Yet Another Cycling Forum

Off Topic => The Pub => Food & Drink => Topic started by: pcolbeck on 10 November, 2017, 09:52:09 am

Title: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: pcolbeck on 10 November, 2017, 09:52:09 am
I did an experiment.

I make a chorizo and chickpea stew and decided to see if the cost of the ingredients made much difference.

The recipe is as follows:

Some chirozo roughly chopped or sliced and fried in its own fat
One medium onion softened in olive oil
Two cloves garlic crushed
A couple of red chillies de-seeded
One red and one green and yellow pepper diced
One can of chopped tomatoes
One can of chickpeas (drained)
Teaspoon ground cumin
Teaspoon ground coriander
Two Teaspoons smoked hot paprika
Water to cover
Simmer for 45 minutes to thicken and serve with crusty bread and a hearty red wine.

So last week I made one using ingredients all bought from Lidl (bar the spices which I had in but the paprika was some Mrs Pcolbeck got from a scoop shop in plastic bag). Total cost about £3.00 and very nice it was too.

This week I tried the opposite end of the spectrum. I was in Harrogate so went to Weetons the famous deli there and bought s chunk of proper Spanish chorizo, a can of expensive Spanish paprika, a can of organic tomatoes (£1.50 for one can !), some lovely looking chilis etc. They didn't have chickpeas or the peppers I wanted so I got those from Marks and Spencers.
Total cost, not sure exactly but at probably three or four times the first one.

Made the stew last night.

Well was it any better ?

Well the only things I would say were better were the chickpeas which were definitely a lot nicer and the bottle of Cotes de Rhone.

An interesting experiment.





Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: hellymedic on 10 November, 2017, 02:06:44 pm
I compare the water content of various tinned tomatoes (by subtraction from the numbers in the nutritional information) and try to get the brand with maximum solids to the penny.
I get Posh Italian Brands when they're on Special Offer at Sainsbury's online.
Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: fhills on 10 November, 2017, 02:19:52 pm
Ah helly, woman after my own heart.

I have long liked aldi tinned tomatoes for my italian recipes. Seem to remember that confusingly they were called premium or something but weren't more expensive than their apparently normal stuff. Last time I was in they didn't have them, just chopped. Being a suspicious northerner i instinctively mistrust such tbings, i can do my own chopping in 30 secs thanks very much.
In truth, though the big italian brands are doubtless good i rather doubt they are worth the extra over stuff from canny germans. I know an italian who will only eat barilla pasta. Me, i prefer to look at the nutritional info.

Pccolbeck, yes i find the lidl premium chorizo very good. A hedgehog on a recent camping trip clearly agreed as it dragged it out from under my flysheet, giving me a very odd dream from which i awoke with a start.
Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: bobb on 10 November, 2017, 02:27:29 pm
I would rather eat a hedgehog than even enter a Lidl
Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: pcolbeck on 10 November, 2017, 02:38:53 pm
I would rather eat a hedgehog than even enter a Lidl

Why?

You need to experiment as some of their stuff is great, some is awful and some i sno cheaper than any other supermarket.
So far in my opinion:

Great:

Veg
European cold sausage type things (chorizo, sliced wursts, mortadella etc)
Chocolate
Fresh Bread - fantastic
Biscuits

Not good

Olives
Ground coffee

Also had the only undrinkable bottle of red wine I have had in about 20 years from Lidl. It wasn't corked just awful.

The nearest shop to us are 5 miles away in a market town with a railway line through it and a single level crossing. The Lidl has the major advantage that unlike all the other shops its on our side of the level crossing as we enter the town so involves no queing to get to.

Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: citoyen on 10 November, 2017, 02:40:53 pm
I got some chorizo from Aldi recently that turned out to be pretty rank. Aldi stuff seems to be very variable, some good, some terrible. Lidl is generally much more reliable in my experience.

Interesting about the canned chickpeas - this matches my own experience that canned chickpeas vary greatly in quality and it's usually worth paying more. Although I don't often buy canned chickpeas since it's so incredibly cheap to buy dried - pre-cooking them in the pressure cooker only takes half an hour.
Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: fhills on 10 November, 2017, 02:47:11 pm
Ignore bobb pc. Clearly a boring windup merchant.

Agree with you about lidl's often very dodgy wine. Swore a while ago never to buy another bottle there though have had a bottle or two of decent drinkabke rioja.

Far better for beer. I can recommend their vintage cider, the strong one in bottles not tins. About 7.5 per cent i think, £1.15 for half a litre of summer joy :)

Ride on, the wise pick and choose stuff, the sad wear branded tshirts telling the world they only shop at wherever.
Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: bobb on 10 November, 2017, 02:48:07 pm

Why?


Because they fuck their suppliers over. Why do you think it's so cheap?

They are well known of course for apparantly paying their staff at least a bit more than minimum wage, but the reason you can buy Chorizo for fuck all is because they've effectively held their suppliers to ransom.

