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Why Chinatown Produce Is Cheap (2016)

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Re: Why Chinatown Produce Is Cheap (2016)

#351

Post by secstate »

nommm-nommm wrote: post #274
secstate wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dunno. Sample size may have something to do with this. I live in a rural section of the US now, but spent a year living in Eastern provincial France and the difference in the cheese case makes me cry when I think about it. Americans stock their shelves with "swiss" "american" "jack" and "cheddar" with almost all of them being made in about a week in cheese factory somewhere. Contrast that with having TWO versions o…

Every contemporary grocery store I've been to in the Northeast US has an artisanal cheese section... And I don't even live in a big city. It's not mixed in the with the "normal" cheeses though. My grocery store makes mozzarella in house too.

Yeah, most of the grocery stores in my corner of Maine have an artisanal cheese section too. But they wrap them all in plastic wrap and the inventory doesn't turn over so it all tastes like crap.

Plus, if you look at the labels, half of the cheeses that are presented as artisanal are actually made by a cheese factory in southern Wisconsin.

All that said, there are a number of folks making brilliant local cheeses in Vermont and Upstate NY, but I find those at the boutique cheese store on the coast, and even their employees often don't know anything about what they're selling. Not sure who's fault that is though.

Either way, I miss France and not just for the cheese. Gastronomically it was simply easier to find high quality produce and AOC protected regional delicacies. And that's not saying they don't have crap too (oh, I remember Lidl), but there was a sense of cultural pride around certain foods that is simply absent in the US outside of hipsters in Vermont and California (which I am mostly likely a part of).

Re: Why Chinatown Produce Is Cheap (2016)

#352

Post by smallnamespace »

hutzlibu wrote: post #339
mikekchar wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't really like getting into political arguments, but I'd like to point out that the US is not really that much more forward looking than other nations wrt fishery conservation. They, after all, increased quotas for pacific salmon fishing that decimated the Canadian fisheries for years. Why? In retaliation for the unsustainable Canadian softwood lumber prices (that were shutting down all the US mills). It's polit…

"Look at all the cheap fish in the super market. If it was really getting scarce, then there would be no fish there. " But it sounds very logical, so why is this not true?

Because the fish can't be stored very economically once you harvest them, the cheapness of fish now is due to overfishing, and directly contributes to future scarcity.

Strangely, the best place to 'store' fish is right in the ocean, and for an overly harvested fishery, you even get paid interest for it.

Re: Why Chinatown Produce Is Cheap (2016)

#353

Post by batushka »

sotojuan wrote: post #3

The amount of secret networks and deals Chinese/Chinese Americans pull off is astounding. I don't mean that in a negative way, I'm mostly impressed (I live near Brooklyn's Chinatown).

Although for Chinese dollar is the King, they form deep communities to aid each other in trade and are loyal. One interesting example of strong communities - I have newer seen a Chinese beggar in Europe, but a lot from neighboring and other countries.

Re: Why Chinatown Produce Is Cheap (2016)

#354

Post by AllenKids »

tn135 wrote: post #66

As a fish loving Indian, I was totally surprised to see that in Capitalist America the choice of fish was absolutely pathetic. At American fish places you only get "shrimps" may be "large shrimps" and "small shrimps". Salmon, Bass, Red Snapper and just few handful of usual fish. My small village fish market offers at least 20 varieties of fish in India's coastal region. A proper fish market would offer at least 100.…

Yup, as a Chinese I find seafood selection in your typical US supermarket borderline offensive if not so pathetic.

In China even a small city with 400000 population (that is small in China, don't argue.) located 1000 miles from sea would at least have fresh clams and a few live sea fish in watertanks at walmart.

In America all you average consumers buy are vacuum-sealed squares of bland fillet.

