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What to Do With 50 Pounds of Potatoes? The Quandaries of Bulk Buying
The pandemic has turned many cooks into big-volume shoppers, and left them puzzling out how to manage a bursting pantry of ingredients.
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But every store she visited in Portland, Ore., was out of flour and other staples, so last month she ended up at a retail website, Nuts.com. Carried away by the sites bounty of options and its $79 minimum order for free shipping, she bought 20 pounds of beans, rice, flour and seeds far more than she has any idea what to do with.
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It is just completely absurd, said Ms. Mann, 28, who lives alone. She has been eating lupini beans every day, and thinks she could subsist on just those for another month. I have enough dry goods to last me through another quarantine.
Among those who are privileged enough to afford buying in volume, the pandemic has suddenly spawned a new population of bulk shoppers.
Theyre stocking up on foods they never thought theyd need in large amounts. Theyre experiencing the simultaneous bouts of stress and satisfaction that come with buying and storing so much food, and trying not to waste any. Theyre changing how they cook, diligently planning meals to use up all those ingredients like, say, 50 pounds of potatoes.
Matt Bochneak bought the bag of potatoes from a restaurant supply store in Portland because it cost only $20, and he wanted some peace of mind as store shelves emptied. But he feels overwhelmed by the sheer volume.
Theres no way I could eat 50 pounds of potatoes, Mr. Bochneak, 42, said. He grilled a few of them, and had plans to make gnocchi but the potatoes turned out to be the wrong type.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/11/dining/bulk-food-buying-coronavirus.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage
PoindexterOglethorpe
(25,895 posts)Some things will keep a decently long time. Not potatoes.
SheltieLover
(57,073 posts)😊
FarPoint
(12,437 posts)Very hard to find... lot's of price gouging with this brand ..An excellent flour.
cutroot
(876 posts)It was so cheap that I Could not say no. Still working on it
CentralMass
(15,265 posts)Last edited Mon May 11, 2020, 09:03 PM - Edit history (1)
https://milehidistilling.com/how-to-make-vodka/TexasTowelie
(112,417 posts)crickets
(25,983 posts)Throckmorton
(3,579 posts)We are no longer able to meet our visitors needs due to massive uptick in demand. We went from 80 visiting families per week in February to 192 per week last week.
cayugafalls
(5,643 posts)Flour can also be put in the freezer. Most people don't have the freezer space though.
Bake bread and give it to friends.
Retrograde
(10,156 posts)There was an incident in the Midwest about 5 years ago where a number of people were fatally poisoned at a church supper. The source of the botulism turned out to be home canned potatoes.
It can be done, but every direction I found requires a pressure canner.
Making a humongous batch of potato pancakes and freezing those might be a better solution - if one has the space.
cayugafalls
(5,643 posts)Mariana
(14,860 posts)However, it is no more tricky than canning anything else. If it's done correctly, the food will be safe.
CanonRay
(14,113 posts)Drahthaardogs
(6,843 posts)Mom is from Piedmont. I am pretty Zen about gnocchi. They must be light as a feather or not worth the trouble. No eggs either unless you like dense gnocchi.
essaynnc
(801 posts)NickB79
(19,258 posts)I make a dehydrated potato soup in a jar mix every fall from my gardens. Potatoes, carrots, onions, peas, zucchini, celery and peppers, all dehydrated in sealed mason jars. Pour into a pot of boiling water and chicken broth, add some diced bacon, a can of cream of chicken soup, and viola! Good stuff.
GaYellowDawg
(4,449 posts)Frozen french fries for any occasion.
librechik
(30,676 posts)Give half to the food bank, and freeze half.
GaYellowDawg
(4,449 posts)Flaleftist
(3,473 posts)Freeze some whole for baking, cut some into chunks to make mashed potatoes and cut some into fries.
alittlelark
(18,890 posts)Better to slice and dry them.
SMC22307
(8,090 posts)EllieBC
(3,041 posts)Simple and yummy.