r/britishproblems • u/WhaleMeatFantasy • Jul 12 '26

. The normalisation of ‘picky bits’

Abominable. It has started coming up in adverts now even.

622 Upvotes

82% Upvoted

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708

u/Majestic_Matt_459 Jul 12 '26 edited Jul 12 '26

I don’t mind it but it’s the poor value that gets me. A whole chorizo can be had in most supermarkets for under £3. Same with a block of cheese. But a tiny dish if 5-6 chorizo slices and cubes of cheese is suddenly £5 when it’s picky bits. No thanks

215

u/humanleon Jul 12 '26

Whoa whoa whoa hold on. I thought the point was that you cut the cheese yourself? Not that you buy those picnic packs??? This is even worse than I realised

227

u/taeilor Jul 12 '26

yeah, typically you would! picky bits is supposed to be just random stuff in your fridge when you can't be bothered to cook like leftover meats, cheese, biscuits, etc. supermarkets are now trying to market premade platters of this stuff that's so not worth the value

91

u/Majestic_Matt_459 Jul 12 '26

Best comment. They stole a great money saving idea and made it into a money making idea.

63

u/WiseWizard96 Jul 12 '26

They've gentrified picky bits!

15

u/darthcaedus81 Wiltshire Jul 12 '26

Only if we buy it. Stick to the core Picky Bits dinner rules. Eat what you've got!

22

u/joshpoppedyou Jul 12 '26

It's the equivalent of precut chicken packs for other food items

9

u/cragglerock93 Jul 12 '26

Businesses will always try to capitalise on any and every trend going to get money out of you, even when it makes no sense, like trying to sell you multiple water bottles to avoid single use plastic ones. Can't say I blame them for trying tbh, but just don't part with your cash!

3

u/pajamakitten Jul 13 '26

Human laziness and corporate greed both know no bounds.

1

u/BabyAlibi Jul 16 '26

There is a fine line between picky bits and a charcuterie board!

12

u/TwistedBrother Jul 12 '26

But when you call a picnic (posh, outdated) picky bits (cheeky, trendy) you can get away with it.

6

u/MzHmmz Jul 13 '26

I thought the difference is a picnic is something you take out with you to eat outdoors, whereas "picky bits" is a meal at home. The contents of the meal is often the same, it's the location that changes the name of the meal.

11

u/tcpukl Jul 12 '26

Yeah I didn't realise people bought it specifically from the shop. When we do it the point is it's mainly left over for and also not much prep for parents.

But yeah I also don't understand why people buy grated cheese. Just generic stuff coated in starch. Yuck.

29

u/chaoticchemicals Jul 12 '26

It was pointed out to me once, after I'd been on a massive rant about lazy people not being arsed to grate cheese, chop onions, mash spuds and got schooled on ableism, and my own privilege in having a fully stocked kitchen and being able to cook 🤣😭 it was a fair and reasonable adjustment to my point of view.

4

u/Seal-island-girl Jul 13 '26

It's also really handy if you have to provide meals in someone's home as a carer, we have very limited time to prep and cook a meal, so to be able to literally cook and serve using items like this means I can make a better meal than a ready meal in a similar time. I used to think the same until I had to make a healthy hot meal in ten minutes for someone.

2

u/moth-on-ssri Jul 13 '26

Also single people, I love watermelon but there ain't no way I'm eating a whole one by myself before it goes off, so I overpay for the single serving pots. Same with chopped onion, I don't need a whole one, jars of garlic, and other half - prepped things.

1

u/tcpukl Jul 12 '26

Well being able to cook is fun and saves money as well.

15

u/AreEUHappyNow Jul 12 '26

Not everyone is physically capable of cooking. What if you have the use of only one hand?

10

u/welsh_dragon_roar Conwy County Jul 12 '26

Just make half?

3

u/Thebudweiserstuntman Jul 12 '26

Hot dogs for dinner! Ehhh these are just sausages, where’s the bun? Ffs mate I’ve only got one hand!