Arseholes IMO.
Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: bobb on 10 November, 2017, 02:48:40 pm
Ignore bobb pc. Clearly a boring windup merchant.

Oh, shit off...
Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: pcolbeck on 10 November, 2017, 02:55:04 pm
Because they fuck their suppliers over. Why do you think it's so cheap?

They are well known of course for apparantly paying their staff at least a bit more than minimum wage, but the reason you can buy Chorizo for fuck all is because they've effectively held their suppliers to ransom.

And you think Tesco et al are any better?
Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: bobb on 10 November, 2017, 02:58:39 pm
And you think Tesco et al are any better?

Of course not! Which is why I'd reply in exactly the same way if someone started some jerking off over Tesco thread.
Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: C-3PO on 10 November, 2017, 04:56:16 pm
Masters: Excellence is expected.
Please do not disappoint.
Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 10 November, 2017, 05:47:32 pm
I'm surprised to hear that tinned chick peas are so variable. Who wants to volunteer to do a taste test?

I thought Lidl was supposed to be getting quite good for wine, but if the wine was included in your total of 3 quid then no wonder it was vile.
Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: pcolbeck on 10 November, 2017, 05:51:19 pm
I thought Lidl was supposed to be getting quite good for wine, but if the wine was included in your total of 3 quid then no wonder it was vile.

:) No the wine was separate. I have had some decent wine from Lidl but to be honest I cant be bothered with the lottery. Morrisons is much more reliable for cheap plonk.
Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: pcolbeck on 10 November, 2017, 05:52:11 pm
Anyone have a suggestion as to where to buy dried chickpeas by the way as non of the shops I have tried sell them.
Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: Hot Flatus on 10 November, 2017, 06:24:59 pm
Ignore bobb pc. Clearly a boring windup merchant.

Oh, shit off...

"Shit off"

I've never ever considered using that combination of words, and now that you've done it, it seems glaringly obvious. It's also possibly more offensive that fuck off, whose impact has been weakened by ubiquity.

Shit off.

I like it.

I like it a lot.  :thumbsup:
Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: Hot Flatus on 10 November, 2017, 06:26:52 pm
Anyone have a suggestion as to where to buy dried chickpeas by the way as non of the shops I have tried sell them.

Asian supermarkets. Really cheap.
Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: ian on 10 November, 2017, 07:49:28 pm
We could do a chickpea fart test. Do cheap ones make me outgas more and more fragrantly than expensive ones?

It's a thing, some beans make me fart seismically. I can blow the bloody doors off. Some don't. There's no correlation with bean type. Sometimes chickpeas will result in nuclear guffage, other times, not a parple. Lentils are my most usual pant bursting nemesis, but occasionally I eat a few and nothing happens. I mostly avoid them, it's not worth the risk. It's like the underwear equivalent of Deepwater Horizon.

I too like 'shit off.'
Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: pcolbeck on 10 November, 2017, 07:54:42 pm
Anyone have a suggestion as to where to buy dried chickpeas by the way as non of the shops I have tried sell them.

Asian supermarkets. Really cheap.
Ahh tjat might involve an 80 mile roumd trip. Asian supermarkets are rare as hens teeth in North Yorkshire.
Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: Si S on 10 November, 2017, 08:03:04 pm
I would rather eat a hedgehog than even enter a Lidl

Wrap it in clay, throw it in the fire, the spines will come off when you crack the clay and... bob's..well you.
Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: Hot Flatus on 10 November, 2017, 08:09:23 pm
Anyone have a suggestion as to where to buy dried chickpeas by the way as non of the shops I have tried sell them.

Asian supermarkets. Really cheap.
Ahh tjat might involve an 80 mile roumd trip. Asian supermarkets are rare as hens teeth in North Yorkshire.
https://groceries.morrisons.com/webshop/product/Golden-Tree-Chick-Peas/275611011
Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: mrcharly-YHT on 10 November, 2017, 08:12:58 pm
Anyone have a suggestion as to where to buy dried chickpeas by the way as non of the shops I have tried sell them.

Asian supermarkets. Really cheap.
Ahh tjat might involve an 80 mile roumd trip. Asian supermarkets are rare as hens teeth in North Yorkshire.
If you are close to York, then you could try Alligator.

There was the chinese supermarket on Rougier st, they probably stock dried chick peas.

Waitrose?
Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: jsabine on 10 November, 2017, 08:17:05 pm
I compare the water content of various tinned tomatoes (by subtraction from the numbers in the nutritional information) and try to get the brand with maximum solids to the penny.
I get Posh Italian Brands when they're on Special Offer at Sainsbury's online.

Extensive semi-blind tasting a while ago (I knew what I'd cooked with, my wife didn't know what she was eating) led us to conclude that Cirio was the brand to go for.

Haven't done the maths on the nutritional info, mind.

(As for dried chickpeas, I'm fairly sure our local Sainsbury's sells them.)
Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: hellymedic on 10 November, 2017, 08:34:08 pm
Cirio tomatoes were/are £2 for 4 tins when I last bought from Sainsbury's.

