#opticalresearch

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SAY CHEESE: Trader Joe’s ed.

Take 2. Did you say cheese? This time I am at Trader Joe’s. It’s 11 a.m. on a Friday when I enter. I feel a deep sigh of relief when I remember it’s not a peak hour for the store. If you’ve ever been to the Trader Joe’s in West End on a Sunday night, you would know what I’m talking about. I’ve seen the check-out line so long that it starts at the entrance and wraps around the entire store.

Although I’m less familiar with the layout of Trader Joe’s, I still find the block cheese quickly because it is at the front of the store. I walk in and on my left I see a refrigerated area with six long rows (bottom left). The rows are divided into smaller sections that are labeled with different types of cheese. Each individual cheese on sale has smaller label with its name, origin, a small description, and its price per use. At the very bottom of the cheese is the name of the animal or plant that the rennet came from.

I come across one cheese that is labeled as “American” and has the name “Organic Pepper Jack” (bottom right). The description for the cheese is “Great for Nachos or add to any omelet!” and the Rennet is vegetable. Why is there so much glory for good old Pepper Jack? Oh sorry, I meant *Organic* Pepper Jack. I guess Trader Joe’s is trying really hard to make boring cheeses a big deal. Whatever.

Did someone say Manchego again? I see it and get excited for a second. But there’s only one kind, and it’s the 3-month aged. That’s not dry enough for me, so no thank you. Sad selection.

I see more variety in the Gruyère cheese (top right), with one that is aged 6 months, another that is cave-aged, and another that is “raw milk.” The “raw milk” Gruyère has a description of “from Switzerland! Produced in a small village. Slightly Nutty.” The description for the cave-aged type is instead focused on its pairing suggestions- “great with quiche, apples, or Pinot Grigio.”

I try looking at the overall layout of the cheeses to see if I can notice a certain pattern. It seems as though cheeses from the same region are all on the same row. One row has all the Swiss cheeses, while the row below it has all the American cheeses. There is also a row dedicated to all the different types of Goat cheeses, such as Goat Brie and Goat’s Milk Gouda. I couldn’t find a pattern related to prices on the rows, as cheeses priced at $2.99 and $9.99 were right next to each other. Above the cheese display, I see a painting (top left) that has the words “Trader Joes Table Since 1967.” I don’t think that the painting has to do with the cheeses specifically, and that instead it refers to the entirety of the fresh food in that part of the store.

I then walk around the rest of the store to see if there are other places with block cheese. I can’t find anything else. I also didn’t find any pairings for the cheeses at first, but I looked to the right and noticed that the cracker aisle directly faces the cheeses. Classic marketing.

While at the cheese display, I notice two women shopping. One was a younger woman who went straight for the gruyère as if she knew exactly where it was. The second woman appeared to be older, and it was hard to tell if she was looking for a specific type of cheese, but she was spending a lot of time reading each of the labels. I didn’t see her actually choose a cheese at the end.

The only two people I saw were women. So, does feminism have anything to do with cheese? Just kidding. Save your smiles until my next round of “say cheese!”

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Spice Up Your Life, It’s Good For You

Ah, spices… They can give depth to any dish by enhancing its flavor. But they also have a variety of functions beyond improving taste. Not only are spices are valued for medicinal purposes, but also because they kill food borne microorganisms by inhibiting toxin growth. Before I explore, analyze, and discuss the role of spices within the context of food and culture in the D.C. area, I should first begin with a definition.

For this project, I visited five grocery stores- Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Safeway, Streets Market, and Capitol Supermarket- in the Northwest area of D.C. and did optical observations and analysis on commodity of my choice: spices. In my first blog post, I purposely did not define spices in order to avoid confining my optical observations and field notes to align with a particular definition. But it is now time to address and define this subcategory of food. In the literature, most scholars seem to agree that “the term spice refers to any dried plant product used primarily for seasoning, be it the seed, leaves, bark or flower” (Pepping Up Production 2009, p. 8). Furthermore, “each spice has a unique aroma and flavor that derives from ‘secondary compounds,’ chemicals that are secondary (not essential) to the plant's basic metabolism” (Sherman & Flaxman 2001, p. 142), which are important components that contribute to the enduring value and function of spices.

