LAZ wrote:
VI disagreed with me on whether it was worth buying apples for the purpose of storing them. I had said that these days you can get perfectly good apples in mid-winter that have been stored by people who have excellent facilities for doing it. Even Midwestern apples.

Quite true. In Michigan, for example, apples are stored nearly year-round, starting just after each year's harvest. Some of the crop is portioned off and stored refrigerated. That portion will generally hold up well for 60-90 days without requiring any further measures. The remainder of the picked apples are stored just above freezing in storage rooms which contain no oxygen, so spoilage is slowed greatly. These apples are released to the market as needed. One processor I visited told me that they made it all the way to August 23, 2008 with 2007's apple crop. After that, they shut down the apple portion of their facility and waited for the 2008 pick to be completed.

I don't know how people generally store apples at home but I cannot imagine any individual in a residential setting being able to store them more efficiently -- and less intrusively -- than what I have seen at some of the commercial sites I've visited.

=R=

Though I am noticing in my recent foray into preserving: I do it better. I decidedly don't do it cheaper, though.

I finally came to the conclusion this year that my garden plot is a losing game, and I'm giving it up: not that I kept it for economic reasons, just that I seem to be busier and busier, and gardening I can't do by walking out my back door is too hard to keep up with - and I'm losing most of my benefits to pests and disease I can't be around to fight.

I'm going to expand the back 40 inches to maybe 60, and see if that does me.

Mhays wrote:I'm going to expand the back 40 inches to maybe 60, and see if that does me.

Take a serious look at Square Foot Gardening or those Earthboxes that have been posted about. you'd be amazed at how much stuff you can get out of a very small plot.

Interesting piece by Monica Eng at the Trib's web site today, which sheds a bit of light on how things are currently going in the restaurant industry:

A very bad year for restaurants

Ballooning food costs, mass layoffs, a dismal economy, rising waste-hauling charges and high fuel prices are making 2008 the worst the year for full-service restaurants—sit-down places to you and me—since 1980, according to industry-watcher Technomic in its latest report.

=R=

Here's a link to a piece by Mike Hughlett, also at the Trib's web site, which highlights how the fastfood side of the industry is currently trending . . .

In a bad economy, many rediscover the value meal

ChicagoTribune.com wrote:Fast food is the part of the restaurant business that usually holds up best when the economy tanks. Right now special offers and value pitches are keeping fast food humming, according to market researcher NPD Group.

Overall customer traffic at fast-food restaurants was up 1.5 percent during the three months that ended in August, according to NPD. But visits from customers who weren't responding to value pitches were actually down 0.9 percent during the same time. The difference is "deal traffic," said Bonnie Riggs, an NPD restaurant analyst. "Any [restaurant] operator that's going to survive in this time has to have a strong value proposition."

=R=

Read the article in today's Trib and have to say my first response to Ina's comments on the person who only spent $5.49 is I think I'll take my 5.49 elsewhere since you don't want it. I'm sure other places will be happy to have me.
Paulette

paulette wrote:Read the article in today's Trib and have to say my first response to Ina's comments on the person who only spent $5.49 is I think I'll take my 5.49 elsewhere since you don't want it. I'm sure other places will be happy to have me.
Paulette

Here's the quote to which you refer:

ChicagoTribune.com wrote:Ina Pinkney winces when a customer walks into her restaurant and orders nothing but a plate of eggs and potatoes.

It's not that she doesn't want the breakfast business (or the $5.49). But given food prices and other rising expenses at her West Loop eatery, "it would actually be better for me to give that person a dollar to not eat in my restaurant."

"I lose money on a dish like that."

I think you've mischaracterized it a bit. I don't think she's being literal in her comment but maybe I'm not properly understanding the tone of her remarks. I thought she was just hyperbolizing to make a point.

=R=

paulette wrote:Read the article in today's Trib and have to say my first response to Ina's comments on the person who only spent $5.49 is I think I'll take my 5.49 elsewhere since you don't want it. I'm sure other places will be happy to have me.
Paulette

I went over to this article to read Ina's comment:

It's not that she doesn't want the breakfast business (or the $5.49). But given food prices and other rising expenses at her West Loop eatery, "it would actually be better for me to give that person a dollar to not eat in my restaurant."

"I lose money on a dish like that."

When you run a restaurant, business or event, there are fixed costs and variable costs. If you have enough volume to cover your fixed costs, then everything from a certain point on are variable costs and hopefully something leftover called profit.

