Uborka PLU 4593

Barring a few short months at dodgy Danko utca in the VIII district, I the first 3 years in Budapest at Kertesz utca. It was good as it's central, good for transport, has a good csarnok round the corner and didn't have the prostitutes, mafia, druggies and drunk homeless that Danko had.

I thought I'd mention uborkas today as I found one in my kitchen that is individually shrink wrapped and stamped. It made me think back to my time at Kertesz utca and the csarnok there.


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Back in '94, even though the shop was pretty big, they didn't sell any sort of fruit or veg or eggs for that matter. To get the fresh produce, you had to go out back and buy it from one of many independent stalls. Of course you had to make sure you brought your own bag or egg cartons as they didn't supply any.

I also remember the great feeling of when they first started stocking fruit and veg there so that there was no need to go out into the weather to get the rest of the shopping. Such convenience.

Now things have gone a step further. Perhaps it's part of EU regulations that every item has to be sealed and isolated from potential hazards. My uborka is no longer an uborka. It's a sealed vegetable product with reference number PLU 4593.

Of course you can go to the big Interspars, Tescos and Auchans to pick up such lovelies as pre-packed veggies for your soup. Or maybe you fancy the pre-grated cheese to save you the wrist work.

This post isn't really meant to be a rant at pre-packaged foods. Just another snapshot of then and now. PLU 4593 suprised me.


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