Eggs By the Numbers by Buck Reed As popular as eggs are, each person in the United States eats about 270 per year. That still adds up to a $10 billion a year business that employs 125,000 full-time employees. That is certainly something to crow about. As far as purchasing eggs for you and your…

by Buck Reed Chili Nation The exact origins of chili are muddled at best. The only sure thing is that it is an American dish that is only made in Mexico for tourists. In most Mexican culture, chili con carne is considered a vile dish served and eaten in the United States, from California to…

The Supermarket Gourmet by Buck Reed What is cheating exactly? In life, we are taught not to drive on the shoulder to avoid a traffic jam. But who is to say that you shouldn’t do that? Why can’t we just ignore the rules, throw caution to the wind, and just save ourselves some time and…

The Supermarket Gourmet by Buck Reed From the time Homo erectus placed his mastodon rib over the fire he had just invented, we have been experimenting with how to cook in the pursuit of the perfect meal. This is not the search for the perfect tasting meal, but the best way to produce the perfect…

by Buck Reed In last month’s article, I used the term “throwing tricks.” This in no way made me popular with my colleagues in the food service industry and may have confused a few of the many fans of The Supermarket Gourmet. So, I wanted to take a moment to express my absolute respect for…

Buck Reed Buy the Book Even though trends indicate that less people are cooking at home these days, cookbook sales are climbing almost every year by 3-6 percent. Who is buying cookbooks? Not surprisingly, over 60 percent are bought by women, of which most are college educated. According to my wife, the other 23 percent…

It’s An Ingredient, Not a Snack Unless you are lactose intolerant, I think we can all agree butter is a pretty great thing. Not only can it be argued that it is better for you than margarine, but it enhances most anything you add it to. Mashed potatoes need butter. Hot biscuits need butter. But…

Buck Reed, The Supermarket Gourmet As far as food celebrations go, Thanksgiving takes the spotlight for not only the month of November, but quite possibly the whole year. Let’s face it, if food were a sport, then that one Thursday in November would be the Super Bowl, World Series, and Stanley Cup, all rolled into…

Buck Reed, The Supermarket Gourmet “Season to taste.” In the world of culinary arts, this might seem like a small sentence, but in the kitchen this can be a big concept. Say “season to taste” to the wrong student and the fear in his or her eyes grows faster than the line at a Vegas…

Buck Reed, The Supermarket Gourmet Just like every other month, June is filled with national and international food recognitions. Some make sense and others were clearly conceived by some advertising agent hoping to make a fast buck. Here are a few. June is National Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month. This makes sense because this is…

Buck Reed, the Supermarket Gourmet Cranberries come from the family of Ericaceae, which is described as an evergreen dwarf. They are cultivated from October until December, which probably explains their popularity during the holiday season. Cranberries are a great source of vitamin C, vitamin A, B-carotene, lutein, zea-xanthin, folate, potassium, and manganese. Studies have shown…