The cost of food

[blue_dolphin]

5 hours ago, rotuts said:

went to MarketBasket this AM :

 

big Hellmn's display

 

at the first corner :

 

$ 5.00   ( OK : $ 4.99 ! )

 

Ill have to stop by Aldi and see what their version

 

is going for

 

 

 

My Aldi has their Burman's brand mayo regularly priced at $2.45 for a 30 oz jar.  I grew up on Hellman's, usually buy Best Foods and like Dukes but I find the Aldi brand quite acceptable, especially considering the price.

[haresfur]

4 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

My Aldi has their Burman's brand mayo regularly priced at $2.45 for a 30 oz jar.  I grew up on Hellman's, usually buy Best Foods and like Dukes but I find the Aldi brand quite acceptable, especially considering the price.

 

Hellman's and Best Buy are the same, the one you get depends on where in the US you live

[blue_dolphin]

22 minutes ago, haresfur said:

 

Hellman's and Best Buy are the same, the one you get depends on where in the US you live

Thank you. I am aware. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

18 minutes ago, haresfur said:

 

Hellman's and Best Buy are the same, the one you get depends on where in the US you live

 

Or where in the world you live.  What do you pay for Best's in Australia?

 

"Bring out the Hellmann's, Bring out the Best."

 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

I was brought up on Best Foods but its price hike pushed me to try Banquet which Grocery Outlet was selling for $2.49.   It is astonishingly acceptable!    But now out of stock.    I would buy it again in a heart beat.

 

 

 

[weinoo]

Still say Duke's, with no sugar added. All the rest I see have sugar.  Though Blue Plate only uses egg yolks.

[weinoo]

I don't know how much mayonnaise one might use in a dish, but is the cost per serving that prohibitive that we look for mayo in the bargain bin?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, weinoo said:

Still say Duke's, with no sugar added. All the rest I see have sugar.  Though Blue Plate only uses egg yolks.

 

The Kewpie I buy does not list sugar as an ingredient.

(eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

 

Kewpie is pricey though.  Sadly when it comes to Momofuku ranch, no expense is spared.  However I go though enough Hellmann's that cost is indeed an issue.

 

[lindag]

13 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

Thank you. I am aware. 

Strangely, we sometimes get Hellman's here.

[kayb]

I had been keeping an eye out for pork shoulder roasts, as Kroger generally puts them on sale during the summer and I grab a couple for the freezer. Hasn’t happened yet this year. Saturday on my way home, on a whim, I stopped at a supermarket where I rarely shop just to see…they had them for $1.25 a pound! (Kroger, by contrast was $2.99 a pound.) Packaged two to a package…walked out with 17-odd pounds of pork shoulder for $22. 
 

Took them home to repackage separately, and they were too big for my biggest vacuum bags. So I rummaged and found some two-gallon bags that barely held them, and stowed them in the freezer.

 

Some hours later it occurred to me I should have cut them in half; I would have still had four-pound roasts, which are plenty big for us. Oh, well. I’ll save them until I need to serve a throng.

 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

15 hours ago, weinoo said:

I don't know how much mayonnaise one might use in a dish, but is the cost per serving that prohibitive that we look for mayo in the bargain bin?

An excellent point.    I usually pay little attention to items that are constantly in our pantry, but somehow the manipulation of commercial mayo prices bugs me.    

I have always used only Best Foods or Kewpie, and having lost my mayo virginity with Banquet, i was startled to see how an off brand could so outdistance the other major brands.

[blue_dolphin]

16 hours ago, weinoo said:

I don't know how much mayonnaise one might use in a dish, but is the cost per serving that prohibitive that we look for mayo in the bargain bin?

 

Can you say what you mean by bargain bin?  Not sure where I'd look for a bargain mayo bin. 

Is it a whole store, like Aldi?  It is kind of a bargain bin, I guess, but it's also one of my closest stores and can be pretty handy, hence my testing out their mayo.

I generally won't buy food at "close-out" places like Big Lots because of the chance that they were stored in conditions that would impact quality, even if safe. Like sitting in a truck or loading dock in hot sun for days or weeks. 

I don't go to grocery stores all that often but when I do, I'll check out the bakery or produce mark-down shelves if they have them.  Never seen a bin of mayo there. 

Curious what qualifies as a bargain bin...

[Margaret Pilgrim]

b_d, I imagine that my referenced off-brand qualifies in his context.

 

[weinoo]

17 hours ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

I was brought up on Best Foods but its price hike pushed me to try Banquet which Grocery Outlet was selling for $2.49.   It is astonishingly acceptable!    But now out of stock.    I would buy it again in a heart beat.

 

 

 

 

44 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

Curious what qualifies as a bargain bi

 

See above.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

As the globe faces recently unprecedented inflation, it makes sense to think outside the box when shopping.     If youre willing to take a leap into the unknown, you may find product otherwise overlooked.   All you can lose is the cost of that one item and you may open an new door.   I have long been willing to try the untried, visit a venue without its being vetted by someone "in the know", trust my own taste.  

 

I've always been willing and fortunately able to spend what I need to to get the product or service I want or demand.   But I'm also loathe to spend a dime more for the same product or quality.   

 

I often laugh at the old San Francisco social judgment, "Who IS she?  Nobody knows her mother!"

[weinoo]

I leap into the unknown with many things; I'll stick with Duke's. Which I may buy 3 or 4 times a year. I don't bathe in the stuff as others appear to (actually, it's probably good for the skin).

 

I'm glad you found some inexpensive mayonnaise which has made your day.

[rotuts]

costs // serving add up.

 

they never seem to subtract.

 

and Aldi Burman's is very very very close to Hellmans.

 

Aldi even has a Miracle Whip equivalent.

