Is food better or worse than it used to be?

LadyB1

A week ago a friend introduced me to the App Yuka. It is a free barcode reader which you can download and use on the wrapped food you wish to buy before you put it into your basket. It rates the food from excellent to very poor, and I'm afraid I'm a bit hooked on it now!
Has anyone else used Yuka and, if so, what do you think?

Haven’t got one. But on instagram people go round supermarkets pointing out the best buys of the week if you want to eat additive free as much as possible. Aldi and Lidl seem to be leading the way in that. And other people put up lots of healthy recipes. I’m spending a fortune buying foodstuffs that I’ve never used or sometimes heard of before.

Tizliz

NotSpaghetti

Well farmed salmon is nothing like wild.. that's for sure.
And seasonal soft fruits, Scottish raspberries spring to mind.

Yesterday however I had an apple that tasted like the apples of my childhood. It was the most appley apple I've had for ages - and it was a newer variety. I can't remember what it was but will ask my husband later. It was really delicious. Fragrant, on the slightly tart side... what a delight!

Please ask your husband. Here in Scotland I can't buy a decent tasting apple. Even when I found some Coxes in Morrisons they were not nice.

I so agree with you, we used to love Coxes but have stopped buying them because what are sold as Coxes now bear no resemblance to what we used to buy.

I think food's better, I enjoy the variety we now eat, except maybe for puds. Delicious as a nice pavlova or cheesecake is, steamed treacle sponge / rhubarb crumble with homemade custard are heavenly.
It's interesting that we imagine there was little factory farming when we were young - battery chickens which is the most cruel & intensive form of factory farm, have been around in the UK since 1930s, sow stalls became common in the 80s which sounds recent but is 40+ years ago now. Both have been banned fior some time.

keepingquiet my mother was the same, lovely cakes, scones etc. but oh! the fat and gristle that was called stewing steak! I couldn't/wouldn't eat it. The nasty sausages with bits of bone and gristle in them. Horrible. Meat is much better quality nowadays.

I think people are fussier now, at least they are round here. Anything not up to scratch is complained about and returned. There is also more waste because they chuck things out quickly and don’t hang on to it.

People are fussier because the uality of so much food is so poor

Waste is a problem because most people are so divorced from growing or producing food that ddoes not come processed in a cardboard box. they have o feel for seasonality nor a knowledge based on experience of when food is safe to eat and when not, so wilting vegetables will be thrown away incase they give you food poisoning, where we would know that there is nothing dangerous about a wilting vegetable and that it belongs in soup.

Not so here. Not many people use processed food because the stuff on offer is vile. Unlike the UK where it is actually quite attractive - we haven’t gone down that road ( yet !) Plus, being so huge, we grow most of our own food somewhere or other.

No one has mentioned UPF?

ULTRA PROCESSED FOOD.

Be afraid, be very afraid.

WithNobsOnIt

No one has mentioned UPF?

ULTRA PROCESSED FOOD.

Be afraid, be very afraid.

Yes we have, freuently but not specifically in those words. uite a number of us have written about poor uality food full of additives, extending to farmanimals stuffed with antibiotics tat get into the fod chain andprocesses like the Chrokey Woo dprocess used in mass bread production.

ROMILO

foxie48 I think on the whole you are agreeing with me. Your food seems to be mostly seasonal and locally sourced no Chinese chicken nuggets or mass produced foreign pork here. Dreadful childhood food might have more to do with cooking ability than ingredients. I remember my childhood food as plain but delicious.
I think we should be more like the French. Go in any French supermarket and you will find about 90% of the food on offer is french. Even when we were in the EU you would have to look long and hard for UK produce. Why do we not support our farmers like that.
As for buying organic I can't see any benefit in buying green beans or strawberries in February that are grown in Egypt or Israel and flown into this country.

France is a much bigger country with much the same population, so there’s more acreage of farmland per head.

As for UK residents supporting our own farmers, I do sometimes wonder why people buy Lurpak or French butter, instead of our own.
Of course Lurpak spends a great deal on TV advertising, which I dare say makes a difference,

French population: 67 million
Land area: 210,000 square miles

British population: 69 million
Land area: 94, 000 square miles

Not really a valid comparison.
We have to import.

Not to mention the difference in climate, sunlight levels etc.

