Grocery Stores in the USA

[gouchobob]

As frustrated as I am here with the selection, it has made me a better cook. Instead of going to the market and buying tahini, I just made my own, and because of this, I ended up finding the best recipe for hummous I have ever tried. Not having the ability to buy all these products ready-made has broadened my knowledge. The products here are really fresh and delicious.

For example, I love Moroccan and Algerian food. Absolutely impossible to find anything remotely related ready-made in the markets here. So in order to make harisa, I had to dry out chili peppers for a few days add que se yo y listo. It turned out great.

Yeah of course I get frustrated because almost every meal I make here takes at least 2 hours, but it's fun...for the most part.

Good post. South America is not part of the take it out of the freezer and into the microwave, or open the can and heat it up, schools of cooking. If you want to eat well you need to do it yourself. True in Argentina and everywhere else for that matter.

 

[sabinabowler]

Yeah, making things from scratch really does taste better. My husband and I went to Casa Saltshaker about a year ago, and we were asking him where he gets the wonderful cheeses and other creamy products in the dishes, and he told us that he makes them all in house. Now that's dedication! I can't imagine making my own cheese.

 

[arty]

Same goes for smoked meats: Argentines don't like anything that interferes with the natural flavor of fresh meat. Fresh, not aged.

yeah, so they can go and ruin it by dump on a few kilos of salt.

he beef is so much better in Argentina and then they cook it well and over salt it.

 

[arty]

Those who emigrate can't wait to return, and do it as soon as they possible can.

All the ones I have met who have been to the USA can't wait to go back. Something about how much easier things are....

 

[MizzMarr]

It's too bad that every time a conversation like this starts up it takes on such a nasty "us vs. them" tone. Yes, US grocery stores have much more variety, and most of us from the States miss the quality and variety of those products. But we're here, for one reason or another, so really need to just make the best of it. For me, it was learning how to cook--I'm a MUCH better cook than I was when I arrived, and I know how to make so many delicious things from scratch than I would have considered making in the States before with the culture of convenience. I thank Argentina for that, and for my ability to live a lot more simply. I still will certainly relish the grocery stores (and general retail culture) back in the States every chance I get However, due to my experience I have a new approach, and I am very glad about that.

 

[katti]

Ummmm, I really realizing how ridiculous the USA is.

I went to a Whole Food this evening. There was more amazing and different kinds of cheeses there than 5 Queso Queso's + JUMBO in Palermo + Casa de Queso combined! And there were free samples of an absolutely creamy & tasty Van Gogh Gouda just sitting there with no one around. About 60+ cubes of cheese at 8:45pm and no one to even give a damn if you took 5 cubes.

3 to 4 different kinds of shrimp and only one didn't come from the US coast. (Honduras). At least two types were raw and I'm sure would have been delicious. And tons of other amazing looking fish as well.

The butcher shop?... more expensive than Argentina for sure, but newspaper ad quality cuts of beef, buffalo, chicken, lamb, and pork. And behind the butcher there was a huge container where they were drying aging massive slabs of beef for either 14 or 28 days. I'm not sure if this concept even exists in the land of Quilmes.

Spices? Don't get me started.

Mustards? Probably more than 50. Vinegars, hot sauces, BBQ sauces, Lea&Perrins? Large size bottles for much less than small bottle in Disco.

Maple Syrup? 100% Organic 32oz bottles for US$20. Grade A or Grade B, whichever your preference.

They even had 16oz cans of some "Guayakí" brand Yerba Mate tea. "Enlighten Mint" & "Lemon Elation" with certified USCA Organic & FAIR TRADE marks on the front.

REGULAR Grocery Store:

PG Tips 40 bag box of tea was about US$4.30. Just sitting in the regular aisle like it was nothing special. (I bought all three boxes that they had left.)

MORE 100% Maple Syrup. Organic & regular.

Peppers? Are you kidding? About 6 to 8 different types. (And that doesn't include BELL Peppers.)


