Central Market's Brand Name Products

[irodguy]

Was at the CM on Westheimer last night, and they have a nice little shelf setup next to customer service with a display of ALL of their new CM items.  Stuff I hadn't even realized... morello cherry preserves (and loads of other flavors), extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar... I didn't get anything but the microwave popcorn (seriously, so good.  Tastes like what used to come out of the stove-top corn popper) but I will definitely be trying this other stuff in the near future.

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Now that is a good idea . . . having that display, I mean. I find that CMs and the big HEBs have just so much stuff that it makes me dizzy. I may be making an excursion into town over the weekend and may make a stop there just to check it out. Then I can go looking in my HEB for stuff that I am interested in. There were a lot of odd blank spaces on the shelves at the HEB. It was like they were reshuffling the stock, to make space for the new stuff maybe? But if they don't restock that blood orange soda I'm gonna GET A ROPE!

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I was in CM North yesterday wanting to pick up some Blood orange soda..there is none to be found. The warehouse is even out. SIGH....

Maddie

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Lucky for me Plano CM has plenty I bought a bottle last night and going back for another tonight. I might have to start a chapter of BOSA

[Richard Kilgore]

Plano CM is now two bottles shorter of Blood Orange. Everyone is right -- this is very tasty stuff.

And even better news on the butter front. There are now two choices for Plugra. You can get an 8 ounce block for $3.99 or a 16 ounce block for...$4.79. I had to make sure that these were not two different qualities of Plugra, so I checked with the butter foodie on staff and she said both are the same. They have quite a selection of French, Czech, Danish and English butters as well, but she said the Irish one is "to die for". But fearing death, I took home the big block of Plugra and my refrigerator is over flowing with butter right now, so I'll have to try the Irish one another time.

I also sampled the gelato -- the mango is great!

[fifi]

OK . . . this is not about a Central Market brand but the Momma HEB. Now, normally HEB brands are pretty good stuff. But I have found an outlyer. That is the jar of mayonesa . . . mayonaise made with lime juice. I am able to get Hellman's mayonesa at my local Randall's but I was totally out and I was in the big HEB so I went looking. No Hellman's. But they did have the HEB brand of mayonesa so I bought it. Bad move. This stuff is like Jello. I look at the ingredients list and am wondering how they can avoid mentioning something like carrageenan or some other emulsifier. This stuff is gross. I put some in a bowl and added some lime juice for a dip for some roasted asparagus and couldn't get it incorporated into a smooth sauce. After vigorous whisking, it still looked like bad cottage cheese.

[shoutsandmurmurs]

ha!

i remember lurking around maybe a month and a half ago, reading this thread and thinking to myself that i simply must try the blood orange soda.

eight bottles later...

the stuff is great! i keep saying i'll try the other flavors, but so far the lemon one just sits in the fridge and i buy more of the orange. all this while i'm trying to cut back on sugar!

i bumped this thread because i made the conscious decision of shopping at CM. living with all the new whole foods brouhaha is too much. sure, the store's great, but as some of you have pointed out--zero texas personality. and too.many.people! oh those bourgeouis bohemians love their whole foods.

i visited the south lamar CM yesterday and was pleasantly surprised by the lack of crowd. i feel a CM shopping spree coming on...

[nacho]

i visited the south lamar CM yesterday and was pleasantly surprised by the lack of crowd.  i feel a CM shopping spree coming on...

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The North Lamar (original) CM has had plenty of available parking the last few times I've been in as well. They were even handing out a $5-off-the-purchase-of-$25-or-more coupon last time I was in.

And fifi, please elaborate on the uses of mayonesa, if you don't mind??? I've never heard of it.

[joiei]

That is the jar of mayonesa . . . mayonaise made with lime juice.

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Fifi, I just googled mayonesa and this is what came up.

I thought it was pretty funny.

[fifi]

That link is just too funny.

I just use the Hellman's mayonesa instead of regular mayonaise wherever. I don't really get a screaming taste of lime. It seems to be a bit tarter and "cleaner" tasting or something.

[matilda254]

OK . . . this is not about a Central Market brand but the Momma HEB. Now, normally HEB brands are pretty good stuff. But I have found an outlyer. That is the jar of mayonesa . . . mayonaise made with lime juice. I am able to get Hellman's mayonesa at my local Randall's but I was totally out and I was in the big HEB so I went looking. No Hellman's. But they did have the HEB brand of mayonesa so I bought it. Bad move. This stuff is like Jello. I look at the ingredients list and am wondering how they can avoid mentioning something like carrageenan or some other emulsifier. This stuff is gross. I put some in a bowl and added some lime juice for a dip for some roasted asparagus and couldn't get it incorporated into a smooth sauce. After vigorous whisking, it still looked like bad cottage cheese.

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I have to agree.. the blood orange soda is amazing I have a stash at the house now. Want to try it with vodka!

Maddie

[nacho]

  I have to agree.. the blood orange soda is amazing  I have a stash at the house now.  Want to try it with vodka!

Maddie

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It's great with vodka!! The lemon one is good with vodka too.

[shoutsandmurmurs]

i haven't tried it with vodka, but one day i had unexpected company, two bottles of the blood orange soda, half a carton of grapefruit juice, and some rum.

it was mighty tasty. tasty enough to kill it all.

