Things the grocery store vendors have on sale is what is in front. First is the most perishable items, like the produce aisle. That is all the fresh stuff, the lettuce, carrots, onions and fruit. But Beware, while there close again you must search for the best deal, the freshest date on produce and check it carefully.
First large grocery store offer already cut fruit. Little plastic tins of pineapple, melons, watermelon. How nice is that? Well its called Re-Cycling! Grocery stores buy in volume, huge amounts of fruit, only 1/3 of it is sold to customers fresh, the rest either gets thrown out or is repackage, that nice fruit you see is what was going to be thrown away, but some store manage got an idea to repackage it, put new labels on those plastic tins and sell it to you for twice what it actually costs. Yes that in of watermelon you just are munching on was .50lb and watermelons are cheap, but the plastic tin is $3..for 8-10 square chunks of watermelon.. Repackaging fruits is a big business as you can see, so watch out for this first.
Is a buyer beware! Your paying again for the packaging!
Anything that doesn't come in original packaging then look carefully at the price. These things really add up.
Next weighting produce. I know we all can eyeball it, or think a pound is so heavy in our hands, but were all wrong? Pick out the produce you want, then weigh it on the scale, wow what a difference an onion can make (it was a.99cent difference)
So next pack it your self and weight it yourself.
Buying guide to greens.
NEVER BUY ICEBERG LETTUCE-What a waste of money. IT has no vitamin values, no protien, and nothing but water! Iceberg also goes fast in the refrigerator. Once you cut it open it rusts, where your knife cut it, it turns color and wilts. YUKKY..
Ice berg is only good if you doing a special meal and can afford the luxury of one meal from one head of lettuce.. so don't bother with it unless your rich or simple minded!
My greens have to last at least 2 weeks. I never buy iceberg lettuce, instead I find the best deal on (3) pack of Romaine lettuce. Romaine has more vitamins, is crunch and taste good and usually last my family 2 full weeks, that is dinners nightly with a salad component.
Also another green to look for on sale is Spinach. Now only can you eat it in salads, but you can wash it and heat it up and serve it hot, it does multi purpose things. Its also cheap if you can find it. This green hold up well at almost 2 weeks in the refrigerator. On a boat that is golden number for greens.
A good page to learn about greens is http://www.foodsubs.com/Greensld.html
If you don't know green leafys- go to that site.
Going from greens to other things in that department are onions. Onions can be stored in a cool place for ages, but allow any heat and they turn to mush. When you get your onions at the store they have been stored an average of 6months depending on what growing season and part of the US your in.
So finding fresh is hard. IN season in summer is the Valdalia onion its a great sweet onion and only in season from April-November as its grown down south. Usually Georgia, Texas, The Carolina's and Florida have this onion, you can do anything with it, add it to anything and its fabulous to cook with.
Its always on my list during the season. Also I do keep red onions they also have the same growing season as whites, but reds are mostly used for salads, special dishes, they can be sweet or sharp, i find the small ones sweeter. i tend to use little money on greens to start with, so i do find the smallest red onion they have..
Here is a bit about ONIONS
History / Geography There is evidence to support that the ancient Egyptians used to cultivate onions. Science Onions are part of the Lily family. Varieties There are many varieties, usually onions are divided into two types: green or dried, and the dried category typically containing three colors: yellow, red and white. -Bermuda: a mild onion, typically white or yellow. Available from March to June.-Spanish: a yellow onion available between August and May.-Red/Italian: a red onion available year-round.-Globe: a strong flavored onion in the colors yellow, red or white.-Maui: From Hawaii. A mild, sweet onion ranging in color from white to yellow. Available for import from April to June.-Vidalia: From Vidalia, Georgia. A very sweet onion which works well on sandwiches. Available in limited quantities from May to June.-Walla Walla: From Washington State. Available between the months of June to September.-Oso Sweet: a much sweeter onion variety as compared with the Vidalia onion, but coming from South America. Available in January through March.-Rio Sweet: another sweet onion available from October to December. Other Varieties: pearl onions, boiling onions, chives, leeks, scallions and shallots. Season Depending on which onion you are selecting, you can find onions all year round. How to Select Pick your onions that appear to be heavy for their size. The skin should be dry and papery. There should be no soft spots of black spots, indicating mildew from moisture. Storage
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