[Sca-cooks] Comparison shopping

[Robin Carroll-Mann]

On Tue, 10 Dec 2002 09:11:36 -0500 (EST) jenne at fiedlerfamily.net wrote:

> People who are doing the pre-shopping thing
> often buy meat ahead of time
> when it is on sale and freeze it; and buy
> staples ahead of time as well.
> Freezing meat may or may not offend some
> people's sensibilities, but it's
> one way to do it, especially if you are
> concerned about pricing and
> budgets.

::nod::  Right now, I can get the chicken I need for $0.39.  I cannot
guarantee that it will fall that low again in the next month and a half, and
it's very unlikely that it will be on sale at that price the week of my feast.

> I know some people who don't shop ahead of time
> and some people who do.
> The only thing that really bothers me is when
> people don't buy stuff at
> the stores where it's cheapest when they do buy
> it.

Which is why I like to scout around.  Yes, some prices are very volatile, but
others are not.  I know which Indian grocery store has the cheapest almonds,
or rosewater, or dried figs.  I know that Costco always has leg of lamb for a
lower cost than the supermarkets, but not chicken.  The money I save by
pre-buying stuff like chicken can be spent on luxuries like Manchego cheese
and good-quality quince paste (the kind without corn syrup and artificial
flavors).

Brighid