Text 6844, 88 rader
Skriven 2008-05-11 08:17:14 av DAVE SACERDOTE (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av JIM WELLER
Ärende: Re: fast 286
====================
ML> I'm not fond of chopped, formed, water added things, but
ML> Buddig's is by far not the worst of what's out there.
 
JW> I will buy Buddig's on mark down if I'm feeling frugal, but I will
JW> grouse about the sandwich. I can't imagine buying or eating worse.

Sadly, Buddig was the last food processor to hold out and continue
making real sliced dried beef in jars, long after Hormel and Armor
had gone to chopped/formed/sliced beef.  

Those days are gone forever - I had bought a bunch of jars remaindered
at a local Job Lot store a couple of years ago and served the last
of my stash at Dale & Gail's picnic last year as SOS.  That alone 
should tell you how much I <3 my Echo Family. =)

Today, Carl Buddig stuff is indeed the worst of the worst.  The only
thing I ever use Buddig for is when the "lunchmeats" are on deep
discount, I will buy a couple of pouches of "beef" and make SOS with
it.  Use a highly-seasoned sauce and close your eyes and you can 
almost pretend it's 1978 again. [g]

JW> [Rhetorical] Why do people settle for industrial products in lieu of
JW> food?

ML> It's more shelf stable. That's the only reason I can think of.

JW> And they are brain washed by advertizing.

No, it's cheap.  That's the only reason.  The stuff is cheap and a lot
of people, for a long time now, are trying to make ends meet without
the knowledge or experience to know that you're better off in the long
run to spend a little bit more if you have it.

It's the "Vimes' Boot Problem," an analogy named after a character 
in Terry Pratchett's "Discworld" book series: Captain of The Watch's
Samuel Vimes noted that a rich man can spend $50 on a pair of boots
that will last 10 years and give good service throughout that time,
but a poor man can only afford a $10 pair of boots which leak
constantly and wear out in a year.  At the end of ten years, the 
poor man has spent twice as much on boots as the rich man, and has
had cold wet feet the entire time.

Someone trying to save money on food can fall into the same bind.
One of the local stores was selling Cabot Butter for $4.59/pound,
and it was on "special" for Buy Two, Get Three Free.  You'd have
to lay out $9.18, but you'd have butter for $1.83/pound.  A good
deal, but at first glance many people wouldn't do that: they'd spend
$1.89 on a pound of margarine because it's "half the price" of
the butter.

It's the same way with this Buddig crap.  Yeah, you get a pouch
of "lunchmeat" from them cheap initially, but if you took more
money and bought a corned beef round or a cheap-ass cut of beef
and slow-roasted it and then sliced it thin for sandwiches yourself,
you'd have meat that was a lot cheaper PER POUND, and much better
as well.  That's why I've taught Lynn to look at unit prices on
everything she buys.  Peanut Butter A might have a 12-ounce jar 
on sale for an attractive price, but if Peanut Butter A's 32-ounce
jar is cheaper yet per ounce, spend the extra two bucks on the
32-ounce jar - you won't have to buy it as often, and in the long run
you've saved money. 

I hear from people at work all the time, bitching about how expensive
food is - with good reason, I admit, though it's not as bad here
in the West as it is in the Third World - but when I ask them what
they are buying, it's always highly-processed additive-laden crap
from the middle of the supermarket rather than fresh meats and 
vegetables and "ingredients."  And no one shops around!  They're
perfectly happy to go to a huge supermarket chain and pay $4.99
a pound for 70% lean ground beef, and $3.00 for a head of lettuce,
and $3.49 for a pound of tomatoes, when they could go to the local 
butcher and pay $1.99 for 85% lean ground beef and then stop at
the produce store and buy a head of lettuce for .99 and a pound of
tomatoes for $1.49.  And don't even get me started on the price 
difference for fresh meat processing: Boneless/Skinless chicken
breasts for $4-something a pound, when I can get a whole chicken
for 79 cents a pound??  What the hell?  



---
http://davescupboard.blogspot.com/ - Dave's Cupboard - Food and 
Restaurant Reviews; If I post it here in NCE, you'll find it 
blogged with photos at Dave's Cupboard.

http://bacon-labels.blogspot.com/ - A gallery of bacon package labels.
(The extra shelf in Dave's Cupboard.
 * Origin: Doc's Place BBS Fido Since 1991 docsplace.tzo.com (1:123/140)