Store Brand Mixed Vegetables: Not Quite As Mixed As You Would Think
Have you ever taken a serving of mixed vegetables and sorted it by vegetable? Louis, annoyed at inaccurate depictions of food on labels, decided to sort, count, and weigh the vegetables in his can of Always Save brand canned vegetables. The results? Uh, not so mixed.
Here's his tally:
6 peas, 3 grams
2 lima beans, 1.5 grams
13 corn, 3 grams
1 celery, .25 grams
6 green beans, 2.5 grams
109 carrots, 146 grams
99 potatoes, 149 grams
Not quite the distribution shown on the label, is it? Maybe the green vegetables have been hit with a grocery invisibility ray. Not to knock potatoes and carrots, which are nutritious and extremely tasty, but that's not quite the mix one would expect from the label.
Post a comment
Comments:
Next you will say that the burger you get at burger king looks NOTHING like the picture ...
The OP and Adrian Monk would be great friends I think. True it does not resemble the label in the least. I wonder if the OP took the time to inform the manufacturer. Most of them will be happy to reimburse you if you are not satisfied with their product.
@computerwiz3491: As did I. More related to the story, I stopped buying Always Save vegetables for this exavt reason-unless I wanted carrots and potatoes, that is.
"Always Save Mixed Vegetables"?
Just eat corn, they look the same before and after shat them out.
lol, the other day I opened up a bag of regular M&Ms and they were almost all red, yellow, orange, and brown. There were probably 3 blue ones and 5 green ones. At first I thought it was like a "fall mix" of colors!
Blech, canned vegetables. I just can't do it. Frozen (and fresh, when affordable) all the way!
Interesting and similar study on mixed nuts... [cockeyed.com]
With things like M&Ms, I'm guessing they all get dyed separately, and then tossed together for processing, so you have one big vat of candy colors instead of three separate ones...
With vegetables, I don't think it's the same because they can get washed the same and stuffed into the can the same way. But since someone or something (like a robot) has to put the ingredients in the vats to begin with, I think it's more that carrots and potatoes are cheaper as far as canned filler goes.
Man, did you buy that can in a dollar store or what? You should count yourself lucky that you opened the can and there was vegetables inside.
I wonder if there are any nutrients left in those poor pathetic waterlogged little veggie tidbits at all?
Someone somewhere has a whole lot of peas, celery, lima beans and green beans in his/her can.
They are considered "mixed" because each morsel is not of uniform size. I thought everyone knew that.
I guess I see where it would be a little annoying, but is this really all that big of a deal?
but heres a question, is that just that one can or are they all like that, it would be better to buy one from 3 seperate stores to check
Carrots are cheap. Lima beans are expensive. :P
Aren't they supposed to list the contents of the can in decreasing order on the label?
Reminds me of the Pork & Beans cans where the pork was one square of pork hiding in the can.
We used to have a game at dinner where the person who got the sliver of pork in their pork and beans would have to do the dishes.
Which would be true. Their ads lie.
My first thought is to wonder whether the lopsided distribution is consistent among multiple bags. My second thought is that if he really is that upset about it, he should take them back to the grocery store from which he bought them. Most grocery stores have a quality guarantee that would let you return any items with which you are not satisfied.
@anduin: I get similar cans (store brands, Del Monte, etc) from time to time and although I can't say for sure it's the same proportions, I find that it is mostly carrots and potatoes.
@jdmba: Looking like the picture and containing the same portions of vegetables are a little different. If the vegetables were still there and just looked bad, it would then be the same.
@katstermonster: Grow your own. Good for both the environment and the wallet.
(Disclaimer: I am presently engaged in consuming a mix of fresh summer squash and green beans from my garden, so my opinion may be compromised by overwhelmingly delicious flavors)
@Doctor Rockso!: Bargain brands are usually the same as brand names. It's true with everything you buy. Sometimes there are differences, but usually they are the same.
Bleh. The less celery, the better. He did totally get jacked on the corn and green beans though.
@formatc: I tried! I planted two rows of canned vegetables this spring and got nothing! Not even a single serve lunch pack!
@Bogart's Falcon aka Philly Falcon: They probably do, but going from 146g to 3g is a huge jump. Also, the label indicates more beans and peas and very few carrots.
I buy store brand mixed veggies by the can from Walmart and they have this exact distribution! I have stopped buying them do to the lack of green.
I think they are just over representing the cheaper veggies.
It's amusing what curiosity will drive a person to do. =P
@HiPwr: Not me. To me, "mixed" means a mixture of different things. Technically the OP got a can mixed vegetables, it's just that he didn't an evenly mixed assortment as is somewhat implied by the picture on the can.
As Pecan Pi (sorry, I didn't want to make a mistake with the number) said, those carrots & potatoes are cheaper. Same concept as with a bag of mixed nuts.
@savdavid: Every fastfood joint lies. Hell, I would be more outraged, I think, if it DID look like the ads; I wouldn't know if it was really a "real" burger.
Sad, but not surprising that quantities of each vegetable are determined by cost. Kind of false advertising though since there are probably at least 3 servings in the can and not enough lima beans and celery unless you cut them. I really wonder who buys this stuff after you see you're getting a can of carrots and potatoes, 2 vegetables that should never be canned anyway.
When dealer with fruits of vegetables of any kind Ive always found the name brand to be superior to store brands. We used to buy store brand broccoli and it was always like 80% stalks. My Girlfriend insisted on it because it was cheaper. I finally convinced her it was worth the extra $1. Same goes for Corn. Hard to mess up corn you say? Well for some reason the store brand was always...crunchy. Not Mmmm good corn crunchy, hard crunchy.
Am i the only one who wouldn't be mad that they only put 2 lima beans in there lol
I read the title as you should always save mixed vegetables.