I don't remember who it was, but near the beginning of the lockdown someone here on Tildes clued me in to the fact that I could get a big jar of pre-minced garlic instead of using fresh cloves....
I don't remember who it was, but near the beginning of the lockdown someone here on Tildes clued me in to the fact that I could get a big jar of pre-minced garlic instead of using fresh cloves. Favoring convenience and things that I wouldn't need to resupply, I got a bulk jar in my first grocery delivery order.
Not only has it been great (I hate chopping and mincing garlic anyway), but it's going to last me forever. 1/2 tsp is equivalent to 1 clove, so even after multiple uses in multiple meals, my husband and I have hardly made a dent in it! Consequently, garlic is also one of the items that has been regularly out of stock in our grocery store, so we're very glad to whoever it was that gave us that tip, as we haven't had to go without. Thank you, whoever you were!
That would be @Douglas. I also bought a giant assed jar of pre-minced garlic, and discovered that for me, there really is no such thing as too much garlic.
I don't remember who it was, but near the beginning of the lockdown someone here on Tildes clued me in to the fact that I could get a big jar of pre-minced garlic instead of using fresh cloves.
The only problem is pre-processed garlic lacks that bite that fresh has. I use jarred and powder anyway, it's better for anything being cooked. Raw, cloves all the way.
The only problem is pre-processed garlic lacks that bite that fresh has. I use jarred and powder anyway, it's better for anything being cooked.
People largely confined to their homes have been cooking more and buying more garlic to cook with, Christopher said. His company, which typically sells 500,000 pounds of garlic per week to grocers, restaurants and industrial buyers, watched demand skyrocket after the stay-home orders were imposed — first to 600,000 pounds per week, then to 700,000, then to 800,000, he said. Demand from restaurants has plummeted, but demand from grocers has exploded, he said.
[...]
Larger retailers are more likely to have the bulb in stock amid the shortage, Christopher said. “A lot of mom-and-pops may be getting shut out right now,” he said.
[...]
Stockpiles of Gilroy-grown garlic from last year’s harvest were low before the coronavirus outbreak, after spring rains last May stained bulbs and made them unacceptable to retailers, Christopher said, adding that his company had to dump more than 10 million pounds of the blemished produce.
Close to half of the garlic consumed in California is grown in-state by three major farms including Christopher Ranch, he said.
[...]
There is light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “Our harvest is going to start in three weeks. We expect to have a very good crop.”
I wonder... is this an actual problem with the garlic, or did they just dump 10 million pounds of garlic over a cosmetic issue?
Stockpiles of Gilroy-grown garlic from last year’s harvest were low before the coronavirus outbreak, after spring rains last May stained bulbs and made them unacceptable to retailers, Christopher said, adding that his company had to dump more than 10 million pounds of the blemished produce.
I wonder... is this an actual problem with the garlic, or did they just dump 10 million pounds of garlic over a cosmetic issue?
A cosmetic issue. Stores won't buy what they're worried won't sell, and shoppers don't necessarily understand the difference between cosmetic damage and the produce going bad. So you have ugly...
A cosmetic issue. Stores won't buy what they're worried won't sell, and shoppers don't necessarily understand the difference between cosmetic damage and the produce going bad. So you have ugly produce get composted because of aesthetic concerns if there aren't other supply chains in place for diversion to processed goods.
Various groups are trying to increase the acceptability of sub-standard produce for consumer use, but it's slow going. Americans are used to being able to buy perfect produce all the time, and getting people
to accept less than that is hard when prettier options exist.
I'm not nearly informed about this subject to try to say which side is "right", but I remember thinking this article from a couple of years ago was interesting: The Ugly Truth of Ugly Produce. It...
I'm not nearly informed about this subject to try to say which side is "right", but I remember thinking this article from a couple of years ago was interesting: The Ugly Truth of Ugly Produce. It talks about some of the negative downstream effects of increasing the appeal of ugly produce that might not be obvious.
Definitely. There are ways to do it well, and ways to do it poorly, and I specifically avoided using Imperfect Produce as an example because I think they're doing it poorly. It's a marketing...
Definitely. There are ways to do it well, and ways to do it poorly, and I specifically avoided using Imperfect Produce as an example because I think they're doing it poorly. It's a marketing excercise for them, and it's paid off, but they're not the solution.
I don't know, but it seems likely. I expect there are buyers who don't care about cosmetics, but not enough to suddenly buy a huge amount at once due to a sudden windfall. As we've seen, food...
I don't know, but it seems likely. I expect there are buyers who don't care about cosmetics, but not enough to suddenly buy a huge amount at once due to a sudden windfall. As we've seen, food distribution doesn't adjust that quickly.
I don't remember who it was, but near the beginning of the lockdown someone here on Tildes clued me in to the fact that I could get a big jar of pre-minced garlic instead of using fresh cloves. Favoring convenience and things that I wouldn't need to resupply, I got a bulk jar in my first grocery delivery order.
Not only has it been great (I hate chopping and mincing garlic anyway), but it's going to last me forever. 1/2 tsp is equivalent to 1 clove, so even after multiple uses in multiple meals, my husband and I have hardly made a dent in it! Consequently, garlic is also one of the items that has been regularly out of stock in our grocery store, so we're very glad to whoever it was that gave us that tip, as we haven't had to go without. Thank you, whoever you were!
That would be @Douglas.
I also bought a giant assed jar of pre-minced garlic, and discovered that for me, there really is no such thing as too much garlic.
Ah, good to know. Thank you @Douglas! You have helped many a quarantine meal taste much better than they would have otherwise.
Sure thing! There's also pre-minced ginger usually in the same location, if you make a lotta food that needs it!
The only problem is pre-processed garlic lacks that bite that fresh has. I use jarred and powder anyway, it's better for anything being cooked.
Raw, cloves all the way.
[...]
[...]
[...]
I wonder... is this an actual problem with the garlic, or did they just dump 10 million pounds of garlic over a cosmetic issue?
A cosmetic issue. Stores won't buy what they're worried won't sell, and shoppers don't necessarily understand the difference between cosmetic damage and the produce going bad. So you have ugly produce get composted because of aesthetic concerns if there aren't other supply chains in place for diversion to processed goods.
Various groups are trying to increase the acceptability of sub-standard produce for consumer use, but it's slow going. Americans are used to being able to buy perfect produce all the time, and getting people
to accept less than that is hard when prettier options exist.
I'm not nearly informed about this subject to try to say which side is "right", but I remember thinking this article from a couple of years ago was interesting: The Ugly Truth of Ugly Produce. It talks about some of the negative downstream effects of increasing the appeal of ugly produce that might not be obvious.
That is interesting.
The truth might be a mixed bag of positive and negative effects.
The Murky Ethics of the Ugly-Produce Business
Definitely. There are ways to do it well, and ways to do it poorly, and I specifically avoided using Imperfect Produce as an example because I think they're doing it poorly. It's a marketing excercise for them, and it's paid off, but they're not the solution.
I don't know, but it seems likely. I expect there are buyers who don't care about cosmetics, but not enough to suddenly buy a huge amount at once due to a sudden windfall. As we've seen, food distribution doesn't adjust that quickly.