The cost of food

[blue_dolphin]

5 hours ago, heidih said:

well with the new pig animal welfare regulations predicitng rising cost here I was pkeasantly shocked to see beautiful prt butt 1/2 off - Sales at $1.99/lb. Currntly perfuysing the house with garlic, rosemary, sour orange juice and zest (one of my trees has 1/2 ripe ones).

Last month, a California judge ruled no enforcement on the Prop 12 pig requirements for 6 months because the state was slow in finalizing the exact rules & regs. Pork industry plaintiffs wanted a 28 month stay. 

[heidih]

28 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

Last month, a California judge ruled no enforcement on the Prop 12 pig requirements for 6 months because the state was slow in finalizing the exact rules & regs. Pork industry plaintiffs wanted a 28 month stay. 

Thanks - missed that. Still there can be anticipatory poking at how far prices can go w/o losing customers. Big Agra rararely misses a trick ')  

[chromedome]

15 hours ago, heidih said:

Thanks - missed that. Still there can be anticipatory poking at how far prices can go w/o losing customers. Big Agra rararely misses a trick ')  

Ya think?

The most recent round of quarterly earnings calls by CEOs certainly puts the whole "inflation" narrative into perspective.

 

 

[heidih]

I came up in the 60's - a;ways wary about what "the man" says,

[chromedome]

This will mostly be meaningful to the Brits, but I'll put it here anyway. This thread is from a well-known poverty activist in the UK, and follows up on a set of tweets she posted a few weeks ago - about the disappearance of low-priced white-label products from her supermarket - and how it impacted on the poorest in the land. The result...was not at all what she was expecting (in a good way).

 

 

[rotuts]

of courses prices are going up.

 

ad mentioned above , some are going up 

 

because why not ?

 

in next weeks MarketBasket flyer I noticed this :

 

Rao's  Pasta Sauce :

 

this used to sell for $ 7.99 or so  ( 32 oz )

 

but would regularly drop to $ 4.49  or so , at Market Basket.

 

I tried it and it was quite good , had a fresh taste 

 

this was mentioned some time ago in a thread that escapes me.

 

it was metnoned how easy it was do duplicate this taste

 

starting w crushed ( organic  -- for the cans they come in ) 

 

and minimal seasoning .   there are tomato paste based

 

and crush tomato based sauces and they have different tastes.

 

crushed tomato based are more expensive .

 

Rao's now at Market Basket   on sale is $ 7.99 , regular price 9,99

 

wow.  have to check at TJ's what a can of organic crushed tomatoes is

 

going for

 

 

Edited March 4, 2022 by rotuts (log)

[chromedome]

32 minutes ago, rotuts said:

of courses prices are going up.

 

ad mentioned above , some are going up 

 

because why not ?

 

in next weeks MarketBasket flyer I noticed this :

 

Rao's  Pasta Sauce :

 

this used to sell for $ 7.99 or so  ( 32 oz )

 

but would regularly drop to $ 4.49  or so , at Market Basket.

 

I tried it and it was quite good , had a fresh taste 

 

this was mentioned some time ago in a thread that escapes me.

 

it was metnoned how easy it was do duplicate this taste

 

starting w crushed ( organic  -- for the cans they come in ) 

 

and minimal seasoning .   there are tomato paste based

 

and crush tomato based sauces and they have different tastes.

 

crushed tomato based are more expensive .

 

Rao's now at Market Basket   on sale is $ 7.99 , regular price 9,99

 

wow.  have to check at TJ's what a can of organic crushed tomatoes is

 

going for

 

 

I remembered that discussion and was delighted to see Rao's on the shelves at my local supermarket (Sobeys). Then I looked at the price, which was (IIRC) $14.95, and decided it's probably not that good.

[rotuts]

that's $ 11.71  USD

 

even pricier 

 

and it was over priced when it as $ 4.49 USD

[rotuts]

and inflation !

 

and the RedMeatCabal !

 

no worries .  This tendency  coming back to bite us :

 

BirdFlu in various flocks of Chickens , USA :

 

eggs : 10 $ / doz , if you can find them 

 

and ' fresh ' chicken ?    

 

remember when this happened not so long ago ?

 

 

[ElsieD]

Last time out at Costco we  bought 770ml jars priced at 2 for $12.99.

[cdh]

Rao's has always been crazy expensive for pasta sauce.  In NYC in the 90s, good old Classico was going for like $3... and Rao's was asking $9. Only in the past year or two when their stuff started turning up in Costco did their multiple drop... but they've always been the expensive brand.  This is a return to normalcy.   Account for inflation, and they should be at $20 if their historical performance is an indicator of what people will pay. 

[chromedome]

From the inimitable Dr. Sarah Taber:

 

 

[eugenep]

Hey. Does anyone know why the price of scallops are soaring? 

 

It used to be $16 lb pre-covid and then $25 and now $28-29 (almost double) for U-15 size scallops at Costco. 

 

But the price of Ahi Tuna, salmon, and other seafood items are pretty much stable with little or not change. 

 

So I don't think it's just inflation. 

