Waitrose Minced Beef

[RitaG]

Went into my local Waitrose yesterday to buy some minced beef and was shocked to see that none of their packs are in a full 500g size. Most recipes call for 500g of minced beef so why are they short changing us. Can't remember what the price of a 500g was last time I bought it but will look in the freezer to see if I still have one. 100g is quite a shortfall on weight for roughly the same price as the 500g pack.

I am going to make the Mary Berry Mexican tortilla bake which by the way is very nice but now I am 100g short on the mince I will have to try to reduce the liquids in the recipe.

Think I will have to write to Waitrose to ask them why they have changed their packaging size.

Rant over!

 

[sdc77]

Awesome autocorrect title

 

[DavidG58]

are you sure they have changed their packaging?

I didn't know it was 400g but expected you to say it was 454g (approx. 1lb in old money)

Unless you were following a Waitrose recipe why would you expect their weights to match your recipe, buy 2 packs and only use 1/4 of the second pack, make something else with the rest

edit

https://www.ocado.com/webshop/getSe...0000&entry=minced+beef&groupSimilarProducts=y

I just did a search at my online option of Ocado, interesting that own brand Ocado seems to be 500g and most but not all of Waitrose is as you have found 400g

 

[GJH]

It's Waitrose. They know all their customers are gentile, rather than the hoi polloi who use other supermarkets, so are not to be treated as beasts of burden and expected to carry heavy packs

 

[DBK]

I guess Waitrose are just trying to encourage a bit of portion control.
But is it so hard to alter the other ingredients to match the amount of beef? I think I have to do that on almost every recipe I follow.

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[DavidG58]

2 more thoughts

I cant see the meal being adversely affected by just using less meat keeping the rest the same

As Bev said when I told her what I needed to be doing on here at 7:30, use your local butcher, get exactly what you want

 

[RitaG]

Sorry folks about the heading, it's that ruddy predictive text

 

[Ralph-n-Bev]

http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/grocery-categories/Minced_Beef_in_Aldi.html
Never mind waitrose get your self to aldi for your 500g minced beef.
Choiçe of six types to choose from. I can vouch for the quality . I shop there instead of sainsburys and asda now. Save a fortune for a family of 5 each week and I havnt lost out on quality.

 

[Granjan]

Recipe looks nice, can you make up weight with a chopped up beef burger or 2, you are right about reducing the liquids it might be a bit sloppy otherwise!

 

[chaser]

Never been in a waitrose, but don't they have a meat counter like other supermarkets, can't you buy as much as you want there, I know our tesco do , and morrisons, don't know about others.

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[thehutchies]

It's Waitrose. They know all their customers are gentile, rather than the hoi polloi who use other supermarkets, so are not to be treated as beasts of burden and expected to carry heavy packs

Is Waitrose anti-Semitic?

 

[Yorick]

You should take Waitrose to court for not fitting in with your recipe.
how dare they

 

[GJH]

Is Waitrose anti-Semitic?

I have to admit it took me a minute

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

its a shoddy way of supermarkets like Waitrose making more profit-400g pack at the same price as a500g pack . Not many folks would check the weight if they had previously bought the 500g,they just buy by the look of the pack

 

[pappajohn]

I thought it was a thread about a waitress falling in a meat grinder....

The wonders of predictive text.

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[Yorick]

The missus had a recipe for a nice casserole for tonight's tea. It said 5 carrots so she sent me to the shop.

They only sold bags of 4. I was extremely distressed.

If I bought 4, the missus would be distraught.
If I bought 8, she would say I'm wasting our savings.



I'm sat outside the supermercado hoping you good folk can best advise please ?

 

[Yorick]

its a shoddy way of supermarkets like Waitrose making more profit-400g pack at the same price as a500g pack . Not many folks would check the weight if they had previously bought the 500g,they just buy by the look of the pack

The directors of any company have a legal obligation to maximise profits for their shareholders.

This law protects all folk with pensions

 

[Minxy]

I make mince go further by using grated carrot to make up the shortfall, it adds a nice texture and flavour to enhance the mince taste.

 

[DBK]

The missus had a recipe for a nice casserole for tonight's tea. It said 5 carrots so she sent me to the shop.

