Finally placing that restaurant supply company order

[conuly]

I figured as long as I was stocking up on meat, potatoes, and butter* I might as well get some groceries as well, because the less time I spend in the store the better.

Most prices are comparable. I'll get the pastured eggs next week, though - I usually DO buy pastured eggs, but I have to go into the city and lately of course I can't. And while we can store a gross in our downstairs fridge, I want to use up the eggs we already have first.

* You all think it's silly to buy 36 pounds of butter at once, I know, but we go through it fast and, more importantly, I really cannot express how much I resent the way our grocery store gouges us on butter. Think of how many times I've brought that up in the past few years, then multiply the seething anger in each post by a million and you might come moderately close.

Comments

[conuly]

It comes out to be about $1.25 cheaper per pound, too. That adds up!

[greghousesgf]

I'm sorry you're having to deal with a grocery store that gouges you at all. That's awful.

[conuly]

To be fair, on most things they're reasonable. A little pricier here, a little cheaper there. It's just the butter....

[rebeccmeister]

Butter seems relatively expensive in Albany, too. I don't fully understand it. It seemed like it made slightly more sense in California, where all groceries were generally more expensive. Is it that other dairy here is subsidized somehow?

[conuly]

If butter were expensive all around it wouldn't irk me as much. Or if my local store was generally a high end supermarket, okay, that'd be fine. But it's a low-rent store, and the butter is so much higher in price than in comparable stores elsewhere in the city.

[villeinage]

My local restaurant supply store just started selling on Instacart. I ordered a case of beets for $10. Did not realize that a case of beets means 25 POUNDS of beets.

Beets keep well, but I only have the one refrigerator.

[archangelbeth]

Oh dear. I, er, guess you put them in plastic bags, set them in front of neighbors' doors, ring the doorbell, and run?

[conuly]

That's zucchini.

[siderea]

*splorfl*

[archangelbeth]

**snicker**

[conuly]

Pickle them?

[villeinage]

Ooooh! I like that idea!

[siderea]

It seems to me the obvious thing to do with the sort of overage one gets from industrial scale orders is barter. Everyone who does such orders will wind up with overage, so the trick is to find a local-to-you online community with other such people with whom one can trade.

[fred_mouse]

I hear you on butter prices. I wouldn't get that much butter, because it can't be stored out of the fridge here (maybe in winter), and we only have the one fridge. I imagine that Youngest would be sooo happy to have that much butter though.

[conuly]

Well, you're heading into winter now, aren't you?

Could you keep it in a water butter keeper?

[fred_mouse]

Not familiar with water butter keepers - will have to do some research. However, it won't count a winter until the ants stop coming in and clustering on anything food...

[conuly]

That's not really what they're called, but the search term will find you the right item - they're butter keepers that involve a layer of water in order to maintain a good temperature

[fred_mouse]

thanks

[bibliofile]

They're also called butter bells or butter crocks. A small crock that you put water in, plus a lid with a cup hanging down from it. Put enough tap water in the crock to cover the bottom of the cup, and the water forms an airtight seal to protect the butter.

[fred_mouse]

Interesting, thank you. However, I think they wouldn't be sufficient for the aforementioned 36 lb!

that sounds like a reasonable amount of butter for an entire family

[kareina]

I have been making my own butter lately. I can by organic cream for slightly less than the cost of the equivalent amount of organic butter, and I get the bonus buttermilk to bake with.