (and we're talking about Tesco's here) acknowledge that some of their customers have more money than others. I don't rate their finest range, I cook better than that, with less salt, preservatives, additives, flavour enhancers, fat & E numbers than they do and it costs me less to boot.

I only go to supermarkets for cleaning chemicals and cat food now (as he's a fussy little bleeder!) I get veg from the lottie (hopefully) and the market stall; meat from Costco (very good meat at good value, need a freezer though!) and other bits from our deli (bit spoilt). 

Hopefully more and more people will come to view life the same way - more power to the proposed legislation for supermarkets, their trading practices (including paying a fair price) and their approach to high street destruction.

Many people are ill informed/ignorant.  One farmer I was speaking to wasn't sure what a fair price for his cheese was as he was afraid that we'd be scared off or try to scr*w him down to an unviable price; another said people wanted organic local lettuce and mange-tout... IN JANUARY! No wonder farms go under!

[euronerd]

Agree 100% with all of you. I'm about as anti-supermarket as you can get, not least because they've forced my friends the fish man and the greengrocers (and others) out of business, and the more you read, the worse it gets. My tame butcher, thank goodness, is hanging on in there. But I'm not going to do any good by moaning about it on here, where most of you probably have similar feelings. They will hate you for asking them questions like that, Tim. Just rake a bag off the shelf and pay up, or better still, a garish box of value added potatoes. :) As you found, the replies you got as good as told you, 'if you don't like it, you know what you can do.' I hate that as much as you do. That, btw, appears to be the choice you spoke of. And probably the public who demand whatever-it-is are the members of their own publicity department, out of working hours. Slightly tongue-in-cheek there, but nothing would surprise me.
Jerry is right, the average consumer just doesn't care, and he sounds as if he's been closer than most, but I think there's little chance of any improvement, given the enormous power, and above all, greed, of these establishments. I don't hate much in this life, but they are the top contender.
OK, rant over. Hope I haven't offended anybody. I really had to restrain myself there. ;D

Geoff.

[Jimmy]

Justifiable and a sentiment echoed by many.

Too many people though will prefer the lower price than the true cost of what has happened. Everyone on this forum knows how superior what we grow is compared to virtually all the stuff sold by these monsters.

Also, I could not care less what shape/form some of it comes like - standard size/shape is not part of an equation for good food!

[euronerd]

Also, I could not care less what shape/form some of it comes like - standard size/shape is not part of an equation for good food!

I agree, but as Tim said up there  ^  they'll tell you it's public demand.  ::)

Geoff.

[froglets]

I envy those of you have the option to go elsewhere - by & large, when I'm not at work, supermarkets are the only places open, so it's difficult to vote with my feet.

When I can I buy locally, but weekends are precious and not to be wasted on shopping if at all possible ( or housework - that gets done early mornings yawn)

[fbgrifter]

how many of us really eat seasonally?  how many of us buy in 'exotic produce'?  i use a local green grocers to buy my fruit and veg but that doesn't necessarily mean its fresh or local.  they are selling asparagus from chile as the moment.  the customer demands all year round produce.  and where would i be without my grapes, avocagoes and bananas?  so in a sense, the supermarkets are responding to demand.  (not that i am pro-supermarket AT ALL!)

[tim]

If someone had not made it possible (to make themselves very rich, at the expense of so many real people), no one would have thought of Spring Onions from Mexico in February - or whatever??

So sad that there's no going back. Not like penicillin.

In the 'olden days', we never sought out all these fancy items, & we suffered little. And,  I believe, more healthy, on average, than today??

OK - I'm ducking!!

[sandersj89]

No need to duck, I agree whole heartedly.

We are now about self sufficient in veg, if I dont have stuff to harvest or in the freezer we move on and eat something we do have available to us.

No boredom or monotony if you plan well and enjoy honest food.

Jerry

[bennettsleg]

how many of us really eat seasonally?  how many of us buy in 'exotic produce'? 

You're right, as a nation we have become used to having what we want when we want it.