[haunted_chef]

Hmmm, I alway stop in at CM, the only thing I see that is impressive would be the price of the groceries on the shelf. Well, even though I do buy some of their products such as the fresh ground coffee that I either use as a reduction for a sauce or in a rub for certain meats. I also like to pick up several cans of the Italian canned tomatoes. As for their produce I don't buy anything there, the prices are out of this world. I usually go to the farmers market on aline drive for that chore. Now for the butter you can pick up the european "style" butter at HEB for a bit less money or go to walmart ....they have the same butter for even less and ithas the same butter fat content. Best, John

[FoodMan]

I've been looking for a decent moderatly priced EV Olive Oil for a while, so I picked up a bottle of their Organic EVOO at HEB produced in Italy. the price tag was 6.50 for a 500ml bottle and it is pretty good. I prefer the oil to be more fruity and pungent than theirs but for the price it was more than acceptable. It has a mild clean fresh taste. Even a crappy bottle at a Droubi is the same price for mediocre oil. So, I will probably buy it again.

Elie

[RebeccaT]

Elie, I usually get a Greek EVOO at CM, I can't remember the name of it right now, but it's a good sized bottle (maybe 800ml?) for $9.99. It's a beautiful grassy color, and it works both for drizzling and cooking (although if it was a really special dish, I would try to get better OO for drizzling).

I will try to remember to get the name of it for you if you are interested.

[FoodMan]

I just got back from CM and they do have a nice selection of moderatly priced oils. A Spanish one as well as a couple of French and Italian ones caught my eye. As soon as the one I have is gone, and at the rate I use the stuff that does not take long, I'll try some other ones. I'd appreciate it if you can find the name of the one you use.

I was pleased by the CM Organics brand's price on lots of stuff. I picked up a jar of Dijon mustard for 1.50, and I am finally going to try out the blood orange soda (2.29 for a large bottle). Other items included peanut butter for 1.20 I think. So, IMO the price is not bad at all. I also saw jars of Wasabi mayo but did not buy any.

Elie

[jscarbor]

I don't know if anyone has mentioned the CM corn chips or not but they atre very good.

[nyokie6]

we bought the truffles and my friend in Tx got a few other of the CM line items last time we visited her and she said they were generally good. My spouse who rarely likes to pay more was eating a salad Mon. night with the stuff we had gotten the weekend before and remarked upon how much better it was than the local stuff.

[FoodMan]

I just tried the CM Dijon mustard I bought last week. I tasted a small spoon alone and put some on a sandwich I'm having. I have to say, I am not impressed with this one. It lacks the pungency, depth of flavor and kick of my usual brand that I buy in a large jar from WS. This one has more of a tangy taste than anything else. I like my Dijon pungent, and I can almost eat this one with a spoon without getting my eyes watery. When this one is over I will definitly go back to my regular brand again.

Elie

[joiei]

after listening to you guys go on and on about the Blood Orange Soda, I have tried to score some. After 3 trips down, Every time the store I was in on that trip was out of the stuff. My curiosity is killing me. Do you think CM would ship?

[fifi]

after listening to you guys go on and on about the Blood Orange Soda, I have tried to score some. After 3 trips down, Every time the store I was in on that trip was out of the stuff.  My curiosity is killing me.  Do you think CM would ship?

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Now, that is the post of a desparate man! Do you have HEB stores in your area anywhere? The larger ones have started carrying some of the CM brand stuff. That is where I got my last bottle.

[joiei]

no heb's, I am north of the Red River. But I can at least use that as an excuse for a weekend excursion to Dallas

from what I understand there are no regular HEB's north of Waco, don't know if that is true or not, but I do not remember seeing any in DFW.

Edited April 18, 2005 by joiei (log)

[Richard Kilgore]

I believe you are correct, Larry. None in the DFW area as far as I know. So CM is your destination.

[RebeccaT]

I'd appreciate it if you can find the name of the one you use.

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I went looking for "my" olive oil yesterday as I just finished off the bottle I'd been working on, and it looks like they stopped carrying it! Of course, I had already thrown out the bottle, and since I was looking for it based on recognizing the label I am helpless to request that they bring it back. I guess it's back to the drawing board... I picked up a different bottle of Greek OO and I will see how it compares. I am really annoyed, as I had been using this brand for about a year and was very happy with it, and now I have to find something different.

I may check in at Antone's in Rice Village on the off chance that they carry it there. If I get really desparate, I might even trek out to Phoenecia market and look there, but I'm not sure I am to that point yet.

[FoodMan]

I'd appreciate it if you can find the name of the one you use.

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I went looking for "my" olive oil yesterday as I just finished off the bottle I'd been working on, and it looks like they stopped carrying it! Of course, I had already thrown out the bottle, and since I was looking for it based on recognizing the label I am helpless to request that they bring it back. I guess it's back to the drawing board... I picked up a different bottle of Greek OO and I will see how it compares. I am really annoyed, as I had been using this brand for about a year and was very happy with it, and now I have to find something different.

I may check in at Antone's in Rice Village on the off chance that they carry it there. If I get really desparate, I might even trek out to Phoenecia market and look there, but I'm not sure I am to that point yet.

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That's quiet alright. I went there this past Sunday to try another olive oil and I almost picked up a wonderful looking Spanish one but then a Sicilian (cheaper) one caught my eye and I decided to give it a try. Big mistake, this has absolutly no personality. SO my quest continues as well. I think I will buy the Spanish one next time around.

BTW, I bought a bottle of Newman's Own Organic olive oil from Kroger for my wife's grandparents this weekend and it was much better than I expected. Good flavor and great fruit. The label said the oil is from Tunisia. So you might want to give it a try. Now back to CM.

I always thought it is very strange why CM can carry these great herbs for under a dollar per bunch (a pretty large bunch too), but all other stores including HEB want to sell us their crappy three sprigs of two-week-old thyme for $2.50. Any ideas?

Elie

[Richard Kilgore]

If I recall correctly, the produce people at the CM here said they contract with local farmers for the herbs.

[Papa Roja]

I work for Central Market, and it's wonderful to hear so many positive comments about our "own brand" products. A tasting panel worked hard for over a year selecting the right ones. Personally, I love the pasta sauces, the whole-grain mustard and the frozen cookie dough as well.