Sandra Lee's New FoodNetwork Show

[BreezyCooking]

(((((Applause)))))



Lee is fond of making "untrue food declarations" like the one about sliced mushrooms. Let me tell you where sliced mushrooms originate, Sandra. They are what's left after an employee of either the supermarket or the mushroom grower cuts off the ROTTEN pieces of mushrooms that were likely returned when they went past their date. So let's review. You're paying MORE for shrooms that are likely OLDER than the fresh, whole ones.


"chiffonade."

What an absolute totally inaccurate piece of "you-know-what" information. First & foremost, packaged sliced mushrooms AREN'T SLICED AT THE STORE (or the farm) FROM ROTTING PRODUCE. Good grief. They're commercially sliced & packaged FROM FRESH MUSHROOMS before being shipped to the stores.

Once AGAIN: I frequently purchase GORGEOUS FRESH PRISTINE sliced white button, cremini, portobello, & sometimes even shitake mushrooms that are not only the EXACT SAME PRICE as whole mushrooms, but are excellent quality, NOT rotten, & not treated with anything. I can purchase these sliced mushrooms at ANY of our local markets - WalMart, Giant, Safeway, Food Lion, etc., etc., etc. Virtually every single supermarket within driving distance.

I'm sorry that you're so bitter about what must be your own sad local store selections, but please don't imply that pre-sliced mushrooms are a horrible unhealthy overpriced choice to everyone across the board. Because, frankly, it's simply not true in any way, shape, or form.

I'm sorry, but it really burns me when people post generalizations that are so very obviously untrue & may sway folks away from an excellent product.

 

[Wyogal]

Sometimes I get the sliced mushrooms on sale as they don't seem to have as long a shelf life. When they are getting a little brown, they have a more pronounced flavor, great for cooking.

 

[chefkathleen]

That's the same with me Breezy. I have always had a good product when buying pre-sliced. And I have used the different varieties as well and all have been perfect.

 

[chiffonade]

What an absolute totally inaccurate piece of "you-know-what" information. First & foremost, packaged sliced mushrooms AREN'T SLICED AT THE STORE (or the farm) FROM ROTTING PRODUCE. Good grief. They're commercially sliced & packaged FROM FRESH MUSHROOMS before being shipped to the stores.

Once AGAIN: I frequently purchase GORGEOUS FRESH PRISTINE sliced white button, cremini, portobello, & sometimes even shitake mushrooms that are not only the EXACT SAME PRICE as whole mushrooms, but are excellent quality, NOT rotten, & not treated with anything. I can purchase these sliced mushrooms at ANY of our local markets - WalMart, Giant, Safeway, Food Lion, etc., etc., etc. Virtually every single supermarket within driving distance.

I'm sorry that you're so bitter about what must be your own sad local store selections, but please don't imply that pre-sliced mushrooms are a horrible unhealthy overpriced choice to everyone across the board. Because, frankly, it's simply not true in any way, shape, or form.

I'm sorry, but it really burns me when people post generalizations that are so very obviously untrue & may sway folks away from an excellent product.

I am not generalizing and I am speaking of inside information. When I ran my little restaurant in Colorado, my purveyor shared this info with me - amongst others. Where do you think pre-made chocolate milk comes from? Returned milk that is re-processed and mixed with chocolate, then shipped to stores at (you guessed it) a higher price.

Hey, if you want to buy pre-sliced mushrooms, be my guest. ANYTHING is better than canned and if you need to take that short cut due to time constraints - no problem.

However, it's a known fact that those "assembled" packages of produce - assembled by the particular supermarket - are veggies trimmed of blemishes. I've never seen a package of sliced mushrooms that looked as firm and fresh as whole shrooms. This is hardly new information among those in professional circles. I've known too many people who work behind the scenes to operate any other way. If you want the freshest produce, buy whole whenever possible.

Finally, a gem from my father... to paraphrase: If you had a perfect mushroom, would you slice it to sell it??

 

[GB]

Where do you think pre-made chocolate milk comes from? Returned milk that is re-processed and mixed with chocolate, then shipped to stores at (you guessed it) a higher price.