Re: Why Chinatown Produce Is Cheap (2016)

#355

Post by mwfunk »

tn135 wrote: post #66

As a fish loving Indian, I was totally surprised to see that in Capitalist America the choice of fish was absolutely pathetic. At American fish places you only get "shrimps" may be "large shrimps" and "small shrimps". Salmon, Bass, Red Snapper and just few handful of usual fish. My small village fish market offers at least 20 varieties of fish in India's coastal region. A proper fish market would offer at least 100.…

I bet if I went to India and complained about how pathetic the local hamburger places were, you might wonder about my maturity/worldliness/naivete/etc. You might also rightfully wonder why I was so intent on looking for hamburgers (or Chinese-American food, or Texas barbecue, or whatever) in India, when there are so many other food choices to explore. Every place you go in the world is going to be lacking in some things you took for granted at home, replaced by many other things that are new to you. This is a good thing, not something to complain about, and certainly not something to insult another country over.

Re: Why Chinatown Produce Is Cheap (2016)

#356

Post by kikimaru »

briandear wrote: post #164
mncharity wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not just fish. A staple of graduate student conversation is "Food X was a favorite of mine at home, but" "I can't find it in Boston" or "the American version is a bad tasteless joke". One issue is lag - the American general food supply diversifies more slowly than the population. Another issue is corporate consolidation of the food supply chain. For example, New England used to have a lot of small confectionery…

Mexican food was a favorite of mine in the United States, but in France it tastes like cardboard. I want to find but France doesn't sell it. This conversation can be had in literally any country in the world. Can't find a decent cheeseburger in Delhi, can't find decent cheese in Shanghai, nearly impossible to find good tequila in Germany. Every country has foods they're good at and foods they're not. As far as the de…

To be fair, you probably can't get a good burger in Delhi because of the Hindus.

Re: Why Chinatown Produce Is Cheap (2016)

#357

Post by lackbeard »

imesh wrote: post #317
Nomentatus wrote: post #288

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fish isn't complete protein for humans, you will starve if it's literally your only protein (no wheat, lentils, etc.)

Umm... How did Polynesians survive with their fish filled lentil free diet? I guess greens? I think your info is wrong.

Polynesians ate pig. They took pigs with them wherever they went. (Yes, even on long ocean voyages.)

I'm not arguing for or against the quality of fish protein, just pointing out Polynesians had pigs...

Re: Why Chinatown Produce Is Cheap (2016)

#358

Post by simooooo »

mwfunk wrote: post #355
tn135 wrote: post #66

As a fish loving Indian, I was totally surprised to see that in Capitalist America the choice of fish was absolutely pathetic. At American fish places you only get "shrimps" may be "large shrimps" and "small shrimps". Salmon, Bass, Red Snapper and just few handful of usual fish. My small village fish market offers at least 20 varieties of fish in India's coastal region. A proper fish market would offer at least 100.…

I bet if I went to India and complained about how pathetic the local hamburger places were, you might wonder about my maturity/worldliness/naivete/etc. You might also rightfully wonder why I was so intent on looking for hamburgers (or Chinese-American food, or Texas barbecue, or whatever) in India, when there are so many other food choices to explore. Every place you go in the world is going to be lacking in some thi…

This county was shit! It didn't have pond hockey?

Re: Why Chinatown Produce Is Cheap (2016)

#359

Post by pkroll »

engx wrote: post #213
ams6110 wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Americans have also been scared away from eating a lot of fish over fears of mercury and PCB contamination. America is also a big place. Fresh fish spoils quickly. So no, you won't see a lot of selection at a midwestern supermarket. If you're near a coast, the selection and number of specialty seafood shops is a lot better.

I'm not directly responding to your comment but some of the best sushi chefs use fish that was frozen. And this says all sushi served in the US has to be freezed to kill any bacteria- https://mobile.nytimes.com/2004/04/08/nyregion/sushi-fresh-f...

Frozen to kill parasites, not bacteria.

Re: Why Chinatown Produce Is Cheap (2016)

#360

Post by vram22 »

pm90 wrote: post #73

One thing this article doesn't assert too strongly is simply that many western supermarkets just don't have veggies that are quite common in other countries. e.g. Gherkins is quite common in India (fresh ones, not the pickled variety), tender young Okra (without the coarse threads that make it hard to chew) and something which is apparently called "Chinese Green Beans" but which is pretty commonly used in my native c…

>Gherkins is quite common in India (fresh ones, not the pickled variety),

I've rarely seen fresh gherkins in India. Which cities do you mean? Pickled ones are available in shops though.

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