Price increases and shortages

[Pulsegleaner]

Weirdly, some stuff looks terrible even they are still fresh. It happens here, too. You can see whatever inside is already rotten or in a strange status from the package.

And, of course, there are foods that ALWAYS look spoiled and rotten. For example there are a trio of blue cheeses from Spain called Cabrales, Picon (or Picos de Europa) amd Valdeon. (which is sort of the cheap, mass market version of the other two). On those occasions when I can find it over here, I usually don't have much competition for it. And that is because, even when it is in it's prime, it looks TERRIBLE. The base cheese is either brownish or greeny grey (it's been described as "Yoda colored cheese" and looks like it should have been thrown in the trash about three months ago. But is if perfectly fine then (if INCREDIBLY strong)

 

[flowerbug]

That's OK! More for me!

I don't eat most of that stuff but I love tofu!

i have been known to eat it cold right from the package. doesn't bother me at all. it isn't much worse than cold oatmeal chunks...

 

[AMKuska]

If you guys haven't stocked up, you might want to do so. Prices have already spiked over here with more food shortages anticipated.

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

I've been doing inventory on my 2 years of stashing. I have waaay too many dry beans!! So I've been making "fast beans", which means soaking, cooking and dehydrating them.

 

[ducks4you]

All of the sudden WM has Ball lids. FYI.

 

[flowerbug]

I've been doing inventory on my 2 years of stashing. I have waaay too many dry beans!! So I've been making "fast beans", which means soaking, cooking and dehydrating them.

haha! dry beans to dry beans! cool beans!

 

[jbosmith]

All of the sudden WM has Ball lids. FYI.

Regular mouth Golden Harvest lids are $3ish on Amazon now!

 

[Zeedman]

If you guys haven't stocked up, you might want to do so. Prices have already spiked over here with more food shortages anticipated.

Signs of that here as well. The Oriental market has a lot of empty shelves, and told us that they are having difficulty getting the very popular Thai dry rice brands. Even Aldi has a lot of empty shelves now.

All of the sudden WM has Ball lids. FYI.

They go quickly though. I went there immediately when DD informed me of that, and got there in time to buy the last 3 boxes of Kerr large mouth lids. So along with the 4 boxes I was lucky enough to find in December, I should be good for the coming year.

There still appears to be hoarding though... and perhaps some who are buying solely to re-sell on ebay (where there is no shortage). I was in line at the local farm & fleet; the couple in front of me had cleaned out the shelf, TWO CARTS full of jars with lids. Seems like an awful lot for one family. Such activity is understandable to a degree, given the scarcity of last year... but it only helps to prolong the "shortage" for everyone else.

 

[AMKuska]

As soon as I saw the writing on the wall as far as the news, I told my husband we were going to do our dry goods shopping that day. He was stunned that we didn't buy any more than usual, but it was already $100 over the usual price. Chicken is once again completely wiped out--only wings available.

Got the tank fueled up for the inevitable rise in gas prices that go with it.

 

[jbosmith]

Signs of that here as well. The Oriental market has a lot of empty shelves, and told us that they are having difficulty getting the very popular Thai dry rice brands. Even Aldi has a lot of empty shelves now.

The asian markets here were the only place that didn't run out of staple grains in early 2020 and I was super thankful for them. I likely eat a lot more of them than most of my neighbors. They're great stores in general, always having a lot of yummy greens that I can't get elsewhere! I love the canola greens (whatever they're called)

They go quickly though. I went there immediately when DD informed me of that, and got there in time to buy the last 3 boxes of Kerr large mouth lids. So along with the 4 boxes I was lucky enough to find in December, I should be good for the coming year.

I've mostly given up on my wide mouth jars because even when you can get lids here they're $5-6/dozen. At $0.50 a lid it's probably cheaper for me to buy canned beans than to can the ones that I grew, so my inner frugal new englander won't allow it, even if I'm partial to my own.

There still appears to be hoarding though... and perhaps some who are buying solely to re-sell on ebay (where there is no shortage). I was in line at the local farm & fleet; the couple in front of me had cleaned out the shelf, TWO CARTS full of jars with lids. Seems like an awful lot for one family. Such activity is understandable to a degree, given the scarcity of last year... but it only helps to prolong the "shortage" for everyone else.

I once bought enough jars from a Canadian Tire sale that the customs person asked a lot of questions when I came home.. though they were mostly confused that I bought jars at what they assumed was a car store.