Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with grocery

An unwanted gallon of 2% milk

k. — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 11:28:05 -0800

What can I do with an unwanted gallon of 2% milk? I meant to get skim milk, but I bought 2% by accident. I can't stand 2% milk; it tastes like cream to me. I couldn't find anyone else who likes 2% either, so I don't think I can give it away. I put a little bit in my coffee, which was OK, but I'm not going to use it up that way. Should I just throw it away, or is there something else I can do with it?

I could try cooking something (if it doesn't taste too much like 2% milk), but I'm even open to non-food uses, if any exist.

Is there a single govt website to get ingredients used in food products?

raghuram — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:38:03 -0800

Every food item we buy has the ingredients listed in its cover. Is it required by law? If yes, which govt agency checks for the validity of the claims in the ingredients? I am asking this because, recently, two high school kids found that a well known company was lying about the presence of vitamin C in its products. 1. Is it required by law, that every food item sold should list the ingredients used?

2. Who (which govt agency, in US) checks for the validity of the ingredients list, their amount and other claims made by the manufacturers?

3. Is there any govt website (in US) that can give me the ingredients used in any food product?

Your best ethnic stores, please!

backseatpilot — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 06:05:03 -0800

I'm looking for the best ethnic food stores in the Boston/Metro West area. I have been going to the Super 88 in Allston, but ever since they remodeled it's been somewhat lacking. I'd like to find an alternative for Asian ingredients, and I'd also like to find stores catering to other ethnicities. Where do you go for your specialty ingredients?

Some stuff I'm specifically looking for:
-"Asian" ingredients (rice vinegar, oyster sauce, canned water chestnuts and bamboo, etc.) I realize Shaw's carries a lot of this but selection is not good and it's significantly more expensive.
-Bonito flakes
-New Mexico chiles and chile powder (not exactly ethnic, but maybe a hispanic store will carry them?)
-Spices - cumin and garam masala among others (bigger and cheaper sizes than I can find at the supermarket)
-noodles and dumpling wrappers
-frozen dim sum

I don't mind driving a little ways, since my plan would be to stock up once in a while as needed.

Why aren't there national grocery chains?

Damn That Television — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 10:44:58 -0800

Why aren't there any national grocery chains in America? They all seem to be regional.

TorontoFilter, the Second Part

setanor — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 13:18:38 -0800

Followup TorontoFilter: I'm here now, and you helped out our move immensely. Things are going great! New questions abound, however. Our move went well, and we now have mostly everything taken care of - you guys were really such a great help in the previous post and I don't think it would have gone as well without you. Claps!

We're here now. I'm enjoying a delicious iced americano at Luna on Dovercourt, and a few more things have cropped up in the week we've been moving in. Can you help us one more time? I can now take you for drinks to repay you! If you would like.

1. Internet! It's crazy. I need unlimited downloads as I do a lot of music work with someone who's still far, far away and we're always passing back and forth Ableton project packs, and I do web work with some RAW files, etc... I'd have a panic attack if I had to stay under a limit. That said, we don't have a home telephone line, and "Dry Loop" DSL (like through Teksavvy) adds another $10 or so a month, and we need to buy a modem... what should we do? Unlimited downloading is more important than speed, to a point.

2. Say the farmer's markets are all closed. I live near, more-or-less, a Price Chopper, a No Frills, a Metro and a Sobey's. Which has the best produce?

3. Are there any Albanian restaurants in Toronto?

4. Any good off-the-radar sources for used/salvage mid-century and 70's modern furniture?

5. When's this meetup I keep hearing so much about? Maybe I should just go ahead and make it happen myself!

Thanks again!

Banding together for broccoli

parmanparman — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 09:23:14 -0800

Are there books or resources for starting a co-operative grocery store in the United States?

I'm becoming my mother

kidsleepy — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 07:29:00 -0800

Online grocery coupons? This question was asked two years ago, but I'm hoping for an update. What's the best (cleanest, easiest) way to find grocery store coupons online that can be printed out and redeemed? Searchable by specific products, stores, and/or regions is a bonus.