I ran an event recently where I needed a certain amount of people to break even. If I was under this fixed point, then I was losing money per person. Once I realized I was never going to reach my break even, I moved to a smaller room, trimmed some labor and was grateful for every person who agreed to attend. While I might not have profited from every person walking in the door, every person covered a bit of my fixed and variable costs allowing me to lose less. When I recognized my potential cancellation costs may equal the loss per person, then it was full charge ahead. Thankfully, I managed a loss of only $2.77 in total, which was something I didn't know until it was all over.

Regards,

Jesus, eggs and potatoes cost $5.49 at Ina's? That's outrageous! For that you should at least get a couple of slices of bacon, like at Johnny's Snack Shop.

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

I called your local Dominicks:

Dominick's Finer Foods - http://www.dominicks.com
259 Lake St, Oak Park - (708) 383-8090

I asked them about the shortage on garbanzo beans. He said there was none that he knew about. He said look in aisle 5 in the canned vegetable, then he physically went there to find "All organic garbanzo beans.'

I called a Walgreen's in your neighborhood:

Walgreens‎ 916 Madison St, Oak Park, IL - (708) 383-7081‎

Your favored brand of contact solution is not there. I asked is there a reason why there would be none, like is this a reflection of the economy? I was advised the contact lens solution section was recently reconsidered with some products dropped and new vendors brought in.

I checked Simplus website to find CVS is another retailer for your contact solution:

CVS/pharmacyCVS/pharmacy
6748 Roosevelt Road
Oak Park, IL 60304
(708) 358-7790‎
(708) 358-7791‎

No dice at CVS for your solution, too. I called directly to the manufacturer:

Bausch & Lomb Magnifiers New York
Rochester, NY 14602
(800) 553-5340‎

They suggested other stores to try are Walmart, Target, K-Mart, Rite-Aid. I asked if they reduced their production due to the economy or if there was a shortage or any product recall? The woman explained there was nothing of the kind.

I then called the nearest:

Target Stores, 2901 S Cicero Ave, Cicero, IL - (708) 863-6830‎

The girl walked to shelf to find a small bottle 3.5 ounces on sale for 2 for $13. of the multi-action. I don't wear contacts, so if there is more information needed, you may just want to call.

So on the garbanzo bean and contact solution fronts, the sky is not falling.

Regards,

Thank god you got down to the bottom of this.

Good sleuthing.

David Hammond wrote:Walking through Dominick’s and Walgreen’s recently, I noticed they were out of items I usually buy. This started me thinking that maybe retail outlets had already started cutting inventory, a prelude to the Second Great Depression and the shortages that according to CNN more than 50% of us believe to be inevitable.

One hates to be alarmist, but I noticed low inventories on regular items at Trader Joe's this past Sunday. For starters, arborio rice was gone. Cleaned out. The stock person told me there were out until their next delivery. I doubt there's been an increase in risotto-making lately. Mushrooms - out. Gaping holes in the produce refrigerator where there was once product. Nobody replaced that stock. I had to dive for the last package of pork bacon as some other guy was literally trying to elbow me out of it. The cheese section was cleaned out. It's possible that Trader Joe's had a busier-than-usual weekend, but I'm thinking that they're keeping their inventories low.

aschie30 wrote:

David Hammond wrote:Walking through Dominick’s and Walgreen’s recently, I noticed they were out of items I usually buy. This started me thinking that maybe retail outlets had already started cutting inventory, a prelude to the Second Great Depression and the shortages that according to CNN more than 50% of us believe to be inevitable.

One hates to be alarmist, but I noticed low inventories on regular items at Trader Joe's this past Sunday. For starters, arborio rice was gone. Cleaned out. The stock person told me there were out until their next delivery. I doubt there's been an increase in risotto-making lately. Mushrooms - out. Gaping holes in the produce refrigerator where there was once product. Nobody replaced that stock. I had to dive for the last package of pork bacon as some other guy was literally trying to elbow me out of it. The cheese section was cleaned out. It's possible that Trader Joe's had a busier-than-usual weekend, but I'm thinking that they're keeping their inventories low.

Did you ask why their inventories were low?

Regards,

Frankly, I'm more alarmed that they need to specify their bacon is made from pork!

I love port ... but can't figure out how to make it into bacon ....

Cathy2 wrote:

aschie30 wrote:

David Hammond wrote:Walking through Dominick’s and Walgreen’s recently, I noticed they were out of items I usually buy. This started me thinking that maybe retail outlets had already started cutting inventory, a prelude to the Second Great Depression and the shortages that according to CNN more than 50% of us believe to be inevitable.