My point?

My point is that sometimes you start to question what the hell is going on in the city you live in when you realize how easy it is to eat tasty foods at an affordable price in the city that you're from.

Just venting because it's easier on the skull than banging my head against the wall.

stay there, don't come back.

 

[syngirl]

SaraSara is right -- find a good verduleria. And when you do you'll realise that most stuff isn't like that crap in the USA that can sit for weeks in your fridge and NEVER rot -- here your lettuce will wilt within a couple of days -- as lettuce SHOULD do.

Also if you go to your verduleria religiously you WILL get better product, unless you're just an asshole by nature. My husband goes to our guy, and the guy doesn't rip him off or anything, but we both know that if I go I'll end up with another handful of strawberries, or cherries, or whatever it is they have in season. (And that's not just if I go to the one owned by the old men, but also if I go to the other verduleria owned by a woman down the street -- I've been alternating between them for over 3 years now so they both know me and I do get good product, it's only when it's someone new on duty that I don't know that I get the not so great pickings).

Also agree with Sabina -- I make pretty much all my own stuff from scratch -- I was a good cook anyway before I came down, but Argentina's been a great opportunity to expand my kitchen skills. We eat every type of cuisine in my house that you can imagine (my husband will eat spice, but otherwise I'll temper the meal according to who's coming for dinner). I can make pretty much anything from scratch that I desire now and it really cuts down on fat, expense, and the hassle of searching the grocery stores for premade ingredients. A lot of stuff you can just make and freeze for later on.

Premade foods are part of the obesity problem anyway -- it's much easier to just scarf 1500 calories down in one go when you haven't even had to think about what's going into what you are eating, or appreciate the work it takes to make a good meal.

 

[sabinabowler]

Premade foods are part of the obesity problem anyway -- it's much easier to just scarf 1500 calories down in one go when you haven't even had to think about what's going into what you are eating, or appreciate the work it takes to make a good meal.

hahah that is so true! I've been cooking mainly Julia Child recipes recently. It has truly scared me the amount of butter that goes into almost every dish, and it has caused me to really think about how much I want those meals. (Usually enough to keep making them, then work out like a fiend everyday.) It's true though, in a restaurant I wouldn't think twice about just eating the whole meal and not thinking about what went into it. At home, I started considering exactly what I want to go into all my meals. Because of this, I am able to create much more nutritious meals using all kinds of veggies and fresh ingredients.

 

[HotYogaTeacher]

It has not been my experience that food tastes better, or is local, green, or any other good thing here.

Argentines who say that meat in the US is "aged" or "smoked" or "bbq'd" don't know anything about the US. I almost never ate meat like that at home. I ate fresh, lean, delicious, organic, locally grown, green beef and it was much better than any meat I've eaten here, though certainly not as cheap, but that's OK, because I don't eat meat that often.

I heart American food. It's the best. I actually like food everywhere in the world, except here in Argentina. I've never traveled before to a country where people put up with such gross, boring foods...

 

[SaraSara]

Argentines who say that meat in the US is "aged" or "smoked" or "bbq'd" don't know anything about the US.

I actually like food everywhere in the world, except here in Argentina. I've never traveled before to a country where people put up with such gross, boring foods...

This Argentine/American knows a whole lot about the US, having spent thirty-five years in Boston, Denver, Palm Springs, Washington, and New York. Everywhere, restaurant menus listed beef as "aged". This may have changed since I moved back to BA five years ago.

Yoga, perhaps the problem is that you are comparing gourmet organic beef with the stuff you get around your Rivadavia apartment. You may not be aware of this, but that is not a "good" area, and local stores reflect that. If you live in Congreso, you are bound to have to put up with "gross, boring foods".

For top quality meats and produce, try shopping in more upscale neighborhoods. Even in middle-class San Isidro there are gourmet stores specializing in beef, fish, and fresh produce. Plus, there's an organic farm which home-delivers daily.