They only sold bags of 4. I was extremely distressed.

If I bought 4, the missus would be distraught.
If I bought 8, she would say I'm wasting our savings.



I'm sat outside the supermercado hoping you good folk can best advise please ?

You could ask the missus to dress as a waitress (see thread title) then she can only say "yes sir!" with whatever you decide.

Might be worth a try...

 

[jockaneezer]

I thought it was a thread about a waitress falling in a meat grinder....

The wonders of predictive text.

Reminds me of the one about the butcher who backed into the bacon slicer, his customers got a little behind with their orders

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[Ralph-n-Bev]

I make mince go further by using grated carrot to make up the shortfall, it adds a nice texture and flavour to enhance the mince taste.

I've done that since the kids were little, to get more veg into them. If I made shepherds pie, I'd put a tin of beans in there too

 

[Minxy]

I've done that since the kids were little, to get more veg into them. If I made shepherds pie, I'd put a tin of beans in there too

Sacrilege!!!

That's worse than carrots in pasties isn't it @GJH

 

[mjltigger]

So with all the supermarkets claiming to be the cheapest 'on comparable products' is it any wonder they recently all started selling odd pack sizes?

 

[Minxy]

Yes you do have to check the pack sizes now very carefully - I always look at the cost per kg as a true comparison, rather than the actual pack price.

 

[robnchris]

We generally when making meatballs, spag bol or lasagne will mix even qualities of beef and pork mince, it does make a difference and if you want to meat to be moist try grating a potato into the meat and then just mix by hand, yummy.

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[RowleyBirkinQC]

if it's a Mexican themed dish you could bloat it out with kidney beans (no clue what's already in said recipe)? Perhaps pulses like lentils if kidney beans not to your liking? Or just make less? Buy more mince? So many options...

If it were me, I'd purchase the weight of mince I require from a more reputable vendor, one who does not attempt to scam me in this heinous way!

 

[GJH]

Sacrilege!!!

That's worse than carrots in pasties isn't it @GJH

Pasties should have carrots in them, just as Supreme Acklam Piesties do

Beans in shepherd's pie should be butter beans or kidney beans, not baked beans. Chick peas and processed peas are also tasty in shepherd's pie.

So with all the supermarkets claiming to be the cheapest 'on comparable products' is it any wonder they recently all started selling odd pack sizes?

Yes. Look at beers for instance, some sell 12 packs and some sell 10 packs. Cadbury's Drinking Chocolate is another I've noticed. Asda sell the large tubs and Morrisons sell the medium tubs.

It isn't just supermarkets either. Some years ago we bought a wrought iron gate for the garden. Two places had the same range of gates from the same manufacturer but they had different names, even down to different names and prices in the catalogues which were otherwise identical.

 

[Ralph-n-Bev]

Pasties should have carrots in them, just as Supreme Acklam Piesties do

Beans in shepherd's pie should be butter beans or kidney beans, not baked beans. Chick peas and processed peas are also tasty in shepherd's pie.

Yes. Look at beers for instance, some sell 12 packs and some sell 10 packs. Cadbury's Drinking Chocolate is another I've noticed. Asda sell the large tubs and Morrisons sell the medium tubs.

It isn't just supermarkets either. Some years ago we bought a wrought iron gate for the garden. Two places had the same range of gates from the same manufacturer but they had different names, even down to different names and prices in the catalogues which were otherwise identical.

Ahh but back in the day my kids wouldn't have eaten kidney beans or butter beans. But they loved baked beans and it made my shepherds pie bigger for the 5 of us .

 

[Minxy]

Heinz, Branston etc now do packs of 3 standard tins of baked beans in a pack ... it used to be 4 ...

Only having 400g in a pack of mince instead of 500g doesn't mean you're being scammed! If you need more buy more (either larger pack or extra pack) or supplement it with something else, but if you only need 400g why would you want to buy 500g ... its choice, pure and simple ... hence why I always look at the price per kg rather than the pack price. As for buying Waitrose mince ... must have money to burn!

 

[RowleyBirkinQC]

Of course it's not a scam, all relevant price/weight details are clearly available on the packaging, buyer be(a)ware!

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