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HPR Acquisition Etiquette - What's Yours?

AdamJames

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,338
Location
UK
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I hope this justifies a separate thread, as it has nothing to do with nutritional info, availability etc, and this is something I've always struggled with.

I'm talking Lidl High Protein Rolls. No doubt known as HPRs to the many of us who've ever kept a food log and are sick of spelling it out!

So you know what it's like, you take a big gamble and make a journey to your Lidl. Quivering with anticipation, you make your way in and gingerly advance upon the bakery section, telling yourself not to get your hopes up, they may not be doing them any more, or they may not be doing them today, or they may be sold out.

You prepare for the worst as you close in, trying to spot the bakery bins whose contents look darker than the others. You tell yourself that even if they haven't got any, you're sure you'll be able to buy something else while you're there, even though frankly you'd rather have gone to Aldi if you'd known.

Then you see them, and you know right there in that moment you have won the lottery of life, for that day at least. It's all a blur as you fumble for the brown bags to put them in, bowling any other customers out of your way like skittles, because frankly they shouldn't be there, buying the silly pointless little things they are buying, whatever they are, who cares - this is YOUR moment.

But just when you think the emotional rollercoaster is over, you're faced with an etiquette dilemma. There you are, standing in front of them with one or ten bags ready to put them in, and you realise that there are ... tongs ... there. Somebody somewhere wants you to use tongs.

And you know that one of the customers who you've just played skittles with is now back on their feet and looking at you, judging you: will you use the tongs like a good citizen, or are you a low-life, germ-ridden good-for-nothing scumbag who has just crawled out from the sewer? You can feel their eyes burning into you, and you freeze with fear.

What do you do? Pick up the tongs, touching something that a hundred other people have touched, and adding your own special germs to the party for the next customer, or do you carefully pick the HPRs out with your fingers and thumbs, the special germ transaction being limited to just you and the things you will be taking back to your lair?

Today I chose the latter. But somebody, somewhere, decided to put those tongs there, and wanted me to use them. And I can still feel those burning eyes...
 
I hope this justifies a separate thread, as it has nothing to do with nutritional info, availability etc, and this is something I've always struggled with.

I'm talking Lidl High Protein Rolls. No doubt known as HPRs to the many of us who've ever kept a food log and are sick of spelling it out!

So you know what it's like, you take a big gamble and make a journey to your Lidl. Quivering with anticipation, you make your way in and gingerly advance upon the bakery section, telling yourself not to get your hopes up, they may not be doing them any more, or they may not be doing them today, or they may be sold out.

You prepare for the worst as you close in, trying to spot the bakery bins whose contents look darker than the others. You tell yourself that even if they haven't got any, you're sure you'll be able to buy something else while you're there, even though frankly you'd rather have gone to Aldi if you'd known.

Then you see them, and you know right there in that moment you have won the lottery of life, for that day at least. It's all a blur as you fumble for the brown bags to put them in, bowling any other customers out of your way like skittles, because frankly they shouldn't be there, buying the silly pointless little things they are buying, whatever they are, who cares - this is YOUR moment.

But just when you think the emotional rollercoaster is over, you're faced with an etiquette dilemma. There you are, standing in front of them with one or ten bags ready to put them in, and you realise that there are ... tongs ... there. Somebody somewhere wants you to use tongs.

And you know that one of the customers who you've just played skittles with is now back on their feet and looking at you, judging you: will you use the tongs like a good citizen, or are you a low-life, germ-ridden good-for-nothing scumbag who has just crawled out from the sewer? You can feel their eyes burning into you, and you freeze with fear.

What do you do? Pick up the tongs, touching something that a hundred other people have touched, and adding your own special germs to the party for the next customer, or do you carefully pick the HPRs out with your fingers and thumbs, the special germ transaction being limited to just you and the things you will be taking back to your lair?

Today I chose the latter. But somebody, somewhere, decided to put those tongs there, and wanted me to use them. And I can still feel those burning eyes...
Some people would just take the lot and freeze them - that way problem solved as only you get your own germs and cant pass any on - simples!
personally Ive gone off them due to the texture so feel free to take my share
 
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Last time I tried to use the tongs, the roll fell on the floor which is a worse health hazard. As long as you pick them up and put them in your bag I don't see a problem, just don't sort through them!
 
One thing I noticed tonight, since I was getting three bags of them, is that the surface above the "bins" was thick with dust! I mean really, really bad. I put one bag up there while I filled the next, and when I moved it you could see the dust falling down everywhere, and the bag was coated.

I also noticed, because they were in the highest row, that my shirt sleeve was touching the bottom of the bin. That would have happened whether I'd been using the tongs or not.

All in all there were plenty of hygiene hazards, but I'm not sure what the tongs would do to make things better.

It's all very confusing when clearly people think you should do something a certain way but you can't work out why!
 
Some people would just take the lot and freeze them - that way problem solved as only you get your own germs and cant pass any on - simples!
personally Ive gone off them due to the texture so feel free to take my share

Last time I tried to use the tongs, the roll fell on the floor which is a worse health hazard. As long as you pick them up and put them in your bag I don't see a problem, just don't sort through them!