Point A to Point Oh Dear God

notquitemaryann — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:10:53 -0800

Do you have your very own (non-pilfered) shopping cart? I may be selling my car soon, and need a liveable way of lugging groceries. It's not a long haul, but I live at the top of a hill and the grocery store is at the bottom. After carrying a 40lb bag of cat litter back to my place the other day, it became apparent that I need a little help. I'm clueless as to what's out there in the world of personal shopping carts, and more importantly how well they function in practice. In order of importance, my priorities are:

- Price
- How smoothly it rolls and how well it turns
- Bulkiness/portability when not in use- once I get it back to the apartment, there are stairs to negotiate, and I will occasionally have to take it on the bus
- How ridiculous I will look dragging it around

On an average biweekly trip, I tend to buy the equivalent of one of a well-packed over-the-arm generic shopping basket or 2-3 plastic bags, plus a 20lb bag of litter. Although it is not much, just carrying it in a normal, non-rolling basket/bag is not an option due to serious back/neck issues. I don't have a bike, or I'd just buy a basket for it.

Where can I find these tortillas?

nitsuj — Sat, 09 May 2009 07:15:05 -0800

At a Walmart in Missouri, of all places, I found some pre-packaged, refrigerated tortillas that were very, very thin pieces of uncooked dough stacked together. You just peeled one off, put it in a pan to quickly cook it, and ended up with a delicious, home-made-tasting flour tortilla. Where can I find these in Chicago? I've tried making my own, and even when I use a tortilla press, I can't seem to get them thin enough.

These pre-packaged, uncooked torts are perfect, but I can't find them in Chicago. So far I've checked Jewel, Trader Joe's, and even Walmart out in Skokie with no luck. I'd rather not (unless it's my only choice) go on a wild goose chase, checking every single Mexican market in town, in hopes of finding them.

So, have you seen these anywhere, or do I need to go back to MO?

Grocery in Philly

Aanidaani — Fri, 08 May 2009 19:02:49 -0800

I'm going to be moving to Philadelphia soon and I'll be living near 2400 Chestnut St. Can anyone recommend good grocery stores to shop at? I've been reading some of the reviews of the grocers in the area and they all seem to be overpriced, dirty, or some combination of both. Are there any clean, reputable places within walking distance or reachable by public transit?

Looking for Jute/Burlap bags got buying bulk foods in.

franklen — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 18:02:57 -0800

Need source for wholesale jute/burlap bags for holding bulk foods. Should be tight weave for holding fine food items such as flour; produced in the USA if possible; and made from organically grown jute if possible. I know this is a tall order and I don't expect to meet all those expectations. But I really want to help my local co-op grocery faze out plastic bags for bulk food purchases.

Please help.

Interesting foods in ethnic groceries?

twoleftfeet — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:42:13 -0800

What interesting foods can only be found in ethnic grocery stores? The city I live in has a large number of ethnic grocery stores; mexican, japanese, polish, swedish, italian, chinese, ... the list goes on. I like to explore these stores - it's a poor man's adventure travel! But often I don't know what to try. What are some interesting foods that I can find there that I can't find in the supermarket?

I realize that your definition of "ethnic" depends on where you live, but I'll take any and all attempts at a reasonable answer!

Hang Ten, Dude!

cestmoi15 — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 17:35:07 -0800

Hawaii (Waikiki/Honululu) redux: Some questions we haven't answered. So, I get to go to Hawaii for work in May. Yay! Mr. Cestmoi will be with me, for fun. Here are some questions that I haven't seen answered on MeFi before.

We'll be there mid-May. We're staying at the Hilton Hawaiian Village (Waikiki). We have two full days off together, then I'll be working about 9-4 for the next 5 days.

1. We want to take a surf lesson together, neither of us have ever surfed before. I think doing this on one of the two days we're both off is a good idea. Should I make life easy and go with the surf school at the hotel, or would this be a good time to go check out another beach? Any recs on surf schools?

2. The hotel room has a kitchen. Any grocery stores (other than ABC) near there? I've heard groceries are super expensive there and would like to minimize that... we won't have a car but are not afraid of taking the bus. Also, I assume groceries in Hawaii sell beer and wine... if not, a reasonably placed place to go?

3. Snorkeling schools/lessons you'd rec? I'm terrified, but think I should try, he'll go too, but loves it. So basically, should be ok with a scared newbie but not bore someone with someone with more experience. Preferably not deeper than 6ft of water.

