Smart Shopping

Price is important when shopping for food but it is not the only factor in choosing your purchase when wheeling that cart through the market.

The lasagna recipe I recently posted received an interesting comment from a friend with a strong Italian heritage. Jeannie reminded me that the quality of the ingredients was the important element in making good lasagna, with great ricotta as a key.

She made an important point which perhaps I have not emphasized often enough. As with some other items, we haven’t found good ricotta since we moved to the West. Our ricotta comes from either New Jersey or New York. When we lived in Philadelphia excellent ricotta was no problem locating. There were many fine local, ricotta brands available. Finding good ricotta for lasagna is one example of the needed attention in selecting ingredients for any meal..

Garlic is a current example of concern. Until recently we were able to find quality garlic at Costco’s. They carried a garlic from Gilroy California which is where most of the nation’s garlic is grown. Christopher Ranch has excellent garlic and we were happy with their product. Suddenly someone at Costco decided that garlic was not important and it is now a discontinued product. Figure that? We went to Sam’s club to check their garlic and found that they were bringing in a Chinese garlic. This garlic changes our recipes that require garlic and is not acceptable. We are on currently on a garlic search.

Mushrooms are another story. Kennett Square Pennsylvania is the mushroom capital of America and is where a million pounds of great mushrooms are grown each year. It is the Gilroy equivalent for mushrooms. Since moving West I have learned to tell a non Kennett Square mushroom by simply picking up one of the mushrooms being sold. Most of our locally grown mushrooms have no heft and really do a mediocre job when a mushroom is an important ingredient in the recipe

Locally grown, fresh products often are the heart of a great meal, but just because it is local doesn’t always mean it is best.

A great recipe can become less than a great meal if the ingredient selections are not carefully purchased. Finding products that work with your kitchen adventures is a very rewarding part of the effort.

An example of time well spent is the selection proceedure when green beans are part of your menu plan. Green beans, grabbed by the unexamined handful and shoving them into the plastic produce bag is not the way to buy for the home kitchen. Take a few minutes to select the unmarred beans from that pile in the produce section of your market. The same kind of careful selection should be made in every produce purchase. If your selection is wilted and worn with brown spots at the market, it isn’t going to suddenly perk up in your kitchen. You pay as much for the ugly beans in the pile as you do for the fresh ones.

Jeannie’s comments on the lasagna brought my attention a step back from the recipe and preparation side of cooking a great meal. It is the foundation of quality ingredients that are the structure of a meal that will produce results that get huzzahs from your guests. Take the time to make sure that those ingredients have received your serious attention at the market.

Note: A huzzah is a good thing
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