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Why Chinatown Produce Is Cheap (2016)

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Re: Why Chinatown Produce Is Cheap (2016)

#241

Post by vram22 »

alasdair_ wrote: post #162
vram22 wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting. Due to commercialization? Possible some of the same is happening in India on some fronts, food or other, not studied it, just anecdotal, hence asking.

Perhaps. For example, if you visit a supermarket in the UK or the USA at any time of the year, you can always find, say, fresh strawberries, despite the fruit only being locally in season for a month or two. There is very little genuinely "seasonal" produce, meat or fish in supermarkets and I think that this is a major factor in the lack of variety. Out of interest, if you went to an Indian market every three months,…

There are different kinds of markets in India - small mom-and-pop stores (kirana stores), wholesale markets (mandis) - but individual consumers often buy there too, because prices are lower, and malls / supermarkets like in the West (from the last decade or two). India is also big and not homogeneous. So I can't give a general answer, only about what I know:

- first, fish, as has been said about the US in this thread, is not eaten much inland (though some fresh-water fish is), due to distances and heat and spoiling, and while India has a large coast, it has an even larger interior.

- second, I doubt there are even close to 100 varieties of fish available (in markets) at the coasts, maybe 20 to 40; those who know more, feel free to correct me, I don't live near the coast (though did long ago), and don't eat fish.

- third, I don't think that in any of the types of markets, I mentioned, all the same varieties would be available all year round (and kiranas don't sell fish or meat at all, except some may, but only tinned). It is a mix of some staples and some seasonal items.

Re: Why Chinatown Produce Is Cheap (2016)

#242

Post by justinator »

simonh wrote: post #141
davidw wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US is a pretty wealthy place. I lived in Italy for something like 15 years, and people there eat a lot of fish too, of varying kinds. By and large, they do not have as much money as people do in the US. If it were only about efficiency, you'd probably just eat beans and rice, day in and day out, with a bit of this and that thrown in. Edit: BTW, this book has some interesting ideas about the US and food: http://am…

France is much the same, people there seem to spend a much bigger proportion if their disposable income on food than here in the UK.

French companies often offset the price of the largest meal of the day via restaurant vouchers. The meal is that important to them. I wouldn't cover that under, "disposable income", exactly.

Re: Why Chinatown Produce Is Cheap (2016)

#243

Post by benwilber0 »

mistermann wrote: post #80
paulddraper wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Markets also cut costs by eschewing extra technology and certain aesthetic choices—the Journal points out that shelves “are typically made of plywood and lined with newsprint,” prices are scrawled on cardboard instead of printed on stickers, and credit cards are not always accepted. Some people don't want to buy food with cardboard signs and cash. Hell, I've heard California even has people who are fans of convenie…

> Some people don't want to buy food with cardboard signs and cash. Gee, I wonder why do you have to pay with cash....that might be one contributing factor why prices can't be matched by mainstream retailers.

I don't get the aversion to cash. I prefer that my bank and credit card company not know literally everything I buy, no matter how mundane or innocuous.

It's nice to buy a pack of cigarettes with cash and not worry that my health insurance company is going to somehow find out.

Re: Why Chinatown Produce Is Cheap (2016)

#244

Post by munchbunny »

derwiki wrote: post #89
metaphorm wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Lastly, Chinese people love raw seafood - sushi, oysters, etc. Which Chinese people? There are approximately zero sushi restaurants in Manhattan Chinatown. There are a whole bunch of sushi restaurants in adjacent SoHo, which is filled with non-Chinese yuppies. anecdotal: took my Chinese co-worker to The Pokespot takeout for lunch and he immediately turned around and went somewhere else when he saw that the menu con…

China is not Chinatown, and I think your sample size is a bit small considering how many Chinese exist.

Indeed, Chinatown is often more like Americanized-Cantonese-Town. When it comes to cooking traditional Chinese foods from cuisines outside the Guangdong (Canton) area, you often have to source more widely for seasonings, ingredients, and sauces (the internet helps with that a lot). It's better in major cities where there's some degree of specialization among Chinese grocery stores, in which case you just need to be willing to search a bit for the more region-specific ingredients.

