Food News
The Groceries New Yorkers Reach for in Times of Crisis
A look at what people are buying, and what they're leaving behind.
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22 Comments
Barbara
March 22, 2020
Ten ways to use jelly:
1. as a sweetener for soups and stews
2. blend into some to frozen fruit to make a frozen fruit dessert
3. use it to sweeten your tea -- or to 4. make a hot, sweet beverage from jelly only
5. dilute it with hot water and use it to activate the yeast, then make a nice Challah loaf
6. Damn, folks! Buy a jar with all the peanut butter you're buying and use it on the sammie -- how are you choking those things down without it?
7. Let it warm to room temp and use it as an ice cream topping
8. Glaze pork or ham with it -- probably good with lamb and chicken too.
9. You know, a little bit of jelly makes fried and scrambled eggs tasty -- try it -- you'll like it.
10. I imagine it would give a good kick to any sweet and sour dish, including Sauerbraten. Try to pick up a lighter color jelly so it blends into the dish.
1. as a sweetener for soups and stews
2. blend into some to frozen fruit to make a frozen fruit dessert
3. use it to sweeten your tea -- or to 4. make a hot, sweet beverage from jelly only
5. dilute it with hot water and use it to activate the yeast, then make a nice Challah loaf
6. Damn, folks! Buy a jar with all the peanut butter you're buying and use it on the sammie -- how are you choking those things down without it?
7. Let it warm to room temp and use it as an ice cream topping
8. Glaze pork or ham with it -- probably good with lamb and chicken too.
9. You know, a little bit of jelly makes fried and scrambled eggs tasty -- try it -- you'll like it.
10. I imagine it would give a good kick to any sweet and sour dish, including Sauerbraten. Try to pick up a lighter color jelly so it blends into the dish.
Barbara
March 22, 2020
11. substitute it for sugar in any salad dressing.
12. use it as the sweetener in a BBQ sauce -- don't those tiny hot dogs in a sauce use grape jelly?
13. clean, peel, seed and cut really ripe fresh fruit. Put it in a large jar with a lid, cover with the cheapest brandy you can buy and add jelly. Cover and set the jar(s) in a cool, darkish place. Wait 6 months. Enjoy the very best fruit brandy you've ever tasted. Truth.
12. use it as the sweetener in a BBQ sauce -- don't those tiny hot dogs in a sauce use grape jelly?
13. clean, peel, seed and cut really ripe fresh fruit. Put it in a large jar with a lid, cover with the cheapest brandy you can buy and add jelly. Cover and set the jar(s) in a cool, darkish place. Wait 6 months. Enjoy the very best fruit brandy you've ever tasted. Truth.
Frances H.
March 22, 2020
I enjoyed the story! Very entertaining and interesting. Love the return to Gristedes and final comment. Thanks!
Miss_Karen
March 19, 2020
Hmmm... observations from a certified foodie AND a grocery store employee: I don't understand the tp thing. There was actually a fight in that aisle on Saturday. Yep. Seriously. Our store doesn't have ANY beans of any sort, not dried or canned. Nada on the rice/pasta game too. If you want chicken, you'll have to catch it yourself I think.
People are seriously out of whack on this. They are buying WAY more of a product than makes sense. (22 cans of evaporated milk, 17 cans of tuna) the list goes on and on.
Thank goodness that I have a normal stock of things as Smaug mentioned. It's much more practical to just cook/prepare meals than spend an excessive amount on everything processed. Get creative with the food you have on hand already.
People are seriously out of whack on this. They are buying WAY more of a product than makes sense. (22 cans of evaporated milk, 17 cans of tuna) the list goes on and on.
Thank goodness that I have a normal stock of things as Smaug mentioned. It's much more practical to just cook/prepare meals than spend an excessive amount on everything processed. Get creative with the food you have on hand already.
KEITH T.