People who have a down on celery should try 'dirty' Fen celery, short season around May, delicious, not at all like the lump stuff sold all year round.

Not spagetti, Two of my favourite things, Celery cooked or uncooked is definitely on my shopping list most weeks,and Oh for me a special treat is that first lovely forced rhubarb to be enjoyed so much. My father used to grow his own celery , and rhubarb, and of course shop stuff is not as good, but I mostly buy my vegetables from our open market, where I can buy all sorts and in small quantities. I love that sign of spring coming, when that first, expensive but oh so lovely rhubarb appears, so that however horrible the weather is , it is another sign that spring is on the way. Simple stewed rhubarb, not over sweetened, and with a little cream on it is a cheering sight and much enjoyed by me.

Years ago when I was running a family as well as working I had to have planned meals to keep all the balls in the air. These days living alone, I dont need plans - and to be honest , with the prices going up so much, many plans had to be abandoned as too expensive - so now the shopping list will have a couple of absolutely necessary items such as bread and milk but everything else is a possible/depends on the price list. So it will usually depend on best value, which usually means locally grown fresh vegetables and fruit from the market. I always have things like stewed apples frozen, so if prices too high , they can come out to be used, and basically everything is made from scratch, and generally I feel I get a good variety of food and change about.

I have always liked things like shin beef stews, with good gravy, that I can freeze some to add to something like mince on another occasion. I do keep some frozen peas and green beans in to have to add to the mix if there is little fresh variety of veg available and touch wood, still enjoy most of the food I have and prepare myself. Over the last couple of years have missed growing my own gardeners delight tomatoes and such but even home grown radish taste so much better and bite back as I like rather than boring shopbought ones so still shove a few of those in when I remember.
Wimbledon mens final day is my usual day to do PYO strawberries as I often get the field nearly to myself and can watch the highlights later which suits me. Summer puddings made in November are one of my specialities to remind myself of those lovely sunny days when I picked all the fruit. Ah I think that is a good idea for the horrible rainy day today and I think I shall delve into the freezer and concoct one today. Proust may have had his madeleines to bring back memories , despite my name , I prefer my summer pudding to take me back over the years. Much nicer for me than the school dinner puds of steamed syrup sponge or spotted dick and custard. Ah well each to their own.

Lathyrus3 if food imports are all down to population and available acreage why have so many of our traditional producers gone out of business, Kent orchard fruit, Blackpool tomatoes and many more
could it be that a lot of imported food is produced in factory conditions no soil in sight by people paid less than a decent wage.

I was brought up on good food and also being taught about food. I never fell for the fat free con, I buy my meat from a good butcher as I can’t eat halal and most supermarkets are even though it not labelled. Supermarket joints of beef wrapped in plastic feel squishy but firm from a butcher. I’m 61 I weigh 9 stone, I eat French butter with salt crystals, I use lard and full fat in homogenised organic milk. My cholesterol is perfect. The old ways are the best ways and most people are eating crap.

madeleine45

Not spagetti, Two of my favourite things, Celery cooked or uncooked is definitely on my shopping list most weeks,and Oh for me a special treat is that first lovely forced rhubarb to be enjoyed so much. My father used to grow his own celery , and rhubarb, and of course shop stuff is not as good, but I mostly buy my vegetables from our open market, where I can buy all sorts and in small quantities. I love that sign of spring coming, when that first, expensive but oh so lovely rhubarb appears, so that however horrible the weather is , it is another sign that spring is on the way. Simple stewed rhubarb, not over sweetened, and with a little cream on it is a cheering sight and much enjoyed by me.

Years ago when I was running a family as well as working I had to have planned meals to keep all the balls in the air. These days living alone, I dont need plans - and to be honest , with the prices going up so much, many plans had to be abandoned as too expensive - so now the shopping list will have a couple of absolutely necessary items such as bread and milk but everything else is a possible/depends on the price list. So it will usually depend on best value, which usually means locally grown fresh vegetables and fruit from the market. I always have things like stewed apples frozen, so if prices too high , they can come out to be used, and basically everything is made from scratch, and generally I feel I get a good variety of food and change about.

