topic Re: Trouble Finding Ingredients in Kitchen

Trouble Finding Ingredients

JeanLouiseFinch — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 09:41:06 GMT

I don't know why, but Mascarpone Cheese is nearly as scarce as hen's teeth at the supermarkets. Aldi is the only store that's consistently carried it. It's not an ingredient I've ever used prior to this year, and it's only been a couple of times at that.

Are you experiencing any trouble finding ingredients lately?

Re: Trouble Finding Ingredients

cindyNC — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 10:52:56 GMT

Absolutley - We live in a small NC city and all the supermarkets except Aldi, Walmart, Target and Food Lion are gone.

I have to drive 17 miles one way to Publix to find Cabot cheese, Voortman Oatmeal Cranberry cookies, Arugula and really good meat etc....I shopped our Aldi's once.......it was dirty and dumpy. Walmart is always a zoo.

Re: Trouble Finding Ingredients

jackthebear — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 12:40:08 GMT

@JeanLouiseFinch wrote:
I don't know why, but Mascarpone Cheese is nearly as scarce as hen's teeth at the supermarkets. Aldi is the only store that's consistently carried it. It's not an ingredient I've ever used prior to this year, and it's only been a couple of times at that.

Are you experiencing any trouble finding ingredients lately?

i just googled sub for marscapone cheese there are several out there

I have n't see any, but I am not looking for some

Re: Trouble Finding Ingredients

RespectLife — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 13:22:15 GMT

I live in western NY and Mascarpone is always available at both Walmart and Wegman's.

I couldn't find Turkey Stock this year....only turkey broth.

Re: Trouble Finding Ingredients

JeanLouiseFinch — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 03:41:46 GMT

@cindyNC wrote:
Absolutley - We live in a small NC city and all the supermarkets except Aldi, Walmart, Target and Food Lion are gone.

I have to drive 17 miles one way to Publix to find Cabot cheese, Voortman Oatmeal Cranberry cookies, Arugula and really good meat etc....I shopped our Aldi's once.......it was dirty and dumpy. Walmart is always a zoo.

There has definitely been a stigma with Aldi, in the past. Decades ago I tried shopping there snd I just couldn't, for the same reason. I never returned until this year, maybe 2022, and I'm glad I did. I have several locations to choose from within the region. Some are nicer than others and I do have my favorites, but overall I've been really happy with the quality and variety of offerings that fit well into my list of regular purchases. No, I can't get every single thing there, but I do get the lion's share of our groceries there.

Re: Trouble Finding Ingredients

JeanLouiseFinch — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 13:42:43 GMT

@jackthebear wrote:
@JeanLouiseFinch wrote:
I don't know why, but Mascarpone Cheese is nearly as scarce as hen's teeth at the supermarkets. Aldi is the only store that's consistently carried it. It's not an ingredient I've ever used prior to this year, and it's only been a couple of times at that.

Are you experiencing any trouble finding ingredients lately?
i just googled sub for marscapone cheese there are several out there

I have n't see any, but I am not looking for some

That's not the point of this thread. I know how to use Google.

Re: Trouble Finding Ingredients

LindaSal — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 13:57:06 GMT

We have been lucky as we haven't really had too much trouble finding ingredients though at times it does take extra effort. The only thing is a couple of times we couldn't find certain spices, but we were able to improvise. As far as the Mascarpone cheese, do you happen to have an Italian deli in your area or that's not too far away? We have one about 30 minutes away and they carry all that kind of stuff. Good luck in your search.

Re: Trouble Finding Ingredients

Judaline — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 14:03:22 GMT

Mascarpone is available at Whole Foods-it's by the fresh Parmesan.

Re: Trouble Finding Ingredients

amyb — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 14:21:10 GMT

Yes. Ever since Covid times, my local grocery's (all of them) never went back to the usual consistency of availability of what used to be staple items in their stores.

Things I randomly can never find..