If one of the functions of spices is to kill toxic microorganisms, which subsequently protects humans from food-borne disease, it is no wonder that spices are so popular and high in demand across the world. This importance became evident in my fieldwork through the sheer quantity and selection of spices in the five grocery stores I explored. The five sites, which were all located in the Northwest area of D.C., all differed in their spice selection, pricing, packaging, and location. While the variety and amount of spices differed across all five grocery stores, each one contained an aisle, or section, exclusively for spices and seasonings. One overarching and consistent observation had to do with the amount of space dedicated to popular and commonly used spices, such as garlic powder, allspice, oregano, cumin. In all five grocery stores-- Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Capitol Supermarket, Streets Market, and Safeway-- at least one of those listed spices was in abundance and easily identifiable within the spice aisle (placed at eye level or spread out across one row). Unsurprisingly, this is not random. According to Sherman and Flaxman’s (2001) research, who predicted that spices used in cooking should exhibit antimicrobial activity, “the four most potent spices- garlic, onion, allspice and oregano- killed every bacterial species tested,” (p. 143) which was evidently reflected through the volume and space dedicated to those particular items in the five grocery stores I visited. What I initially believed was a ploy to entice customers to buy larger quantities of basic yet essential spices was actually consistent with the finding their potency is extremely effective in killing toxic bacteria found in food and other spices.

Another consistent observation across all five supermarkets was an overall emphasis and preference for selling organic spices, which I didn’t quite understand until I began reading about spice contamination. Contamination in spices can occur in a number of ways, one of which is through mycotoxins (mold), especially if a spice is dried on bare ground (Pepping Up Production 2009, p. 9). Additionally, spices like coriander, paprika, and chilis can also become contaminated through storage pest infestation (Pepping Up Production 2009, p. 9). In order to avoid pesticides and/or chemical contamination, organic spice farmers dedicate/spend additional time and energy (getting certifications, partnering with producers, shorter harvesting periods, not drying their own spices) to ensure the proper growth, quality, and packaging of their spices prior to exportation (Pepping Up Production 2009, p. 8). This phenomenon thus explains and is consistent with the price spike that accompanies most, if not all, spices labelled as organic across all grocery stores, especially in Streets Market, where organic spices were twice as expensive as in Whole Foods or Safeway.

Something that increasingly perplexed me as I visited the grocery stores was the relatively small amount of spicy or hot spices sold, such as curry powder (it was stocked but with little to no variety), aleppo pepper (did not find in any store), cajun (only sold at two of the five grocery stores!), chiles (most grocery stores sold it but the variety was underwhelming), or berbere (only at Whole Foods). After reading Sherman and Flaxman’s research (2001), who postulated that “the use of spices should be greatest in hot climates, where unrefrigerated foods spoil quickly” (p. 144), the lack of hot spices began to make sense given Washington D.C.’s climate and geography. Located in a humid subtropical zone characterized by cold winters and hot and humid summers, Washington, D.C. is not subject to immense contamination or spoilage, which might explain the relatively low presence and variety of spicy spices sold in various grocery stores, and that’s not accounting for the increasing presence of foreign populations. Capitol Supermarket, for example, was one of two grocery stores (the other one being Whole Foods) that included an immense selection and variety of hot spices for its customers, which may reflect the presence and cuisine preferences of Latino populations in the area.

Unlike Whole Foods, Capitol Supermarket, and Trader Joes, Safeway and Streets Market were the two most ‘neutral’ stores in the sense that they didn’t seem to cater their products and prices to specific populations. Given the selection, location, arrangement, and pricing of the grocery stores and their spices, I gathered that the Capitol Supermarket spice selection is tailored to Latinx groups and people of lower socio-economic status (cheap pricing, wide selection of Central and South American spices); Whole Foods spices are for avid home cooks and foodies, college students, and individuals from higher socio-economic status (ethnic and organic spices, medium to high pricing); and Trader Joes spices are for college students and individuals who don’t have time to prepare and cook elaborate or complex dishes (cheap pricing, small quantities, little spice variety). By contrast, the spice selection in Safeway and Streets Market did not seem to have selections tailored to particular populations or cuisines, although one could argue that the ridiculously overpriced spices in Streets Market are not affordable or economically effective for populations of lower socio-economic status.