March 18, 2020
I had been away on a trip the week panic spread through our coastal city. When I returned home on Friday, I planned to shop early Saturday morning. I was in the grocery store at 6 in the morning. There was no produce and minimal fruit. The meat was non-existent. Even freezer bags were gone. I guess the hoarders now had to store what they had bought in excess. I usually shop with a menu planned out for the week, that quickly went out the window as I stood in the empty bread aisle and had a small meltdown. So, I readjusted my train of thought and plans and bought what I knew we could eat and still be healthy. It is a great thing that I can cook and bake and that we are all still healthy. I will not venture out again for another week, hopefully the grim display will be different and all of the madness will have subsided.
Panfusine
March 17, 2020
I had stocked up on Glycerin & both Isopropyl (90%) and ethyl alcohol (70% )with the intention of making transparent soap earlier. using it instead to make hand sanitizer which has been extremely effective. ~ 1 cup of alcohol and a generous tablespoon of glycerin plus a few drops of your favorite essential oil yields plenty of hand sanitizer that does not dry out your hands at all. Spray bottles thankfully are still available online.
Susan R.
March 17, 2020
I live in rural Montana and we just started having confirmed cases. I work for a school and heard we were talking of closing our district down so I made it to the store before the rest of the town went to stock up. No tp, disinfecting supplies, hand soap. Minimal paper towels. Lots of shelves were empty in the canned goods because they just finished having a case lot sale and the new truck wasn’t in yet. All the giant bags of shredded cheese were gone but the big blocks (on sale) were still there. No potatoes. Pasta and pasta sauces were dwindling. Rice and flour almost all gone, dried beans were getting picked over. No bananas or powdered milk.
We were pretty much out of groceries except for meat and I Came home with: a huge bag of whole wheat flour and smaller white flour, sugar, eggs, butter, gallon of milk, coffee creamer, gallon of ice cream, frozen veggies, frozen berries, apples, broth concentrate, a few frozen pizzas, cheese blocks, apples, carrots, lots of popcorn, fun flavors for popcorn and ice cream toppings, pasta sauce, dried beans and chickpeas, peanut butter.
There’s stuff I still need to get but this should hold us over for awhile. Thankfully I had just stocked up on some things that were gone. Also glad I went when I did because within hours the state shut down schools and it was even worse after 24 hours.
We were pretty much out of groceries except for meat and I Came home with: a huge bag of whole wheat flour and smaller white flour, sugar, eggs, butter, gallon of milk, coffee creamer, gallon of ice cream, frozen veggies, frozen berries, apples, broth concentrate, a few frozen pizzas, cheese blocks, apples, carrots, lots of popcorn, fun flavors for popcorn and ice cream toppings, pasta sauce, dried beans and chickpeas, peanut butter.
There’s stuff I still need to get but this should hold us over for awhile. Thankfully I had just stocked up on some things that were gone. Also glad I went when I did because within hours the state shut down schools and it was even worse after 24 hours.
slatalla
March 15, 2020
Any projections about the continued availability of Stouffer’s frozen spinach soufflé?
Christina F.
March 15, 2020
We went out last Thursday for normal shopping. We went to Trader Joe's, wholefoods, costco and Aldi, target and Walmart. Costco & Walmart had the least amount of items. My mom and I couldn't believe it. Not a single toilet paper, paper towel, clorox wipes and they were almost sold out of meat. We picked up a few items for fear we wouldn't be able to get them in awhile. I choose two whole chickens(I bake it then will boil the leftover meat and carcass to make homemade chicken noodle soup), party wings, ground turkey, canned tuna, green beans, 1/2 and 1/2, a bag each of almonds, pecans and walnuts. 5 dozen eggs, one each of a cheddar cheese block and colby jack. Epsom salt, an easy read digital thermometer(didn't have one) individual Saline nasal spray. I didn't need what most other people needed because we already buy in bulk for the tp, papertowes, kleenex, chicken broth,diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. And always have a variety of canned beans(Black, Garbanzo, Kidney, and Pinto's) I also always have a variety of pastas, rice, couscous, polenta, potatoes, Acorn squash, grits and oats. We do freeze quite a bit of meat and only bought what we were low on. At the other stores we got a few fresh vegetables and fruits. Onion, celery, carrots, garlic, parsley, cilantro, ginger, lemongrass, apples, grapes, pears, oranges,lemons and limes. Bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumber, spinach, mushrooms, bok choy, lettuce. Cottage cheese, greek yogurt, peanut butter, Cereals. fresh and canned juices. I did buy more canned and frozen fruit than I normal do to make smoothies, oatmeal, or put on cottage cheese & yogurt. I also already picked up everything I need for my St. Patty's day dinner! And lots of wine! We're gonna need it! My husband make fun of my mom and I about buying in bulk! I bet he wont now! Hope all of you stay safe and where able to get what you needed!
