From what I recall of my mum though that was in the days before out of town SMs - my mum used to carry bags of shopping each day from a local grocer, butcher...etc. They knew their stock and what had/hadn't sold - the stock management was vastly easier. SMs deal bulk. The stock management is more difficult.
On a personal level, we had a larder - no fridge. In that case it's fine as I said - if I shopped daily there's no issue. But I do a weekly shop.
I do a weekly shop at a local farm shop ... no veg are wrapped or labelled. With a modicum of intelligence and a wee bit of experience it's perfectly possible to buy fruit and veg for a week and keep them edible in a fridge and cool garage. When I write my shopping list I draw up a meal plan for the week ... most of the days are interchangable so give some flexibility, but of course if one day's meal depends on planned 'leftovers' from the day before, that has to be borne in mind. It's how my my mother and grandmothers did their shopping and meal planning ... they lived rurally and didn't drive so were dependent on a weekly delivery or shopping when Pa needed to go to market etc.
Nowadays we have the benefit of freezers so there can always be a bag or two of frozen veg in there ... and when I buy meat and fish (also just once a week) what I'm not going to cook within the next two or three days goes in the freezer.
Nothing complicated ... just a bit of planning
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
When I'm at my home in France I do as @Obelixx does. Most of the fruit and veg is loose and I put what I want in the provided brown paper bags which are then weighed. When I'm with OH at his home in Norfolk most of the fruit and veg is in plastic bags, set weight and price. I like the French way, you can choose the right quantity and it's more eco friendly. Scales are provided. The bags go in the compost. Anyone can see how fresh it is. I do a weekly shop, rarely any wastage.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
I don't assume anything ... I take a look, I pick it up and feel it ... are the cabbage leaves firm and crisp or are they limp ... is the purple sprouting broccoli perky or flaccid? Yesterday I chose my tomatoes ... some were firmer than others ... one had a slight mould spot, I discarded that one and chose some that were firm and a few that were a little softer, ... I'll use the latter ones first and the firmer ones will keep a few days longer. There were some cauliflowers that looked a little tired ... I didn't buy one of them, I bought a fresher looking one. I bought apples ... I picked up each one, looked at them, and didn't buy the ones that looked bruised.
My brother is a vegetable grower for the large supermarkets ... the farmers' response to demand is so organised that it can result in requested veg being at the supermarket the next day. Nevertheless, if I do occasionally buy veg at the supermarket I do exactly as I do at the farm shop. I use my knowledge and experience. I doj't just pick stuff up. Even with a 'use by' or 'best before' date, fruit and veg can deteriorate more quickly if it has been knocked or bumped, or badly stacked ... a date is a guide ... not a guarantee ... we shouldn't leave our brains at home when we go shopping.
By the way, the majority of farm shops sell fruit and veg (and other stuff) from places other than that farm ........... the one I go to regularly sells oranges, bananas and avocados ... they are supplied by wholesalers as are many of the other fruits and vegetables they sell.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
If OH goes to the shops I don't ask him to get fresh fruit & veg because he doesn't look at them (not even if there's a date). He just grabs the nearest, chucks it in the basket, then brings it home in the same bag as tins etc, so it never lasts as long as when I fetch it. He doesn't seem to grasp how to judge what's freshest or how to handle it so it doesn't get bashed about, maybe because when he was young shopping magically appeared in the house (ie his mum and sisters did it!). Or maybe it's because he wants to get in and out of the shop as quickly as possible and won't take the time to look at things properly. Either way I suspect he's not the only one.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
Please convince me I'm being paranoid but the recent outages with American flights and post office computers smacks of someone trying out their cyber attack systems. Most of our technology has elements of cheap Chinese software / hardware/ whatever.
Gloucester City Council was hacked and held to ransom. They had no insurance against such an attack and have taken around a year to sort things out. I don't know if they have completely recovered yet.
According to the website they are still having problems. Whilst searching to check, l came across this article. You might enjoy the use of language.
With regard to use by dates on packaged fruit and veg, Morrisons label theirs "D29", "J14" etc. With my razor sharp brain, l cracked it. "December 29th", "January 14th" . GCHQ here l come.
OK - so the produce that's left is tired and no too good eh? What happens to it?
Plenty of biomass digesters producing biogas/electricity and fertiliser around here ....that's where most such stuff that I'm aware of goes to nowadays.
Back in my day it would've been fed to the pigs ... very efficient recyclers, pigs
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Posts
Nowadays we have the benefit of freezers so there can always be a bag or two of frozen veg in there ... and when I buy meat and fish (also just once a week) what I'm not going to cook within the next two or three days goes in the freezer.
Nothing complicated ... just a bit of planning
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
My brother is a vegetable grower for the large supermarkets ... the farmers' response to demand is so organised that it can result in requested veg being at the supermarket the next day. Nevertheless, if I do occasionally buy veg at the supermarket I do exactly as I do at the farm shop. I use my knowledge and experience. I doj't just pick stuff up. Even with a 'use by' or 'best before' date, fruit and veg can deteriorate more quickly if it has been knocked or bumped, or badly stacked ... a date is a guide ... not a guarantee ... we shouldn't leave our brains at home when we go shopping.
By the way, the majority of farm shops sell fruit and veg (and other stuff) from places other than that farm ........... the one I go to regularly sells oranges, bananas and avocados ... they are supplied by wholesalers as are many of the other fruits and vegetables they sell.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
https://www.local.gov.uk/case-studies/local-economic-recovery-planning-gloucester-city-council
With regard to use by dates on packaged fruit and veg, Morrisons label theirs "D29", "J14" etc. With my razor sharp brain, l cracked it. "December 29th", "January 14th" .
GCHQ here l come.
Back in my day it would've been fed to the pigs ... very efficient recyclers, pigs
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.