The weird and wonderful things sold in supermarkets

Sainsbury's has started selling edible flowers. They're already something of a fixture in swanky restaurants, and now they've made their way into the fresh herbs section of the supermarket, where you can pick up a punnet of mixed flowers for £3.

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Many shoppers will find it hard to imagine a single dish they cook that could be made £3 better with the addition of a few flowers, but it's not the first bizarre addition that supermarkets have made to their ranges.

Vanessa Rider, the flower buyer for Sainsbury's, said she was "confident customers will love the instant summer glamour that they will add to their dishes". If this is the case, the flowers could soon be coming to a dinner party near you.

It doesn't pay to underestimate our appetite for weird and wonderful items from the supermarket. Over the years there have been some truly bizarre items on sale.

Kiwi berries
These were sold in Waitrose last year - at £2.50 for 125g - and were like fur-free mini kiwis. They're currently listed as being unavailable - so there's a reasonable chance they didn't fly off the shelves.

Bubble berries
Similarly bubble berries were introduced by Waitrose in April 2014. The berries look like strawberries and taste like bubblegum, which turned out to be a combination that UK shoppers weren't ready for.

Crocodile burgers
As exotic meat goes, crocodile took its time in coming to UK supermarkets. However, Iceland has taken a lead, and is currently selling frozen crocodile burgers - at £3 for two.

Tomberries
The berry-sized tomatoes were originally bred to get children interested in tomatoes, and were sold fresh in Sainsbury's. That particular line has since been dropped, but Tesco is now selling them in jars. This time they have been rebranded, are aimed at foodies, and are being called tomato caviar.

Alcohol-free spirits
Some 21% of adults in the UK don't drink alcohol, so alcohol-free ranges have been growing in the supermarkets. One unexpected new addition is an alcohol-free spirit - sold by the likes of Tesco and Ocado. The idea of an interesting non-alcoholic option isn't necessarily terribly surprising. What is odd is the idea of selling it for £27.99 a bottle.

Cheeseburger pizza
Iceland knows there are times when you can't decide between a cheeseburger and a pizza, so it has launched something that's a combination of the two: a frozen pizza topped with burger meat and cheese. It's a novel approach, and an inexpensive one - at 75p.

Aldi Specialbuys
Of course, the discounters have made flogging the unexpected into something of an art form. Special Buys at Aldi this week, for example, include a £14.00 sledgehammer, a £39.99 pressure washer and a £5.99 bird feeder in the shape of a tractor.