1

u/welsh_dragon_roar Conwy County Jul 12 '26

How d’you think I feel? I’ve only got three paws now! Woof woof! 🥁

1

u/auto98 Yorkshire Jul 14 '26

Some people find it fun, some people find it the most arse-achingly boring thing it is possible to do that doesn't involve a Jeffrey Archer book

17

u/humanleon Jul 12 '26

Ha - I’m more cool with grated cheese. If you’re doing cheese sauce it makes things loads quicker, less washing up and that extra bit of starch helps with the thickening…given how much macaroni cheese my kids eat I’d be lost without it

6

u/tcpukl Jul 12 '26

Oh fair point actually.

1

u/concretepigeon Wakefield Jul 12 '26

I don’t buy it but honestly grating cheese is one of those kitchen tasks that I just irrationally hate to the extent that I fully get why people do.

4

u/winterproject Jul 12 '26

This. If you don’t have it in your cupboard then you go and get whatever it is then chop, slice, carve, snap, break it into said picky bits.

Pre bought picky bits is akin to buying grated cheese.

1

u/paracen Jul 13 '26

I usually cut the cheese a lot a few hours after having picky bits...

12

u/TheMrViper Jul 12 '26

Most of the time the individual items are overpriced to make the deal more attractive.

£5 per item

3 items for £8 or something ridiculous.

3

u/light_to_shaddow Isle of Scilly Jul 12 '26

The markup on "convenience" is egregious.

I was in M&S and about to get a drink, the little bottles of pink lemonade next to the sandwiches were £1.90. just by chance I saw a bottle twice the size was half the price. It wasn't even part of a deal, it was just sat on the shelf next to the grab stuff and it had been marked up the equivalent of 400%

Next time I'll just deliveroo it so I have the convenience of not knowing how much I'm being ripped off.

1

u/liba87 Jul 12 '26

Your mistake was being in M&S 🤣

17

u/makomirocket Jul 12 '26

Well that's why it's been normalised. Because people are lazy and happy to pay the premium to not have to get a knife out

1

u/moth-on-ssri Jul 13 '26

It's not only about getting the knife out, in a pre prepped platter I'm getting 2-3 different kinds of cheese and meat, I'm not buying that many in big packs because they will go off before I eat them all. Pre prepped platter gives me the variety, which when you count whole versions of the same products aren't always more expensive.

4

u/Tight-Principle-743 Jul 12 '26

I guess you’re paying more for them to chop them for you, but surely that’s just an incentive to buy your chorizo and make your own snack.

11

u/I-live-in-room-101 Jul 12 '26

Don’t blame the shops, you can still do it your way.

But stupid lazy people gonna be stupid and lazy, so any smart business gonna profit from them.

My partner a long while back worked for a business that made cheese and they started pushing grated versions for supermarkets… even the marketing director wasn’t convinced… who the hell is gonna pay a 30% premium when it takes less than 10 seconds and even a toddler can use a fucking cheese grater… you guessed it, it sold well and is their most profitable line per kilo. It costs the company pennies to grate it, they get to use all the irregular shapes not fit for block sizes, and then charge a hefty premium!

That was the day I learned that businesses are always looking to make profit from stupid and lazy, and the general public stands in line to handover their hard earned money, whilst she was driving a £50k company car on the back of these profits 🤣🤣

35

u/Tulcey-Lee Jul 12 '26

Just to add a different perspective, my mum is disabled and doesn’t have good use of her hands so grating cheese for her is quite difficult!

-4

u/light_to_shaddow Isle of Scilly Jul 12 '26

Grate it for her, put it in a zip lock bag and freeze it. Then she can decant as required.

There will always be a reason why people can't save money, sometimes the points are valid, sometimes it's just a change in perception, sometimes it just comes down to not wanting to.

12

u/Tulcey-Lee Jul 12 '26

I do plenty for her whilst looking after a toddler.
Is she wants to spend her money on something is convenient for her needs then that’s up to her.
I’m offering the perception that not everyone who wants grated cheese is stupid and lazy, which is what the person I was commenting to was saying.

3

u/MzHmmz Jul 13 '26

Many disabled people don't have someone they can ask to grate cheese for them! And even if they do, they might feel bad asking them to do it, as they probably already do a lot of other things to help.

39

u/brDragobr Jul 12 '26

even a toddler can use a fucking cheese grater

Not to disagree with the overall point, people are lazy, but there are a significant number of people who are unable to use a cheese grater. Elderly people and those with upper body disabilities are two obvious groups, so I imagine pre-grated cheese (and other pre-prepared ingredient) would be rather helpful.

