I have spent a lot of time buying food – it’s something I adore. I don’t mind spending 2 or 3 hours shopping for a single meal when I have the time (less and less these days). I thought I had a pretty good idea of the lay of the land, so to speak. I was shocked to learn something new this week that I should have learned long ago.
Before the big reveal of my epicurean epiphany, perhaps you would like a chance to raise yourself to the challenge and test your own savvy. Here’s your chance:
What is the most expensive food you can buy in the grocery store (pound for pound of course)?
I would have had many guesses and I’m sure it’s different from grocery store to grocery store. I would have guessed items like Wagyu beef (at around $80 per pound) would have been in the running – and it’s not even close.
I was surprised to see something retailing for $363.20/ kilogram ($164/ pound). Would you pay that much for food? What type of decadence would you expect to get for that price?
I was shocked to realize the price. I was even more surprised to realize I have bought it before.
A jar of Oregano ($3.62 per jar) is the culprit. I knew that the dried herb was expensive in a jar but hadn’t realized just how little of the light flakes were contained inside. The jar was a meager 10 grams. I knew the price was high – I didn’t realize the weight was so low.
To contrast this price, I also found oregano for $12.90 per kilogram, in bulk. I bought 25 grams for 32 cents – the cost for 10 grams would have been 13 cents. What makes this even more confounding is that the bulk version was in the same store as the more expensive alternative.
There is a point to say that cheapest and best dried herbs can be made affordable at home (even in a condo) – there are only so many projects that one can take on at the end of the day.
Paprika was $53/kilo in jars and $11 in bulk. Pepper was $58 compared to $8.80. Mustard seeds were $5 compared to $22. Salt was 50% off in the bulk version.
To put Oregano in perspective, imagine lining up for a happy meal and having two options:
- Happy Meal served on a plate, $5.50.
- Happy Meal in a custom bag, $154.47
And keep in mind, both prices are the same Happy meal.
I would love to be in position to grow and dry all of my own herbs – in the mean time I’ll stick to reading prices more carefully.
I love buying in bulk especially when I only need a tiny bit of something and refuse to spend the money on some gargantua prepacked container of what I know will be a wasted product in my house.
These are a couple of sites that have some interesting information on it:
http://www.bulkisgreen.org/
http://www.discoverbulk.com/
Buying bulk rocks…..and saves money for important things like dog toys!!!!
i love buying bulk too. not to mention, who wants to create more waste packaging?
speaking of herbs, i am on a mission this year to GROW some in bulk. let’s see how that pans out.
When you two come visit, we will let you loose int he herb garden! And the glasshouse too…
I saw bay leaves in bulk for pennies for a huge bag.. but when they stuff them into little Clubhouse bottles, they charge $3 for 15 leaves.
Go figure
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