Break out the cake and party favors; it's the bar code's 35th birthday. Those alternating black and white bars weren't always around to make our shopping experiences easier. The New York Times celebrates the bar code's birthday with some information behind the development and gradual use of this "technological staple of everyday life." You can add this little tidbit to your trivia database: On June 26, 1974, the first bar code was read off a 67¢ 10-pack of Juicy Fruit gum.
Posted by Adam Kuban, June 8, 2009 at 7:00 AM
Hardcore coffee geeks wouldn't even consider buying anything but freshly roasted whole coffee beans from a skilled local roaster. But what if you don't live near an Intelligentsia, Stumptown, or Blue Bottle roasting location?
In that case, the Atlantic Food Channel gives some tips for selecting the freshest coffee beans from your local grocery store. Among them:
Few markets date their bulk bins. If coffee is properly packaged in a valve bag (the bags with the internal buttons and little slits), it probably will taste fresher than bulk coffee, which has been exposed to atmosphere. Put your nose up to the valve and squeeze the bag. Evaluate the aroma.
And this:
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Posted by Deb Harkness, August 29, 2008 at 11:30 AM
Every other week, Deb Harkness of Good Wine Under $20 joins us to talk some Serious Grape. Here's the latest.
Is it just me or is everyone suffering from the early fall crazies?
The Labor Day holiday is looming ahead of us. Kids need back-to-school supplies and rides to and from soccer, ballet, and piano lessons (circle as appropriate). Then there's your boss, who returned from vacation full of new plans for office efficiency and greater productivity. It's enough to make the lazy days of summer seem all but a distant memory.
Here's my wine survival tip for late summer and early fall: buy a mixed case of wine now, because things will only get more hectic.
Why Buy a Mixed Case?
Having a mixed case in your house is like having a little nest egg for a rainy day. Even better, most merchants will give you a discount of 10 to 15 percent off when you buy a case of wine—so it makes good financial sense, too.
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Posted by Sarah Wolf, August 7, 2008 at 10:30 AM
It's commonly found in everything from soda to canned soup. But after some studies suggested a link between the sweetener and obesity, many consumers have become wary of high fructose corn syrup and are putting pressure on soft drink companies to start sweetening their beverages with sugar cane. In fact, some smaller companies like Hansen, Jones, and Thomas Kemper have already gone natural to satisfy consumer demand.
Nutrition expert Dr. Peter Havel of UC Davis expressed doubts that fructose was any more unhealthy than cane sugar, telling the Los Angeles Times, "This is really an area that needs further study." But science aside, there's no question that sugar just plain tastes better, which ought to be reason enough to avoid the artificial stuff.
Related:
Jones Soda Switches to Pure Cane Sugar
Why Do Diet Sodas Taste Like Crap?
Weight Gain and Fructose
Posted by Ed Levine, June 30, 2008 at 8:30 AM
This past week the New York Times had an interesting interview with a local Ohio grocer who offered his tips on buying high-quality food on the cheap. His tips tended toward the obvious, the silly, and the self-serving: Buying prewashed and premade food because we'll waste less doesn't seem to make a lot of sense to me.
But in these days of shrinking buying power, rapidly rising food prices, and economic insecurity, which we've all felt in one way or another, it does make sense for all of us to think about saving money while eating right and doing right.
I write this knowing full well that absolute costs of food are pretty difficult to figure out, but we've got to at least try, don't we?
So what should a person with a food conscience do who wants to eat right and do right by the earth and the farmers and still save money? Serious eaters want to know. Here are some ideas that might make some sense.
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Posted by Jamie Forrest, June 17, 2008 at 10:45 AM
Photograph of San Francisco's Cowgirl Creamery from Neeta Lind on Flickr
Supermarkets aren't the best place to buy cheese. For many reasons, cheese requires more individualized attention than most supermarkets can afford. Some cheeses are quite fragile unless stored, handled and presented properly. Other cheeses suffer when the wheel is pre-cut and wrapped long before they're purchased. You will also fare better in a real cheese shop, where a knowledgeable cheese monger can help guide you through the sometimes overwhelming selection to a cheese that well suits your taste, or to the wines and foods you've chosen for your meal.
