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Supermarket chicken
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Sainsbury's are doing 2 packs of chicken breast for a fiver so I went along and bought a couple today. As I was stir frying the chicken I noticed how much water had come out of it. Do all supermarkets inject their chicken with water to bulk it up? Is this such a common practice?
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Tesco do two whole chicken for �5.
There should not be any water or other solution injected in to fresh chicken.
What about chicken I buy from the supermarket?
The fresh chicken pieces you buy from supermarkets are covered by very specific regulations and should not have any ingredients added to them.
Processed chicken products, such as chicken burgers and nuggets, bought from the supermarket might contain added water and other ingredients, but these should be clearly marked on the labe
http://www.foodstandards.gov.uk/multimedia/faq /waterchickenmarch03faq/
There should not be any water or other solution injected in to fresh chicken.
What about chicken I buy from the supermarket?
The fresh chicken pieces you buy from supermarkets are covered by very specific regulations and should not have any ingredients added to them.
Processed chicken products, such as chicken burgers and nuggets, bought from the supermarket might contain added water and other ingredients, but these should be clearly marked on the labe
http://www.foodstandards.gov.uk/multimedia/faq /waterchickenmarch03faq/
I bought a huge chicken from a butcher last week, and I can assure you I won't be buying any from a supermarket again. It was lovely, tasted gorgeous, and didn't shrivel up at all. I buy (bought?!) lots of supermarket chicken, and noticed a huge difference straightaway in this one. I am most definitely converted, and all it took was one chicken to change my mind!
Hi F - have to add a comment if only to gain another bobble for my hat - supermarkets are factory outlets - it so happens that the product they flog is food, not sofas or whatever.
If there is a bargain to be had, ask why, how, to whos benefit and similar queries before giving over your money which no doubt you work darn hard for.
Food is all most people eat, so why is the appeal of saving �2 such a draw?
If you bought the quality of, say chicken, from a reputable butchers, farm shop or farmers' market producer who can give you the provenance of the item, advise the best way to prepare and cook, etc, then as noted above from N/flakes comment, the difference in the texture, density of flesh, flavour of the bird and so on will really make you think about what you by from s/markets.
Loss leaders like this are there to get shoppers into the habit of spending in 1 store, not to offer great tasting products at bargain prices.
Food is too important to waste money on - DEFRA recently suggested 20% of what is bought in s/markets is thrown away - thats the same as �450 a year in the bucket....
And yes water is added, and for different reasons - Tescos Finest Pork fillets? - 87% meat - the rest is water....It is a cheap ingredient and bulks up products, especially frozen ones. The Dutch food industry are the masters at creating 'added benefits' for processed goods - beef DNA added to chicked 'cos it holds more water when frozen is 1 example....
Read the labels on goods, meal plan, buy what is in season, and patronise the local outlets - you will not be disapointed and will get flavoursome food and save money too......
If there is a bargain to be had, ask why, how, to whos benefit and similar queries before giving over your money which no doubt you work darn hard for.
Food is all most people eat, so why is the appeal of saving �2 such a draw?
If you bought the quality of, say chicken, from a reputable butchers, farm shop or farmers' market producer who can give you the provenance of the item, advise the best way to prepare and cook, etc, then as noted above from N/flakes comment, the difference in the texture, density of flesh, flavour of the bird and so on will really make you think about what you by from s/markets.
Loss leaders like this are there to get shoppers into the habit of spending in 1 store, not to offer great tasting products at bargain prices.
Food is too important to waste money on - DEFRA recently suggested 20% of what is bought in s/markets is thrown away - thats the same as �450 a year in the bucket....
And yes water is added, and for different reasons - Tescos Finest Pork fillets? - 87% meat - the rest is water....It is a cheap ingredient and bulks up products, especially frozen ones. The Dutch food industry are the masters at creating 'added benefits' for processed goods - beef DNA added to chicked 'cos it holds more water when frozen is 1 example....
Read the labels on goods, meal plan, buy what is in season, and patronise the local outlets - you will not be disapointed and will get flavoursome food and save money too......
nickmo, I agree entirely with everything you've said. We've got good local butchers here, who put a notice in their windows every week to tell us where their meat has come from ("This week, the beef is from Mr Jones @ ....farm, the lamb is from Mr Evans .".etc), it's nice to know it's completely traceable & the animals haven't had to travel far to meet their end. The taste is amazing.
(by the way, I never buy pork in a supermarket - I raise my own, free range & you really can "taste the difference")
(by the way, I never buy pork in a supermarket - I raise my own, free range & you really can "taste the difference")
HiF - its not more expensive - go and speak to them and get a handle on the prices. To be honest the point is that taking say chicken for example, with a good bird, you'd find the meat is more dense as well as tastier - the result being you can purchase less quantitiy or make a similar 'normal' amount go further.
If taste is the prime factor, you will not go back to the s/market goods....and like for like, farmers' markets are for example demonstrably 20% cheaper then s/markets on the same goods.
Also just cos the shop is small doesn't make the prices suddenly greater. In fact, you are likely to find that a good local butcher can easily undercut the s/markets as well as offering to cut the joints / chops / fillets or whatever to exactly the size you want - and not sell you just pre-packed items over which you have no control...
Your original Q was re the quality of the meat I presume ref amount of added water. Give the local guys a go and see the difference in the way the meat cooks, which I am sure you'll find much better.
If taste is the prime factor, you will not go back to the s/market goods....and like for like, farmers' markets are for example demonstrably 20% cheaper then s/markets on the same goods.
Also just cos the shop is small doesn't make the prices suddenly greater. In fact, you are likely to find that a good local butcher can easily undercut the s/markets as well as offering to cut the joints / chops / fillets or whatever to exactly the size you want - and not sell you just pre-packed items over which you have no control...
Your original Q was re the quality of the meat I presume ref amount of added water. Give the local guys a go and see the difference in the way the meat cooks, which I am sure you'll find much better.
filthiestfis, added water to chicken breasts is a benefit for stir-frying, not a con in my opinion. Iceland frozen chicken breasts are my best friend when it comes to cooking chinese.
It seems you're not actually stir-frying though as that wouldnt happen. Stir-frying is when it's cut into thin strips and thrown into a smoking pan on max heat and thrown around/stirred a bit. You also need to not overload the pan. 1 breast is about as much as you should be putting in the pan (you need to do it in batches).
The chinese marinade their meat in an egg white and 1tsp cornflour (mixed together) for 20 mins to give it a protective coating. Try that if you're still having problems.
It seems you're not actually stir-frying though as that wouldnt happen. Stir-frying is when it's cut into thin strips and thrown into a smoking pan on max heat and thrown around/stirred a bit. You also need to not overload the pan. 1 breast is about as much as you should be putting in the pan (you need to do it in batches).
The chinese marinade their meat in an egg white and 1tsp cornflour (mixed together) for 20 mins to give it a protective coating. Try that if you're still having problems.
I have spent a lot of time in China and have never seen chicken breasts on the dinner table - but I have seen whole half-cooked scrawny chickens (still bloody), chicken feet (a great delicacy) and even chicken tongues. Makes me wonder where all the chicken breast /thighs eaten here come from. I'm glad I'm a vegetarian.
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