Covid-19 Discussions and Stories

[Italiancook]

Thanks, chocomouse, for the KAF information. As a person who lives in a far-flung area, it's helpful to understand how the process works when flour is so scarce. I forgot to ask, am I the only one who didn't know that KAF make organic flour?

BakerAunt, I can't recall where you posted about the delay in your KAF order, but somewhere on their website I read that because of Covid, deliveries will be delayed 2-4 weeks. Hope that info helps you plan.

[aaronatthedoublef]

In January I started working for a supply chain company. It is amazing how fragile they are and how little slack there is. I remember when Just In Time started and inventory was seen as wasteful bloat. I am not smart enough to know how this will affect things in the future.

[BakerAunt]

What surprised me on that January order was that the jar of maple sugar came from the south, not from Vermont.

[chocomouse]

BakerAunt, I don't know where KAF gets their maple syrup/sugar; I know they don't process it. There is a large processing company near here, in NH, and one just over the border in MA, and they both sell a lot of syrup to "commercial" entities, who bottle it or further process it and package it with their own labels. I'll ask around.

[aaronatthedoublef]

If I've told you all this before, my apologies. When we lived outside of Los Angeles we were less than half an hour from huge fruit and vegetable farms. But all the produce in the store was crap. The stuff in stores was trucked to warehouses in Texas where it was packaged and distributed all over the country. Labor and space were way less expensive. We found farmers' markets and the produce there was from the same farms but was so much better and sometimes, less expensive. When they were in season we would buy huge flats of beautiful strawberries for less than we pay for a quart here. And they wouldn't sell us less than a flat despite the fact that there were only two of us.

A chef friend started going to the docks to pick up seafood because even though he was buying local fish it was being sent offshore to be processed and then shipped back to the US.

So your maple sugar may have come from the VT (who knows) and shipped south because there is a lot of sugar processing that happens there... I've seen imported pineapples and coconuts in Hawaii because it was way less expensive to grow them some place else where land and water are not at a premium.

[Mike Nolan]

There isn't much pineapple grown in Hawaii any more. The land is too valuable. Sugar cane is also almost non-existent.

[Italiancook]

If you posted that information before, Aaron, I didn't see it. Thanks for educating us.

[BakerAunt]

Aaron--That explains our experiences in Florida when we visited in late January and early February. Although fresh produce, especially strawberries were being processed, the stuff in the store was as lousy as what we would have gotten back in Indiana. The avocados were from Mexico. There was a citrus outlet that had fresh citrus, but no farmers market nearby.

I remember Westwood having farmers markets when I was a graduate student, or maybe it was after I'd finished my degree. I cam home with the most beautiful flat of strawberries, and they were as delicious as they looked.

Your explanation of the processing leaves me shaking my head at what is done in the name of cost saving and efficiency.

[Mike Nolan]

There was a story in the WSJ the other day about how Coronavirus is affecting the EU's agricultural/food structure. Right now it is common for pigs to be bred in Holland, sent to Poland for fattening, then shipped to Germany for processing. Produce often goes through similarly complicated channels.

[kimbob]

I went to stopnshop this morning since I haven't shopped in a month (and I don't want to go for another month!!). Wearing that mask is suffocating and fogs up my glasses, but gotta wear it. I went in and over to the lunch meat display and a woman there asked if she was in my way. I said no, no, you're fine, thanks. Then she said 'I know you. How are you!?'. I said 'great. How r u?!'. I have no idea who she was. We all look like bandits. Lol. I worked 6 yrs at our town library so I see a lot of patrons in town and know who most of them are even with the mask on. But this nice lady, no idea. It's a strange new world.

[BakerAunt]

Kimbob--Sometimes it's nice to have an excuse for not knowing someone's name. 🙂

[Mike Nolan]

I long ago stopped worrying about remembering people's names. My father-in-law was one of those people who remembered everyone, I'm not.

[Italiancook]

I'm feeling nostalgic for pre-Covid days. I miss baking and cooking for other people. I know some of you have baked for others during this crisis, but I don't feel comfortable doing that. Without testing, I can't be certain I'm not a carrier. I don't think I am, but who knows. I also miss having people in my home for meals. I wouldn't feel comfortable with people in my home, in case one of them would be an asymptomatic carrier, and I wouldn't want to risk them with my presence, in case I am. What I miss most is baking for others. There's only so much baking I'm willing to do for us, since we're the only ones eating it! I don't want to have to talk about Covid weight.

[Mike Nolan]

Lockdown fatigue is fairly well-documented. But since my wife and I are both in several high-risk categories, we're staying put as much as possible. I telecommuted for a quite a few years before retiring, my wife is working from home and has several online conferences every week. We both took an online class Tuesday. But online meetings aren't the same thing as face-to-face contact.

[kimbob]

Italian cook, I'm with you about baking for people. I would bring goodies to the library alot but they're closed and I don't feel comfortable giving stuff to the neighbors, either. That's why I've been doing a little small batch baking or freezing some of the cookie dough from a regular batch. I'm going through baking withdrawal!
As far as remembering names, Bakeraunt, you're right. Lol

[Author]

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