Our reasons for getting an allotment (other than enjoyment and the rather smug self satisfaction at managing to grow dinner!) are: for flavour, knowing what goes onto the plants and - most importantly as our shop is a new venture - cost.  This way we can be sure that our budget is met with high standard (but probably deliciously ugly) fruit and veg. 

The shop has also woken me up to the possibility of a good quality life without supermarkets. I'd rather spend a few extra quid on a top quality local product even if that money would have bought a larger portion of a lesser quality product in a supermarket.  It's also important to us to support other independant shops as we are one too.

The more people support local produce (and it is a noticeable shift in perception: we sell a Hertfordshire milked/made fresh goat's cheese that isn't cheap, but people want it as it's quality and *local*) the more the starting momentum against supermarkets can continue.

Don't know about you guys, but I loathe dictatorial preconceptions about how anyone should live their lives and believe that supermarkets embody those preconceptions.

[RSJK]

Could not agree with Tim and Jerry more,supermarkets could not give a toss where things come from as long as they can keep getting rid of the small shopkeepers.  Public demand my ar*e sounds like the government saying we have listen to what the people have been saying.  Do not no why we need all this foreign muck coming into the country we used to do without it as fbgrifter said, the same as we used to do without heating in the bedrooms years ago ( I wonder why so many of us suffer from colds and suchlike nowdays ). Like Jerry my family grew veg and supplied most of Birmingham's greengrocers shops with Quality vegetables throughout the year, then the supermarkets came along and a good honest family market garden had to be sold, never forget the day it was sold and my Father breaking down not only was it is livelihood gone but mine as well. Like Jerry does now if I cannot grow it myself I do not eat it, Bugger the super markets made me glad the other day when I heard Morrisons had lost about £350 million I long for the day when all the super markets go bust, and we get back to the old ways, noticed a posting on the teletext last night some one was on about turning the clocks forward for BST they said, it was a pity we could not turn the clocks back 50 or 60 years I think I see there point.

 Bloody hell longest letter I have wrote in years.   ;)

[euronerd]

We might just as well moan among ourselves about supermarkets because I daresay we all basically agree with each other, and we're never going to 'beat' them are we? They're not about good food anyway - they're just dealers and the bottom line is the balance sheet and shareholder value.

Not sure about shops costing any more either bennettsleg, because in the supermarket you invariably have to buy more than you want, but I'm with you on the dictatorial preconceptions. However, this is bringing me dangerously close to my other favourite rant: television advertising. Love to try some of your cheese btw, so next time I'm in your area...

Sorry Tim, if you're still here, we seem to have drifted a bit don't we?

Geoff.

[grawrc]

Hey! Just keep growing, cooking and eating. The more of us do it, the less supermarkets there :) :)'ll be. And all our potatoes will be new (maybe full of slugholes, but new ;))

[gunnerbee]

I brought some Nadines from the co-op the other day and they were beautiful to taste, they were grown in Staffs when i looked on the pack, second earlies, how do they do it?

[NoddyChelsea]

Oooh, Oooh I have some inside information ;)
Tesco actually source in the UK from one supplier (Branston Potatoes).
They then sub-contract the sourcing and storage of spuds to growers etc
in each region. Jerseys are imported as a separate commodity and they
also from time to time source from Egypt and Cyprus (imported via Sheerness Docks)
The UK season generally lasts from the beginning of July through to the
end of October. So I guess that means they are likely to have been stored for a minimum 5 months at present. :P

Noddy.

[Tora]

Supermarkets should at least give customers full information on products, even so when a customer is asking them about their product.
TESCO - evil company, they treat customers really badly (from my personal experiences).

[tim]

GB & Noddy - that's exactly my point - 5 months at least! Creeps!!

And to say that those are new & persuade folk that that's what they should expect.........!!!

Keep growing & love the difference.

[gunnerbee]

i do love the difference, unfortunatly my garden allotment lacks space and with four children and hubby things run out quickly!!! abundance of stuff in the summer but come winter its all gone, but on a positive note ive just taken up a huge overgrown allotment so i can start growing more stuff and hopefully last through the winter. i need a bit of educating on overwintering stuff!!! ill get there, eventually.