Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Still searching for perfect produce


Why is the produce section the first you enter in a supermarket? I've often heard it's the first, because it's the most profitable. So why is it you often get so little good produce for the money?

How many times have I brought home produce, only to find it rotting on the counter the next day? Or it never ripens? Or it's mealy and tasteless? And it doesn't seem to matter how much you pay or where you buy it -- ShopRite, Whole Foods, Fairway.

Lately, I have been relying on Costco, though my wife still buys grapes and strawberries from
the ShopRite in Englewood. At Costco, you have to buy three or four pounds of each, a lot of fruit for three people to consume before it goes bad.

Today, I brought home a dozen large, juicy, sweet peaches from the Northwest. You get a dozen of these beauties for $7.99 at Costco, and they'll be ready to eat tomorrow or the next day. This is my third tray. I also got three large California cantaloupes for $5.99 and another pound of Earthbound Farms organic spring salad mix, $4.49.

Buying fresh fruit has been so frustrating in the past, I have several kinds of dried fruit on hand.

2 comments:

  1. I literally have to go to several sources to get decent produce at tolerable prices. The grocery stores are fairly overpriced and usually the produce simply isn't all that. I try to frequent a couple stores on Railway Ave in Paterson as well as Corrado's to get my produce. However, Corrado's hasn't had the greatest produce the past few months. I haven't been overly impressed with Fairway in Paramus' produce either.

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  2. Yes, I agree. Going several places seems to be the only alternative. There are still local farmers markets open, but the prices are higher than in the stores and don't guarantee anything.

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