One hates to be alarmist, but I noticed low inventories on regular items at Trader Joe's this past Sunday. For starters, arborio rice was gone. Cleaned out. The stock person told me there were out until their next delivery. I doubt there's been an increase in risotto-making lately. Mushrooms - out. Gaping holes in the produce refrigerator where there was once product. Nobody replaced that stock. I had to dive for the last package of pork bacon as some other guy was literally trying to elbow me out of it. The cheese section was cleaned out. It's possible that Trader Joe's had a busier-than-usual weekend, but I'm thinking that they're keeping their inventories low.

Did you ask why their inventories were low?

Regards,

No. I don't expect that your average stock clerk, or even the manager, at a TJ's would know the true answer to that question. I doubt TJ's has meetings which clue in the rank-and-file employees on corporate financial strategy, at the very least, for fear of leaks. I don't know how much control an individual TJ's has over their own inventory; my guess is that those decisions are made by TJ corporate as part of a larger strategy, which is what, I think, David was getting at in his original post. Maybe I'm wrong, and someone who plays a little closer in to this type of business can weigh in. Given that TJ's is privately owned by the Aldi family trust, I'd expect that business decisions as well as earnings are likewise kept closely guarded.

Mhays wrote:Frankly, I'm more alarmed that they need to specify their bacon is made from port!

Well, they had turkey "bacon," which I wasn't about to buy. Usually they have a couple of different kinds of "pork" bacon (I like the Niman Ranch version), but totally cleaned out.

nr706 wrote:I love port ... but can't figure out how to make it into bacon ....

Leave me alone, you mean, mean person! (original post edited for spelling while I mull over how to season bacon with port)

aschie30 wrote:One hates to be alarmist, but I noticed low inventories on regular items at Trader Joe's this past Sunday. For starters, arborio rice was gone. Cleaned out. The stock person told me there were out until their next delivery. I doubt there's been an increase in risotto-making lately. Mushrooms - out. Gaping holes in the produce refrigerator where there was once product. Nobody replaced that stock. I had to dive for the last package of pork bacon as some other guy was literally trying to elbow me out of it. The cheese section was cleaned out. It's possible that Trader Joe's had a busier-than-usual weekend, but I'm thinking that they're keeping their inventories low.

Trader Joe's and Aldi's get food deliveries daily, mostly from a central commissary and have MANY stockouts. TJ's has stockouts in their Pasadena stores near their warehouse. It generally does not bother the staff as it ensures that the food all turns in 3-4 days MAX and reduces their overall inventory.

Since they do NOT keep any groceries in a back storeroom, any delays in the truck arriving leaves the store looking like they are going out of business. And that is not the case.

Do realize that both stores have expectations that they'll only carry items with the proper velocity; that is, products that will turnover in less than a week. That is why you will never see malt vinegar or canned snails at a TJs.

jlawrence01 wrote:Trader Joe's and Aldi's get food deliveries daily, mostly from a central commissary and have MANY stockouts. TJ's has stockouts in their Pasadena stores near their warehouse. It generally does not bother the staff as it ensures that the food all turns in 3-4 days MAX and reduces their overall inventory.

Since they do NOT keep any groceries in a back storeroom, any delays in the truck arriving leaves the store looking like they are going out of business. And that is not the case.

Do realize that both stores have expectations that they'll only carry items with the proper velocity; that is, products that will turnover in less than a week. That is why you will never see malt vinegar or canned snails at a TJs.

Thanks for the info. Do you know, though, if someone makes the decision to reduce the central inventory of say, bacon and arborio rice, that thus means that individual stores are getting less inventory as well?

Mhays wrote:

nr706 wrote:I love port ... but can't figure out how to make it into bacon ....

Leave me alone, you mean, mean person! (original post edited for spelling while I mull over how to season bacon with port)

Here's something I made for a NYE dinner party a few years ago. Not exactly seasoning bacon with port, but close.

Port-bacon glazed quail stuffed with wild rice.
6-8 slices of bacon
1.5 cups or so of port
6 dressed quails
1.5 cups of cooked wild rice
some chopped sage
salt and pepper

Cook bacon until most of the fat is rendered and it is not quite crisp. Remove bacon, and pour all bit 1TBS of fat into a saucepan with the port. Reserve the extra TBS of fat. Reduce port/ bacon fat mix by at least 1/2 until syruppy, and then season with salt and pepper. Chop the bacon, and mix with the wild rice and the reserved 1TBS bacon fat, then stuff this mixture into the quail cavities. Generously brush each quail with the glaze, then roast at 450 degrees for 5 minutes. Turn it down to 300 degrees, and roast another 20 minutes or so, basting at least 3 times.

(thinks to self...OK, I have bacon, I have port, I have rice and sage...I wonder if those little birdies hanging around my feeder will substitute for quail?)