To this end, below are 10 things every cheese shop should have; if a cheese shop nails these, you're in good hands. What do you look for in a great cheese shop?
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Posted by Paul Clarke, June 11, 2008 at 5:30 PM
In January, I vented about the difficulty of finding and purchasing various types of spirits, thanks in no small part to the bewildering system of state liquor laws that govern the trade in alcoholic beverages. Now, just as you’re trying to find that great bourbon you’ve been searching for in time for Father’s Day, Eric Felten at the Wall Street Journal is letting loose, too.
After running a recipe that called for the somewhat hard-to-find maraschino liqueur, Felten writes of the experiences his readers encountered, epitomized by the liquor store owner who insisted that the complex Italian or Croatian liqueur was the same thing as the sweet, neon-red syrup that cocktail cherries are packed in. A simple mistake for a rookie, but for someone in the industry, a dumb—and all too familiar—move.
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Posted by Sarah Wolf, June 2, 2008 at 4:45 PM
New York magazine's Adam Platt loves his readers (and his job) as much as he dislikes granola. So, at his employers' behest, he reluctantly taste-tests 100 überhealthy cereals culled at random from the shelves of Whole Foods, rating them from 1 (worst) to 4 (best).
He tends to go for simpler, less sugary cereals, which is probably what appeals to the typical Arrowhead Mills product buyer, anyway. His highest ratings go to Honey Puffed Wheat by 365, Food For Life's Ezekiel 4:9, lots of Kashi products, fibery cereals from Barbara's, and Bear Naked granola. Nature's Path Organic Heritage O's, however, were proclaimed "the purist's favorite."
As someone who spent her childhood happily devouring boxes of these superior Cheerio substitutes, I would say this is a reviewer you can trust.
The Consumer Reports blog posts advice about buying gas grills, including a useful tip about bringing a magnet for testing the quality of the metal. Watch the accompanying video for more information about grill size, price, safety, and what BTUs really mean.
Posted by Gina DePalma, May 13, 2008 at 8:30 AM
In a city of numerous and terrific markets that are spread among wonderfully characteristic neighborhoods, it is almost hard to become attached to yet another one. But Rome's twice-monthly Organic Market has definitely won me over.
It takes place on the second and fourth Sunday of every month, which is more than enough to get excited about. If the timing is right, it is a relief to have a place to head for fresh produce on a day when everything else is shut down tight. The location is right, too, in a little piazza where some of the most characteristic streets of the Centro Storico converge, not far from the Campo de'Fiori.
Relaxed and Leisurely Pace
My first visit had a very relaxed vibe, especially compared to the usual frenzied commotion at every other market on Fridays and Saturdays, when everyone is scrambling to get their shopping done. Sundays are sacred for most Romans, reserved for relaxing or spending time with the family. Although this little market was buzzing, it wasn't too busy to have a leisurely chat with the organic producers who had traveled from all over Lazio, Umbria, and lower Tuscany, eager to answer questions or give me a sample to nibble.
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Posted by Amanda Clarke, April 24, 2008 at 12:45 PM
Last week, in the midst of an all-too-short, all-too-ambitious itinerary amongst various points in northern Italy, I managed to spend one full day wandering around stylish Milan, checking out stores, scouting for interesting kitchen and tableware. Though my abbreviated stay made it impossible to visit all of the promising shops on my list during business hours (which are generally much shorter in Italy than here, owing to the one- to three-hour midday prandial break, and, often, earlier closing hours), I did manage to make it to a few noteworthy establishments.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, April 19, 2008 at 7:00 PM
"4401": A four-digit code indicates conventionally grown items, here white-fleshed peaches.
Those pesky PLU code stickers that you have to peel off your fruit and vegetables do more than just convey prices to the cashier. If you know how to read them, says Marion Owen at PlanTea.com, they can tell you a thing or two.
Conventional produce gets a four-digit number.
Organic produce gets a five-digit number that starts with 9.
Genetically modified items also get a five-digit code, but that code starts with 8.