Buttermilk (not a staple in my home, but often I see a recipe I like and it has it in it. I know you can make it from vinegar and regular milk, I just never have tried that.)

Certain brand things...Silver Hills sprouted bread...used to always be at my Fresh Market...no more. At my other grocery it's touch and go with that, and never the one I used to like with zero sugar in it.

Amy's frozen meals...her Lite & Lean items never came back. I

even emailed them in 2022...at that time they said "pls be patient with us as we deal with getting back and having enough staff)...but I guess they just decided not to continue that line.

Amy's meals, in general, randomly you find certain ones, or some not at all, and when you do, they've almost doubled in price. I just won't pay almost $9 for something that used to be about $5. Occasionally I buy their mac & cheese, or veggie lasagna, which are less than others and always some of my favs. Good to have in the freezer when I don't want to cook, and want a quick, healthy meal.

There's other items too, I can't count on finding every week or even every month!

I have seen Marscapone lately! Ironically, it was at my Aldi the other day, however the 1/3 fat cream cheese I usually get there, and the organic cream, were both out the last two times.

Re: Trouble Finding Ingredients

gardenman — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 14:32:31 GMT

Any time you have trouble finding an ingredient, ask the store manager or send an email to the grocery store headquarters suggesting (not demanding) that they consider carrying the item you're interested in. If you have a favorite brand of mascarpone cheese, write to that brand and ask them if they can tell you of retailers in your area that carry it and mention the store where you typically shop. It may start turning up there.

Stocking in grocery stores is often a cooperative venture between the store and their vendors. Vendors will often buy display space in the stores for their products and then decide which products to fill that space with. See what brands of cheese are sold by your nearest store and then check those brands product listings on their website (nearly every company has a website these days) and see if they sell mascarpone cheese. If they do, then drop them an email and suggest they start stocking it in your local store. They may very well be the ones who decide what goes into the refrigerator space they lease at the store. They may assume there's no market for mascarpone cheese in your area so they don't allocate any of their space for it. If you tell them there's a market they may start stocking it.

The same holds true for nearly any product category you're interested in. Those stocking stores aren't nearly as psychic as we'd like to think. If you don't tell them you want something, they may not know a market exists for that item. Once they know a market exists, they're more apt to stock it.

Re: Trouble Finding Ingredients

cheriere — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 15:52:10 GMT

I live in a small town with only a few large grocery stores. Something I've had trouble finding this year is Marshmallow Fluff for making fudge. I've even checked at Dollar stores that also normally carry this. I haven't found another jar anywhere. Hopefully they'll restock by tomorrow when I'll go out for the last time before Christmas.

Re: Trouble Finding Ingredients

JeanLouiseFinch — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 15:15:40 GMT

@LindaSal & @Judaline - We live in a rural community. There's a supermarket in town but I only go there when I have to. They charge too much to buy all of our groceries there. It's about a 25-30 minute drive to get to a decent shopping area, but even then there's neither of those stores. If we wanted to an Italian deli or Whole Foods, it's a 45 minute drive to one and close to an hour to the other. Since I've found it at Aldi, that will be my go to store when I need it. There are several locations to choose from within 20-30 minutes from home, depending on which on I go to.

Re: Trouble Finding Ingredients

Judaline — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 17:52:03 GMT

@cheriere wrote:
I live in a small town with only a few large grocery stores. Something I've had trouble finding this year is Marshmallow Fluff for making fudge. I've even checked at Dollar stores that also normally carry this. I haven't found another jar anywhere. Hopefully they'll restock by tomorrow when I'll go out for the last time before Christmas.

OMgosh Marshmallow Fluff!!! On school days I had it in my cocoa every morning. I didn't even know they still made it!