HI,

I found out a lot by simply asking staff and managers in the stores. I guess I have more faith in the front of the house staff knowing what is going on.

Regards,

I was at Trader Joe's on Tues. I was going to pick up a bag of baby spinach, but the shelf space was empty. Since the staff was unloading a shipment, I inquired if they received any. After the stockperson returned from the back, she informed me that they received 2 cases earlier in the day, and they were already sold out! It was 7:15pm on a weeknight in the suburbs! Once they get their Christmas goodies in I am so hoarding them - they sell out so quickly!

Hi,

I remember reading an article about a guy who invented an electric egg cooking device. During the intense period of experimentation and design refinement, he bought large quantities of eggs. Once he was past this period, he noticed there was an abundance of eggs at the store. The manager advised his earlier egg purchases had influenced the inventory levels specified for the store and now they had too many eggs. The manager had advised central distribution to cut back, but it took a while for the information to filter up.

Regards,

More good news regarding impending economic darktimes from the front page of the Business section in today's Tribune.

With the softening economy, we're likely to see "a greater range of prices on menus and more comfort food selections...We're in a perfect moment for the ascent of the really good burger."

"If there's any unforeseen upside of the economic crisis, it's this: People are cooking again."

Heard on NPR

Jyoti

I don't know if it's a function of current economic conditions, bearish inventory management or plain old incompetence but the Whole Foods in Deerfield has become a notably unreliable place to shop. Today, with only short list of items to buy, the store was out of half of them, including raw pistachios, pancetta, and any raw pork fattier than tenderloin. Since these are all items I've purchased there in the past, it was annoying that they'd be out of so many all at once. Last week, I had a similar experience at the same store, encountering several out of stocks, including my favorite types of yogurt and cereal.

Even in tough economic times, people have to eat. And it seems apparent that during such times, they tend to eat out less and eat at home/cook more. Groceries aren't Ferraris. The rationalization of consumer-level, comestible inventories is perplexing to me. Granted, the items I describe above aren't exactly staples but for a place like WF, they aren't exactly luxury items, either. It's possible that branded items like yogurt and cereal are disappearing at the manufacturer level but for many of the other items, it seems like their absence is merely a function of "strategic" decision-making.

=R=

Were these items imported? I've heard that there are impediments to moving things back and forth - empty containers. There are logjams of things waiting because no empty containers are available. I think it's because the dollar is going up....?

Hi,

Within the last two weeks, I saw a news segment on shipping container shortages. It began with a woman who had purchased a new home months ago, whose living room was bare of furniture. She was holding back on buying new furniture until she felt more confident of the future.

Juxtapositioned to this was a soybean farmer who was selling his soybeans directly to foreign customers rather through a middle man. While he had contracts to sell all his soybeans, he had no containers available to ship them. He was somewhere within a 4 hour drive to St. Paul-Minneapolis (SPM). He sent his trucks to speculatively collect containers to SPM that came back empty.

The shortage of containers was due to less cargo entering the country because of lack of consumer confidence. At the same time as there are demands for goods to be shipped abroad due to the weaker dollar. They said by the time the containers may be more available, the demand for the goods to be exported will be less due to the stronger dollar and more expensive product. Ultimately the soybean farmer with all those contracts may not have the export customer to ship to.

***

A few weeks ago, several of us took a 3:30 AM tour of the wholesale fruit and vegetable markets in Chicago. We were talking about their supply chain. I mentioned the issue with domestic USA rice being sold here and abroad at world prices. They commented for the first time last year, they observed USA grown cherries never sold less than $3/pound at peak season. This was due to the weak dollar and high international demand for cherries with much of our domestic production going to Europe where they commanded a higher price than domestically.

On the domestic front, they also commented the demand for fruits and vegetables have also increased. Maybe ten years ago, someone visiting a market in Chicago from Iowa would be blown away by the variety available to us. These same varieties can now be found in Iowa and other smaller markets, increasing demand for a these same fruits and vegetables. Increased demand, relatively fixed quantity of goods and prices stay up.

Not everything can be tied to the current economic situation. There are markets competing for the same goods both internationally and domestically. These increased demands creates higher prices, which is quite divorced from the financial markets.

Regards,

leek wrote:Were these items imported? I've heard that there are impediments to moving things back and forth - empty containers. There are logjams of things waiting because no empty containers are available. I think it's because the dollar is going up....?

The pancetta is possibly imported (although, I doubt it) but the yogurt, pistachios, cereal and raw pork are all domestic. I do a lot of international transit of commodity containers at my job and the reports about container shortages are accurate but I don't think they had much effect on this specific situation. I'm not saying that global economic conditions necessarily did, either. It just felt that way.

=R=