The list is pretty long...
... and also looks very badly organised but there was some method in our madness. We wanted to keep ingredients for each dish together so that if we couldn't find a main ingredient, we could decide to cook something else instead. I have to say though, that it was pretty hard to follow!
Here's the translated version:
Fruit & Veg Meat & Fish Other Stuff
Onions 2 x Pork Chops Chicken Stock Cubes
Red Onions A whole Chicken Tin Coconut Milk
Corn on the Cob White Fish Haloumi Cheese
Green Beans 2 x Salmon Fillets Black Olives
Coriander Green Olives
Tomatoes Feta Cheese
Lemons 50g Pancetta
Limes Fish Sauce
Lettuce 2 x Balls Mozzarella
Parsley Cheese
Mint Sesame Seeds
1/2 Cucumber Jumbo Oats
Cherry Tomatoes Natural Yogurt
Garlic Sunflower Seeds
Oregano Yogurts (small pots)
Potatoes for roasting Bread
Jacket Potatoes Semi-Skimmed Milk
Green Chilli Full Fat Milk
Red Chilli Teabags
Ginger Almonds
Rocket Raisins
Bananas Vanilla Pods
Leeks Golden Caster Sugar
Chestnut Mushrooms Unsalted Pistachios
Parsley Eggs
Bananas Tomato Puree
Orange
We'll post throughout the week about where we went and what we bought. But this was our haul once we got it home:
Doesn't it look lovely?
Did it take longer than a trip to the supermarket? Yes. Although having said that, we did the bulk of it (greengrocer, butcher, fishmonger, bread stall and one deli) in about 50 minutes. Pretty impressive! I was somehow expecting it to take longer. We normally shop at Waitrose and we definitely wouldn't be able to drive out there (especially with the roadworks), do our whole shop and drive back in less than an hour. It was only because we'd given ourselves some hard to find ingredients that we had to call at a couple of other shops as well which added probably another half an hour or so.
Was it more fun than a trip to the supermarket? That's a resounding YES. It honestly felt lovely to start the day chatting to people and just the small act of being present in the different shops somehow made me feel more connected to the community.
The smiling butcher jointed my chicken for me...
... and the even smilier fishmonger skinned my haddock for me - very helpful since my kitchen knives all need sharpening. (Sorry, he moved just as I was taking the pic)
Did we get everything we wanted? No. But we probably got more than we were expecting and some of the items were a tough ask. We had no luck on the fresh herbs we wanted - parsley, mint & oregano - but if I still need them, I'll get them on the market on Saturday. I can't wait for summer when I'll be able to nip out into the garden and get them. We also didn't manage to get golden caster sugar, vanilla pods, unsalted pistachios and sesame seeds. If anyone knows where I might be able to get my hands on these elusive items, please post your suggestions.
So now for the big question. How much did it cost? It came to a grand total of £88.84 spent in 8 little & local shops in Beverley. Knowing that we supported 8 small businesses today makes me feel great. And it's within the range of what I would have expected to spend at the supermarket. But was it more expensive that it would have been at the supermarket? So we could answer that question as honestly as possible, Antony (what a star!) spent a very dull hour this evening online seeing how much the same shop would have cost us in Tesco. It seemed like the fairest comparison since Tesco is the nearest supermarket to town and is also middle of the road on price. The answer, as accurately as we can get it, is £76.32.
So yes, on paper, it looks as though we spent £12 more. But my head and my heart both tell me that it's not as simple as all that. Because we've challenged ourselves to buy everything locally, we know that we're definitely paying over the odds for some items like a tin of baked beans because we've ended up buying fancy ones when we'd normally buy supermarket own brand. Ordinarily, no sane person would do this - that's why supermarkets are there. The other factor is that we're not necessarily making a fair comparison about quality. Check out the photo above and have a look at the beautiful roll of pancetta (pictured front left) - it looks and will taste a million times better than the pre-packed option I'd have picked up at the supermarket so surely it's only reasonable that I should pay more for it?
Finally, there were definitely things that cost less than we would normally pay at the supermarket and I'll post about purchases and prices as the week goes on so please come back and have a read.
We'd love to hear your suggestions for where to go for bargains, favourite shops or any thoughts and comments you have about the difference in price between shopping locally and at a supermarket.
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