NYTimes Articles on Food, Drink, Culinary Culture 2013–

[ProfessionalHobbit]

The prices seem to be in line with what Blue Apron offers.

 

Not a fan of the concept either.

[kayb]

Has anyone tried Sun Basket? It purports to have all-certified-organic products, and offers vegetarian, vegan, paleo and gluten-free options. Got top marks from a BuzzFeed review of several different servcies (I loved the one for Purple Carrot; in the "good" category, they noted, "The box arrived.")

 

[Thanks for the Crepes]

16 hours ago, DiggingDogFarm said:

I definitely won't be trying it!

Summer pasta with zucchini, 2 servings, $29.00! 

Chopped herb salad with farro, 2 servings, $27.00! 

The old Gray Lady is dying — I doubt this will save her.

 

If meal kits do become crazy popular, you can bet that grocery stores will take advantage of the trend (in some ways they already have) without the added costs of shipping, etc. 

 

 

Sorry to be obtuse, but what is "the old Gray Lady"? Okay, Googled, and found that's the nickname for the NY Times, but anyone know why? I'd never heard that before.

 

Yeah, as a person who drove a used (well maintained) 1979 Chevy Malibu for 26 years, and still has cherished kitchen equipment from even earlier, I suspect I am not their target demographic either. 

 

My grocery carries sliced meats for stir fry, pre-marinated meats, cut fruits and veggies, but I never buy. They're more expensive, more perishable, and the one time I tried marinated pork ribs on sale, we could not even eat them! Coons were happy that night. Also the cut fruits and veggies seem to be frequent targets of recalls for food safety. The concept is not for me either.

 

That said, I do buy thin sliced rib eye steak at the Korean-owned Pan-Asian grocery, and pork too. It's usually still frozen when I pick it up from their meat case. It takes very little time to thaw. It's also quite inexpensive which comforts my thrifty (cheapass) soul. 

[liuzhou]

I'm rather puzzled as to what's supposedly new or wonderful about this concept.

 

My local supermarkets (both here in China and back in the UK) have been selling packs of ingredients for one particular dish for decades.

 

Yes, convenient for the lazy, but overpriced, unless you are happy to pay to have someone chop your carrots and slice your meat. But if you are that lazy, why not go the whole way and just eat in a restaurant?

[IowaDee]

If they are that lazy, they are probably too damn lazy to get out of their bathrobes and waddle to a restaurant.  They are the folks for whom  take out was invented.  

[Thanks for the Crepes]

I can understand part of the appeal of these prepped meal kits in NYC after having seen some photos on here of teeny tiny kitchens with nonexistent counter space for those who would still like to cook at home. Also if you live in an area without a vehicle to transport groceries where public transportation is laughable or doesn't exist, like I do, then I can see a demand. Otherwise, not so much. I wish them well, though, and hope their efforts can be profitable and fill a niche for the small demographic they're aiming for. I would not invest in these ventures, personally, though.

[ProfessionalHobbit]

5 hours ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

I can understand part of the appeal of these prepped meal kits in NYC after having seen some photos on here of teeny tiny kitchens with nonexistent counter space for those who would still like to cook at home. Also if you live in an area without a vehicle to transport groceries where public transportation is laughable or doesn't exist, like I do, then I can see a demand. Otherwise, not so much. I wish them well, though, and hope their efforts can be profitable and fill a niche for the small demographic they're aiming for. I would not invest in these ventures, personally, though.

 

I used to live in one of those teeny tiny apartments in Manhattan with hobbit-sized kitchens with nonexistent counter space, and managed to turn out multi-course dinners multiple times a week for years.  It's just a matter of being organized and adapting.

 

BTW, there's a place where those kitchens exist en masse and whose citizens have endured their living conditions for years long before the advent of meal kits.  It's called "Japan".  

Edited September 9, 2016 by ProfessionalHobbit (log)

[kayb]

8 hours ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

 

Sorry to be obtuse, but what is "the old Gray Lady"? Okay, Googled, and found that's the nickname for the NY Times, but anyone know why? I'd never heard that before.

 

Before the advent of photographs and illustrations in newspapers, the Times was known for its narrow columns and small headline fonts, lending to it a "grey" look. Until recent years, the Times still looked "greyer" than many papers, being late to the present style of color photos, more white space and "airier" layouts.

 

(The things one remembers from the History of Journalism class one took nearly 40 years ago...)

 

[Shel_B]

On ‎9‎/‎8‎/‎2016 at 5:31 AM, Smithy said:

Their new web site has the advert as a banner across the top, and I've followed the link to check it out. It does look interesting.  It's expensive, of course, but that's me being a tightwad, and expense is a relative thing. For instance, 2 meals for 2 people in my test scenario came out to $61: $29 for oven-roasted chicken shawarma and $32 for glazed salmon.  The photos, of course, look wonderful.  I'm pretty sure I could do either of those for less money, but I'm pretty sure either would cost more at a restaurant around here.  I may try it; if so, I'll post back here.  I hope someone tries it out and reports here!

