Coronavirus virus fears causing panic buying

hooverboy · 29 Mar 2020

SHD said:
1 hour per kilogram - good ballpark figure but it does depend on the meat. For example it will be good for a veal roast (I know that it’s not very popular round your parts), but a for a nice and juicy beef roast (ideally taken from the filet) you can halve that, unless you like eating shoe soles!

sure, something like a solid beef or ham joint takes ages,depending on the size/cut, but a chicken will cook quickly as most of it is fresh air inside the carcass.

as for juicy, read my previous post! it's subjective.
do you like your beef joints brown outside with a bit of pink in the middle, or brown right the way through?
Agreed that the cut is important, for beef my preference is topside/silverside rather than brisket.

for me I prefer brown the whole way through,and falling to bits!, so I tend to give it a bit longer!
same with stewing and slow cooking... I like the meat tender so I will cook it for ages, it's too tough for my liking if just given a couple of hours!

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SHD · 29 Mar 2020

Meerkat said:
See, this is what I mean - all these judgement calls just aren’t the formulas and procedures my mind needs.

Well those are not really judgement calls - they are culinary observations. Veal or pork require more time in the oven than beef.
But tell us how you like your roast and we will provide a more precise cooking time.

Bletchleyite · 29 Mar 2020

Meerkat said:
See, this is what I mean - all these judgement calls just aren’t the formulas and procedures my mind needs.

While cooking is a chemical process, the problem is that it's also heavily influenced by what people like, so it will always vary a lot.

You can use food thermometers and the likes to ensure it's safe. Beyond that it's more about how you like it yourself.

hooverboy · 29 Mar 2020

Bletchleyite said:
While cooking is a chemical process, the problem is that it's also heavily influenced by what people like, so it will always vary a lot.

You can use food thermometers and the likes to ensure it's safe. Beyond that it's more about how you like it yourself.

cooking is a skill you have to try for yourself, it's not really a matter of procedure.

just because jamie oliver says do it this way/that way, does not mean it will suit your own personal pallatte.
by all means try out their recipe's, but play with it until you get it to suit you.

there is no set hard and fast,even with something as simple as cooking pasta.
some people like "al dente" which is a bit firm- in italian it means "to the bite", it's ultimately your call.
some people like it with pesto, some with parmesan,some with cheddar..just have a play and find out what's tasty!

same with sauces!.
it doesn't just have to be bolognese, if you like a bit tangy and a bit of kick try arabiata(tomato,onion, a bit of garlic and chilli/red pepper)
easy recipe for 2ppl.
1* 500g pack of tomato passata
2* small onion,chopped fine
1* whole garlic (crush and add to pan)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1* red pepper, chopped fine
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1 tablespoon chopped herbs, fresh ideally but can do dried.....oregano, basil,parsley
(add 1 can drained chopped tomatoes or sun dried tomatoes if you like it lumpy)

throw in pan ,and heat for 10 mins,mixing thoroughly
throw on top of pasta
add parmesan to taste!

The Lad · 29 Mar 2020

Some of the waste food will be commercial, no pubs, restaurants, etc to supply and doesn't lend itself to hospitals.

hooverboy · 29 Mar 2020

The Lad said:
Some of the waste food will be commercial, no pubs, restaurants, etc to supply and doesn't lend itself to hospitals.

there's bound to be a bit of that due to short notice closures, especially with the likes of pubs/eateries having to write off inventory.

I do notice that most councils are not exactly covering themselves in glory though.
Most have binned the garden waste collection ,but kept household refuse and recycling collections on their original schedule, despite there being a significant increase in stuff that needs collection-as people now work from home.

I dread to think what health hazards we will see if the lockdown persists into summer and peoples household refuse bins are full to bursting at the end of week 1,with another week to go until collection(assuming the now fortnightly collection remains in place)

FWIW I have certainly seen an increase in the number of rats in the locality- it's a good job my cat is earning his keep!

Meerkat · 29 Mar 2020

hooverboy said:
FWIW I have certainly seen an increase in the number of rats in the locality- it's a good job my cat is earning his keep!

The rats are probably moving to residential areas as there is less food waste around the takeaways etc!

IanD · 29 Mar 2020

hooverboy said:
cooking is a skill you have to try for yourself, it's not really a matter of procedure.

just because jamie oliver says do it this way/that way, does not mean it will suit your own personal pallatte.
by all means try out their recipe's, but play with it until you get it to suit you.

there is no set hard and fast,even with something as simple as cooking pasta.
some people like "al dente" which is a bit firm- in italian it means "to the bite", it's ultimately your call.
some people like it with pesto, some with parmesan,some with cheddar..just have a play and find out what's tasty!

same with sauces!.
it doesn't just have to be bolognese, if you like a bit tangy and a bit of kick try arabiata(tomato,onion, a bit of garlic and chilli/red pepper)
easy recipe for 2ppl.
1* 500g pack of tomato passata
2* small onion,chopped fine
1* whole garlic (crush and add to pan)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1* red pepper, chopped fine
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1 tablespoon chopped herbs, fresh ideally but can do dried.....oregano, basil,parsley
(add 1 can drained chopped tomatoes or sun dried tomatoes if you like it lumpy)

throw in pan ,and heat for 10 mins,mixing thoroughly
throw on top of pasta
add parmesan to taste!

