Food

[willedoo]

I thought I'd start a thread for all things food, from food news, a favourite recipe or tip, down to the economics and politics of production and distribution.

 

I'll start with a few recent observations on the major supermarkets. Apart from the rising cost of food, in my district I've noticed the management of Coles and Woolies taking a dive over the last couple of years. One issue is the amount of food items on the shelves with no price tags. In my experience, Coles is the worst offender, but Woolies is catching up and getting worse by the day. Coles stores near me probably have close to 10% of goods without price tags.

 

It probably varies between districts, but I've found Coles to be the worst of the two chains in general. Coles have more third world country bare shelves, appear to have dropped more items and brands, indulge in a higher level of dishonest pricing (specials pricing equal to or higher than the regular price), and as above, have more items on the shelves with missing price tags. Probably a localised problem, but the Coles stores in my district have fresh seafood sections that always have a bad smell emanating from them from not so fresh seafood. Apart from the smell, a lot of their seafood visibly looks past the point where it should be offered for sale. Woolies is generally fairly good in the seafood department. I've also found fruit and vegetables from Coles goes off a lot quicker than the produce from Woolies. Having said all that, it might be a local management problem and in other areas, maybe Coles is the better supermarket. These days I only go to Coles for a few items that can't be sourced at Woolies.

 

That's the negative side; both stores also have some positives.

[spacesailor]

Alidi , changed to ' electronic price tags ' but as usual the angle to see then is too low , plus they're too small .

It appears some people have taken to pulling them off the shelves. ( to read the price ) .

spacesailor

[red750]

OK. Here's one that one of my staff produced back in the 70's. A salad for your next BBQ. Canned mandarin segments, pineapple pieces and marshmallows in sour cream, served with your steak/chop, whatever. It was quite popular.

[Marty_d]

38 minutes ago, willedoo said:

I thought I'd start a thread for all things food, from food news, a favourite recipe or tip, down to the economics and politics of production and distribution.

 

I'll start with a few recent observations on the major supermarkets. Apart from the rising cost of food, in my district I've noticed the management of Coles and Woolies taking a dive over the last couple of years. One issue is the amount of food items on the shelves with no price tags. In my experience, Coles is the worst offender, but Woolies is catching up and getting worse by the day. Coles stores near me probably have close to 10% of goods without price tags.

 

It probably varies between districts, but I've found Coles to be the worst of the two chains in general. Coles have more third world country bare shelves, appear to have dropped more items and brands, indulge in a higher level of dishonest pricing (specials pricing equal to or higher than the regular price), and as above, have more items on the shelves with missing price tags. Probably a localised problem, but the Coles stores in my district have fresh seafood sections that always have a bad smell emanating from them from not so fresh seafood. Apart from the smell, a lot of their seafood visibly looks past the point where it should be offered for sale. Woolies is generally fairly good in the seafood department. I've also found fruit and vegetables from Coles goes off a lot quicker than the produce from Woolies. Having said all that, it might be a local management problem and in other areas, maybe Coles is the better supermarket. These days I only go to Coles for a few items that can't be sourced at Woolies.

 

That's the negative side; both stores also have some positives.

Buying fresh food from the big 2 is usually a mistake.

We use Coles/Woolies for canned food, cereal, dairy etc, but for fruit/veg/meat we shop at Salamanca Fresh (smaller grocery chain in Tas which has better produce).  Yes they're more expensive - sometimes - but they're better service and fresher.

The other day my wife and I were standing at the deli and the staff member asked if we'd like to try some proscuttio they'd just got in.  She sliced off 3 or 4 bits for us to try - you don't get that at the big supermarkets.

[willedoo]

Our local IGA supermarket was really good until they sold out to one of those mover and shaker dickheads. He's completely stuffed the little supermarket in his drive to get rich quick. I used to shop there all the time but rarely go there now. The first thing he did was sack all the staff who had been there for years. He must have found some cheaper ones. Next thing was to hike the prices right up. After that, all the decent brands and products started getting dropped, to the point where almost everything I used to buy is not there any more. You'd often see the clown getting around the store with his calculator trying to figure out how to wring the last drop of blood from stone. It's sad really; for many years it was one of the best small businesses in the area and far and above the best IGA around.

[Jerry_Atrick]

I have seen that a lot with people who by reasonably good performing businesses. They pay top $ for them because they are strong businesses and realise they are operating at or very close to their peak, and without significant capital investment, can't expand them. So they do exactly as this fella has done and try and carve out more profit to get a better return on their investment. There may well become an UIGA in your local area coming up for sale at a discount price. as I can't imagine too many people continuing their custom for anything but the essentials.

[old man emu]

There's one supermarket in my town, an IGA. The owner has several over the Central West and Northern Tablelands.  3 litres of milk costs $6.00. Woolies, Coles and Aldi have it for $4.50. I'd rather do the 150km round trip than do a lot of shopping locally.