Examples
4139: Conventional Granny Smith apple
94139: Organic Granny Smith
84139: GMO Granny Smith
If you want a full list of PLU codes, hit up the International Federation for Produce Standards, where you can look up the look-up the look-up codes and find out even more info. For instance, some PLUs are restricted to items grown in certain regions. (4138, for instance, denotes a Granny Smith grown in East/Central North America.) But if you want to decode those at the store, you'd have some memorizin' to do. And if you're really into it, here's the IFPS's PLU Codes User Guide (pdf). [via Lekkercraft]
Live in New York City and don't know where to fulfill a candy craving? Check out Gridskipper's roundup of candy shops in the Big Apple; you'll get a sugar rush just reading about them.
Posted by Robyn Lee, October 15, 2007 at 6:00 PM
Consumerist reports that new boxes of Honey Nut Cheeries are lighter and taller than older boxes but cost the same. The result is handing over $2.99 for 1.5 fewer ounces of honey-flavored Cheerio goodness in a box that is slighter, slimmer, and taller than before.
I can understand the effects of inflation, but if the box were to change, wouldn't it make sense to shrink it? I half expect trai_dep's comment to become reality: "I'm just waiting for a burst graphic on the boxes saying, 'New—TALLER!!' "
Photograph from Spying on the Streets on Flickr
Posted by Adam Kuban, September 24, 2007 at 1:30 PM
This week's Cook the Book feature highlights How to Pick a Peach
by Russ Parsons. With the disconnect between consumer and producer that's developed in recent years, Parsons says that basic skills shoppers once had—knowing what's in season when and how to choose the best fruit or vegetable on offer—have atrophied. His book, with its detailed rundown on everything from apples to winter squash, will make you a produce-aisle expert in no time.
As with all weekly Cook the Book features, we've got a number of copies to give away. Ten (10) winners will be chosen at random from among the commenters below. All you have to do is answer the following:
What's your favorite fruit or vegetable for 1.) cooking and 2.) eating raw?
The usual Serious Eats contest rules apply.
Posted by Adam Kuban, July 31, 2007 at 10:30 AM
U.S. health officials visit Beijing to talk food safety with Chinese government. This, after the recent string of tainted product scares. Officials on both sides want to devise ways to increase the flow of information about products and to come up with regulations that will govern production and transport. Meanwhile, Paris-based food chain Carrefour makes hay at locations in China by promoting itself as a safe alternative, with its in-store food-testing labs.
FDA food-safety officials give their own department's inspections a flunking grade. But, hey, they're working on it, people.
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Posted by Robyn Lee, July 18, 2007 at 11:20 AM
If you walked by a Whole Foods in New York City last night, you would've seen a long line of people waiting outside the closed storefront. If you walked by a Whole Foods in New York City early this morning, you would've still seen the long line of people, although this time huddled under umbrellas to protect themselves from a downpour.
What were they all waiting so diligently for? A bag. What kind of bag would only be sold at Whole Foods? Anya Hindmarch's $15 environmentally aware "I'm not a plastic bag" bag. As Hindmarch's tote bags tend to cost closer to $500 than $15, there's a bit more demand for her cloth tote bags sold at cost in order to raise awareness about the plastic bags we mindlessly throw away every year. It sells out in hours at any store it graces with its presence, nearly caused a riot in Hong Kong, and goes for hundreds of dollars on eBay.
As the New York Times says, "If you are reading this anytime after dawn on Wednesday, you are probably too late to make a fashion statement and simultaneously keep the world safe from plastic bags."
I guess I'll just have to stick with the cloth tote bag that I've been using for the past four years (whose purchase didn't require waiting outside a store overnight). It may not be as fashionable, but it does hold stuff, so I guess it gets the job done.
Posted by Adam Kuban, December 13, 2006 at 5:40 PM
Personal-finance blog Get Rich Slowly outlines the pros and cons of buying a side of beef straight from a local cattle rancher:
"... We try to grow as much of our own food as possible. But one thing we cannot grow is our own meat. We’ve discovered the next best thing, though: we buy beef in bulk from a local rancher. Every year, we pool our money with three other couples to purchase an animal when it’s ready to be slaughtered. In early December, we bring home about one hundred pounds of meat."
Complete with cost breakdowns on bulk beef vs. store-bought beef, the cuts typically available, and links to further resources.
