I had a food delivery from ASDA today. It was a lot better than the last internet order from ASDA, and the driver was a source of much information. He told us, for instance, that during the height of the panic-buying people were buying so much food that on one delivery run he was only able to fit three deliveries on the van. No wonder they ran out of both food and capacity.
For a while I started to feel sympathy for ASDA. Then I began to unpack the order and look at the substitutions.
I had ordered two packs of bake at home baguettes. I did this because I want to finish off the baking at home and be able to have fresh bread in a week’s time. It’s nine days until the next delivery.
I didn’t get that. They substituted ready-cut white bread rolls, the sort we call burger buns in the UK. They are never good quality bread. And, being cut, they are already well on the way to being stale by the time you get them. Poor quality, stale, soft, cotton wool and unappetising. We have limited freezer space and though we have frozen one pack we will have to eat the other as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, eating them will delay the eating of the sliced loaf we also ordered, and that will start to go stale, or even mouldy, before we finish it.
There is nothing like a nice, crusty, warm baguette. And, as we say in the UK, the substitute buns are nothing like a nice, crusty, warm baguette.
Who thinks a pack of burger buns are an acceptable substitute for a nice crusty baguette?
If they were out of vinegar would they send me battery acid as a substitute. They are, after all, both acids, but they have very different effects when sprinkled on chips.
I also ordered a couple of Sicilian Lemon tarts as a treat for dessert one night. They sent profiteroles. I like profiteroles, and if I wanted them I’m quite capable of ordering them. But I wanted the sharpness of Sicilian Lemon tarts, even though I doubt that the lemons have ever seen Sicily. We had the profiteroles tonight – they were short of chocolate and cream. I don’t know about you, but I don’t buy them because of the choux pastry, I want chocolate and cream. Or, to be accurate, I want Sicilian Lemon Tart.
Better than the bread substitution but not ideal.
Then there was the coriander. I wanted fresh coriander leaves for some recipes I’m going to try. So I ordered fresh coriander leaves with soil so that they would sit in a pot and last a week or two. I thought I was getting a pot too, but they have stopped doing that so they save plastic.
What did they send?
Did they send cut coriander, which would give you the flavour without the longevity? No.
Did they send Ground Coriander or Coriander seeds from the spice section? No.
They sent me flat leaf parsley. As I had already ordered some, I now have two lots of flat leaf parsley.
So, no coriander, and a double helping of parsley. If I’d wanted two, I would have ordered two.
I really should stop believing them when they say they have things in stock, and I should start saying that I don’t want substitutions. Then, of course, I would end up with no bread and no pudding.
To be fair, I should say that they did substitute a couple of things which were more expensive than the items I’d ordered, and didn’t charge me extra. But I’m not feeling very fair after the bread substitution, or last week.
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I’m peeved on your behalf! I haven’t had a supermarket since I was pregnant and usually the substitutions from Sainsbury’s were rare and satisfactory. And of course we weren’t in lockdown. However…. burger buns are definitely not baguettes!
Exactly! I used to use ASDA for ordering the cafe food on the farm and they have always had a blind spot when it comes to substituting bread.
I hope you won’t have to run the gauntlet so to speak for much longer!
:-)It would be nice to get back to normal.
I think there are few who would disagree 😉
🙂
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I was once sent Deflatine as a substitute for Alka Seltzer. Not suffering from ‘trapped wind’ and being more likely to suffer the effects of ‘over indulgence’ the Deflatine is still sitting in the cupboard like a guilty secret. 🙂
🙂 If you ever do suffer from trapped wind you will bless that substitution. 🙂
I feel your pain. This is why I am purchasing from our corner shop by phone. If he doesn’t have something, he says so and I don’t get it. I am very impressed by your forward thinking about meals. Our mantra is, “What are we going to have for tea tonight?” Something usually turns up.
After month of planning we are tending to revert to your way. It’s more interesting, as tonights meal of pasty, potato wedges and honey/chilli leftovers goes to show. 🙂
The disciplined approach led us into repeating the menu every week, which is boring after a month.
I’m still doing the weekly shopping here, but the selection is not what it was pre-COVID-19.
They seem to have limited the number of lines to simplify the supply chain. I’m just glad that I was able to buy flour this week – things are definitely getting back to normal.
I suppose there is some logic to these, but it would put me off buying in that way for good. I just knew it was going to be parsley. Bread and butter pudding?
I hate to admit this but Julia, who is perfect in many ways, does not like bread and butter pudding, and I can’t be bothered to cook it just for myself. Same goes for liver.
That’s a pity
Nobody is perfect. I assume that one day even I will find that I have a fault… 🙂
I suppose you know what Aussie captain John Eales’s nickname was?
Was he Nobody? I only remember because it cropped up somewhere recently.
Yes, because Nobody’s perfect
🙂 🙂 🙂
We would call them hamburger rolls here, and they are no substitution for baguettes. Not. At. All.
My feelings exactly! Your solidarity is appreciated.
My pleasure! 😉