Tesco rules!

After one of her visits to the big Tesco's between Ryde and Brading, BH came back with some splendid greens, subsequently topped up with more of the same. They have done really well as our green vegetable over several meals now, much better than the equivalent offering from Sainsbury's. I even went so far as to polish off some left-overs, cold before breakfast this morning.

Same drill as before. Cut the ribs out of the leaves and chop them up, quite fine at the fat end. Possibly slice the ribs in half lengthwise first if they are really fat. Chop the leaves into pieces about one inch by two. Boil up the whole lot for about five minutes.

Sold in 500g bags, with a bag doing us for around two meals for two. But, unlike Sainsbury's, nothing on the bag to say what it is or where it came from. No grower, variety or location. Just lots of unread recipe. Although from reference 1 I do get: 'Fresh Greens. Great for stir fry's, stews and Sunday lunches. At Tesco we believe in the importance of expertly selecting our seasonal produce for its freshness and quality. Our fresh greens come from trusted growers around the world. One of our growers, TH Clements is a family owned business which has been growing greens for 50 years. Neil and his skilled team grow greens in the fertile silt soils of Lincolnshire where the mild coastal climate creates ideal growing conditions. Harvested and trimmed by hand, his greens are packed in the field for freshness'. Hmmm.

But I do associate to the urban myth circulating many years ago in connection with what was then the giant new Tesco's at Bar Hill, north of Cambridge, to the effect that the manager there had some local purchasing discretion and was able to source some stuff from the market gardens round about. Whatever the case then, it seems very unlikely that anything of that sort goes on now. Centralised buying, packing and distribution rule!

PS: not only are the greens good, but the Tesco marketing people have been careful to make sure that Mr. Clements exists online. See reference 2, the source of the snap above.

References

Reference 1: https://www.tesco.com/groceries.

Reference 2: https://thclements.co.uk/.