Current Affairs Cost of living…

[Charro]

The comment re the Lloyd Grossman jars was made, by myself, because of a post a couple pages back featuring a photo of a jar of Lloyd Grossman sauce on a supermarket shelf with an accompanying comment that the price (shown in the photo) had shot up.

Surprised you didn't factor that in when having a pop. I suppose it's easier to just assume that anyone with a different opinion to you is ignorant.

Sorry if you feel like I'm having a pop or whatever, but I've spent the majority of my hearing people give these "solutions" to my mother who had to raise two children, one of whom was severely disabled on a low income, in a pressurised NHS environment so I know how hurtful comments like yours are to people who are trying as hard as they can.

I didnt see what post it was attached to, but you must understand why people would take offence to what you said in that post?

When you've lived it, it's tiring reading the same old nonsense. It's shaming in a lot of ways.

 

[Tree13]

Sorry if you feel like I'm having a pop or whatever, but I've spent the majority of my hearing people give these "solutions" to my mother who had to raise two children, one of whom was severely disabled on a low income, in a pressurised NHS environment so I know how hurtful comments like yours are to people who are trying as hard as they can.

I didnt see what post it was attached to, but you must understand why people would take offence to what you said in that post?

When you've lived it, it's tiring reading the same old nonsense. It's shaming in a lot of ways.

So you're happy wading into a thread halfway through and taking a pop at someone for a comment which YOU freely admit you're taking out of context?

- Go back to page 36 (might be 35, or 37).
- Find the post featuring the photo of the jar of Lloyd Grossman sauce at over £4.
- Read the reply from @Mr. White white suggesting making sauce from scratch.
- Read the snarky replies directed at him and the point following that where I first commented.
- Then read the rest of the replies leading to YOU sticking your oar in.

Then ask yourself "do I owe @Tree13 an apology?"

Then we can talk.

 

[Tree13]

Dear @Charro

I decided to save you the trouble of actually reading the thread - here are all the posts you ignored before deciding to take have a go.

Oh and @Rita_Poon - see the below. Several people mocked @Mr. White . All unfairly.

View attachment 204877

Home-made, tomato based sauces, are the cheapest and easiest thing to make at home!

A couple of tins of chopped tomatoes, mix in some dried herbs and spices to taste, and it will be tastier, cheaper and a quarter of the price of these Loyd-Grossman, jarred sauces.

Use half the tin and refill with the neighbours hose. There's 2 meals. What cost of living crisis!!!

Traditional ways of cooking are the most efficient.. based on years/decades/hundreds of years of experience!

Just like a few other 'traditional' views from back in the good ole days eh...

Is it best to use diet tomatoes ? Asking for a friend @Joey66

You strike me as an ideas man.

So, given that the price is driven by shortages, and that the shortages are caused by climate weirding, what should we do now ? Take climate change seriously, or panic buy Bisto and add vinegar for some acidity ?

UK crops of carrots, parsnips, cabbage and cauliflower had been affected by the poor weather, Mr O'Malley said.
"We are about to see serious shortages and price hikes on these lines in the coming weeks and months," he said.
"The biggest issue we now have as an industry is not inflation, it's mother nature," he added.

Dry them out, mix with chickpeas and smoke them.

I'm not an 'Ideas Man'. I cook from scratch... more often than not. I don't complain about the price of expensive, convenience food.

The price of pre-made, eg, Loyd Grossman sauces, is not only driven by shortages. The price is also driven by demand/convenience/laziness. Consumers will pay a premium for convenience. That's their choice.

Tomatoes, herbs, spices, vinegar, pasta... all store cupboard basics, and cheap.

Buy local and buy seasonal foods! People complain about the cost of convenience foods. If anybody is complaining about the cost of seasonal veg... carrots, cabbage, parsnips, I'm yet to see it.

Being lazy is expensive.

"let them eat cake..."

