Although it may be easy to get your weekly shopping at the same supermarket, some different food and drink items are worth spending just that little extra money on. Not only will you find that the taste and quality of the items can be better, but there may be additional health benefits to higher quality products that contain fewer preservatives.
Better quality food is often produced independently by expert farmers, producers and businesses, ensuring that money is invested into the local economy when you choose to spend your money there.
Nicer Alcohol
It may be that the days of getting the cheapest bottle of alcohol to try and get drunk on a budget with all your fellow University friends are gone, and you are finally in a position in your life with more expendable income. If so, buy better quality alcoholic beverages on the premise that you’ll drink to enjoy them instead of what can get you drunkest the quickest.
A great way to do so is to understand what fantastic quality beer brands taste like to gauge your preferred flavour palette. You may prefer hoppier tasting beers to anything lighter, and you will never know until you try.
Fruit and Vegetables
Instead of sourcing your fruit and vegetables from supermarkets, you will notice a flavour difference by using greengrocers and farmer’s markets. Produce is often of higher quality as it is grown by farmers at these markets directly, as opposed to imported internationally. Although the selection of products may be different, many items may not be ideal for growing within your country, but the quality of things will be.
Good Quality Meat
Likewise to fruit and vegetables, it is possible to buy better quality meat at farmers’ markets and butcher shops, which ensure that the produce is sourced locally. This assures that the meat product you buy is fresher and helps to input money directly into your local economy with local businesses selling you meat, pocketing the profits directly.
By buying directly from a butcher shop, you can also trace your meat’s origins, ensuring that no preservatives used in meat transport are used. By seeing just how much higher the quality of your product is, you will learn to appreciate it more.
Excellent Quality Cheese
By visiting cheese shops for all your cheese desires, you can be assured that you are working with experts that know their craft and produce very well. Many standard supermarkets have limited dairy selections, and by speaking to a Cheesemonger directly, you can also receive accurate recommendations based on your direct preferences.
Suppose you have allergies or intolerance to certain kinds of milk, such as cow milk. In that case, a Cheesemonger may also be able to provide other animal or non-animal milk alternatives that will be of great quality.
Condiments
It may be that you have the one brand of tomato sauce that you always throw onto your plate of chips, but what if there is an alternative that you don’t even realise is your new favourite as you have not yet tried it? Investing in alternative condiments can help expand your flavour palette immensely.
Furthermore, you will notice a flavour difference in your cooking by buying a better brand or more artisan condiments such as mustards, mint sauces or mayonnaise. This is why you should consider investing in higher-quality condiments if you have expendable income.
Coffee
Within the current age of the coffee revolution, there is a very noticeable difference between instant coffee and a ground bean alternative. Hence, buying better quality coffee has easily made this list. Gone are the days of only visiting speciality coffee shops to taste higher quality coffee, with many gadgets such as cafetieres becoming readily available for a home purchase.
The best way to ensure that you get high-quality coffee, whether in-ground or bean form, is to buy locally from an independent coffee roastery. Many independent cafes also roast their coffee bean produce and often sell their products for customers to take home. Although this option is slightly more expensive than the supermarket alternative, the difference in taste is evident.
Chocolate
When it comes to chocolate, many cheap supermarket brands contain more sugar and fat than cocoa flavour, cutting any potential health benefits from the bean source. Although it can take time to get used to dark chocolate as the taste is deeper and more bitter, it is how chocolate should taste.
There has been a small revolution regarding chocolate, with many independent Chocolatiers choosing to make small-batch, sustainable chocolate products from beans sourced directly from cocoa farms. This provides the opportunity for customers to buy a higher quality chocolate product from businesses that are supported more directly.
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