4. Mr. Cestmoi is a scuba dude (has scuba'd in the past, is certified, but hasn't had a chance to go in a while. He's doing this on his own. Any recs I should pass to him? I assume he has to sign up with something, not just rent the gear he doesn't have?

5. TIKI BAR!!! As old school as possible. Love dives.

6. Sunset booze cruise: I get sea sick and can't/won't do a dinner cruise, but I think a shorter booze cruise would be ok (sounds like an awesome way to see a sunset), any good for those in their mid-30s? The interwebs tell me they get a bit fratty and I'd like to avoid that.

Also, I've traveled with him while he's been on work assignments before (and I've travelled by myself, he hasn't), and am quite apt at amusing myself, but he's never travelled with me when I'm unavailable to him for large chunks of the day. I'm sure he'll be fine and all, but any advice you have if you've ever been in that situation before would be great!

Is it safe to buy fresh vegetables at the Asian grocery store?

roaring beast — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 22:00:39 -0800

Is it safe to buy fresh vegetables at the Asian grocery store? I am not a health nut or anything, and I don't normally demand the purest organic produce, but I am just wondering if it is safe to eat the produce from the local Asian market. It is always cheaper and fresher than the normal supermarkets, but I have qualms about where it comes from and how it has been grown. Not that I know where the other produce comes from either, but it just seems like it has gone under more safety checks.

I am not particularly worried about the salmonella outbreaks or anything, just wary about not knowing what type of chemicals or pesticides might have been used to grow it.

Help me find this grocery bag using trash bin., or something similar, please.

RunawayOctober — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:55:10 -0800

Help me find this grocery bag using trash bin., or something similar, please. I StumbledUpon this link and think it would be an awesome gift for my mother. She doesn't want to use reusable bags because she takes 8-10 empty aluminum cans to the recycle bin every morning along with a bag of cat poop/liter from cleaning the litter box. For convenience she uses two grocery bags a day for the job. If she's going to use bags I figured I may as well make it easy for her.

How best to sensibly splurge at Whole Foods?

scarylarry — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 21:15:21 -0800

How best to sensibly splurge at Whole Foods? I have just acquired, as a generous birthday gift, a $100 gift card to Whole Foods--with a note imploring me to "treat myself" with it. Generally I am the most frugal person I know; I live the starving student/artist lifestyle and buy the cheapest of everything that I can.

I'd like to treat myself to some nicer things with this gift card, but also keep it sort of practical. I don't want to blow $60 at the salad bar. I'd like ideas for things that are practical, but that I'll be able to get at a higher level of quality than I'm used to with my gift card.

One idea I had, for example, was a nice bottle of olive oil to replace the bargain bin Goya stuff I'm using. Any other ideas?

Leek purchasing ethics, trim in store or not?

whoda — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 10:00:41 -0800

The store where I buy my produce carry stubby leeks which have maybe 5-6 inches of usable white leek at most. The store does a poor job trimming, and often the leaves left on weigh more than the usable portion of the leek itself. Much like this.
What are your opinions on my taking a knife and trimming 2/3's of the leaves off before going to the checkout? Right, wrong or something inbetween?
It's probably not really a big deal since they are fairly cheap by the pound, but it irks me that I pay for unusable portions. It's a Raley's Supermarket if it matters.

I want to know how to select fruit and veggies at the store!

k7lim — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:33:47 -0800

How can I learn to select produce at the store? I would like to eat healthier, and enjoy the abundance of great produce here in Northern CA. But I have limited knowledge of picking fruit, and even identifying what some of the rare ones are, let alone what they taste like and how to choose them.

I would love an immersive guide book, or a good web resource would do too. Google didn't turn up anything too compelling, and it's been a while since this http://ask.metafilter.com/4178/

One beet, two beet, canned beet

parmanparman — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 20:42:53 -0800

After months of diligently shopping healthier, I have come to the realization that I just cannot get through the fresh vegetables I buy in a timely manner. Having decided to go back to cans (except for cabbage and onions), tell me what I should be on the lookout for, in terms of great-tasting things to try.

How can I update my menu without breaking the bank?

