Gothamist: New York Restaurants Squeezed Hard By Food Costs

Spiritof76

Sat, 07 Jun 2008 11:41:54 -0500

You're doing something wrong then. Go ahead and read the ingredients on a Haagen-Dazs container. There are no ingredients you wouldn't find in homemade.

EricRoberts

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 14:58:03 -0500

@Spiritof76 - my home made ice cream always seems to get very hard after two days in the freezer. I don't want to make small batches of ice cream every other day. The premium brands put in something - ok maybe not preservatives - like xantham gum in order to allow refreezing after you transport it to your home.

Spiritof76

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 18:33:49 -0500

the only problem with making ice cream is that it doesn't keep like the store-bought kind with their fancy additives. The premium brands have no preservatives. Making your own last is just a matter of not making too much, scooping out only what you need, putting plastic wrap right on top of the ice cream to keep out funky flavors and quickly returning the container to the freezer before it starts to melt.

sonyactivision

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 16:25:11 -0500

Since Ice Cream is basically butterfat, the simple thing to do is pour a bunch of ice cubes in a blender, throw in a few sticks of unsalted butter, add ten cups of sugar and the flavoring(s) of your choice, hit "Frappe" and Voila! Delicious frozen treat.

EricRoberts

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 14:39:27 -0500

@JMH - also now everyone buys slow-churned = more air so it's even less ice cream. @Spiritof76 - the only problem with making ice cream is that it doesn't keep like the store-bought kind with their fancy additives.

Spiritof76

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 13:10:01 -0500

The only way to make sure you're not paying for a lot of air in your ice cream is to make it yourself. It's not that hard. And ice cream machines are cheap enough that you'd make back the cost after what would have been three or four gallons of Haagen-Dazs.

JMH

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 10:34:41 -0500

Regarding the ice cream, don't forget that while the recent change has been from 1.75 quarts to 1.5 quarts, those 1.75 quart containers used to be half gallon (2 quart) containers.

JenChungsBra

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 09:18:16 -0500

So let's see...under George Bush the price of which major necessities have skyrocketed? Oh, where to begin? Food, energy, education, health care, housing, I guess that's enough. The only major necessity that hasn't shot up seems to be clothing. You can still get a decent pair of Dockers for $20 on sale. Good job George!

funkforfree

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 09:06:56 -0500

A perfect example of how ETHANOL IS BAD FOR OUR COUNTRY AND ENVIRONMENT. Farmers are now growing for fuel, which means that the price of corn for eating will continue to rise, and because they need such a great mass of corn to make the fuel, their soil will be useless in a few years. If Bush thinks he's solved global warming by promoting ethanol, he's got another thing coming. I just hope everyone else realizes this before we start to pay 5 bucks for an ear of corn.

EricRoberts

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 08:19:30 -0500

@Pharmer - I noticed the ice cream thing although you must mean 1.5 quarts. I got a sandwich from pret a manger yesterday and while they never used much meat, there was one meager slice that didn't cover half the bread.

Snoopy

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 22:47:58 -0500

I haven't noticed any increase of the cost of the prepackaged banana cake at my local deli. Perhaps more people should eat cake.

sonyactivision

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 21:59:22 -0500

Bread riot!

nik13

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 21:55:52 -0500

I buy bread from Amish Market on 9th Ave. What went for 59c costs 99c a year later. I can afford such spike in bread prices, but do feel sorry for people who have to feed their families. "reformulated" cheese? Does it mean Chuck E. Cheese served a real one before? Supermarket stuff always tasted like an artificially flavored, by-product of petroleum industry. Why does Food Emporium on 42nd & 9th sell bread imported from Canada? Why it cannot be made locally in NY, NJ or PA? Guaranteed local jobs and fresher goods w/o higher shipping costs.

Pharmer

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 21:13:10 -0500

Also, speaking of shrinking portions. Did you notice that the 1.75 gallon of ice cream shrunk to 1.5 gallon? That stuff's mostly made of air too.

Pharmer

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 21:11:01 -0500

Pizza's gotten too expensive for me. The average has to be around $2.25 a slice now. At least we haven't gotten to the point where ramen's too expensive.

JenChungsBra

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 20:39:07 -0500

Good Enough to Wait