Re: Why Chinatown Produce Is Cheap (2016)

#245

Post by vram22 »

vram22 wrote: post #241
alasdair_ wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps. For example, if you visit a supermarket in the UK or the USA at any time of the year, you can always find, say, fresh strawberries, despite the fruit only being locally in season for a month or two. There is very little genuinely "seasonal" produce, meat or fish in supermarkets and I think that this is a major factor in the lack of variety. Out of interest, if you went to an Indian market every three months,…

There are different kinds of markets in India - small mom-and-pop stores (kirana stores), wholesale markets (mandis) - but individual consumers often buy there too, because prices are lower, and malls / supermarkets like in the West (from the last decade or two). India is also big and not homogeneous. So I can't give a general answer, only about what I know: - first, fish, as has been said about the US in this thread…

>I doubt there are even close to 100 varieties of fish available (in markets) at the coasts, maybe 20 to 40

E.g. I've visited Goa (a coastal state) a few times, and at least at the beach restaurants / shacks, where they lay out the fish and other seafood varieties for inspection by customers, I don't remember seeing more than 20 or so items - kingfish, mackerel, red snapper, pomfret, crabs, a couple of types / sizes of prawns, squid, shark, that's almost it. One place that I went to a few times, had seafood special nights (the owner fished as a hobby), where there were a few more kinds, like barracuda, tuna, mussels, etc. These were in general touristy areas though. Local markets and restaurants may have more varieties.

Re: Why Chinatown Produce Is Cheap (2016)

#246

Post by mmanfrin »

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.…

   totally surprised to see that in Capitalist America the 
  choice of fish was absolutely pathetic
followed by

  Then I entered 99Ranch and since then my respect of my 
  eastern neighbours has gone up significantly
Because a supermarket founded in California is not part of America?

Not to mention the fact that the antecedent statement is just factually wrong -- my local grocer offers at least 20 varieties of fish as well (including about 5 or 6 different Salmons) and is a plain-as-day "American" market.

Re: Why Chinatown Produce Is Cheap (2016)

#247

Post by mauvehaus »

kuschku wrote: post #222
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That used to be harder than it is today. The one thing I could never get in china, however, was western style sausage. They just don't make it anywhere in china, so overly frozen imports are the only option.

There’s one type of western sausage you can get everywhere, globally, easily. Volkswagen Replacement Part # 199 398 500 A That’s VW’s own self-produced currywurst (in the past also from VW’s own farms, now they outsource that part of the production chain): https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen-Currywurst

The fact that Volkswagen sells currywurst delights me, and the fact that they sold more sausages than cars in 2015[0] makes my day.

If you weren't already aware of it, I hope you are similarly charmed by the fact that Lego is the worlds largest manufacturer of tires[1].

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go call my local auto parts store.

[0] http://www.autoblog.com/2016/02/19/volkswagen-sausage-curryw... [1] http://www.autoblog.com/2012/04/08/lego-worlds-largest-tire-...

Re: Why Chinatown Produce Is Cheap (2016)

#248

Post by Alupis »

davidw wrote: post #231
ams6110 wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The point is, in the US most seafood at the store is at least $15/lb. Beef (depending on cuts) is as little as $3/lb. Chicken and pork are typically cheaper than beef.

Good steaks are more expensive than chuck, too. And yet people consume both.

Few people eat steaks every night, let alone good cuts of steak.

Re: Why Chinatown Produce Is Cheap (2016)

#249

Post by purity_resigns »

lacampbell wrote: post #135

Amazing how they manage to stay so cheap while hiring people at at least minimum wage, with valid work contracts, while paying all relevant taxes and not having any ethnically discriminatory hiring practices. That's the real miracle.

Does the article handle ethnically discriminatory hiring practices? Neither "Divers-" and "ethnic"show up in the article, and if it's like Boston's Chinatown, workers are overwhelmingly Chinese.

Re: Why Chinatown Produce Is Cheap (2016)

#250

Post by vram22 »

CPLX wrote: post #183
look_lookatme wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For whatever reason Americans just don't eat a lot of seafood. This is why the choices are so bad in "Capitalist America" -- there's not enough demand. It's literally capitalism at work. Some theorize that this is due to American's avoiding flavor in general [1]. http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/07/01/327248504/the...

The largest national/ethnic group contributing to the American population is German, followed by the British Isles/Ireland, none of which are known for a heavily seafood based culinary tradition. Could be relevant as well.

>The largest national/ethnic group contributing to the American population is German, followed by the British Isles/Ireland

I would have thought people from the British Isles were the largest group, based on what I've read about America, the Pilgrims, etc. Is that wrong?

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