 

Ill take my extra $ 2.50 and get something else with it.

 

indeed I go to Aldi once a year ?

 

as their mayo is right in front of me

 

after I find where they moved it to

 

I get a years worth

 

because Im already there .

 

Ive never gone to Aldi for just Mayo

 

maybe mayo and a few chocolate bars

 

( dark chocolate w orange bits )

 

its that simple.  

 

P.S.:  the chocolate bars are thus ' free '

 

and right there in front me me 

 

after I look around for them

Edited July 5, 2022 by rotuts (log)

[Smithy]

We've noticed a slight rise in grocery prices in our area, but it hasn't been huge except for beef (which we skip) and dairy (which we buy anyway). However, the seafood counter 2 days ago was a real eye-opener.

 

[rotuts]

@Smithy 

 

I wonder how much they sell.

 

it must depend on each store's clientele, of course.

 

crab legs , by weight

 

are 50 % shell

 

if you are lucky

 

who goes to a grocery store 

 

to buy fish/shel fish and is willing to pay those prices ?

 

 

 

 

Edited July 19, 2022 by rotuts (log)

[Smithy]

32 minutes ago, rotuts said:

@Smithy 

 

I wonder how much they sell.

 

it must depend on each store clientele, of course.

 

crab legs , by weight

 

are 50 % shell

 

if you are lucky

 

who goes to a grocery store 

 

to buy fish/shel fish and is willing to pay those prices .

 

 

 

 

 

@rotuts, that's a very good question. I wonder how much they sell too, and what they do with the unsold. The market in question was remodeled a couple of years ago and expanded its meat / seafood counter accordingly, but this still isn't a ritzy part of town.

 

Snow crab legs have always looked to me more like a party / finger food than a serious dinner. I keep remembering the fun group we saw in Mississippi, snarfing down the "all you can eat" snow crab legs for $25/person. That was almost 6 years ago, and no doubt times have changed there too. At the time it looked like that group got a great deal. My husband and I haven't tried dealing with all that shell!

[rotuts]

quite some time ago 

 

I used to go to WF's

 

as it was right across the street from Tj's.

 

They had several EVOO's to taste w fresh bread 

 

the purpose of the short stop.

 

they had a spectacular meat counter

 

and a very large fish counter

 

w lots of salmon , painted up w this and that sauce.

 

I can't imagine they sold all of that in a day .

 

it was a bit aromatique , but not over powereing

 

fish counters at two local supermarkets 

 

were very very aromatique 

 

in each price category.

 

I think some, if not many people

 

who buy supermarket fish 

 

have never tasted true fresh .

 

or simply have muted fish sensors.

Edited July 19, 2022 by rotuts (log)

[heidih]

When I unpacked my long missing storage crate the other day there were several pictures in frames wrapped in newspaper. One had a March 1991 LA Times food section cradling it. I didn't take a picture as my sneezing was out of control after I thumbed through. '31 years ago and nothing was jaw dropping to me.  I think maybe we have gotten so used to, expectant for, discount prices like at Costco our memories may have been tweaked. The only one I remember that seemed low low was chicken fryer legs at 59 cents/pound and it was in the "super sale don't miss this" section.'

 

@Smithy those crab prices esp the snow clusters are wow high. Those used to be dirt cheap. I did not use them in dishes just ate as is with a spicy dip.  Agreed the waste factor must be high. I have a big mouth so I'd be inclined to ask the counter guy out of curiosity about sales volume and waste. 

 

The smell, well that can be a different issue. One large market had the fish smell (not  good) as you entered. The fish counter was on the opposite end of the building. .The stench not apparent at the counter. I talked to both manager and fish guys as this was not a once in a while thing. They apologized and said they were aware and working on it with their HVAC company. The air flow was moving along the smell from the fryers and concentrating other smells.  Hard to work in a big store with long hours and open up the ceiling.  Just a thought.

 

[Smithy]

In fairness to this 

3 hours ago, rotuts said:

 

it was a bit aromatique , but not over powereing

 

fish counters at two local supermarkets 

 

were very very aromatique 

 

in each price category.

 

I think some, if not many people

 

who buy supermarket fish 

 

have never tasted true fresh .

 

or simply have muted fish sensors.

 

2 hours ago, heidih said:

The smell, well that can be a different issue. One large market had the fish smell (not  good) as you entered. The fish counter was on the opposite end of the building. .The stench not apparent at the counter. I talked to both manager and fish guys as this was not a once in a while thing. They apologized and said they were aware and working on it with their HVAC company. The air flow was moving along the smell from the fryers and concentrating other smells.  Hard to work in a big store with long hours and open up the ceiling.  Just a thought.

 

 

In fairness to this grocery store, there wasn't a fish odor at all. I've been in some places (especially along the Gulf Coast) where it smelled truly fishy, and not in a good way. I generally walk right back out of those stores. This place is clean and bright and well-controlled...except for their prices. 😁

[kayb]

I used to buy frozen food occasionally from Schnucks, which has the freezer truck they bring around and deliver stuff to you every two weeks or so, at home or at your workplace. They would, “in season,” (I disremember what the season was) offer king crab legs. I bought them once, Googled how to cook them, and Child A and I enjoyed a delicious repast.

 

But they’re like peel-n-eat shrimp. You want to put the shells in a separate trash bag, tie it up tightly, and take it outside before heading for bed. Not that I know this from experience or anything.

 

Else it smells like Viet Hoa market (I walk real fast past the seafood section). Not unlike the time that, knowing no better, I put shrimp shells down the disposal. Not ever again!

[lindag]

When I lived in Portland we often enjoyed fresh Dungeness crab on the weekends, right after the trash pickup day.  So the shells go into the trashcan and fester for many days outside.  You could smell it a block away.