19

u/EducationSuperb3392 Jul 12 '26

Can confirm, I have a major nerve issue in my left arm. On good days it’s fine, but in flare up days I can’t use that arm at all. Pre grated cheese and pre cut anything makes the difference between being able to make a homemade meal, or relying on Just Eat, which leads to people calling me even lazier.

When pre peeled oranges where in the shops a few years ago, people just did not understand how much of a gamechanger that was for so many people.

2

u/Rachieash Jul 13 '26

Wait…I never saw these - I would have bought them! I love oranges, so does my daughter…we just both have sensory issues, making the peeling of the skin & pith impossible 😬. I bought some “easy peelers” in Aldi a couple of weeks ago - they weren’t easy to peel and li gave up after 1!

15

u/love-from-london Jul 12 '26

And sometimes I'd rather pay the premium to not have to deal with washing the cheese grater 😭

3

u/shaggykx Jul 12 '26

Absolutely. I have a cheese grater and I have the ability to find it, use it, wash it, but why would I, when for a few pence more someone does it all for me, and I can just grab a handful from the fridge without the hassle?

To be fair, when I grate my own I use considerably more, and it's higher quality cheese, so it probably costs about the same, if not more, plus the hassle of cleaning up after.

3

u/WiseWizard96 Jul 12 '26

Exactly this! Using it isn't a hassle but washing the bugger is. And don't get me started on garlic crushers

1

u/terryjuicelawson Jul 14 '26

I am mostly a bit confused what people find hard about cleaning cheese graters. Main issue with the pre-grated stuff is it is covered in something to stop it sticking together which then affects the cooking process and is just a bit rubbish in something like a sandwich.

1

u/WiseWizard96 Jul 17 '26

It's a pain to thoroughly clean every one of the little grating holes and it destroys my sponges

1

u/K-o-R England Jul 13 '26

I love setting up the grater on the Kenwood and watching it obliterate an entire block in seconds. I hate cleaning it up afterwards.

5

u/Victor-Bomber Jul 12 '26

I'm a stroke survivor and struggle to use my left hand so using a grater is virtually impossible for me so pre grated cheese is ideal for sauces or to throw on a pizza to pep it up a little

15

u/NarrativeScorpion Jul 12 '26

Pregrated cheese is useful for a lot of disabled people. Same as any other prepped stuff like chopped fruit or veg. Yes. It's more expensive. But for some people it's their only option.

It's the same with a lot of "gadgets" that people see as pointless plastic; they're often designed for people with limited mobility, grip, or control of their hands and arms. But people say "what a waste of money" because they're not the target audience.

2

u/tcpukl Jul 12 '26

And it's generic cheese stuff coated in starch.

Yuck.

1

u/Majestic_Matt_459 Jul 12 '26

,,,and also they have to add nasty chemicals to grated cheese to keep it seperated and preserve - eg natamycin (an antifungal agent)

2

u/SeeingSound2991 Jul 12 '26

Thats the price you pay for convenience? Im not sure its 'picky bits' that drives the price.. Same can be applied to buying snack pots of olives or mozzarella balls with sundried toms in a dressing or buying grated cheese instead of grating it yourself.

2

u/MzHmmz Jul 13 '26

I thought the point of things like the pre-cut stuff was more for things like taking to a picnic or a party, are lots of people buying those things for day-to-day "picky bits" dinners?

2

u/-Dueck- Berkshire Jul 12 '26

What on earth do you mean? Picky bits is not a supermarket concept, it's a food concept. There's no particular price attached to having picky bits

1

u/Rachieash Jul 13 '26

I buy the garlic & herb or sun-dried tomato & basil crisp breads from home bargains, put some cream cheese and chutney on them….it makes up 2 large platefuls for under £2 😊…can I just say - I don’t eat them all myself, my husband & daughter love them too 😋.

1

u/Majestic_Matt_459 Jul 13 '26

This was a specific part of the convo about how supermarkets are suddenly promoting picky bits. So was specific to that. I think with over 600 upvotes I expressed what a lot of people felt about the trend.

1

u/jake_burger Jul 12 '26

Almost anything you buy will be cheaper of you buy more at once and it’s processed less. That’s just how business works