Re: Is Brexit over ??

It wasn't my assertion it's what John Redwood implies in his diary. Ref Spain you are right and I don't want to see the beautiful British countryside look like that. I mean in Spain there isn't much to blight. It's where they used to film westerns once upon a time. But do we want that here? We are the best market for their polytunnels because we don't really care how our tomatoes taste.

So where do we send our lamb? It's not that popular a meat in much of Europe. Do we sell it to the Middle East?

Re: Is Brexit over ??

We don't care how our tomatoes taste ,?

I certainly do. We should go back to seasonal fruit and veg anyway. Besides why do we have buy our fruit and veg from Spain or the EU anyway ?

Re: Is Brexit over ??

So where do you buy your tomatoes? I've rarely found anything to rival tomatoes that you have as standard in many European countries. We import most of ours from Spain it seems. Where do the British tomatoes go? Where do the tastiest strawberries find their way? Where does Welsh lamb end up? Is there a secret place that all these wonderful things ae sold (other than posh farmer's markets or other places where they are super expensive)?

Re: Is Brexit over ??

Does our own lamb taste inferior to New Zealand lamb?
I'm not a great meat eater, which is why I ask.

Re: Is Brexit over ??

I have no idea given that it's unaffordable. Who on earth buys it? Does it end up in posh dog food? NZ lamb is cheaper therefore the lamb of the masses.

Re: Is Brexit over ??

I can't understand why ours should be more expensive than some that has had to be transported half-way around the world.
There's something wrong somewhere.
I don't understand what it is, but I'll bet a pound to a penny that the EU have something to do with it!

Re: Is Brexit over ??

Well if you get to the bottom of the lamb economic puzzle JBR please do share. Because I've never understood why we eat tasteless tomatoes when in Italy and other countries they have the most delicious ones. Apparently there are delicious ones here too but people have a secret supply! I've also never understood why in Portugal and italy you can buy the most amazing wines for knockdown prices in the most average cafe bar but here we have cheap imitation plonk that tastes like (rude word). Same with coffee and the endless list of foods. I have a suspicion it's more of a corporate stitch up much like our fish!

Re: Is Brexit over ??

Well for a start fresh usually tastes better than frozen with most meats and Lamb is no exception, so fresh local will IMHO always win over frozen.

There's lots of different really good British lamb available but you have to look for it, because it certainly isn't usually to be found in the supermarkets.
Welsh lamb, Scottish lamb, Saltmarsh lamb - all British and so much better in both flavour and texture compared to NZ lamb.

Then there's mutton, slowly undergoing a revival with a far greater depth of flavour than lamb or even hogget which is quite popular too.


Sadly though changing times mean that a Sunday joint isn't so popular as it used to be and neither is cooking from scratch at home, hence the decline in availability in supermarkets and local butchers as I have pointed out before.
You just can't buy specific cuts as a joint or find things like lamb's liver easily any more.

I have said before that I very rarely buy meat from supermarkets; there are quite a few very good options online if your local butchers aren't offering what you want and there's often not much difference price-wise between a physical butcher or an online one.

There is a great choice and range of good quality British meat available to buy online which is usually far, far tastier as well as often being far higher welfare than the alternatives.

Re: Is Brexit over ??

Lamb first?

We are told that the UK appetite for lamb consists mostly of legs, so we export most of the rest and import legs (to cut a long story short) with most of these exports going to France and Germany.
Supposedly we import about a third of what we use.

As with other things (and as I say earlier) the way we eat and what we eat have changed dramatically over the years so that once-familiar meals are no longer common.
Even the Sunday joint is not the "thing" it once was, and who nowadays regularly buys lamb or mutton scrag end?
People buy sirloin steak but who buys shin of beef any more?
Because we aren't eating these things they become increasingly difficult to find and the price rises.
Will we ever see a change in tastes again to reverse trends like this?
Who knows.
But it does seem strange that we forgo tasty yet economical cuts of meat in favour of more expensive and often less healthy or less sustainable options, so all hope is not yet lost.


Tomatoes etc:

I completely agree.
As an example, I couldn't even buy some of my favourite wines even when we were in the EU and they are readily-available where they are made.
I have to travel there to buy them, then I'm faced with a huge variety in different colours even and even as an EU member I was only allowed to bring back a limited quantity.
So for me, in this instance, the EU has had bu@@er-all to do with it; rather it seems to be the winemakers being happy with their lot and not promoting or exporting some truly great wines.

I think that regarding much produce our supermarkets are largely to blame, together with consumers.
At least we can often buy tomatoes on the vine and even find specialist varieties nowadays, but the bulk is (as we know) governed by price and profitability.
When an average consumer looks at a packet of tomatoes they are not interested in the taste, or even where they come from.
"60p for these or £1-69 for those" is most frequently the deciding factor, sadly.

We know that the cheaper imported stuff often has little taste, be it tomatoes or a range of other produce.
Ripening things on their journey to the shops doesn't improve things.
But I don't know what the answer is other than growing more of our own where it is viable to do so.

That said, I wonder how many here remember the days before the EEC meant no more Israeli or South African fruit & veg?
IIRC the Israelis used to take up the capacity on flights with produce so that their fruit arrived fresh and tasty; could we see a return to that sort of thing, maybe?
After all, we know that our supermarkets especially are always after increasing profitability while providing what people want so all it would take is a little publicity and some good produce to start the ball rolling.

It's a big subject without any easy answers, and I have probably taken up too much time and space on it already.
It will certainly be interesting to see what changes in the near future, if anything.

Re: Is Brexit over ??

You can often buy the fruit & veg in good independent greengrocers or in supermarkets (even the Co-Op) but of course it carries a price premium over the everyday stuff.
Meats I have spoken about already; I buy from a few online butchers.
I have recently started doing the same with cheese and butter.

Yes I know it might be putting smaller local business at risk - but if these do not offer for sale that which I want to buy even when I and others ask them, I have no choice.
And I am still supporting smaller British producers and retailers by doing so.