Batch cooking on rise, as families sabe money in kitchen

 

Families are increasingly cooking in bulk in order to save money, figures suggest.

      Returning to old-fashioned good housekeeping, which served previous generations so well, many cooks are batchcooking – creating large casseroles, soups or pies that can feed a family throughout the week. Not only does buying the ingredients in quantity tend to save money, but less waste is usually created.

     Sales of extra-large bags of potatoes and big packs of mince have increased strongly according to both Morrisons and Asda, the supermarket groups. Sales of freezer bags have also performed very well.

     Morrisons calculates that sales of pre-packed beef mince has increasedby 28 per cent over the last year, while King Edward potatoes have climbed by 10 per cent. Freezer bag sales have also increased by 8.3 per cent compared to this time last year.

     A survey, conducted by the supermarket, suggested that 69 per cent of consumers are now cooking in large batches.

    Asda sales figures reveal that while small packs of mince have fallen by 15 per cent, large packs have increased by 3 per cent, suggesting that families are prepared to stock up on large amounts of ingredients in order to save money.

     Sales of its largest bags of potatoes – 2.5kg, the biggest it offers – have increased by 11.5 per cent. Because of this jump in sales the supermarket tested out selling 10kg bags at £1 and sold 80, 000 bags in a weekend.

     Angus Maciver, marketing director of Morrison, said: "The sales figures show a real shift in consumer behaviour compared to this time last year as shoppers are actively trying to cut back on food waste to make the most out of their weekly shop.

     "It's encouraging to see that our shoppers are reverting to traditional cooking methods in a bid to save money."

 

Re write the following sentences by using the words in brackets and without changing the meaning

a)    Families are cooking in bulk in order to save money. (so that)

b)    Batchcooking can feed a family throughout the week. (A family…)

c)     Not only does buying the ingredients in quantity tend to save money, but less waste is usually created. (The more…)

d)    Families are saving money because they are stocking up large amounts of ingredients. (If families were not…)

e)    The supermarket tested out selling 10kg bags at £1. (which)

       f)      Angus Maciver said: "The sales figures show a real shift in our consumers behaviour.” (He said that…)

g)    "It's encouraging to see that our shoppers are reverting to traditional cooking methods" (He stated that…)

 

 

KEY

a)    Families are cooking in bulk so that they can save money.

b)    A family can be fed throughtout the week by batchcooking.

c)     The more ingredients people buy, the more money they save and the less waste they create.

d)    If families were not stocking up large amounts of ingredients, they would not be saving money.

e)    The supermarket tested out selling 10kg bags, which they sold at £1.

f)      Angus Maciver said that the sales figures showed a real shift in their customers behaviour.

g)    He stated that it was encouraging to see that their shoppers were reverting to traditional cooking methods.