Modern day packaging.

tomferry

tomferry

Well-known member
I always have believed, cavers like to use things to the max, re use calendars- maybe even recycle objects ?

I was sent to collect some mustard seeds. Then I was so in shock when I saw this I photographed it, knowing it was worthy of a thread !

Is this just to fit in a posh spice rack ? Also for the self feeding shelves at the supermarket? I shall have to have a google why is saffron also so exspensive.

£137.50 per 10G
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M

mikem

Well-known member
& this suggests that 200 plant stigmas are required to make up that 0.4 grams
www.biblicalarchaeology.org

A Biblical Spice Rack

The Bible reflects knowledge of herbs and spices, which perfumed the Jerusalem Temple, sweetened the home, and seasoned meals during the Exodus.
www.biblicalarchaeology.org www.biblicalarchaeology.org
 
ZombieCake

ZombieCake

Well-known member
Marigold petals (the flower not the rubber gloves!) I think have been used a sort of substitute for saffron.
As mentioned above there's a genuine reason why saffron is horribly expensive. Nice colour though.
 
S

Speleofish

Active member
I tried growing some once, purely because it was so expensive to buy. Only once. Once the flowers had bloomed, it took several hours work to get the equivalent of one of those 0.4g pots and I still needed to dry it before I could use it to cook with. I'd like to say it was the best saffron risotto I've ever cooked, but it wasn't. Ideologically sound but gastronomically mediocre.

If all you need is a yellow tinge to your food, use food dye or turmeric. If you need the flavour of saffron, unfortunately that's what it costs.

In the same vein, look at the historic prices of nutmeg and cloves in the 16th/17th century where trying to control their sources caused wars between European powers...

Imagine if hops were so scarce and so valuable - everyone would have to drink cider!
 
Leclused

Leclused

Active member
There are several reasons why they package is it like this.

- standardization (probably the most important one)
- Expensive goods are mostly packed in larger then required package to avoid shoplifting. The larger the package the harder to hide. FE perfume bottles in large boxes, ...

Saffron is indeed very labour intensive. My brother tried it once and it worked but the work he had to put into was way too much :)
 
Pitlamp

Pitlamp

Well-known member
In an attempt to drag this back more towards the topic of packaging, what about Easter eggs?

They come in a huge and flashy cardboard structure, often with a curved plastic window. Get through this and there's then a layer of aluminium foil. The actual egg is usually much smaller than you've been conned into thinking from the gaudy packaging. And most of the egg is fresh air. Melt down the chocolate and you'd end up with just a tiny blob, "justifying" all that packaging that gets thrown away. Says something about modern society and has very little to do with the true meaning of Easter.
 
Roger W

Roger W

Well-known member
Unfortunately, Easter eggs are egg-shaped and hollow, and packaging them so that they get from the manufacturer to the consumer in one piece can be a bit of a problem. I think most manufacturers have moved to plastic-free packaging now. And yes, I agree with you, Pitlamp, it's a very uneconomical way to buy chocolate as chocolate, and the whole commercial Easter egg scene has nowt to do with the true meaning of Easter.

In case you're wondering, I spent a few years providing technical support to the Easter egg production line in a large confectionery factory not far from Bradford.
 
ChrisJC

ChrisJC

Well-known member
When you think about it, all packaging is destined for landfill (or maybe recycling). It's an industry just generating waste.

Mostly to ensure that goods arrive in one piece...

Perhaps there is a better way.

Chris.
 
Mr Mike

Mr Mike

Active member
And the cost of the packaging as well, I think loose food certainly in supermarkets could be around 25% cheaper if you used a paper bag and had to select the items yourself. Recently in Morrisons, white mushrooms in a plastic carton £4/kg, next to them loose £3/kg. Same goes for a lot of other things.
 
Pitlamp

Pitlamp

Well-known member
. . . and don't get me going about the price of potatoes when bought as crisps.

(A 25 g bag can cost £1 if bought individually. So that's £40 per kilogram, or not far off £100 for a 5 pound bag of spuds, in imperial units. Pretty expensive for potatoes!)

I'm fond of Seabrook's crisps; they sell them in Booths at Settle with six x 25 g bags in a larger enclosing bag. All that plastic just for a mere 150 g snack. (Oops; I just gave the game away; yes, I can easily do a full six pack of Seabrook's crisps in one go! Makes me mighty guilty because of all that waste plastic.)
 
Roger W

Roger W

Well-known member
Once again, you aren't paying for just spuds when you buy crisps. And as far as the packaging goes, I suppose Seabrooks or whoever could supply them in 50kg drums for you to weigh out what you wanted into a paper bag in-store. But I'm not sure what condition they would be in when you got them home - especially if you'd been scrabbling in the bottom of the barrel for them.

Of course, some people might want to buy them by the 50 kg drum...
 
M

mikem

Well-known member
Packaging can also preserve products as well as protecting them, so they last longer - huge amounts of food is still thrown away before it reaches consumers.
 
Robert Scott

Robert Scott

Member
Pitlamp said:
In an attempt to drag this back more towards the topic of packaging, what about Easter eggs?

They come in a huge and flashy cardboard structure, often with a curved plastic window. Get through this and there's then a layer of aluminium foil. The actual egg is usually much smaller than you've been conned into thinking from the gaudy packaging. And most of the egg is fresh air. Melt down the chocolate and you'd end up with just a tiny blob, "justifying" all that packaging that gets thrown away. Says something about modern society and has very little to do with the true meaning of Easter.
Click to expand...
Next time that you bump into me, ask me about Alex's Easter Eggs.
 
tomferry

tomferry

Well-known member
We have been looking at getting milk delivered in the glass bottles, it’s a real shame because the price difference is just stupid … I would myself rather pay 10p more for every bottle, have it in glass ,then when I return it to the supermarket get 9p back or something , they sterilise it .

Done :clap:
 
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