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it seems Rationing is back...

(105 Posts)
Cherrytree59 Fri 03-Feb-17 09:39:57

Yesterday at the supermarket checkout I stood behind a lady who had a display cardboard box full of iceberg lettuce on the conveyor belt.

Today I have read that iceberg lettuce is to be rationed.

Galen Sat 04-Feb-17 11:44:21

As I cruise a lot, I am definitely not keen on icebergs! (Think of Titanic)

flaxwoven Sat 04-Feb-17 11:35:13

Restaurants nearly always serve salads with their meals and when their usual wholesale supplier can't get any, they send someone down to the local supermarket to buy up everything. The supermarkets are trying to stop this and good on Tesco for taking action.

Greyduster Sat 04-Feb-17 11:30:58

I have just been down to our local supermarket to buy some veg for tommorrow when DD et al come to lunch. GS likes baby sweetcorns and a pack is usually between 80p and a £1.00. Today they were £1.60! If it had just been for me (DH doesn't eat any 'funny vegetables') I wouldn't have bought them. They were grown in India.

hulahoop Sat 04-Feb-17 10:43:26

Made me smile gilly I don't like gourgetts so anyone can have mine . I don't dislike iceberg but to be honest I am finding all salad stuff eg cucumber tomatoes very watery and tasteless at the moment .

Soniah Sat 04-Feb-17 10:25:56

Oh for goodness sake, talk about first world problems, there is far more to worry about! I try to eat what is in season and what is local where possible though I do admit to buying fruit from abroad such as bananas

luluaugust Sat 04-Feb-17 10:20:54

Back to eating vegetables in season, bent or otherwise, I guess. I'm sure there was a time when we didn't eat courgettes, avocados, peppers etc.

sarahellenwhitney Sat 04-Feb-17 10:17:20

ELEGRAN.
Agree. How much vitamin content is there in a lettuce that we could survive without it until they become more plentiful.?
My salads, year round, consist of watercress, mustard and cress, grated apple. grated carrot and maybe cucumber
Lettuce is not necessary no more than like bread without butter when there are alternatives.

Stansgran Sat 04-Feb-17 10:12:14

I have no idea why anyone would buy an iceberg lettuce but I can eat pointu cabbage practically by itself. Finely shredded with grated carrot and apple and finely chopped spring onion. Add mayonnaise and some sultanas and it's coleslaw.

Neversaydie Sat 04-Feb-17 10:04:20

I blame it on brexit ....

NameChange2016 Sat 04-Feb-17 10:00:15

We catered an event yesterday for nearly 60 people but we aren't professional caterers, it was for friends. As there is broccoli in the allotment at the moment, it didn't occur to me that it was imported. I did buy the 6 heads of broccoli from the supermarket but only because I assumed it would be British and seasonal. We didn't serve salad but did use one bag as a garnish.

Cunco Sat 04-Feb-17 09:44:39

Is it a salad shortage or is this just the tip of the iceberg?

Queues were reported in high streets this morning, not seen since the dark days of Northern Rock. The spirit of the 1940's was sadly lacking as hard hands grabbed a greengrocer's soft fruit. 'It's only some vegetables that are short', he wailed but his words were drowned under a high-pitched moan.

A small girl sat crying; 'My Gran made me eat a bent carrot. She said they are all the same in the end; but it wasn't. It was bent!.' Distraught vegans held a secret street-side meeting, ultimately disappearing in ones and twos towards the vegetable section at Iceland.

While the weather was said to be responsible, there were no shortage of theories for the current horrendous predicament but most thought it would all be over by Christmas.

Blinko Sat 04-Feb-17 09:44:22

I spiralize courgettes together with carrots then freeze them. No shortage near us in the West Mids so far. I did try to buy a head of broccoli off the market yesterday, but the salesperson was so engrossed in his ipad that I walked off and he missed the chance to make a sale.

No spinach in Morrisons earlier this week, though.

radicalnan Sat 04-Feb-17 09:38:24

I am a fat girl.........unscathed by the lettuce crisis.

Share my allocation between yourselves with my blessings.

allule Sat 04-Feb-17 09:29:31

While on the subject of iceberg lettuces, I always wonder when it says 'wash before use', whether this only applies to the outside leaves?

LouiseMLP Sat 04-Feb-17 09:18:28

The reason for rationing is that there is a shortage of vegetables at the wholesalers
So some restaurants have started going into supermarkets to buy their ingredients in bulk. Thus the supermarkets are trying to protect their supplies for their usual customers .... ie individuals like you and I.

PamelaJ1 Sat 04-Feb-17 07:09:59

Another advantage of being on the senior side of life. I can remember the olden days before courgettes and any number of veg that we now expect to eat out of season.
I think we'll cope.
We could always have a bar of chocolate, I'm sure we can find some data that says that would be just as good for us ?,

rosesarered Fri 03-Feb-17 22:41:04

Courgettes are basically water.We grow them in Summer for roasted Med veg, the only we can eat them.Iceberg lettuce needs a lot of bits with it and mayo to make it appealing.
Who is buying three? Somebody who keeps rabbits?grin

Auntieflo Fri 03-Feb-17 22:34:15

As Deedaa says, I also had shredded white cabbage at school, usually with mince. It was the first time I had had it, and loved it as it was so crunchy. It was a long time ago.

Deedaa Fri 03-Feb-17 21:35:31

Well we would never have been eating any sort of lettuce in the winter when I was a child, and, of course, we would never have eaten courgettes at all grin At school we used to have what they called a winter salad which was mainly shredded white cabbage and beetroot.

whitewave Fri 03-Feb-17 20:12:48

Eat in season and eat locally like the slow food movement!!

petra Fri 03-Feb-17 19:57:08

I phoned my friend in Marbella this morning, and guess what, no shortage of iceberg lettuce there mmmmm?

TriciaF Fri 03-Feb-17 16:20:46

People were talking about the price of courgettes last week.
I checked then, and they were about 2€ a kilo here. Today nearly 6€ a kilo.
We're in SW France near the border with Spain. So perhaps there's something in the story.
Luckily I'm not so keen on courgettes.

GillT57 Fri 03-Feb-17 16:03:08

I think this has all been started by a vegetable buyer for Tesco who realises that they have over-ordered........

BBbevan Fri 03-Feb-17 15:51:30

Well we went shopping today in Tesco. No sign of a shortage of any fruit or vegetables. Quite a lot of management, though, look at and discussing the displays

AlieOxon Fri 03-Feb-17 15:49:01

The way this is being headlined, it sounds as if all veg is in short supply! Excuse for a lot of prices to go up, methinks... or am I just cynical?