Re: Trouble Finding Ingredients

Judaline — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 17:54:50 GMT

@JeanLouiseFinch wrote:
@LindaSal & @Judaline - We live in a rural community. There's a supermarket in town but I only go there when I have to. They charge too much to buy all of our groceries there. It's about a 25-30 minute drive to get to a decent shopping area, but even then there's neither of those stores. If we wanted to an Italian deli or Whole Foods, it's a 45 minute drive to one and close to an hour to the other. Since I've found it at Aldi, that will be my go to store when I need it. There are several locations to choose from within 20-30 minutes from home, depending on which on I go to.

I can understand that.

Re: Trouble Finding Ingredients

Judaline — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 17:58:40 GMT

@amyb wrote:
Yes. Ever since Covid times, my local grocery's (all of them) never went back to the usual consistency of availability of what used to be staple items in their stores.

Things I randomly can never find..
Buttermilk (not a staple in my home, but often I see a recipe I like and it has it in it. I know you can make it from vinegar and regular milk, I just never have tried that.)

Certain brand things...Silver Hills sprouted bread...used to always be at my Fresh Market...no more. At my other grocery it's touch and go with that, and never the one I used to like with zero sugar in it.

Amy's frozen meals...her Lite & Lean items never came back. I
even emailed them in 2022...at that time they said "pls be patient with us as we deal with getting back and having enough staff)...but I guess they just decided not to continue that line.
Amy's meals, in general, randomly you find certain ones, or some not at all, and when you do, they've almost doubled in price. I just won't pay almost $9 for something that used to be about $5. Occasionally I buy their mac & cheese, or veggie lasagna, which are less than others and always some of my favs. Good to have in the freezer when I don't want to cook, and want a quick, healthy meal.

There's other items too, I can't count on finding every week or even every month!

I have seen Marscapone lately! Ironically, it was at my Aldi the other day, however the 1/3 fat cream cheese I usually get there, and the organic cream, were both out the last two times.

I notice more and more that when I can't find a usual product at the same store I always buy it, it's gone for weeks. Then, voila! It's back! But this time it's made by Kroger or it's made by Whole Foods. I really wish they wouldn't do that. How greedy can you get?

Re: Trouble Finding Ingredients

ValuSkr — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 18:08:40 GMT

It's hard some years to find stollen ingredients - specifically the cherries and dried or candied fruit.

Re: Trouble Finding Ingredients

cheriere — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 08:39:00 GMT

@Judaline lol yes they still make it, but sometimes it's hard to find. There is another type, just marshmallow cream, I just prefer the fluff. It IS DELICIOUS in too of hot chocolate lol

Re: Trouble Finding Ingredients

Shihtzursqmom — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 11:17:30 GMT

I had trouble finding Zatarans file powder for gumbo and Bakers coconut we have four major grocery stores in our small town and Walmart
Our ingles had both

Re: Trouble Finding Ingredients

drizzellla — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 13:57:52 GMT

It has become quite a hunt to find certain items anymore.

We used to do weekly shopping at Sam's or Costco. But they drop items so easily that we are now on the hunt for items we use regularly. Sam's used to have a great assortment of fresh and jarred salad items. I could always count on them for making my salads varied. But lately there isn't the assortment. And Costco forget it. You are lucky to get one brand of olives, pickles or artichokes and forget anything like marinated asparagus or mushrooms.

Now the selection at both stores for items are small or nothing. There is a long list of items that I can no longer find at Sam's or Costco.

So I rarely go to either place now. I am back to shopping at grocery stores. But I have to go to several groceries to find certain items. It has become more work to find the items that we like.

Re: Trouble Finding Ingredients

Enufstuff — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 15:24:34 GMT

@Judaline @cheriere Yes, Marshmallow Fluff is still made by Durkee-Mower. They have been making it for over 100 years in the city where I live. I don't know how wide their distribution area is. It is much better than Kraft Marshmallow Creme.

They used to make Raspberry Fluff and that has been discontinued. Now they make Strawberry and the original vanilla flavor.

I've made fudge with the Fluff recipe and it is very good.

It is great on hot cocoa, I love when it gets all melty on top of the cocoa.