The Bitter Guide to Buying Sliced Meat

[thebitterguy]

Have I already asked this? I can't remember.

But, yes. There is something that vexes me. It tasks me. It tasks me, and I will have my satisfaction.

Could you please tell me, why do people buy sandwich meat by weight? I mean, seriously. If you are buying sandwich meat, it's entirely likely you'll be using it to make sandwiches, right? And who makes a sandwich by weight? No one. No one makes a sandwich with 45 grams of meat. You make a sandwich by slice. One, two, three slices, whatever you want, that's what you use to make the sandwich.

Some simple math (three meat sandwich days x two people x two slices per sandwich = 12 slices of meat!) will save you and the nice people at the deli counter a great deal of aggravation.

Seriously, unless there's this great common knowledge that never got passed on to me (and, given my life, that's very possible!) about the weight of different types of meats per slice, why should anyone order 150 grams of ham? Just order slices, darnit!

Comments

[jesshartley.livejournal.com]

I'm a strange-o, I know... But I do make sandwiches roughly by weight... I worked at a deli, and a deli sandwich (where I was) had 4oz of meat on a fairly good sized sandwich. So, for me, one pound of lunch meat = four big sandwiches or 5-6 smallish ones.

But then, I'm just weird. :)

[lickerishwhip.livejournal.com]

Your answer, good sir: People order meat by weight when they have a limited amount of money; if I have $5 and ham is $2.50 for 100 grams, I will order just short of 200 grams. :)

Sadly, I do not have the luxury of saying "20 slices please", as I have no concrete idea how much that might come to and I am usually budgeted down to the dime.

[bald-ruminant.livejournal.com]

You mean you've never given them the hassle of asking for extra-thin or extra-thick slices? The places I shop let you make those kinds of requests. It's because of people like me making such requests that they sell sliced meat by the pound instead of per slice.

[greenlion.livejournal.com]

"I'd like 100 slices of chipped ham, please."

[sassy-fae.livejournal.com]

I do the same thing. If the slices are really thin, I use three, and if they're just sorta thin, I use two (but I like em thin, so I request them that way, by the half pound :)

[optimussven.livejournal.com]

And to add to the problems, I'm only fluent in the avoirdupois system. I know that 1lb of roast beef is enough to get me through a week. But when we start getting into grams then I'm all messed up!

[indefatigable42.livejournal.com]

If I buy deli cheese that's sliced thin, twelve slices will make four sandwiches. If it's sliced thicker, twelve slices will make six sandwiches. If I don't specify whether I want thick or thin slices, what I get will depend on the default setting at the store, or maybe it'll just be the same thickness as whatever the last person ordered.

But no matter where I buy it, the same weight of cheese always ends up making the same number of sandwiches, because I like a certain amount of cheese, not a certain integer, on a sandwich.

Plus, if it was sold in slices, stores could fool you into buying less food for the price simply by slicing it thinner. It's like toilet paper. Brand A is 4 rolls for a dollar, while Brand B is 4 rolls for a dollar and a half. Brand A looks cheaper until you realise that each roll from Brand B has more sheets and is three-ply, which means it won't be used up as quickly.

[indefatigable42.livejournal.com]

Additionally, if you go to the deli and you don't know how many sandwiches you'll get out of a certain number of grams, eyeball a small quantity and then ask for more if it's not enough. Usually, when I ask for two hundred grams, the deli clerk will slice it up and put it on the scale and ask me whether it's the right amount. If I misjudged, I can say 'better make it three hundred'.

[thebitterguy]

Well, I'm fine with paying by weight (in fact, I expect it), but ordering by weight is what messes me up.

I never order cheese at the deli, so I've never had that situation (I get the pre sliced havarti).

[thebitterguy]

Oh, you can specify how you want it, but there's a medium thickness they default to that is good for two slices on a sandwich.

[thebitterguy]

That makes sense.

TBG admits a weakness

[thebitterguy]

I don't know what chipped ham is.

[thebitterguy]

I'm lucky enough to have worked in a supermarket in my youth, so pound/gram covnersions are easy.

Someone starts saying things in ounces, I'm completely thrown off.

[thebitterguy]

That makes sense too; if you've got experience in food preperation so that you know what'll feed who, then by weight makes sense.

Re: TBG admits a weakness

[greenlion.livejournal.com]

http://www.isalys.com/

It can get really fun when you ask for chipped ham chopped, or chopped ham chipped. I guess reallly I should ask for chip-chopped ham.

[creativedv8tion.livejournal.com]

I order by the weight. If I want enough for a couple days of lunch, 1/4 pound meat, 1/4 pound cheese. Bam. If I want enough for more, 1/2 pound of each. Bam.

Plus, I also use it in other cookings, too. Hey, making a salad, could use a little ham shredded on top? Bam.

[adamjury.livejournal.com]

So would assigning a price to a slice.

"Well, let's see, slices are 40 cents each, and I have 5 bucks, so I can afford 12 slices!"

Am I the only one...

[absinthe-dot-ca.livejournal.com]

that orders it by thickness? "Can I have 17 mm of the black forest ham, my good sir?"

Well, it's better than ordering by colour...

Re: Am I the only one...

[thebitterguy]

Yes. Yes you are.