Ffs I only posted the picture to show how obscene the price hikes are. Didn’t expect a culinary lecture from Lloyd Grossman himself

As was stated below your post, time can be an issue, single parent or otherwise. It wasn't too long ago that a single worker could support a family, have a home and afford some recreation. This then took two working adults to maintain, then two working adults and a lesser quality home, then two working adults working more hours, and so on. I'm sure it's not easy for some to maintain some reasonable standard of living _in this country_ and afford time to cook from scratch. That said, I agree, in my subjective opinion, people should cook from scratch, and grow their own food too, it's a lot better for us than corporate sludge, but don't let your own experience of a time long gone disabuse you of the fact that time is short for a lot of families now mate.

Hardly a lecture.

This is a cost of living thread, and the poster you're mocking offered a sensible tip for avoiding the impact of a price hike you correctly identified. That tip might not work for everyone, but it WILL work for some. Convenience food is an absolute money drain for ANY family.

I really don't think your response was warranted.

Funny..."I don't complain about the price of expensive, convenience food." sounds down right condescending from here. It isn't a first either from one of the two 'alright jacks'...

He also implied people are lazy because they don’t cook from scratch.

It was a lecture.

No. But, if i was, it would only take me a few minutes extra to make a home-made pasta sauce from scratch... it may take a bit longer, but it is is 75% cheaper... an acceptable trade-off...

I don't complain about the price of expensive convenience food either. Because I don't buy it, because there are cheaper alternatives.

One could turn to own brand sauces, for instance, instead of paying over £4 a jar for a pasta sauce bearing a snooty food critic's name.

Absolutely astonishing to see some of the attitudes being displayed here. I thought the point of this thread was to share ideas for saving money?

ah-uh

You've proven not to be so bad, so I'll reply, when someone gets a bit 'judgey' its not unknown for others to do the same. The two 'alright jacks' deserve every penny of the disdain they dish out and more.

Do you not see the questionable value of mocking suggestions of "try cooking it from scratch" and "buy a cheaper own brand version" when they are offered as alternatives to expensive branded convenience foods?

There seems to be a prevailing theme on this specific topic that somehow it is rude to offer ideas for cutting costs relating to food spend, or that cooking from scratch is somehow demeaning.

Framing these suggestions as "judgey" seems downright bizarre to me. Batch cooking a couple of litres of red sauce for pasta takes very little skill and provides a decent saving against all but the cheapest own-brand sauces. You might not want to do it - that's fine, entirely your choice. But the fact remains it's a sensible option - as is the purchase of own brand sauces. Feel free to convince me otherwise.

No one mocked that so far as I can see.

The very concept of the poorest choosing top of the range pasta sauce out of some laziness when they don't even have the energy to cook the sauce and boil the pasta is just maddening. It's sunak asking the homeless man if he works in business.

some nerve!

View attachment 205353

I never use tinned sauces and always make my own sauce. Is it really that much cheaper?

It certainly isnt more convenient. It's more time consuming and messy.

To people who are single, or don't have children, then, yeah, make your own sauce.

To a single mother working full time? Nah, they don't have the time or energy. They just want to put the sauce in the pan, boil the pasta and save as much time as they can.

 

[Rita_Poon]

The comment re the Lloyd Grossman jars was made, by myself, because of a post a couple pages back featuring a photo of a jar of Lloyd Grossman sauce on a supermarket shelf with an accompanying comment that the price (shown in the photo) had shot up.

Surprised you didn't factor that in when having a pop. I suppose it's easier to just assume that anyone with a different opinion to you is ignorant.

hmmm.
+

 

[Charro]

Mate, the last post is from me quite clearly discussing the topic in hand.

Apologies if I've taken something out of context, maybe I didnt see the picture quoted (I cant see tweets on the work laptop), but I didnt wade in at all, and took your response at face value. Does it change much with the picture that started the discussion? I'm not sure, but I'll concede that point as I don't want a stupid tit for tat.

Still think all my points stand so I'll crack on if that's ok? Any counter view to what I've posted?

 

[Rita_Poon]

"I'm not an 'Ideas Man'. I cook from scratch... more often than not. I don't complain about the price of expensive, convenience food.

The price of pre-made, eg, Loyd Grossman sauces, is not only driven by shortages. The price is also driven by demand/convenience/laziness. Consumers will pay a premium for convenience. That's their choice.

