UK supermarkets 756

The number of people actually cooking at home has diminished over the years......most working mums now get a "pudding " out of the fridge.

Yoghurt, Ice cream , sweet things in plastic containers.................etc. They shop in supermarkets.quite understandable.They are busy people.

Those of us that want more interesting ingredients and to perhaps discuss them with the person we are buying them from are losing out on the lack of good high street butchers and fish shops.

But even then proper butchers are rare to find .One who really knows his stuff.and has been in the business for 25 plus years and actuaslly knows the stock where his meat comes from. Someone who will salt some beef., press their own ox tongue, or even bone a belly of pork.......some won't...some can't !!!!

My tescos is not good .... " No sir we cant do that.....No we dont carry that"....nor sainsbury...I can tell the difference in the quality of their meet from say Waitrose. Waitrose is much better.( and more expensive) and they do in my case have a proper butcher who you can talk to.

But the day is coming when the high street butcher will dissapear.................this is as much to do with our patronage as it it getting youngsters to enter the trade and want to learn to be an expert and not to earn too much .

In the end we we only have the supermarkets and we will only have ourselves to blame.

As for farmers markets my experience is butchers presenting meat in vaccuum wrapped sweaty bloody plasitc.......... bright red and nasty..........I wouldnt touch it . Together with dried out sausages that look "old". I get the impression that these folk are making too little money to ever throw stuff away. Hand written labels that you cant read................they are not going to build a business or consumer confidence using these amateurish techniques.

Good luck to the independant butchers and fishmongers ( do you remember them? )

Barry