Dairy and pantry items often dismay me with their high prices. That doesn’t mean I don’t buy them (I’m looking at you, pine nuts!), but it does mean I think twice about what I really want and need, and what, if any, economical hacks I can implement or substitutes I can use.
Here are items that I don’t just toss into my cart:
Vanilla BeansIn my baking life, I’ve bought vanilla beans exactly once and it was so long ago, I cannot recall why. Though feather-light, at $116.80, they’re hardly cheap. They’re a labor-intensive spice that grow from orchids; they need hand pollination, for crying out loud; and the biggest producers are now in faraway Madagascar and Indonesia.
Vanilla extract, which costs $4.12 for a two-ounce jar. (There’s also imitation vanilla extract, which costs about $1.60 for an eight-ounce jar if even extract is too much.)
WalnutsLike most nuts, they’re not cheap; at the Fairway near my office, they go for $13.99 a pound if I buy the supermarket’s pre-packed option. If I go for the halves and pieces together they’re a bit cheaper at $11.99 a pound.
Artichoke Hearts
I heart artichoke hearts but am generally too lazy to steam fresh artichokes (it takes 45 minutes at least!). Artichoke hearts that someone else has prepared will do me just fine. In olive oil at the deli counter they run about $7.48 per pound.
I heart artichoke hearts but am generally too lazy to steam fresh artichokes (it takes 45 minutes at least!). Artichoke hearts that someone else has prepared will do me just fine. In olive oil at the deli counter they run about $7.48 per pound.
Native Forest whole artichoke hearts (in water they weigh almost 10 ounces; the dry weight is about 5 1/2 ounces), cost $2.57 and are good enough for me to eat as a snack straight out of the jar, or to add to a salad where my own dressing dresses them up just fine.
Cultured Butter
Butter is cultured when the cream used to make it is fermented before it’s churned. Fans say it’s got a nuttier, tangier taste than regular butter and, because added cultures increase fat content, it makes baked goods even better. Maybe the extra step taken to add cultures to the cream is what causes its higher price—not to mention the cost of high-quality cream in the first place. Cultured butter costs $3.49 for 4 ounces; where I shop, $3.61 will buy four 8-ounce sticks of regular butter.
Butter is cultured when the cream used to make it is fermented before it’s churned. Fans say it’s got a nuttier, tangier taste than regular butter and, because added cultures increase fat content, it makes baked goods even better. Maybe the extra step taken to add cultures to the cream is what causes its higher price—not to mention the cost of high-quality cream in the first place. Cultured butter costs $3.49 for 4 ounces; where I shop, $3.61 will buy four 8-ounce sticks of regular butter.
Dried Cherries
What accounts for the high price of dried cherries? At my supermarket, two different kinds—dried Bing organic cherries from Uzbekistan and red tart cherries (also from Uzbekistan)—cost $24.20 per pound and $20.56 per pound respectively. Is it because they’re pitted, as one farm’s social media post suggested? Is it because they come from far away? Is it because their growing season is short and they’re a small fruit that get even smaller once dried?
What accounts for the high price of dried cherries? At my supermarket, two different kinds—dried Bing organic cherries from Uzbekistan and red tart cherries (also from Uzbekistan)—cost $24.20 per pound and $20.56 per pound respectively. Is it because they’re pitted, as one farm’s social media post suggested? Is it because they come from far away? Is it because their growing season is short and they’re a small fruit that get even smaller once dried?
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