Food, which is essential for survival, is also deeply embedded in culture, identity, customs/practices, history, health, geography, and lifestyle. Spices, which are a small but significant feature of food preparation and consumption across the world, provide a window for studying food and culture by revealing underlying social, medicinal, and sensorial functions and values of seasonings within a particular society, community, or group. While this fieldwork project exclusively focused on the distal (receiving) end of the food supply chain, i.e. grocery stores, I gained a lot of knowledge almost exclusively through optical observation, which allowed me to make sense of a variety of questions and topics I address in this culminating piece.

       Works Cited

Sherman, Paul W.  and Samuel M. Flaxman. “Protecting Ourselves from Food: Spices and morning sickness may shield us from toxins and microorganisms in the diet.” American Scientist, Vol. 89, No. 2 (2001): pp. 142-151. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27857437

“Spices: Pepping up production.” Spore, No. 141 (2009): pp. 8-10. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24343555

[allaboutfoodgwu]

Corpse of Milk, Spirit of Taste

Cheese, a milk-derived dairy food, is a highly-valued product whose origin can be traced back to several thousands of years ago. Early accounts of cheese production exist from ancient civilizations in Egypt, Greece and Rome, but it is unclear where the process of cheesemaking first began (Jones et al., 2000). Although cheese is a widespread global commodity today, its presence was originally concentrated in Europe until colonialism made it known to other parts of the world. In 1815, the first modern cheese factory opened in Switzerland, marking the beginning of cheese industrialization (Quackenbush, 2018). In the United States, large-scale production of cheese did not become fully widespread until World War II. Today, processed cheese, which includes many additives in promise of a longer shelf-life, is the primary product of cheese consumption in both America and Europe (McGee, 2004).

Despite the consumption of processed cheese, a strong culture surrounding the making of artisanal, or hand-craft cheese is also on the rise. In the U.S., the number of artisanal cheese makers has doubled since 2000 (Paxson, 2008). Furthermore, membership in the American Cheese Society, which consists of artisan cheese producers and sellers, has increased substantially as well (Paxson, 2008). These cheesemakers use unpasteurized milk, which arguably makes the cheese taste better by preserving the milk’s natural enzymes. In an era where almost everything dairy-related is highly pasteurized, it is hard to believe that raw milk would not receive any backlash. In particular, the FDA has spoken out against the use of raw milk in cheesemaking, referring to the process as a “potential biohazard” (Paxson, 2008). This has resulted in the creation laws that require cheese to be aged for at least 60 days before being sold.

Cheese is a unique commodity because its characterization depends on many levels of criteria, beginning with age and moisture content, followed by fat content and curing methods. Other factors that influence the variety of cheese production include the type of milk, flavor, and country or region of origin (Fox et al., 2000). The moisture content of cheese, which depends on the tightness of its mould and length of fermentation, determines its level or softness or hardness. Typically, a tighter mould and longer preparation time creates a harder cheese (left), while a softer mould and shorter preparation time creates a softer cheese (right).

Furthermore, the milk can stem from a variety of animal sources, including cow, goat and sheep. Cheese serves many different purposes in cooking, and is sold in different forms, including block, sliced, and shredded. The International Dairy Foundation recognizes over 500 different types of cheese, emphasizing the diversity of this commodity in both production and consumption (Jones, 2013).