This is simply not true. Pre-made chocolate milk is a very popular product. Do you really think they could sustain their production waiting for returned milk? And if it were part returned and part fresh do you think people would not notice that sometimes the milk is good and sometimes the milk is bad? Whoever gave you that information was either testing how gullible you are or was just flat out lying to you.

However, it's a known fact that those "assembled" packages of produce - assembled by the particular supermarket - are veggies trimmed of blemishes.

Sorry, but again this is wrong. It is not a known fact just because you say it is so. As others here have said, the pre-cut produce they have bought is as fresh and beautiful and the whole produce they buy.

Finally, a gem from my father... to paraphrase: If you had a perfect mushroom, would you slice it to sell it??

Yes I would if that is what my customers wanted. Why would I not slice it if that is where the demand was?

 

[luvs]

pre-cut veggies usuallly look as appealing, if not more, than regular veggies, cause that 's what a per-cut veggie is- normal!

 

[chiffonade]

Anyone has a right to disagree but don't try to discredit my information. My father worked FOR A DAIRY and like I've said before, I got valuable information AND advice from my purveyor.

Whoever wants to used the sliced stuff, go right ahead. If you want to drink the pre-made chocolate milk in stores, be my guest. I guess you don't want to hear that chicken salad made by supermarkets (not distributed, MADE) is leftover rotisserie chicken and whatever produce needs to be used.

It's funny how different people react to different things. I was so grateful to have the information shared with me by professionals! Like the Italians say, "Sauseech his own."

 

[GB]

Anyone has a right to disagree but don't try to discredit my information.

It's funny how different people react to different things. I was so grateful to have the information shared with me by professionals!

Please do not try to act like you are the only person here who has gotten information from professionals or even are professionals themselves.

 

[chiffonade]

Absolutely not - I know people get information from wherever they get it. I'm sharing what I know to be true. It's been true for years. I keep trying to explain that people can choose to do whatever they want but full disclosure is always nice. If you shop at a supermarket that you trust, you can buy whatever prepared things you like. I choose to process and use the information I've received about prepared products and I avoid them. That's just me.

Geez, I wonder if Anthony Bordain got this much friction when he wrote Kitchen Confidential.

 

[GB]

By saying things like "It is a known fact" and I'm sharing what I know to be true. It's been true for years" you are basically saying that what everyone else is saying is wrong. Feel free to have and share your opinion, but please respect other peoples opinions and understand that just because someone gave you some information that does not mean that others agree with that information or even think it true. You can choose to trust those people. Others will choose to trust the info they have. What is true for one is not necessarily true for another.

Anthony Bordain did not try to tell people that the things he witnessed happened everywhere throughout the industry. He spoke of his experiences and the places he worked and the things he saw. He spoke of first hand knowledge, not second hand or further down the ladder knowledge. If you want to say that the pre-sliced veggies that you have seen in the supermarket are of inferior quality because you have first hand knowledge that they take rotten veggies and cut off the bad parts then go for it. No one would say boo to that. But to claim that this is the industry standard when other people have told you they have experienced otherwise is a bit much don't you think?

 

[BreezyCooking]

Chiffonade - what you know to be true & what actually IS true are two absolutely & completely different animals.

Owning/operating a restaurant & having a father who worked in a dairy does not make you the be-all & end-all of the truth behind the commercial food production/supermarket trade. Nor are the stories your "vendors" told you (probably laughing behind their hands) etched in stone.

None of these supposed "facts" you are touting have any truth to them, & all you are doing is frightening people away from perfectly safe products.

(Oh - & you definitely ain't no Anthony Bourdain, so I wouldn't worry much about that - lol!)

 

[chiffonade]

Sometimes the "behind the scenes" stuff is ugly. There's nothing we can do about that. I didn't make it up. I shared it.

The additional benefit to buying things like whole mushrooms is that you have choices of what you can do with them. If I buy a box of shrooms at Costco, I don't know that I want to cook them all as slices. In certain dishes they're quartered, in some they're stuffed and I've even been known to do a duxelles from time to time.