 

But getting onto Willedoo's important point - Helpful Hints for the Housewife.

No. 1: I think I've already posted my fruit cake recipe, but here it is again:

 

2 cups Self Raising Flour

600 mls chocolate milk

1 kg dried mixed fruit.

 

Method:

Soak the fruit in the milk overnight.

Next day mix the flour into the milk/fruit mixture

Line two 20 cm x 20 cm cake tins with baking paper

Divide the mixture evenly into the cake tins

Cover the top of the tins with alfoil and prick some holes in it.

Bake for 1-1/2 hours at 180C.

 

 No:2 Fruit Mince Pies

I haven't got the recipe at hand, but one of the dry ingredients is custard powder. Also you can't make authentic fruit mince pies with anything else by Robertson's Fruit Mince. Remind me to post the recipe tomorrow.

 

[willedoo]

Chocolate milk, who would have guessed? You probably wouldn't want to have anything to do with my attempts at recipes. Not as bad as the old girl in the Vicar of Dibley, but best avoided.

 

I do have a tip though, how to avoid those limp and bitter carrot sticks. After peeling and slicing them, the trick is to keep them in the fridge in a container with enough water to completely cover the carrot sticks. There's a bit of maintenance involved - it's best to change the water every 2 or 3 days or they will start to ferment. If you keep the water changed regularly they'll last at least a week or more and still be as fresh as when they were cut up. Storing them in the cold water makes them nice and crunchy. Try this simple trick and a limp stick will never be a problem again.

[Marty_d]

25 minutes ago, willedoo said:

Try this simple trick and a limp stick will never be a problem again.

So you're the one who's been sending all that spam...

[onetrack]

I want to know how to keep chips crisp after frying or baking them - like the cafes and restaurants usually manage to do.

Every time I cook chips (I usually bake them in the fan-forced oven), they come out beautiful - then, within 15 mins, they've gone soggy.

Not sure if the cafe and restaurant chips stay crisp because they're deep fried at a far higher temperature than the oven. I usually cook on 180 deg.

 

Has anyone got an air fryer, and if so, what is the make and how do you find it to use and do you think the food from it is less oily than other styles of cooking?

[Jerry_Atrick]

I am thinking of getting an air fryer - they do use a lot less oil. @red750 uses one regularly, if I recall correctly.

 

Anyway, here's an article of what is happening in NZ, that I would like to see more of in Australia. There are restaurants that provide only seasonal produce inspired foods here, but the food may well still be imported..  https://www.theage.com.au/traveller/inspiration/a-food-revolution-is-happening-in-the-land-of-fush-and-chups-20231121-p5elk1.html

 

Of course, it is for the upper end of town, but really not too expensive, when you consider my partner and I ate at this restaurant in about 2005, and aan aperitif each, 2 courses and a bottle of wine then was over $300.. https://www.bottega.com.au/

 

We didn't eat out that much then.

 

[red750]

You're right Jerry. We have had a Smith+Nobel (Harris Scarfe's own brand) 3.5 lt unit for about 5 years. We do lots of things in it. Chips and onion rings are nicely crisp, chicken parmas, kievs, rissoles, dim sims, to name a few. Crumbed or battered fish portions (from the supermarket freezer) come out moist but not soggy. As you are using hot air only, there is no oil. Frozen pies heated in the microwave then popped in the airfryer for a few minutes to c
risp up the pastry. Garlic bread wrapped in alfoil heats till the garlic butter melts without burning the crust. 

 

Chicken parmas - buy schitzels from the supermarket, 10 min @ 180 deg on one side, take out, spread the other side with bolognaise sauce or tomato relish, sprinkle with shredded cheese, and pop back in for another 7 min.

 

Chicken kiev - place each kiev on a slice of bread. As the garlic sauce oozes out, it creates garlic bread and keeps the bowl  a bit cleaner.

 

Another tasty treat - cook rissoles in the airfryer, and while they're cooking (8 min each side @ 180 deg), heat a can of apricot nectar in a saucepan, then mix in a packet of french onion soup mix to make gravy . Pop the cooked rissoles in the saucepan and simmer for a few minutes. Lovely apricot rissoles.

 

There are more recent (and expensive) ones that have rotisseries, chip baskets, and can even bake cakes.

 

[nomadpete]

Love that air fryer.

We got one that looks like a bench top mini-oven. Didn't  cost a motza.

 

*saves power

*Really quick to pre warm

*Does croissants really nicely

*big enough to do a 12" pizza

*Does chips nicely - for an easy treat we do sweet potato chips.

*best of all it shuts off as soon as it's finished cooking. So when I wander off, I don't come back to a kitchen full of smoke.

 

So impressed with it that we are putting an air fryer into the caravan.