Define "fine". How big is a "small" onion? 1 "Whole" garlic or just one whole clove?

Sounds like it's worth a go though.

Bletchleyite · 29 Mar 2020

All of those things are a matter of opinion. All of the answers will produce something that won't kill the eater (barring any allergies), it's down to them how they prefer it and the best way to establish that is to experiment.

scotrail158713 · 29 Mar 2020

hooverboy said:
I dread to think what health hazards we will see if the lockdown persists into summer and peoples household refuse bins are full to bursting at the end of week 1,with another week to go until collection(assuming the now fortnightly collection remains in place)

It might not be as bad as you may think. My local council have been doing fortnightly green bin (landfill) collections for 5 years now and I very rarely see bins overflowing on bin day.

Tom B · 29 Mar 2020

The dropping of the garden waste, closure of RRCs etc will free up staff to backfill when dustmen go sick.

Tescos today was fine. Queues ranging from 20min first thing, no more than 5-10min to get in most of the day, and as many checkouts as possible open. There was a good level of stock, some individual lines were out, but there was always a suitable alternative.

In a sad reflection on society, the foodbank donation has been moved to the security post so that the guard can watch it as, apparently, people were pilfering from it.

westv · 29 Mar 2020

Tom B said:
In a sad reflection on society, the foodbank donation has been moved to the security post so that the guard can watch it as, apparently, people were pilfering from it.

To be fair, society doesn't pilfer food but individuals do.

krus_aragon · 29 Mar 2020

Meerkat said:
My lack of freezer use became apparent when I brought back my emergency food buffer and then had to play Tetris to fit it in the surprisingly small freezer bit of my fridge freezer!

I play that game year-in year-out, as my wife seems to be buying for a freezer that's larger than ours is. Either that or I say "can you fit that in the freezer" several times in the shop, and let her deal with it when we get back home.

It's now three weeks since she came on a "big food shop" with me (we'd normally do it fortnightly), and I can now get a bag of peas out without worrying how I'm going to close the door again!

corfield · 30 Mar 2020

broadgage said:
No toilet roll panic here. I have about 200 rolls, purchased ages ago and NOT during the current panic. I buy toilet rolls and many other supplies in bulk. Toilet rolls come in cartons of 108 rolls, and I aim to keep AT LEAST one full carton in reserve, sometimes two.

Not certain how well hand sanitiser keeps, but it is easy enough to make and I keep stocks of the ingredients.

I have long believed in being prepared well in advance for any out of course event, not just pandemics but also extreme weather, industrial disputes, civil disorder, fuel shortage, terrorist attack etc.

How many guns do you have? If the answer is none, can I have your address please.

yorksrob · 4 Apr 2020

On the subject of empty shelves, what the hell's happened to tomato ketchup ? I haven't seen it anywhere since the start of the crisis.

It's getting to the point where it would be easier to find hand sanitizer !

Bald Rick · 4 Apr 2020

yorksrob said:
On the subject of empty shelves, what the hell's happened to tomato ketchup ? I haven't seen it anywhere since the start of the crisis.

It's getting to the point where it would be easier to find hand sanitizer !

We have plenty of ketchup in most of the shops near us. The only items on our shopping list that have been consistently out of stock are:

Dried pasta
Home baking ingredients (especially flour and yeast)
Heinz tinned stuff in tomato sauce (beans, pasta shapes etc)
Most brands of peanut butter

In fact, if anything, many shops now have too much fresh stock, presumably as all the panic buyers are eating less of it as they work through their tinned produce and pasta. The local M&S food shops have loads of discounted fresh food and ready meals every day now.

yorksrob · 4 Apr 2020

Bald Rick said:
We have plenty of ketchup in most of the shops near us. The only items on our shopping list that have been consistently out of stock are:

Dried pasta
Home baking ingredients (especially flour and yeast)
Heinz tinned stuff in tomato sauce (beans, pasta shapes etc)
Most brands of peanut butter

In fact, if anything, many shops now have too much fresh stock, presumably as all the panic buyers are eating less of it as they work through their tinned produce and pasta. The local M&S food shops have loads of discounted fresh food and ready meals every day now.

For me the dried pasta and baked beans seem to have come back here (I know this because these have been my staple diet for the past twenty odd years, so I was alarmed when they dissappeared).

Bald Rick · 4 Apr 2020

yorksrob said:
For me the dried pasta and baked beans seem to have come back here (I know this because these have been my staple diet for the past twenty odd years, so I was alarmed when they dissappeared).

