Have you tried...? August/September 2009

-by Katherine Holden

Bulk Peanut Butter, Oils, and More

Way in the back of the co-op, just before you get to the eggs, is an island that houses the bulk peanut butter buckets. There’s no sign. But if there were a sign it would indicate that this is where you find the divide between the post-modern co-op shopper and what my mom always called the crunchy-granolas. If you buy jars of name-brand peanut butter at the co-op, you are a post-modern co-op shopper. If you buy containers of locally packaged organic peanut and other butters, you have good taste. But if you bring in your empty peanut butter jar, weigh it empty, and refill it from the bulk peanut butter bins, you are a crunchy-granola. And our planet is lucky to have you on it.

It’s easy to become a crunchy-granola. Just take note of the many bulk options HPC offers and take advantage of them by bringing in your own containers. Remember to stop and weigh the container before you fill it and scribble that number down so you can tell it to the cashier when you pay. One tip is to put a piece of masking tape on the bottom of the jar or bottle and write on it the weight of the empty container so you don’t have to weigh it each time you come in. Every container you reuse in this manner is one container that does not go to the landfill or require energy to transform it at the recycling plant. [Editor's note: if your re-used container has a label with a bar code, cover it with tape, or black it out.]

There’s a second reason to refill your own jars and bottles. Let’s say you don’t bake. But one weekend you feel a call to make your grandmother’s ginger molasses cookies. You haven’t made them since Canada Day 1991 and you probably won’t make them again until you get the urge around Christmas 2017, but you want to make them today. Gran’s recipe calls for a quartercup of unsulphured molasses. You could buy a jar of unsulphured molasses, use a quarter-cup from it, and then set the sticky jar on your pantry shelf where it will slowly harden into granite. Or you could bring your own container to HPC and fill it with a quarter-cup of unsulphured molasses from the bulk container.

Want to try making fried rice and all the recipes online swear that something called sesame oil is a must-use? You can buy a small amount from the co-op and see if the online advice-givers are right before you spend a large amount of money on a bottle of oil you may never use again. Among others, bulk items available near the peanut butter bins include: tamari; various cooking oils, including olive; various vinegars, including balsamic and champagne; and sweets such as unsulphured molasses and honey. Check the nearby refrigerator for bulk containers of canola oil and maple syrup.

Ooh, unfrozen meat!

In this column I’ve often mentioned that you need to plan ahead because HPC meat is frozen to preserve freshness. There’s now a small selection of unfrozen meat available in the refrigerated case near the yogurt. You’ll find various Applegate Farms products, including several sandwich meats. There’s also a small selection of Thousand Hills grass-fed beef, including hamburger and round tip steak. Most HPC meat and fish continue to be frozen and can be found in the big new freezer case.

Fantastic Foods Vegetarian Chili Mix

On the lower level of the bulk grain bins, you’ll find the popular Fantastic Foods powdered vegetarian chili mix. It’s great to take along on camping trips. It’s also handy during times of your life when you can’t be bothered to keep spices on hand or do much cooking. All you need to do is boil water, and then turf in the mix, a can of diced tomatoes, and a can of beans. There’s no reason why omnivores couldn’t augment this vegetarian mix with cooked meat.

>[Katharine Holden is an HPC member who has been out of work so long she thinks being stuck in morning rush hour traffic sounds heavenly. If anyone needs a marketer/writer/ project manager-type, Katharine can be reached at holdenltd@msn.com.]