On 2 Nov 2009 00:20:21 GMT, wrote:

Pam Moore wrote:
Lloyd, look for a proper greengrocer as others have suggested. They
do still exist and we need to support them.

We had one for about 6 months, after I spent years grumbling to my mum
that the only fruit+veg options nearby were Somerfield or Co-op. Then
it closed cos people dropped off using it.
(My 3 year old still complains and wants to "go and see the fruit man"
on the way home every Mon + Weds!)

Your 're right it's not just as simple as getting the greengrocer back
in the local shops, because people just don't use them now. We had one
locally who opened up in an old bookies shop, same story six months
and he was gone. Mind you it was only a halfhearted shop in that it
did not have much of a range.

The supermarkets have done a very good job brainwashing the masses.
You don't get that in France. Mind you I don't ever recall a French
greengrocers! Butcher, baker, candlestick maker, but not a
greengrocer, though they always have markets and they are full of
fruit and veg stalls. Do the French have greengrocers?

Been a while.

lloyd wrote:
Do the French have greengrocers?


Yes, but the primary French outlets are the supermarkets and market
stalls. Supermarket veg tends to be relatively poor quality compared to
market stalls, being old and limp. Supermarkets seem to only have one
weekly delivery. Fruit and veg on market stalls tends to be fresh picked.

Prices can vary enormously everywhere. Take red peppers. Depending on
which supermarket you shop in or even on market stalls in the same
market they can vary at the moment between 2 Euro's a kilo and 4 Euro's
a kilo. Double the price!

Best of all is grow your own of course.
--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted
by a filter and not reach my inbox.

lloyd wrote:
Your 're right it's not just as simple as getting the greengrocer back
in the local shops, because people just don't use them now. We had one
locally who opened up in an old bookies shop, same story six months
and he was gone. Mind you it was only a halfhearted shop in that it
did not have much of a range.

I think that was also the problem here. He got some good stuff in, but
the lad running it didn't really know his products. He'd never seen a
gooseberry before! And also their storage wasn't great, so things
didn't have as long a shelf life as you might expect. And then he
wasn't exactly priced massively competitively, either. He charged 'per
item' on fruit, and most of it was the same price as we pay in the
canteen at work. (40p/apple/pear/plum, etc seemed about average)

On Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:56:51 +0100, David in Normandy
wrote:

lloyd wrote:
Do the French have greengrocers?


Yes, but the primary French outlets are the supermarkets and market
stalls. Supermarket veg tends to be relatively poor quality compared to
market stalls, being old and limp.

You or the veg?

Supermarkets seem to only have one
weekly delivery. Fruit and veg on market stalls tends to be fresh picked.

Prices can vary enormously everywhere. Take red peppers. Depending on
which supermarket you shop in or even on market stalls in the same
market they can vary at the moment between 2 Euro's a kilo and 4 Euro's
a kilo. Double the price!

That's a strange one then, how we developed the greengrocer and the
french never. I wonder why! Maybe it's because the French do actually
grow much of their own, or they used to?

Best of all is grow your own of course.

That's a job in itself, can't do both. I'd last about a week on my own
produce.

"Pam Moore" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:35:12 -0000, "Graham Harrison"
wrote:


"lloyd" wrote in message
. ..
Is it just me or is the white, tasteless, sanitised lump of nothing
they call cabbage in the supermarkets these days really that bad, or
was the green much tastier and better for us?

And where did it disappear?

I don't know about cabbage but a couple of years ago I moved from East
Bershire to South Somerset. That meant going from being 10 minutes walk
from Sainsbury, Tesco and Waitrose to the nearest supermarket being
Morrisons a 5 mile drive (well, maybe one bus a day but timed for school
so
makes for a long stay for a quick shop) away. Anyway, result is I now
shop
in the local village and it's the meat that gets me. Pork, in
particular,
actually tastes of pork. So my advice is not to change your supermarket
so
much as change from a supermarket to an independent greengrocer, or a
farmers market or something of that ilk.

Or if you live in an area where veggie-boxes are delivered, try those.
Graham, you should be in the area covered by Riverford. Their veg are
wonderful, but a small box costs more per week than I pay for my
allotment for a year. £8 for allotment, £8.95 for a small box of veg.
Lloyd, look for a proper greengrocer as others have suggested. They
do still exist and we need to support them.
The fresher and greener the cabbage the more vitamins you get from
them.

Pam in Bristol

Its so easy to make the mistake of slipping into the habit of doing all
your shopping at one supermarket. we only recently discovered that a small
local shop is selling excellent veg like tomatoes and courgettes at half the
price of Tesco's ! I need to wake up !

"lloyd" wrote in message
...
Is it just me or is the white, tasteless, sanitised lump of nothing
they call cabbage in the supermarkets these days really that bad, or
was the green much tastier and better for us?


I agree, dark green greens have much more flavor. IMO white cabbage is only
good for coleslaw and shredded in salads. Can't stand that yucky taste and
sulphurous smell of white cabbage. Alas, my wife loves it so guess what I'm
usually served?
My very favorite green is Brussels tops, closely followed by turnip tops
(difficult to source here though) and another winner for me is braised
celery hearts, my Xmas dinner must have .......is that classed as a green?

vsop

In article ,
vsop wrote:
"lloyd" wrote in message
.. .
Is it just me or is the white, tasteless, sanitised lump of nothing
they call cabbage in the supermarkets these days really that bad, or
was the green much tastier and better for us?

I agree, dark green greens have much more flavor. IMO white cabbage is only
good for coleslaw and shredded in salads. Can't stand that yucky taste and
sulphurous smell of white cabbage. Alas, my wife loves it so guess what I'm
usually served?

Nah. Sauerkraut mit wuerstchen.

Otherwise, I agree.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.