Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Market Mysteries

 


Why do tangerines and clementines only seem to come in bags of twelve? This two-person household isn’t always up to the challenge. We’re working our way through this batch, but we must not have moved quick enough on the last bag, which offered gray moldy surprises on several of the last few.

 

And why is it so difficult to find one-pound bags of carrots (many of them horse-sized)? I realize that, unlike tangerines, carrots have an impressive shelf life, but there’s a finite amount of room in my fridge’s vegetable drawer.

 

I also don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask for smaller packages of chicken parts. My grocery store will often only put out chicken thighs in packs of eight or ten pieces. Again, limited room in my freezer for the extras. Added to that, I’ve noticed it’s almost impossible at this same store to buy one pound of hamburger. All – and I mean all – “pounds” of hamburger there weigh in at 1.28 pounds, a crafty way of getting us to buy up.

6 comments:

  1. I agree with the carrot situation. I refuse to buy the "baby" carrots as I believe they are a marketing ploy to no good end. I end up buying organic carrots at Kroger where they can be purchased singularly. Since I want to cook them in chunks, I buy the bigger ones.

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    1. I rarely buy those so-called baby carrots. They’re only big ones milled down to a cute size and are treated with chemicals.

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  2. I've often heard this complaint -- that food is not packaged for one- or two-person households. Dave and I both eat a fair amount so maybe we don't notice it as much. I'm actually surprised it's the case in your part of Florida, where presumably a lot of households would fit that description!

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    1. Yes the Publix here is much better than my big store back home although last week I could only find boneless chicken thighs in gigantic packs and so bought a package of 4 bone-in which I deboned myself.

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  3. Can you shop around for smaller specialty stores? A greengrocer who sells individual items so you can buy just what you need? A butcher who sells the amount you wish to buy instead of pre-packaged larger amounts? Sometimes it's worth a little extra cost knowing you won't be wasting money by throwing out mouldy fruits etc.

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    1. Good point. I’ve grown lazy over the years and usually just get everything at the big grocery store near me.

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