FireStyle — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 05:20:58 -0800

I would like to diversify my meal choices, but I can't afford to shop every week.... any suggestions? I recently graduated grad school, so I'm your typical poor post college guy trying to get his life started. One way I found helps to greatly reduce expenditures is to go grocery shopping once a month. I've accomplished this by buying in bulk, and buying the same things over and over. However, I'm getting sick of the menu, and shopping for food is now a chore. My time as a bachelor has actually made me a good cook, so I'm not afraid to be adventurous. The only caveat is my budget is $80.

The typical shopping cart consists of 3lbs of 95% lean ground beef (2-3 nights of chilli, 2 nights of tacos, 3 nights of spaghetti and meatsauce); a bag of frozen chicken (8-12 dinners), pork chops or steak (the not so great cut of what's on sale, 2-4 dinners); 3 packs of spaghetti (30 dinners I do get sauce whenever I need it, not once a month) 5 packs of store brand "flavored" rice (10 dinners), 8 bags of various frozen veggies (30 dinners), 5 cans of tuna (10 lunches), 25 ramen noodles (25 lunches), eggs (6 breakfats) and oatmeal (12 breakfasts). If I hit the jackpot catching good sales, I may indulge in ice cream. I usually just drink tap water, but I can afford it, I get juice too. And believe it or not, I live in southern Cali, and that is $80 bucks give or take 5 bucks I usually just drink tap water, but if I can afford it, I get juice too.

So as you can see, I get a lot of mileage out of my food, but 4 months of this is getting to be unbearable. I used to love chicken... now I'm like X_X when I have to make it. I was hoping the metafilter think tank could suggest some things. I should note, I do spice up my secletion.... BBQ chicken, or I'll grill chicken, or bake chicken lol. The main consideration is it last to last for a few nights and not break the bank! thanks much =)

What's your secret tip for saving money at the grocery store?

nitsuj — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 14:22:21 -0800

What's your secret tip for saving money at the grocery store? Even when we plan out meals for the week, the girlfriend and I always end up spending a lot more money than we'd like. We eat moderately healthy, love cooking, and pick easy to medium (in skill level required to make) dishes to prepare.

What's your trick for staying cheap and healthy at the grocery store? Looking for ideas beyond coupon clipping.

(Kind of like this question, only for food only (and not just websites!)

Giving the gift of beer to a friend in Brooklyn

kandinski — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 09:15:25 -0800

Help me get a load of beer bought and delivered to a friend in Brooklyn. I am nowhere near New York, or the USA even. A friend from Brooklyn recently did a favour for me (she received my online-bought camera, and brought it to me on her trip to Europe). I promised to shower her in beer, but alas, it could not be. She will have to arrange her own bath, but I still need to provide the beer.

So I need to know how to buy a case or two of beer (Stella Artois preferred) and have it delivered to her in Brooklyn, NY, USA. Amazon does not sell beer, and though I am tempted to try sending her beer precursors, I feel it would be a cute cop-out rather than a thank-you gift.

Any other idea?

Bargain shoppers Extrodionaires: What are the websites that help you to save?

Carialle — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:02:10 -0800

Bargain shoppers Extrodionaires: What are the websites that help you to save? I have recently discovered that there are a variety of websites out there of folks looking for great deals on all types of stuff. Specifically, I am thinking of Slickdeals.net. I would like to know what other websites are out there that have quality bargains/deals/coupons posted. Most of all I am looking for one relating to grocery stores/coupons and help on combining the two (I am not interested in paying for a service though). I've found some local bloggers who seem to do this in the south, but I am in New England (Market Basket, Stop&Shop, Shaw's, etc).

Thanks for your help in cutting down on my grocery bill and maybe some other expenses too!

How do Upper West Side grocery stores comare with one another?

HotPatatta — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:41:02 -0800

Fairway, D'Ag, Westside Market, Garden of Eden. What's the diff? Tell me all about Upper West Side grocery stores. I'm moving to the UWS soon and during my last visit I was shocked--and thrilled!--with my grocery shopping options. So how do those stores compare with one another? I'm mostly looking for price comparisons and differences in inventory.

I'll be living on 107th and Broadway, so are there any other grocery stores around me that I haven't yet discovered?

Grocery Shrink Ray and Inflation

punkfloyd — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 08:13:19 -0800

When inflation is measured, do economists take into account the shrinking size/quantity/volume of consumer products? Like when Pampers stay the same price, but each box contains fewer diapers thanks to the Grocery Shrink Ray.