"grocery guy" news and stories

One of my favorite books when I was a kid was "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn." In the beginning of the book, the main character Francie is sent to the butcher shop to buy $.10 worth of ground beef for her family's Saturday night dinner. Her mother insists that she have the butcher grind it in front of her instead of buying it off the plate, because you never know what might be in your meat if you buy it pre-ground.

I remember reading that section back in the day and thinking how nice it was that ground meat is so safe and available so that people didn't have to worry about it anymore. I went on thinking that way until Tuesday, when I read this post by the Grocery Guy. Apparently mass market ground beef isn't nearly as safe and clean as we think it is. The Grocery Guy stresses that it is important that you know and trust the people who make your ground beef, which is not always an easy thing in this day and age (especially if you tend to shop at large, chain supermarkets). He says that if you don't know your butcher that you should grind your own (and gives tips on how to go about doing just that). It's an interesting read and will definitely make you think about ground beef more critically (if you are still among the number who eat the stuff. Personally, I have a very hard time resisting a good hamburger).

Source

Because of my post yesterday about my new knives, I got pointed (thanks André) in the direction of Grocery Guy's blog and his video on the best way to sharpen a knife at home. He offers some fantastic advice and makes the process of sharpening your steel easy to understand. Sharpening your knives at home is initially a bit of a time commitment, but is worth the effort because having good tools makes your time in the kitchen better spent. Oh, and the story of his quest to acquire the Jesus knife is worth the read. It makes me regret not buying myself a vegetable slicer or two when I was in Hong Kong six years ago.