I must admit I’m surprised about the absence of dried pasta here in St Albans. It is here, (allegedly!) that the ‘overheard in Waitrose’ comment was made by a yummy mummy shrieking down the aisle to her young son who was trying to be helpful by putting stuff in the trolley.

“NO TARQUIN. We do not have dried pasta! Go and get some fresh!”

yorksrob · 4 Apr 2020

Bald Rick said:
I must admit I’m surprised about the absence of dried pasta here in St Albans. It is here, (allegedly!) that the ‘overheard in Waitrose’ comment was made by a yummy mummy shrieking down the aisle to her young son who was trying to be helpful by putting stuff in the trolley.

“NO TARQUIN. We do not have dried pasta! Go and get some fresh!”

I bet she's got some dried pasta in the cupboard now !

Meerkat · 4 Apr 2020

What is the issue with pasta - does it actually come from the stricken part of Italy? There seems to be a slightly restricted selection of everything else but little pasta.

Now distribution seems to have been sorted are there upcoming concerns about supply? I have a very ominous feeling about an absolute Covid catastrophe for the developing world- whilst its obviously trivial in comparison to their suffering will this have impact on harvests etc?
Obviously the top concern is about tea - the very cornerstone of civilisation.

Mag_seven · 4 Apr 2020

Meerkat said:
What is the issue with pasta - does it actually come from the stricken part of Italy?

Two reasons I think - it can be stored for ages and is filling so you don't need to eat massive portions.

trainophile · 4 Apr 2020

Oh good point, about tea. I'm already paying double what I normally would for a pack of 80 bags. Not exactly panic buying but I have enough for a couple of months at normal consumption.

As for pasta, it will be a last resort in our household, especially since my dear OH chucked away the last two packets of Beanfeast out of the cupboard because they were a month out of date :rolleyes:

.

Bantamzen · 4 Apr 2020

yorksrob said:
For me the dried pasta and baked beans seem to have come back here (I know this because these have been my staple diet for the past twenty odd years, so I was alarmed when they dissappeared).

You've been living on dried pasta and beans? Have you at least tried cooking the pasta...

Meerkat said:
What is the issue with pasta - does it actually come from the stricken part of Italy? There seems to be a slightly restricted selection of everything else but little pasta.

Now distribution seems to have been sorted are there upcoming concerns about supply? I have a very ominous feeling about an absolute Covid catastrophe for the developing world- whilst its obviously trivial in comparison to their suffering will this have impact on harvests etc?
Obviously the top concern is about tea - the very cornerstone of civilisation.

The issue here is stupidity, lots, and lots of stupidity. There is no shortage of dried pasta, just a shortage of common sense.

Meerkat · 4 Apr 2020

Bantamzen said:
You've been living on dried pasta and beans? Have you at least tried cooking the pasta...

The issue here is stupidity, lots, and lots of stupidity. There is no shortage of dried pasta, just a shortage of common sense.

Are you saying the panic buying bulge has still not been restocked by the shops? Everything else has and demand must be dropping as people work through their stash.

Bantamzen · 4 Apr 2020

Meerkat said:
Are you saying the panic buying bulge has still not been restocked by the shops? Everything else has and demand must be dropping as people work through their stash.

Well yesterday queuing at my local Asda people were still panicking over flour & yeast, and the dried pasta shelves were still empty (even though fresh pasta was in abundance) even though everything else was in plentiful supply, so I'm guessing that daft is still a thing.

Meerkat · 4 Apr 2020

You are assuming the customers took all the pasta rather than none having been put out in the first place??

Bletchleyite · 4 Apr 2020

trainophile said:
Oh good point, about tea. I'm already paying double what I normally would for a pack of 80 bags. Not exactly panic buying but I have enough for a couple of months at normal consumption.

I've got loads of tea, it keeps forever and I prefer European style string-tag bags so just order it (Yorkshire, naturally, is there any other?) in bulk online when I run out.

Bletchleyite · 4 Apr 2020

Meerkat said:
You are assuming the customers took all the pasta rather than none having been put out in the first place??

I think with pasta and bog roll (and stuff like beans) people bought so much that the restocking has emptied the supply chain a long way back and so restocking will take much longer.

Bantamzen · 4 Apr 2020

Bletchleyite said:
I've got loads of tea, it keeps forever and I prefer European style string-tag bags so just order it (Yorkshire, naturally, is there any other?) in bulk online when I run out.

I'm glad to see that despite living down south & coming from the wrong side of the Pennines, you at least have good taste in tea.....

Bletchleyite · 4 Apr 2020

Bantamzen said:
I'm glad to see that despite living down south & coming from the wrong side of the Pennines, you at least have good taste in tea.....

It is the one and only exception to the fact that the War of the Roses is still ongoing and is far stronger than the north-south divide!

On the question of hoarding, I could at a push adopt the Asian style "washing" approach should I run out of bog roll, some consider it more hygienic anyway - but if the tea runs out Britain really stops!

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