Tomatoes, herbs, spices, vinegar, pasta... all store cupboard basics, and cheap.

Buy local and buy seasonal foods! People complain about the cost of convenience foods. If anybody is complaining about the cost of seasonal veg... carrots, cabbage, parsnips, I'm yet to see it.

Being lazy is expensive."

Fascinating that you've flown into the rescue of the above yet called out assumptions. To the point where you've a hair across your ass talking up apologies.
Also, my "let them eat cake" quip has it's own agenda re the two cowards running from answering a specific question about a former pm (and it echoes a gladly departed French aristocrat) @Tree13

 

[Tree13]

Mate, the last post is from me quite clearly discussing the topic in hand.

Apologies if I've taken something out of context, maybe I didnt see the picture quoted (I cant see tweets on the work laptop), but I didnt wade in at all, and took your response at face value. Does it change much with the picture that started the discussion? I'm not sure, but I'll concede that point as I don't want a stupid tit for tat.

Still think all my points stand so I'll crack on if that's ok? Any counter view to what I've posted?

Apology accepted.

Your points stand in isolation. They just weren't relevant to the discussion being had.

In summary:

- complaining that expensive branded pasta sauce is expensive: fair enough.

- continuing to buy it when cheaper alternative "own brands" are available a a fraction of the price: bit weird.

- slating people for suggesting that making sauce from scratch is a viable option: also a bit weird

- assuming that people who don't cook from scratch are all "lazy": unfair.

- suggesting that people on a tight budget who won't buy a cheap "own brand" instead of an expensive brand are making questionable decisions: reasonable.

Any issues, or do we actually agree on everything and you just didn't read the thread?

 

[Tree13]

"I'm not an 'Ideas Man'. I cook from scratch... more often than not. I don't complain about the price of expensive, convenience food.

The price of pre-made, eg, Loyd Grossman sauces, is not only driven by shortages. The price is also driven by demand/convenience/laziness. Consumers will pay a premium for convenience. That's their choice.

Tomatoes, herbs, spices, vinegar, pasta... all store cupboard basics, and cheap.

Buy local and buy seasonal foods! People complain about the cost of convenience foods. If anybody is complaining about the cost of seasonal veg... carrots, cabbage, parsnips, I'm yet to see it.

Being lazy is expensive."

Fascinating that you've flown into the rescue of the above yet called out assumptions. To the point where you've a hair across your ass talking up apologies.
Also, my "let them eat cake" quip has it's own agenda re the two cowards running from answering a specific question about a former pm (and it echoes a gladly departed French aristocrat) @Tree13

Not familiar with the expression "having a hair across your ass" - not a dig at all, what's the meaning?

Fair enough re the cake comment - a niche Marie Antoinette/ Boris Johnson crossover?

As for the rest: the FMCG sector of retail devotes time and effort to researching consumer buying behaviour. Laziness is identified as part of the wider range of psychological and emotional influences upon buyer behaviour. SOME people buy SOME convenience food out of laziness.

And within the convenience food sector, there are very expensive brands and there are cheaper brands. It's not revolutionary to suggest that buying the cheaper brands will save money.

 

[Charro]

Apology accepted.

Your points stand in isolation. They just weren't relevant to the discussion being had.

In summary:

- complaining that expensive branded pasta sauce is expensive: fair enough.

- continuing to buy it when cheaper alternative "own brands" are available a a fraction of the price: bit weird.

- slating people for suggesting that making sauce from scratch is a viable option: also a bit weird

- assuming that people who don't cook from scratch are "lazy": unfair.

- suggesting that people on a tight budget who won't buy a cheap "own brand" instead of an expensive brand are making questionable decisions: reasonable.

Any issues, or do we actually agree on everything and you just didn't read the thread?

I read the thread mate.

My points are clear and relevant to the discussion.

Somebody said being lazy is expensive. It is, to a point, but there's a reason why people choose the convenience of ready made sauce, and very few people who are struggling will be buying expensive products over the cheaper stuff.

