Trading up, and trading down...

[HalcyonDaze]

I do recall making it once but can't recall what it was like. The fact that I only did it once (or possibly a few more times now lost to aging memory) probably means not the best!

[rikita]

hm, i made mayonnaise once, but only to add it to romanian aubergine salad, because i didn't want to add the store bought one. there it was fine, but normally i don't like mayonnaise, so i can't really compare it, either ...

[snowwhite]

Apr 27, 2018 15:44:17 GMT -5 sprite said:

i tried once, but the result was really cloyingly oily. it tasted great as it entered my mouth, but i felt like my mouth was coated in oil after. i may not have had a strong enough blender.

You don't need a blender of course... But one egg yolk can take a phenomenal amount of oil (I read about how to make mayonnaise originally in Cooking in a Bed-sitter which I recommend just as a good read, even if none of the recipes appeal, especially some of the earlier editions, which are probably available fairly cheaply) - so I would guess the trick is working out how much oil and what sort of oil works for you. Plus then you can flavour it how you like.

[sprite]

i suspect, for me, i like the store-bought stuff, so am not willing to sacrifice the time.
whereas, there's a kind of chili sauce i love, and i will spend hours making that...

[tzarine]

made mayonnaise once
the taste wasn't worth the extra work

[Oweena]

I pay top $$ for coffee beans, cheese, chocolate, fish, and June-October our weekly CSA box is pricey but we know exactly from where and how every bit of it was grown.

[tzarine]

i prefer the local arugula & will never pay for the prewashed flavorless stuff

[sprite]

had TEsco's plain salted tortilla chips this week. better than waitrose. possibly because they're higher in salt.

[snowwhite]

May 11, 2018 11:51:35 GMT -5 sprite said:

had TEsco's plain salted tortilla chips this week. better than waitrose. possibly because they're higher in salt.

It's nice when that happens! I discovered I preferred Sainsbury's Earl Grey to Twinings when I had no choice one time. Of course now Sainsbury's is the least convenient supermarket for me (apart from Waitrose, but that's unsurprising, living where we do...)

[romily]

With a lot of stuff I would not be surprised if the store branded one is made in exactly the same factory than the branded stuff - like washing powder and the like. I woudl never pay extra for branded washing p liquid , cling film or similar stuff. Same with basic food stuff like pasta, rice, tinned beans...Also with sauces (soy sauce, ketchup and the like) I usually go with non branded and am happy with it.

There is the odd product where either no direct alternative is available, or i am just very particular about the flavour - some chocolates, crisps, cereals, and funnily mexican spice mixes. Oh, and quilted posh toilet paper!

When it comes I buy in bakery (or import from Germany) as this for me is a deluxe item, and meat / dairy I buy at the butcher or free range / organic due to animal welfare. But that can still be the store brand.

[kraken]

Aug 15, 2018 9:27:32 GMT -5 romily said:

With a lot of stuff I would not be surprised if the store branded one is made in exactly the same factory than the branded stuff - like washing powder and the like.

You're right, often it is the same stuff just in different packaging. Easiest way to tell is to look at the list of ingredients - if the ratios/amounts are the same or in the same order chances are they're the same stuff.

I buy store brand for almost anything, these days my closest supermarket is an Aldi and their stuff is all pretty much the same quality as most brands/store brands. I do buy some quorn products (which there isn't a store brand for) but then I also buy store brand veggie things as well.

[leela]

Aug 15, 2018 9:27:32 GMT -5 romily said:

With a lot of stuff I would not be surprised if the store branded one is made in exactly the same factory than the branded stuff - like washing powder and the like

sorry romily, but this comment always makes me laugh. Of course own brand stuff is going to be made in the same factories as brands. Supermarkets don't own their own factories for every type of own brand item they sell!
But as I say to other people who use the 'same factory' argument, everything I cook comes out of the same kitchen. But it's not all to the same recipe, and sometimes it's great and sometimes it's crap.
And it's absolutely not in the brand companies' interests to use the same recipe/standards for supermarket own brands as for their own, if it can be avoided.

[tzarine]

there is a difference in pasta sauces.
i found the imported italian (not barilla!) i found at the discount store to be much tastier than the us brands
& i would never pay $10 us for a bottle

i made my own mayonnaise. tzar couldn't tell the difference! my arm was tired.
& that korean yuzu mayo is just delicious!

[sprite]

i'm not romily.

but i do agree with the observation. in north america, for a long time (possibly even still) we had this 'no name' stuff in stores. it was a bright yellow packaging with simple black print. it was a lot cheaper than name brand product, but it didn't take people long to work out that it was often the exact same thing. it can work for a brand--they get loyal customers buying the premium product, but can still shift a lot to the lower end of the market.

i've told this story before, i think. my partner's summer job during school was at a packing plant for tomatoes. they packed for there different supermarkets. same container, same tomatoes, different label, different prices.

[leela]

Aug 23, 2018 16:16:07 GMT -5 sprite said:

i'm not romily.

Ooops! Sorry - don't know how I did that! Will edit.

[sprite]

i've been called worse!

[tzarine]

after eating ikura in hokkaido, i can tell the difference between hokkaido & alaska
but unless there is a deep discount it's strictly the alaska for me

sprite
i had heard that about the same produce different packaging

[tzarine]

when i run out of olive oil, i will get some of the cheap spanish stuff

[tzarine]

tea

i was given some posh stuff by my dentist
but i would never pay those prices
& there is a difference!

[Phar Lap]

I stopped buying the homebrand, no name brands years ago.

I refuse to buy any product that has the supermarket's name as the brand. E.g. Coles bread, Coles milk, Coles cheese. Or the Woolworths label - Woolworths pasta or cheese etc.

For every product sold with the supermarket label, it's one more nail in the coffin for farmers and companies. I hate how these two large conglomerates are taking over.

Where possible, I no longer shop at either, preferring instead to go to an independent grocer like IGA.

[tzarine]

i was given a fancy fish sauce - organic, small company
it's tasty, but totally not worth it

[tzarine]

i prefer local corn, potatoes, tomatoes
now they aren't even that expensive anymore

[tzarine]

i buy the original sriracha bc i like the way it tastes
it is also $3 cheaper in ctown

i sometimes buy the imported frozen ramen bc the broth is delicious