What’s In A Name?

Following last week’s post about Waitrose Free Range Noodles, Liz commented that she was always amused by the Waitrose Essentials Chocolate Chip Brioche Rolls – “In what sense are they ‘essential’?” she asked.

My daughter has a good point there- the Oxford dictionary defines essential as being “absolutely necessary; extremely important”

I look round Waitrose once in a blue moon [specifically the blue moon when the motorbike service is due- Bob’s mechanic is very near the Oadby W. store] so I am not au fait with their essentials range. Liz’s comment led me to check it out further.

I am quite sure that artichoke hearts are not absolutely necessary. Mind you, that is the only thing I am sure about when it comes to artichoke hearts – having reached my fifties without ever eating them! Crème Fraîche I do buy occasionally. But I am fascinated by the strap line produced with care by farmers who share our values. Have you noticed how values are becoming as important as value in the supermarket wars? Waitrose proclaims ‘value with integrity’  for its essentials range.

Sainsburys declare ‘our values make us different’ [I first blogged about this 6 years ago] and they have just relaunched their basics range. The first ad of the campaign highlights how Sainsbury’s basics eggs are sourced from non-caged hens. Later adverts will showcase Sainsbury’s British ham, MSC accredited fish fingers and Fairtrade tea, all from the basics range and all with strong ethical credentials. [Froogs has posted some good recipes recently using this range]

The Oxford dictionary defines basic as “offering or constituting the minimum required without elaboration or luxury” or “common to or required by everyone” – I presume they are using the first definition. Smoked salmon is hardly required by everyone!

I’m still pondering on Arabella Weir’s comments on the food Programme on Monday night. She said that if an apple is 30p and a pack of value biscuits is 30p, then people with lower incomes are likely to buy the biscuits, as they will be more filling [and easier to share around the family] despite the fact they are less healthy than the apple. And as a working Mum, she said the £3 ‘family lasagne’ in the supermarket may be full of rubbish ingredients- but at the end of a long day, when she is tired, that is a quick and easy way to get a meal on the table – she really cannot face the effort of ‘cooking from scratch’. I think she has a valid point – for many people it is harder for them to eat a healthy diet on a restricted income. This is not a good state of affairs – the nation was healthier under wartime rationing than it is today!