My overall point is there's a lack of understanding about how and why people are in the situation they are in and it's not as simple as saying, cook pasta sauce from scratch, buy cheaper (most do, it's still not enough), here are healthy, cheap recipes you can make.

My experience tells me that people find this stuff hurtful and patronising. Go and take a look at Jack Monroe for an example of somebody widely missing the point when it comes to food poverty, yet she's made a career from her recipes and "advice"

 

[Tree13]

I read the thread mate.

My points are clear and relevant to the discussion.

Somebody said being lazy is expensive. It is, to a point, but there's a reason why people choose the convenience of ready made sauce, and very few people who are struggling will be buying expensive products over the cheaper stuff.

My overall point is there's a lack of understanding about how and why people are in the situation they are in and it's not as simple as saying, cook pasta sauce from scratch, buy cheaper (most do, it's still not enough), here are healthy, cheap recipes you can make.

My experience tells me that people find this stuff hurtful and patronising. Go and take a look at Jack Monroe for an example of somebody widely missing the point when it comes to food poverty, yet she's made a career from her recipes and "advice"

The discussion being had was specifically about alternatives to expensive, branded jars of pasta sauce. The suggestions made (buy the cheaper ones, or make your own) are reasonable in that context.

You're correct in saying that IF those suggestions are made to people ALREADY buying the cheaper ones, or unable to make their own due to personal circumstances, then those suggestions could potentially come across as patronising and/or hurtful.

The context of the thread demonstrates that these suggestions WEREN'T being made in a response to anyone on the breadline already buying own brand stuff. The context of the thread demonstrates that these suggestions were being made in reply to an observation that Lloyd Grossman sauce (which we can.all agree is an expensive brand) was being sold at over £4 a jar.

There's a world of difference here. You're ignoring context in order to take shots at people based on what you *think* they were implying.

Separately to that, your overall point of view is not remotely controversial. I tend to agree with you. Would just prefer it if you didn't conflate two different issues.

 

[Rita_Poon]

Not familiar with the expression "having a hair across your ass" - not a dig at all, what's the meaning?

Fair enough re the cake comment - a niche Marie Antoinette/ Boris Johnson crossover?

As for the rest: the FMCG sector of retail devotes time and effort to researching consumer buying behaviour. Laziness is identified as part of the wider range of psychological and emotional influences upon buyer behaviour. SOME people buy SOME convenience food out of laziness.

And within the convenience food sector, there are very expensive brands and there are cheaper brands. It's not revolutionary to suggest that buying the cheaper brands will save money.

From urban dictionary..."This expression is akin to "Woke up on the wrong side of the bed" or "Who pissed in your Cheerios?" To have a "hair" across ones ass means to be overly sensitive to irritation. Usually one who over-reacts to a situation because there is already an issue afflicting them."

spot on re the cake quip.

I'm knocking an authentic ragu together, I'm even going to make enough to last three or four meals, but there's a problem, all the tinned tomatoes have been bought, and theres no fresh. If there were fresh (as supermarkets are limiting fresh fruit and veg buys to three items) I'd have to bin one of... onions, garlic, basil, chillis, carrot, celery, oh wait thats well over three before the tomato. Passata can sub in but its more expensive again.
Great swathes of the public are already buying the cheapest version of everything they can...

Asda limits sales of Just Essentials budget range

The supermarket temporarily limits purchases in its Just Essentials range, blaming soaring demand.

www.bbc.co.uk

People are frightened, and chilling out in the kitchen knocking a vat of ragu together slow cooked for hours on the hob just isn't realistic when some swine has sent the heavy squad through the front door to force fit prepay meters. prepay meters that are singularly the most expensive means of buying your fuel. Quick quick kick the poorest again quick!

alright jack (ii) got brickbats for taking a liberty - it's a shame you weren't as quick with the critique there as you have been since.

 

[Jimishorts]

@larrygobfiend any more photos you want to share with the group?

 

[IrishBlue2022]

Valid points being made on both sides of this debate but assumptions and context getting in the way of understanding.

 

[IrishBlue2022]

@larrygobfiend any more photos you want to share with the group?

This should cause a riot.

 

[Spadge Vernacular]