I have always liked things like shin beef stews, with good gravy, that I can freeze some to add to something like mince on another occasion. I do keep some frozen peas and green beans in to have to add to the mix if there is little fresh variety of veg available and touch wood, still enjoy most of the food I have and prepare myself. Over the last couple of years have missed growing my own gardeners delight tomatoes and such but even home grown radish taste so much better and bite back as I like rather than boring shopbought ones so still shove a few of those in when I remember.
Wimbledon mens final day is my usual day to do PYO strawberries as I often get the field nearly to myself and can watch the highlights later which suits me. Summer puddings made in November are one of my specialities to remind myself of those lovely sunny days when I picked all the fruit. Ah I think that is a good idea for the horrible rainy day today and I think I shall delve into the freezer and concoct one today. Proust may have had his madeleines to bring back memories , despite my name , I prefer my summer pudding to take me back over the years. Much nicer for me than the school dinner puds of steamed syrup sponge or spotted dick and custard. Ah well each to their own.

Although I don’t like raw celery there are very few recipes I cook that don’t contain it ( and it keeps for ages in the fridge). I had a book once which featured forced rhubarb. I lent it to a friend who never gave it back but even though I can’t remember much about it I know I loved it and wish I could read it again. Can’t even remember it’s name.

I love bowlfuls of stewed rhubarb as it comes.

Food has never been better or cheaper in relation to income, farmers have never been poorer because so many cheap imports replace the traceable, regulated products in the UK

ROMILO

Lathyrus3 if food imports are all down to population and available acreage why have so many of our traditional producers gone out of business, Kent orchard fruit, Blackpool tomatoes and many more
could it be that a lot of imported food is produced in factory conditions no soil in sight by people paid less than a decent wage.

It’s down to house building. Land is selling at a premium because of the demand for housing.

www.countryside-alliance.org/news-content-type/farmers-to-be-forced-to-sell-land-at-fraction-of-the-value

petra

ROMILO

Lathyrus3 if food imports are all down to population and available acreage why have so many of our traditional producers gone out of business, Kent orchard fruit, Blackpool tomatoes and many more
could it be that a lot of imported food is produced in factory conditions no soil in sight by people paid less than a decent wage.

It’s down to house building. Land is selling at a premium because of the demand for housing.

www.countryside-alliance.org/news-content-type/farmers-to-be-forced-to-sell-land-at-fraction-of-the-value

There’s a whole range f reasons why British farming can’t be compared to French farming. Land mass per head of population is one. Not just room for growing but room for building without having to take agricultural land.
Solar farms have depleted growing land too and rewinding policies. France has room for all of these without depleting agriculture.

Climate is another. France can grow vegetables that need sun and heat without the expense of greenhouses and power.

And the 9 billion subsidies paid annually to French farmers might just help them along too.

Be more like the French? It was a totally invalid comparison.

rewilding

Lathyrus3 I don't think be more like the French is invalid I think you misunderstood what I said, namely that French supermarkets stock and the French people buy French produce first and foremost unlike our super markets which stock produce from every corner of the world often at the expense of home produced goods. Also we used to eat well on seasonal produce so do we really need to have soft fruit and out of season vegetables in February, personally I think we devalue food by having everything available whenever we want it.

I agree with your comments about eating seasonally. As an allotment holder I try to do just that and I think the tasteless Christmas strawberries are a waste of money and resources.

But we can’t get away from the fact that it’s cheaper to produce in other countries and ship than it is to produce many things here. We can’t do anything about climate but French customers buy French because it is an affordable price, pretty much due to the 9 billion euros subsidies they receive to keep France French😬

The French government’s priorities are somewhat different to ours. Do I still think you are not comparing like with like.
🙂

This country hasn't been self-sufficient in food since the mid-19th century. The major damage to British farming was done in the 1870s, when we began to import wheat from the prairie farms of Canada and the USA.

The early 1870s saw British agriculture sink into a devastating agrarian slump, that despite temporary bubbles during both world wars did not fully recover until the 1980s.

The sterotype of the Brtish aristocrat impoverished shivering in his rundown stately homewas caused by this 100year slump. The aristocracy mostly got their income from farm rents - and many farms couldn't be let and rents collapsed.

However imports are a 2 way street, we import soft fruit in winter, but Scottish rasppberries are the best and with hdroponics and selective breeding the growing season of many foodstuffs grown in this country has increased.

Most people do not know or understand seasonality.