It's no big deal. If you like to buy sliced mushrooms, by all means, continue to do so. I like to know that it was my knife that exposed the mushroom interior and I just made the freshest possible cut. Vegetables begin to wilt and dry immediately upon being cut. Anyone who reads what I posted earlier is welcome to interpret or discard it as they see fit. It's just good to know such things.

 

[GB]

It is also good to know that your experiences do not speak for others and while you may find pre-cut veggies to be inferior that does not mean that what others are buying is the same and that just because you claim that the mushrooms you have at your store that are pre-cut are made from rotting mushrooms that does not mean that pre-cut mushrooms at someone elses store are the same.

 

[chiffonade]

Look, I don't want to get in the gutter over this. Buy what you like and happy cooking. I think I've navigated through this about as diplomatically as I can. As far as not being "Anthony Bordain" he's no me either.

Cook your sliced mushrooms. Be happy.

 

[chefkathleen]

IIRC Food Lion went out of business because of doing what chiffonade says is industry standard.

 

[GB]

That would lead some to believe that if it put a store out of business that others would not follow suit unless they wanted to suffer the same fate.

 

[Wyogal]

wow, ego!
I just came from the grocery store and the sliced mushrooms looked just as fresh as the whole mushrooms. They were packaged by the same company, the grocery store didn't slice them. The labor that would be required to cut rotten parts off, repackage, re-stock is just not worth it.
Maybe YOUR grocery and YOUR dad's dairy were unethical. It doesn't mean everybody's is. I certainly don't trust anything you have to say after this particular exchange.
(I can just see it, foot stomping, "because I said so!")

 

[chefkathleen]

That would lead some to believe that if it put a store out of business that others would not follow suit unless they wanted to suffer the same fate.

If I remember right the beginning of the end for them came when someone found out, or told on them, for turning their hamburger. When what was showing on the outside started to look a little long in the tooth, they turned it over and refreshed it with a little bit of younger and fresher then repackaged it as new. I think it was also found out that they were doing some other unethical things as well.

 

[BreezyCooking]

IIRC Food Lion went out of business because of doing what chiffonade says is industry standard.

NOT TRUE. Get your facts straight Chefkathleen - Food Lion most decidedly did NOT go out of business at any time by "doing what Chiffonade says is industry standard". Where the heck are you two people getting this totally idiotic nonsense from???? Does anyone bother to check facts these days, or do you just type whatever comes into your heads??? And please don't tell me you know this because you owned/operated a restaurant & your father worked for a dairy - lol!!!

Back in 1994-95, several branches of the Food Lion grocery chain were charged with 1) not promptly removing expired meat products from the shelves, & 2) doctoring labels of expired meat products. It was quite the scandal around here, & the branches & personnel in question were publicized & penalized & Food Lion definitely took a hit, but they did NOT go out of business or even temporarily close down. I can definitively attest to that as I currently have FOUR Food Lions in my immediate area - 2 regular Food Lions & 2 Blooms, which is Food Lion's new upscale store.

I can only hope that the folks who read DC make the effort to do their own research before taking anything anyone states here as fact as the real deal. And I'm certainly not excluding anything I say either.

 

[Andy M.]

First of all, I have eyes and a brain. I can look at vegetables and tell if they are fresh or rotten, regardless of whether or not they are sliced.

"Experts" used to tell you to always buy from the bulk mushroom bin rather than buying prepackaged (whole) mushrooms because you could pick and choose the best ones. However, I have often seen that the pre-packaged mushrooms are fresher, so I buy those. I also believe I can tell a fresh mushroom from a rotten one whether it's sliced or whole.

If old milk is returned to the dairy and chocolate is added, it's still old milk and it's gonna taste and smell bad.

Bottom line is supermarkets bend over backwards to make sure the customer is happy. They take back and give refunds or replacements for food you complain about no questions asked where we shop.

By the way, I don't believe the butter makers make salted butter to use up spoiled cream.