Kim W.
March 15, 2020
Big box stores in the Chicago area have been mob scenes for a while now. I live in Rogers Park and small, family owned groceries in my neighborhood that have always been great are by far your best bets at this point. And for the record peanut butter jelly less sandwiches are great......
Stephanie B.
March 15, 2020
I went grocery shopping today (in LA) at 8am hoping to beat the panic and just do my usual grocery shopping. 1) I did not beat the panic hoarders 2) I was surprised by what was left. Obvious staples were cleaned out, and baking basics like flour and sugars. Thankfully people have thought better about hoarding fresh produce (not so last week). I was surprised to see frozen veggies were also decently stocked, and for some reason no one touched black eyed peas at either store I went to, neither canned nor dried. Black eyed peas are delicious and cook pretty fast; people don't know what they're missing out on!
Any sort of pre-made, prepackaged, shelf stable or frozen foods were gone though, and of course any form of softened paper. But there was still plenty of soap 🤔
Any sort of pre-made, prepackaged, shelf stable or frozen foods were gone though, and of course any form of softened paper. But there was still plenty of soap 🤔
Kim W.
March 15, 2020
In my neighborhood one of the larger supermarkets was sold out of all forms of black eyed peas...I always have some on hand for Texas caviar....too funny. The only dried bean option in any quantity were dark red kidney.
Stephanie B.
March 15, 2020
There have been other times I've wanted them and stores didn't carry them. Maybe LA people aren't wise to how good black eyed peas are. Or I just like them a lot. I also found the local stores to be better supplied than the kroeger run store (Ralph's here).
Christina F.
March 15, 2020
I love Black Eyed peas too! I grew up in the south and now live in Nebraska! At times they can be difficult to find! However, my trader joe's and whole foods carry them and surprisingly my target has them in frozen. I put bacon in mine if I'm cooking them and serve with southern greens, fried okra and corn bread of course. I also make a black eyed pea salad that is really good that you serve cold. It's a little like the texas caviar but slightly different. But I almost always have canned or frozen!!
witloof
March 15, 2020
I live in NYC and currently have four and a half rolls of toilet paper in my possession and the amount of bandwidth that fact has taken up in my brain is astonishing to me. Not that I'm inviting anyone over but if I do it's strictly BYOTP.
Stephanie B.
March 15, 2020
Lol I have the exact same amount! And yes, it occupies my thoughts a lot.
Panfusine
March 15, 2020
Since this a period where online bonding has to take precedence, wondering if we could come together to share recipes and tips on how to make do on available resources (pantry hacks, cooking technique hacks etc) in the home, as well as ideas on how to help out in our respective communities.
Smaug
March 15, 2020
Meanwhile, in the real (ie non- New York) world more or less the same thing is going on. Most of it seems to be just general panic- why toilet paper, for example? I was in a way encouraged in my local Safeway to find things like flour (all kinds), dried beans, canned tomatoes (though not the ghastly garlic laden ones) and other such staples largely depleted- if Americans get out of the restaurants and into the kitchen, it will signal to some extent a return to sanity (if only temporary). I consider myself fortunate that I'm generally stocked well ahead on non-perishables and frozen perishables- hopefully the panic will subside before I run out of things.
Stephanie B.
March 15, 2020
I don't think Californians will have much choice but to start cooking now that restaurants have been limited to half capacity, though I don't think that will ease the panic hoarding at the grocery stores.
Smaug
March 15, 2020
I should think it will make it worse, at least in the short run, but if it gets more people cooking I'm all for it- people are far too prone nowadays to cede the basic processes of their lives to strangers.
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