[weinoo]

35 minutes ago, eugenep said:

Hey. Does anyone know why the price of scallops are soaring? 

 

I only buy scallops at the farmer's market, harvested fairly locally, and they're always in the price range you mention seeing now.

 

But here's a reason for why you're seeing higher prices...https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2021-07-15/scallop-harvest-to-decline-again-this-year-but-still-strong

[eugenep]

14 minutes ago, weinoo said:

 

I only buy scallops at the farmer's market, harvested fairly locally, and they're always in the price range you mention seeing now.

 

But here's a reason for why you're seeing higher prices...https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2021-07-15/scallop-harvest-to-decline-again-this-year-but-still-strong

Hmmm..I see it looks like scallop harvest declined from 60 million to 40 million lbs. 

 

I wonder if harvest amounts might go up next year and prices go down. 

 

It's really hard to pay $30 lb when I remember them being $16 pre-covid. 

[chromedome]

2 hours ago, eugenep said:

It's really hard to pay $30 lb when I remember them being $16 pre-covid. 

I feel you. When I had my restaurants, lobster prices in this neck of the woods had cratered and I was getting them for $3.50/lb.

[andiesenji]

On 3/4/2022 at 5:01 PM, cdh said:

Rao's has always been crazy expensive for pasta sauce.  In NYC in the 90s, good old Classico was going for like $3... and Rao's was asking $9. Only in the past year or two when their stuff started turning up in Costco did their multiple drop... but they've always been the expensive brand.  This is a return to normalcy.   Account for inflation, and they should be at $20 if their historical performance is an indicator of what people will pay. 

I've never used Rao's, or most pasta sauces from the store as I make my own.

However, I have a large jar, 32 oz, 2 pounds that I got for free.  The city put me on the "elderly low income" list and I get a delivery of free food every two weeks and this was in one of the deliveries a few weeks ago.  My income is Social Security but since I was well paid during the 55 years I worked, it is adequate but Lancaster is very socially conscious and is determined to take care of seniors wether we want it or not.  Since I am 83 and over the age 80 line, I get free food, free internet and landline phone, annual examinations of my furnace, cooler and roof, plus my gas and electric is at a reduced rate.

 

Anyway, now that I know it is supposed to be a premium or expensive brand, I will use it instead of giving it to my neighbor, which is where much of the donated stuff goes. The last delivery had a can of "imitation" abalone in it.  I'm allergic to iodine so can't have anything that comes out of the ocean.  I get my fish from a friend that fishes the California aqueduct and catches sturgeon, which he smokes and it is delicious.  I don't want to stray off topic this time.  

I have all my groceries delivered now as I find it difficult to even drive to pick up at curbside.

Walmart's prices have gone up, especially on meat but last week I got one of the pork loin roasts that was priced at $2.12/lb, the total price was $10.28 while all the other pork was four to six dollars a pound.  Beef is out of my range, chicken isn't too bad.  I cut the loin into thick slices that will be pounded into "cutlets" and rolled around a filling similar to turkey dressing.  I got 10 1-inch plus slices.  

Oddly, butter hasn't gone up so I stocked up and froze most.  I also bought 6 quarts of heavy cream and froze all but two - I can make my own butter from that.

The deli at the middle eastern market hasn't raised the prices at all so I bought some cheeses, including grated and shredded. They deliver for free if I buy $40.00. Also a selection of olives.

So I'm fixed for the next two to three months for everything except fresh vegetables and fruit.

[Annie_H]

Rao's is on sale at Costco right now thru the first week of April. Under 9$ for a two pack. I purchased for the first time last summer when it was on sale. It's good. Nice pantry staple. I've also only made my own in the past from garden harvest or tins for big batch lasagnas and such. I've used it mostly as an ingredient in other sauces, soups and straight up for pizza night. Any leftover after a few days in the fridge, I freeze in 1/2 pints. 

A win-win would be to package in pint Ball jars in a six pack with canning lids for better recycling. I don't do harvest canning but know many that do. They are always scrambling to stock up every year. Some were duped buying from Amazon fakes that did not seal properly. 

 

Costco also has the TetonGrassFed beef polish hotdogs on sale for that rare treat. 

[lindag]

I always use Rao's, it's the best.  However, here, it's now $10.66 a jar here.

[rotuts]

next up :  Chicken and Eggs.

[heidih]

13 minutes ago, rotuts said:

next up :  Chicken and Eggs.

But that might be avian flu related. Not pretty in the poultry flocks...

[rotuts]

yes.  my guess too.

 

[chromedome]

Dr. Taber, my favorite follow on the agricultural side, was on MSNBC last night to address the gap between the grain panic and the reality:
 

 

[cdh]

I noticed on my last trip to Aldi that the prices on dry goods seem to have returned from the brief bump.  The crackers that used to be $2.95 then jumped to $3.45 after being gone for a month or so, are plentiful and back down to $2.95 as of yesterday. 

[Greg Jones]

I’d be interested to know why Dr. Taber blames Wall Street for the wheat panic. Commodities are traded, and thus pricing is established, on the Chicago Board of Trade, not Wall Street.