Edited December 14, 2023 by nomadpete

[old man emu]

9 hours ago, onetrack said:

Has anyone got an air fryer

I would starve without mine!

I have a Stirling 18 lire one, which was sold by ALDI.  I wouldn't buy one of those round ones.  for volume reasons.

 

With mine I can air fry; air broil (grill); roast; toast; bake; cook pizza; dehydrate, and keep warm. 

 

Most commonly I cook my portion of meat in the air fryer and do my frozen vegetables in the microwave. I can cook the meat and chips at the same time in the same basket. The only difference between a steak cooked on the air fryer and one cooked on a griddle pan is that the griddle pan gives those charcoal lines across the meat. I haven't attempted fish filets, but I have cooked the crumbed ones and things like prepared Chicken Kiev. I buy prepared frozen pizza and add extra toppings. The pizza setting cooks the top and bottom of the pizza. 

 

What are the chips like? I buy "oven-fries" 25 minutes @ 210C and they are as crisp as anything, and not oily. I am beginning to notice that frozen foods are now coming with instructions for air frying. However, I haven't seen the instructions for Fried Ice Cream as yet.

 

My fryer has a removable mesh basket that I put most things into. It has a full size, removable  drip tray, so they both get washed after use. It also has a wire rack for use when cooking cakes. I must admit that I use the oven in my stove for cooking cakes and such, mainly because it is roomier. I only use the stove top for cooking pasta, or frying fish.

 

Are air fryers a means to producing healthier foods? Six of one, half a dozen of the other, I think. Because I only cook for myself, I have greatly reduced my portion sizes from what I used to eat. That's probably where the health benefits come from, as I haven't changed the types of food I eat.

[old man emu]

5 minutes ago, nomadpete said:

best of all it shuts off as soon as it's finished cooking. So when I wander off, I don't come back to a citizen full of smoke

What are you cooking, Soylent Green?

[red750]

These fancier ones are more modern than our old one, and probably much more expensive. But they are a great appliance.

[nomadpete]

The air fryer heats the house up a lot less than the conventional stove, which is a bonus in summertime.

[nomadpete]

2 minutes ago, red750 said:

These fancier ones are more modern than our old one, and probably much more expensive. But they are a great appliance.

The Smith & Noble cost under $200

[old man emu]

5 minutes ago, nomadpete said:

The Smith & Noble cost under $200

Caveat emptor! 

I just looked at a cheap one to include in my post above. The reviews suggested that it was so prone to failure of its electronic control system that was worthless. The ones from retailers like Harvey Norman were up around $400, but I suppose higher quality and better warranty would be part of that price.

[nomadpete]

4 minutes ago, old man emu said:

Caveat emptor! 

I just looked at a cheap one to include in my post above. The reviews suggested that it was so prone to failure of its electronic control system that was worthless. The ones from retailers like Harvey Norman were up around $400, but I suppose higher quality and better warranty would be part of that price.

Ours now has seen a couple of years of use, has not been binned yet. So far so good. Bought a cheapy to see if it really does what the ads claim. When it dies, it will go into landfill after I crush it.

 

PS whatever price you pay for it, it can fail. Remember like all modern appliances they are not repairable.

Edited December 14, 2023 by nomadpete
auto spel is too active this morning

[red750]

As I said, we've had ours for over 5 years and never had a minute's trouble with it. Digital timer/temp control, easy to use, easy to clean.

 

You can now get silicone liners for them, keeps them even cleaner. Coles have them, 2 for $8. We got 2 a couple of weeks ago. Work great.

[old man emu]

I think mine cost $160. But don't forget that it was from ALDI, and they don't jack their prices up to high heaven. I believe that the one I have was made in Italy, but I haven't looked at the ID plate.

[facthunter]

One of the least healthy foods you can eat is potato chips. Overtemped FATS are no good.. If something keeps forever don't eat it.  Longlife food = shorterlife people.  Avoid trans fats. Nev

[spacesailor]

Can't get cheaper than a ' gift ' ,

But it stood idle for a year be for we used it . We still. Use our ' gas '  cooker more than  " expensive " electricity. 

spacesailor. & wife.

Edited December 15, 2023 by spacesailor
A!I cooker ecame Ocker

[old man emu]

1 hour ago, facthunter said:

Overtemped FATS are no good

Cooking food by immersing it in hot oil might be quick, but the way that it has become the norm since the mid-20th Century in Western societies is probably one of the major causes of obesity. Also the prevalence of fried potatoes accompanying so many menu items diminishes the nutritive value of the whole serving. Back in the day, we usually only ate fried chips when we had fish 'n' chips. Now it's Beef Wellington 'n' chips.

 

It is becoming a fact that the generation of the Baby Boomers was the luckiest generation ever in terms of economic opportunity and overall health. I reckon after about 2040, life expectancy will fall back to that of the pre-Boomer generation because our children and later generations will have dug their graves with thier mouths.