Let’s Talk Turkey – The Moral of the Story: To Get the Cream of the Crop at a Decent Price, Must Be Market Savvy

  Let’s Talk Turkey – there’s a lot of subtle manipulation out there

………..Or have lots and lots of time and energy – and a conscience!

I got into the shower this morning and I realized how complicated my story had become.  I felt I needed to re-focus.  This all began several weeks back when I realized that Kings didn’t have any Cabot’s butter.  I asked the man in the dairy aisle and he told me they weren’t carrying it any longer – their supplier had gone out of business and the new one didn’t carry it.  And so, I began thinking about the supply chain and price of dairy, knowing that the price of butter had gotten so high and stayed that way.  I wanted to understand how retail pricing of dairy worked in NJ and NY.  And things went from there.

Honestly, when did the simple task of grocery shopping become so complicated?

Could it be that “mindful” grocery shopping has morphed into a full time occupation?  On one hand, I would like to follow Alice Waters around for a couple of weeks and see what she does – because I do indeed want to be a responsible consumer.  On the other hand, it seems as though things are so very complicated that it is indeed exhausting to try to trickle down through all the issues and arrive at some reasonable place.

The issues are all over the lot – from sustainable – ethical-organic- commodity differentiation and price consciousness.  I’m not even touching on the GMO issue and “how to know”.  Maybe it always has been complicated – except for now the stakes are much higher as prices for groceries are so high and we have really become so much more conscious of the quality of what we are buying and eating.

Honestly, I feel that no one likes to feel like they are being “taken”, do they?    It would seem that in order to obtain the best prices across commodities and get optimum quality (not to mention some level of ethical behavior), you have to spend your days driving around all over the map.   As you look around, “what the market will bear” seems to be a highly contentious, let alone complex concept right now………..  All I can say is, as we shop around over the next week, let’s try to remember all the farmers out there and also think about the animal rights issues as we sit down and stuff ourselves.  There is really a lot to be thankful for and so much more we can do better.  I guess I am thanking Alice Waters, yet again for jogging my conscience in that post when I was in Italy.  But, of course, this all further complicates the food supply story, doesn’t it?  Jeepers, I’m just trying to focus in on one little segment – pricing of dairy on the local level – and I can’t figure it out!

http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/blogs/editor/2014/08/a-look-at-the-rome-sustainable-food-project-alice-waters-effort-to-bring-local-food-culture-back-in-.html

Well, I’m going to wind up my story on the price of butter, if only for now.  I have been getting reports in from other areas of the north east as well as one now from the west coast.  The price of butter is all over the map – from a low of $1.99/lb for Cabot’s in Lexington, MA to still a high of $6.99/lb in Kings for non-organic butter – and more (or less) in NYC.

To further complicate matters, my sister-in-law Cindy posted a picture of organic turkeys at Whole Foods in West Hartford, Ct. for $3.99/lb – that is $1.00/lb less than the price at Wegman’s.  For all the criticism of Whole Foods out there, they are actually cheaper for organic milk, berries and now, organic turkeys.  So, shop around.  My friend, Chef Geri from pastry school says she routinely pays $140. for her Thanksgiving turkey in New York City.  Yikes!

But, you know – it’s New York – but that was part of the moral of this story – groceries are always more expensive in New York, right? Well, not if you live here in the NJ suburbs!  I feel that some marketers are treating this area of NJ as part of New York City when it comes to the propensity to pay.  I found this to be true about a year ago when I realized the price for a glass of wine here in Morristown, NJ is just as high in a lot of restaurants as the best restaurants in New York.  Huh?  I think this is ridiculous.  I boycotted with my feet.  Who wants to pay $15. for 6 oz of wine – when it’s the cheapest by-the-glass glass on the menu?  Not me!   It’s not Chateau Lafite Rothschild for goodness sake.  There is quite a bit of arrogance around here.

Anyway, yesterday had my head spinning about this story.  I had to take a step back and think about things to try to determine if there was anything to be gained by continuing to try to understand the system of pricing right now.  The added element of the holiday seems to be clouding the story and so, I will see what happens after the holiday is over.  Presumably the market will settle down then.

I went to Stop and Shop in Madison last night to do some more research.  Prices there range from 2 for $6. for Land O Lakes to $4.99 for Breakstone.

completely out of stock

 European “style” butter – let’s face it, none of these butters are like real European butter – that’s another whole story

Kings seems to win the “Shame on You” award for not putting any butter on sale and continuing to keep their prices at the peak. Their milk and cheese prices are very high also.  I went to the Mendham store yesterday and they continue to have butter at $6.99/lb.  Kings used to be a retail grocer with very high quality offerings.  Sadly, they are no longer anywhere near that goal as they continue to eliminate products and dumb down their stores and offerings.

All I can say is thank goodness the price of gas is a lot lower!  For all the driving I’ve done in the last week or so, I can at least feel good about that.  My friend Roseann says I should stock up in Massachusetts!  I think she is right on!

I am going to reach out to Vermont Creamery again – one of my favorite brands.  I love to see their array of products in say, Murray’s Cheese in NY.

Here is an up to the minute news flash on Thanksgiving pricing from Bloomberg:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-20/thanksgiving-scorecard-pie-prices-climb-and-turkey-drops.html

Well, I’m moving on today – to more pleasurable thoughts – like happily wading through the avalanche of recipes coming my way.  And, I’m beginning to think about baking cookies.  Being that Thanksgiving is “late” this year, we only will have a scant 4 weeks to indulge!  Well, let it not be said that we ever let any barriers keep us from baking!

Happy Times to all!