 

I can eat for a week for less than the cost of those meals.  I've priced out what it costs, and was surprised at how inexpensively meals can be prepared, including the cost for the electricity to cook.  True, we eat a lot of fruit and vegetables, not so much meat.  We buy from the various farmers markets, TJ's for a variety of items, specialty shops for produce, poultry, and fish, and I purchase mostly organic.

 

I would never pay for someone to prep my food and ship it to me.  Does one really know what they're getting in that manner?  And freshness can often take second place to convenience.  Feh!

Edited September 11, 2016 by Shel_B (log)

[ProfessionalHobbit]

36 minutes ago, Shel_B said:

 

I can eat for a week for less than the cost of those meals.  I've priced out what it costs, and was surprised at how inexpensively meals can be prepared, including the cost for the electricity to cook.  rue, we eat a lot of fruit and vegetables, not so much meat.  We buy from the various farmers markets, TJ's for a variety of items, and I purchase mostly organic.

 

I would never pay for someone to prep my food and ship it to me.  Does one really know what they're getting in that manner?  And freshness can often take second place to convenience.  Feh!

 

You and I live in the SF Bay Area which has a culture that can only be described as "food-centric".

 

There are lots of folks all over the country that aren't as lucky.  Count your blessings.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

My son's family has been using Blue Apron for quite some while.  It works for them.  I doubt it would work for me or for most of us on eGullet.

 

I suspect it would either be Blue Apron or takeout in their case.

[rotuts]

todays Food section in the NYTimes features Rx's from various new-ish cookbooks .

 

google got me this L

 

food at the nytimes

 

click on the first link which might get you inside the Times if you are not a subscriber

 

or try 

 

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/dining/index.html

[Anna N]

35 minutes ago, rotuts said:

todays Food section in the NYTimes features Rx's from various new-ish cookbooks .

 

google got me this L

 

food at the nytimes

 

click on the first link which might get you inside the Times if you are not a subscriber

 

or try 

 

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/dining/index.html

I thank you for this. My bank account likely won't. 

[rotuts]

Food today NYTimes   SousVide

 

sous vide nytimes

 

this is via google which might go around the paywall

 

guess SV is Upper Mainstream.

 

click on the second picture down and you get to see the whole process In Color !

Edited October 12, 2016 by rotuts (log)

[lesliec]

Is this the article you meant, Rotuts?  Looks like their most recent one.

[Lisa Shock]

HERE's a better link...

[gfweb]

Nice piece.

 

[rotuts]

I though the article was well done too.

 

and their SV demo choice was a good one.

[rotuts]

in today NYTimes food section :

 

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/dining/index.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&region=TopBar&module=HPMiniNav&contentCollection=Food&WT.nav=page

 

there were two articles i found interesting :

 

Green Peanut Oil :

 

green peanut oil         the google way to get the article if you can't do it through the top ref

 

has anyone tried this ?

 

and what David Chang is up to :

 

david chang      go down to What;s in the news if this interests you.

Edited November 2, 2016 by Smithy
Adjusted title (log)

[rotuts]

case against sugar

 

scroll down to the NYTimes review.

 

make of it what you will , but its clear that IndustrialSugar will eventually catch up to you.

 

might not be the same as sugar or salt you use at home ' from scratch '

Edited January 8, 2017 by rotuts (log)

[rotuts]

sold a cow at a time

[kayb]

Makes sense. Before I moved here, changed farmers and bought my freezer, I had a "herd share," a CSA-type operation in which I purchased the equivalent of a quarter-steer annually, but then could take my beef whenever I wanted, and in whatever format I wanted. My "share" was simply a financial interest in the herd that allowed me to to email my farmer every week by Thursday, tell him what cuts and how large I wanted, and he'd bag it up and bring it to the Farmers Market on Saturday morning. I could also use my "share" to buy milk and dairy products, pork, or lamb. When I reached the (financial) end of my share, that was it until I bought a new share.

 

In many ways, I prefer that approach. Not only does it eliminate the need for a freezer, it also means I can customize my beef order to the cuts I want, admittedly at my cost if, say, I wanted all steaks. 

 

We had to go this route instead of direct sales to walk-up traffic at the market because of regulations regarding the USDA certification level of slaughterhouses depending on whether the meat is for "personal use" or for retail sale. If I own a share of the herd, they can lump my purchases under "personal use."

 

[blue_dolphin]

I must say I like the name:  Crowd Cow 

[Martin Fisher]

Around here cattle, lambs, pigs, etc. can be split up in any way desired and sold to anyone who wants it if it's processed by a butcher who works with USDA inspection.

It's been that way for as long as I can remember.

[rotuts]

finally NYTimes jumps on board :

 

learning to cook under pressure  

 

Google the above  or

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/31/dining/instant-pot-electric-pressure-cooker-recipes.html

 

Edited February 1, 2017 by Smithy
Adjusted title (log)