Our Sainsbury's sell chickpeas, both dry (Sainsbury's & KTC) and tinned (Sainsbury's, Napolina and KTC) but the area has a high Asian population and stocks are tailored to local markets.

I wonder if fartishness is related to the sulphur and protein content.

Certainly sulphydryl groups add pungency but I don't know about volume.

[Slightly OT]

My Hebrew food vocabulary is usually quite useful but I recently found I did not know the term for chick peas. Asked nephew, who was staying in Israel for a couple of years; he knew not.
Asked niece 'what do you call the peas/beans from which you make humous?'
'Oh, humous...'
Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: Paul on 10 November, 2017, 08:48:34 pm
Recipes, new cursing, shonky spellung, science, first world problems, sublime modding.

This is my thread of the week.
Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: Eccentrica Gallumbits on 10 November, 2017, 10:55:26 pm
Anyone have a suggestion as to where to buy dried chickpeas by the way as non of the shops I have tried sell them.

https://www.spicesofindia.co.uk/acatalog/Beans-Lentils-and-Pulses-p1.html

Lidl fruit and veg is cheaper than Tesco, and often it's much better quality.
Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: citoyen on 11 November, 2017, 12:56:30 am
I'm surprised to hear that tinned chick peas are so variable. Who wants to volunteer to do a taste test?

It's a phenomenon I observed when making a recipe that required two cans of chickpeas. We had one can of Supermarket Own Brand A in the cupboard and one can of Premium Brand B. When I tipped them out into the colander to drain, the contents of the two cans looked very different, so I tasted them and they tasted very different too.

Not that there was anything particularly wrong with the supermarket chickpeas, they would have done just fine in the recipe, but I definitely preferred the more expensive ones.
Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: hellymedic on 11 November, 2017, 02:23:30 am
OTOH KTC Creamed Coconut is flagged on my Shopping list as a Do Not Buy. Other KTC stuffs seem fine and are cheap & cheerful.

Some offerings from Fudco and Cofresh are VERY nice and are also cheap.

Ruff Nuts are my favourite.
Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: Mr Larrington on 11 November, 2017, 05:53:10 am
FudCo?  The Inappropriately-Named Businesses thread is over there <<<

(Gets in rofflecopter)
Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: Hot Flatus on 11 November, 2017, 08:50:29 am
Yes, tinned chickpeas vary. Cheapo 'EastEnd' ones (or was it Aldi) have a grey tinge and a stale taste. The better ones are plumper with a more vibrant colour and flavour.

You get what you pay for, but you can pay too much
Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: pcolbeck on 11 November, 2017, 12:40:22 pm
If you are close to York, then you could try Alligator.

Blimey is Alligator still going? I remember going there in the 1980s when that and the beer and cheese shop round the corner were the height of cool foodie stuff in York.
Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: hellymedic on 11 November, 2017, 12:49:42 pm
FudCo?  The Inappropriately-Named Businesses thread is over there <<<

(Gets in rofflecopter)

Mr Sainsbury has BIG bags of their nuts (bigger than any bawbag) on Special Offer at the moment.

Home delivery means I know nothing about their parking.
Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: Eccentrica Gallumbits on 11 November, 2017, 12:55:09 pm
I try to get pulses and spices from the Asian shops as they have a wider variety, they sell bigger quantities for much less moneyvthan Schwartz etc, and I suspect the higher turnover means things are fresher.
Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: pcolbeck on 11 November, 2017, 01:36:56 pm
The lack of Asians means a distinct lack of Asian shops in North Yorkshire unfortunately. Next time I am in Leeds I will have to have a ferret arround.
Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: Eccentrica Gallumbits on 11 November, 2017, 02:18:20 pm
I put a link in a post above for an online shop.
Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: ian on 12 November, 2017, 06:23:13 pm
Don't they just stick some calcium chloride in cans of beans to firm them up – that might be the difference? It's what my gran used to do with marrowfat peas (and then dye them luminous green with food colouring that I suspect is now banned under several international treaties).

I generally opt to pay more for groceries not because they taste better but I figures it's less likely that someone or something got fucked over to put that product on the shelf. Or at least not fucked over quite as much.
Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: pcolbeck on 13 November, 2017, 01:03:43 pm
I put a link in a post above for an online shop.

Thanks I had missed that.

Went to Morrisons at the weekend and they had dried chickpeas. Mrs Pcolbeck pointed them out and said I'm just useless at looking for stuff.
Title: Re: Cheap versus expensive
Post by: mrcharly-YHT on 27 November, 2017, 04:49:11 pm
If you are close to York, then you could try Alligator.

Blimey is Alligator still going? I remember going there in the 1980s when that and the beer and cheese shop round the corner were the height of cool foodie stuff in York.
Beer and Cheese shop closed about 2 years ago.

Alligator is thriving, being run by Steve, one of the original founders.