Shopping for good local food

[alligande]

I just got back (I live in Newport, RI) from visting my mother in a small seaside town in Kent, England and was amazed at the variety of food that was available. The fishmonger was selling muscovy ducks, pheasants and rabbits. The butcher had local kent lamb, vennision, a huge variety of cuts of meats, there are 2 cheese shops one selling french and the other english. Even Sainsburys labels where the produce comes from (not just country, region and sometimes farmer) and variety. Here in Newport, the fish has already been fillted, the meat market does cut the meat, but it comes in cryovac packs and to find good cheese ..... a trip to providence is in order. In the summer we have a great farmers market, but what I was seeing was an amazing variety in shops not a once a week arrangement. I know there are places in the US that has this variety (ie Seattle)and I also know that I have access to alot more than other areas, but I want more

Edited November 2, 2006 by alligande (log)

[adegiulio]

Good question. I think it has to do with a combination of two factors. One, consumers haven't been educated about the differences between good ingredients and the mainstream ingredients they can find in the supermarket. Second, Americans have been brainwashed into thinking they are too busy to go to different stores to get those top quality ingredients. The convenience of shopping in one store fits into everyone's so-called "busy lifestyles"

[kristin_71]

It also can depend on diversity too in the community which goes in part with education. Even here where I am, (Ohio) I am surprised at the number of small markets. We have an independent meat market, who has a few different locations around town but they are independent from the big supermarket chains and there are a number of good etnic markets here. Italian, Middle Eastern and even Asian markets. I am sure there are many other small markets that I am not aware of but these are the ones close to me. They are fantastic! It has really helped broaden my horizons. I have recently learned about panko and all the neat things you can do with it, along with alot of other great Asian ingredients. I love going into that small, disorganized and not so clean market ( they don't sell fresh meat) and talking to the owner about what to do with this ingredient or that. She is a font of knowledge.

You may have to look a bit, but I bet you will be able to find things you never thought of. May have to do a little digging but it could be worth it.

[alligande]

You may have to look a bit, but I bet you will be able to find things you never thought of. May have to do a little digging but it could be worth it.

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If I drive to Providence (45 -50 min) there are all sorts of ethnic markets starting of course with Italian ones, I have had a fresh goose from a specialty butcher but.... this little town I was visting is not gentrified nor touristy, not close enough to London to benefit yet it has this great selection of food. I live in a resort town, with fine dinning restaurants, million dollar homes, good wine stores etc, where we have an independant meat market, (but the meat comes from a distributor in cryovac packs) we have a couple of fish shops but everything is already filleted so you have no real idea what you are eating, and a farmstand that has some great stuff but also buys from Sisco so you are never really sure where the product came from..... Sorry I am off on my rant that has been bothering since I got home last week

[Franci]

I did live in different States in the US, now I moved back to Europe.

Every time my husband asks: Don't you miss NY? (he is from there and would like to go back )

I promtly reply: NO!

Mainly one reason. My food!!! No comparison. Even NY. The quality here is so much better.

Only two things I miss from the States: beef and sushi restaurants

[Ohba]

Don't get me wrong, there's some great food to be had in England, if you're lucky enough to find a good market or specialist vendors, or you grow your own. The situation is very patchy though. Try getting good quality fresh fish and seafood in some (many) cities. And I can't help thinking that if England looks so appealing, where you come from must be in a really bad way. You'll be blown away by the rest of Europe. My main impression on my trips home to the UK is that the food ought to be so much better. A walk around my local Tesco - who have effectively supplanted the independent food suppliers in my town over the last twenty years - doesn't do much to dispel that impression. Britain and the States share far too many awful food habits, which companies like Tesco* will be only too happy to export to the rest of the world. Whether they're a symptom or a cause of our lousy food culture has ceased to matter.

*Some information from Wikipedia to give an idea of what a force Tesco has become in Britain: "According to TNS Superpanel Tesco's share of the UK grocery market in the 12 weeks to 18 June 2006 was 31.4%. Across all categories, over £1 in every £8 of UK retail sales is spent at Tesco."

By the way, there's a book by Joanna Blythman called Bad Food Britain. The title is self-explanatory. To be honest, it's a bit of a grumpy whine, and the style grates (referring to "Bad Food Britain" instead of just Britain is for tabloid hacks, not supposedly serious writers). I found myself wondering if she's prone to exaggeration. She focused on ready meals a little too much - do people really eat that many of them? But then, maybe the reality is actually even worse than I thought.

[alligande]

And I can't help thinking that if England looks so appealing, where you come from must be in a really bad way. You'll be blown away by the rest of Europe. My main impression on my trips home to the UK is that the food ought to be so much better.

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No where I live the food is not particularly bad.. I was just impressed that you get things like rabbit, wild duck, pheasant etc. (items I have never seen here) The veggies weren't much different, in a small little town. I sublet a kitchen from an independant meat market so I am very aware of where his meat comes from and it is the same places the supermarket sources from.

I would be the first to omit that English food still has a long way to go, but the improvement in the last 20 years has been remarkable. I was just impressed by the available raw ingredients in regular local stores and that there where 2 cheese shops.

Edited November 3, 2006 by alligande (log)