I'm relieved to see that so far, 3/3 people, myself included, are okay with not using the tongs. I wasn't sure if I'd get a backlash for posting this! If somebody does explain why it's a good idea then I might start using them though.
 
Can't be bothered with tongs. I don't rummage, just avoid stuff that looks iffy. If I had to touch the bins, though, I would definitely use the tongs! They are rarely cleaned (occasionally taken out back and hosed down with cold water).
 
Can't be bothered with tongs. I don't rummage, just avoid stuff that looks iffy. If I had to touch the bins, though, I would definitely use the tongs! They are rarely cleaned (occasionally taken out back and hosed down with cold water).

I think my Lidl takes them out back and hoses them down with dust! Well I'm hoping it's just the shelf above them, but I might look more closely at the containers next time...
 
This made me laugh.
The French Lidl, doesn't sell high protein rolls though it does sell walnut loaves and rolls which I like. You cannot pick out the contents of the 'bin' by hand. The 'bin' has a small hole in the perspex front with a long metal arm inserted.You manipulate the arm to the bread and push it out into a chute from where you retrieve it. (a bit like one of those slot machine cranes but a bit easier as you are always certain of success) Problem of what has gone before, solved.
Maybe people should request this system in British stores.
 
This made me laugh.
The French Lidl, doesn't sell high protein rolls though it does sell walnut loaves and rolls which I like. You cannot pick out the contents of the 'bin' by hand. The 'bin' has a small hole in the perspex front with a long metal arm inserted.You manipulate the arm to the bread and push it out into a chute from where you retrieve it. (a bit like one of those slot machine cranes but a bit easier as you are always certain of success) Problem of what has gone before, solved.
Maybe people should request this system in British stores.

Brilliant! That would solve the dilemma. You don't get a choice, AND you can pretend you are handling radioactive fuel at the same time!
 
I can't use the tongs because the basket is too high for me so I pick them up with finger & thumb. I remember the feelings about wondering whether there would be any left but Lidl in Melton Mowbray will cook some more if you ask and wait twenty minutes so take a slow walk around the store and buy things I never went in there for.
 
When I buy a roll in he supermarket (alas, not a hpr-roll, as they don't sell them in the Netherlands), I find it a very funny game to buy them without the plastic bag. I usually only buy one, as I shouldn't eat them anyway, and I usually buy them to eat right away, so no need to put them in a bag. I then put them on the conveyor-belt, naked and uncovered, and wait in delighted anticipation for the cashier to encounter my roll. They have a look of panic on their face as my roll approaches them on the belt and they realize they only have seconds to decide how to handle naked food they aren't allowed to touch. I usually soften by that point and tell them that their hands are almost certainly cleaner than mine or the conveyor-belt.
I'm sorry, dear cashiers, but it is entertaining! And never mind the germs, I've evolved over millions of years to survive most common germs.
 
I'd be more concerned with all the folk that have coughed, sneezed and breathed all over them than touched them but then again, bread is a poor carrier of disease.
 
And who, if anyone, washes the tongs that I can't be bothered to use?
 
@AdamJames oh I'd looooooove to come shopping with you - I loved your post!

If you're getting germy rolls to freeze, freezing might just kick the germiness into touch! Or you could approach the Powers that Be to initiate the 'no rolls unless you've sanitised ALL over and are wearing a sterile mask' policy.

:)
 
I'd be more concerned with all the folk that have coughed, sneezed and breathed all over them than touched them but then again, bread is a poor carrier of disease.

I particularly don't like it when I see small children picking their noses then manhandling the stuff in the lower bins just out of curiosity before putting it back! Luckily my Lidl hardly ever seem to put the HPRs in the lower bins.

And who, if anyone, washes the tongs that I can't be bothered to use?

I'm pretty sure my Lidl regards them as self-cleaning; they presume that after enough customers have brushed past them they'll be fine for another day!

@AdamJames oh I'd looooooove to come shopping with you - I loved your post!

If you're getting germy rolls to freeze, freezing might just kick the germiness into touch! Or you could approach the Powers that Be to initiate the 'no rolls unless you've sanitised ALL over and are wearing a sterile mask' policy.

:)

Well that's a nice thought, but would that be wise? I mean, two diabetics ... in Lidl ... and just a few rolls left? That could make the news! Yes luckily I did freeze most of them. MOST. I like a gamble.
 
Crikey, @AdamJames, have you been following me!! :wideyed: :eek: That's exactly what happens when I have to trek out for a re-stock!

I'm usually so anxious to get them all into my bags, before anyone else comes along to claim some, that it's hand-pick and quick, before slinking off guiltily, leaving a gaping emptiness in my wake .....
 
Some people would just take the lot and freeze them - that way problem solved as only you get your own germs and cant pass any on - simples!
(my bold)

Exactly so, Boo1979.
I hadn't looked at it that way - thanks for giving me the excuse not to feel guilty next time. :)
 
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