Brand ‘Snobbery’?

There are some brands that are non negotiable Hellmanns Mayo, Napoli tinned Tom's, Heinz beans, PG Tips loose tea, Heinz tomato ketchup and my wine!! Oh, and DH loves Heinz salad cream!

Generic painkillers every time. I try own brand stuff especially since the arrival of Lidl and Aldi. If we like them we continue. No idea about baked beans as I don’t eat them but it has to be Douwe Egberts and I’ve never found any other tomato soup that tastes as good to me as Heinz and I’ve probably tried at least 57 varieties.

Have always bought ‘ own brands’ as much as possible, but many years ago, we thought we’d try an ‘own brand’ cereal, instead of a well known brand.

The kids actually spat it out at the table....it was so vile! Never ventured back there again.

I’ll always try own brands, but there a few things that seem to be irreplaceable.
Nothing tastes the same, or even near to HP Sauce - it must have a secret ingredient. I like Taylor’s Italian blend coffee beans, I haven’t found any others as nice. Belvoir Farm ginger cordial is another one, I haven’t seen anything similar - it may be an acquired taste, but I prefer it to squash.

HP sauce, ditto Lea and Perrins, Yorkshire tea, M&S or Stockwell baked beans, Hellmans mayo and viakal cleaner.

Another vote for Aldi beans.
Hellmans mayo, Heinz salad cream, Daz washing pods, Fairy liquid, well known toilet and bath cleaners are a must. I buy store brands for other things as well.
The cat will only eat branded!

When you say cocoa, Calendar, do you mean cocoa or hot chocolate? Wondering because cocoa is cocoa is cocoa and how the drink turns out depends on how you make it, e.g. whether with water or milk, whether you add sugar, etc. In my experience cocoa doesn't vary but drinking chocolate does very much so and that would totally fit what you describe ☕️ ?

In the absence of Baileys Chocolate Luxe in any of our local supermarkets, I’m trying Lidl’s version. Will I feel obliged to finish it, even if it isn’t as good?

Many years ago, I worked as an administrator in a private hospital. We had a patient call us and ask for the brand of paracetamol on the drug trolley because it was superior to the brand named product she used.

It was the cheapest, generic product available.

Hellmans mayo definitely. I said Heinz earlier by mistake.

The Scottish gin ‘Hendricks’ has to be THE ONE! With cucumber and ice.
Ditto the Scottish malt ‘Cardhu’.
Some things in life are worth paying extra for! ???????

Urmstongran

The Scottish gin ‘Hendricks’ has to be THE ONE! With cucumber and ice.
Ditto the Scottish malt ‘Cardhu’.
Some things in life are worth paying extra for! ???????

The generic paracetamol from the chemist tends to break and crumble when it is taken out of the packet.

Supermarket cheapies seem better.

Sorry, Bombay Sapphire for my bi-annual G&T!
A good thing it doesn't go off.

Ps with lime and tonic

Baggs

When you say cocoa, Calendar, do you mean cocoa or hot chocolate? Wondering because cocoa is cocoa is cocoa and how the drink turns out depends on how you make it, e.g. whether with water or milk, whether you add sugar, etc. In my experience cocoa doesn't vary but drinking chocolate does very much so and that would totally fit what you describe ☕️ ?

I mean ‘cocoa’ not ‘drinking chocolate’ Baggs.:

I make it with skimmed milk, no sugar.

I think the difference is that some cocoa powder is now ‘dutched’, a process I had never heard of.

The Tesco one is not dutched, the previous one I bought was.

For me it's nothing to do with snobbery and everything to do with taste. I have tried many own brands of baked beans but only Heinz will do, I have tried Branston and never again thanks. Same with Hellmans mayonnaise nothing else will do. I don't drink tea very often and don't claim to be a connoisseur but when I do drink it it has to be PG. I don't drink coffee at all or wine. Own brand washing up liquid is fine but dishwasher tabs are fairy platinum. I'm fine with Aldi milk chocolate and Aldi washing liquid which is the equal of many premium brands. I buy what I like.

Cheapest supermarket baked beans for us now, but then we add salt, pepper and a pinch of chilli powder to them. Much tastier than the well-known brands.

I have always avoided brands except for Heinz tomato ketchup which I bought for years until I discovered Lidl's own brand - Batts tomato ketchup which is better and about a third of the price.

It's obviously worth testing the cheaper alternatives just to make sure the fancy brand is actually better.

Nescafe Gold Blend is hard to replicate.
I did get quite into the Aldi equivalent, but I don't get there anymore.
I like Branston beans. Apart from that, anything goes.

In general, I’ll give most things a try but tomato soup just has to be Heinz.

Oh yes.
I forgot I'd tried Aldi tomato soup.

Not a patch on Heinz, for me.

Many years ago as a student, I worked in the Frank Cooper jam part of the Knorr factory.

All jam lids had to be polished and inspected for scratches, as the jams and marmalade were actually being made for M&S stores under the M&S label. The quality control was so strict.

As an aside, the smell of the summer fruits cooking was absoluely amazing, added to that, the line of students all singing as they sorted the fruit on the conveyor, made it a happy place to work.

I do stick with Yorkshire Tea otherwise mainly buy supermarket items. Waitrose have lured me into buying Mutti tinned tomatoes and tomato puree and I am paying an extortionate amount for vialone nano rice which seems to be almost unobtainable since Brexit. It sounds awfully precious but I can't make a decent risotto without it.

I really like el cheapo tinned toms.
Perhaps they have more bad but tasty additives in?
Aldi ones are delicious!

I was always a brand shopper until my daughter and her brood moved in, and then the doubling of the food bill forced me to reconsider, some things are fine, but for one thing, no alternative is acceptable.
It has to be Twinings English breakfast loose leaf tea.

We prefer Sainsbury's baked beans and their choc digestives too. Aldi paracetamol at 19p is a must.