For my Contemporary Anthropological Theory class, I was tasked with choosing a food commodity and doing optical research on its presence in food stores within the D.C. area. Knowing the great variety that can exist within different types of cheese, I chose to study block cheese in five different grocery stores throughout Northwest Washington, D.C. I began my field work at Whole Foods Market located in Foggy Bottom, the neighborhood that is home to the George Washington University (GW). The variety of options available and well-designed display at Whole Foods fit well with its high-quality caliber as a foodstore. I found a tremendous amount of block cheese options here. I also decided that I was going to focus on Manchego, my favorite type, as an index cheese for comparison throughout the project. At Whole Foods, Manchego was present in different varieties: 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month aged. Leaving Whole Foods, I knew that my block cheese expectations were now set to a high level for the next four stores.

Although I was not expecting as great of a selection of block cheese at Trader Joe’s, I actually found that the selection was almost as large as at Whole Foods. On the other hand, the cheese display at Trader Joe’s appeared to be comparatively less upscale than at Whole Foods. For example, at Whole Foods, each type of cheese had a wheel, on top of which sat the block slices that were being sold. The labels for each cheese were also in black, giving a sleek appearance to the display. However, at Trader Joe’s, all the cheeses were in one large display, without any wheels of cheese separating them from each other. Also, the labels for each cheese were white, and the font for each description appeared as though it was hand-written, giving the display a much more informal look than that of Whole Foods. For the Manchego, I only saw one type, the 3-month aged. The 6-month and 12-month aged cheeses were missing here. This single offering exemplified the lack of variety in the cheese selection at Trader Joe’s compared to Whole Foods.

In my third visit, I went to Dean & DeLuca, an upscale Italian Mart in the center of Georgetown, expecting to find a heaven of cheeses that would far exceed my Whole Foods standards. However, what I found was that the store was much smaller than Whole Foods in general, and its cheese selection was resultantly smaller. It was in fact less than half the size of the display at Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s. Focusing on the Manchego, I saw a 6-month aged, 12-month aged, and a rosemary-infused Manchego. I did not see any infused Manchego cheeses at Whole Foods, so this selection was certainly unique to Dean & DeLuca. Furthermore, the lack of 3-month aged Manchego, which typically has a lower value than the greater ages, fits well with the store’s image of selling a limited range of high quality products. Thus, although the cheese display was small at Dean & DeLuca, the options still appeared to be on the higher end of the scale. Dean & DeLuca also had a similar display layout as Whole Foods, with the wheels of each cheese present. The labels for each cheese were in white, but their font appeared to be much more professional, and less folksy, than at Trader Joe’s.

The “social” Safeway in the neighborhood of Georgetown was my fourth grocery store of visit. Here, I was shocked to find a cheese display that was as good, if not better than the one at Whole Foods. Unlike any other store so far, this display actually had a name, as it was called Cheese World. I saw a great variety of cheese types here. For Manchego, I found all three kinds: 3-month, 6-month and 12-month aged. Like the display at Whole Foods, most of the cheeses here were displayed on their respective cheese wheels. Something about this Cheese World made me feel like I was buying real artisanal cheese. It could have been the cheese wheels, but perhaps it was the aesthetically appealing display, as the cheeses were packaged with bright colors. These vibrant colors contrasted greatly with the neutral, more earthy colors at the Trader Joe’s display.

For my last grocery store, I came back to Foggy Bottom to visit the CVS on campus. I was not able to find a variety of block cheese selections here at all. Instead, I came across only two brands of block cheese embedded in rows of butter, fake butter and other dairy options. Both cheese options were of the same type: sharp cheddar. The lack of Manchego, or any other cheese besides cheddar, contrasted greatly with the variety of cheese available at other stores. However, CVS is a convenience store, so it is not expected to have the same level of variety in its display. While the other stores emphasized the selling of artisanal cheese, this was clearly not at all the case for CVS, which only sold processed cheese. The two cheese options at CVS were made by Kraft and Cracker Barrel. These companies are both large-scale, industrial corporations that manufacture cheese products which are far lower in quality than the cheeses seen at Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Dean & Deluca’s and Safeway. Amazingly, the price for a block of cheddar cheese at CVS was the same as the price for a block of Manchego Cheese at Whole Foods. However, CVS is open 24-hours, and contains many other food and non-food items. Thus, the high price and low quality are tradeoffs for the store’s hallmark aspect of convenience. Theoretically, a person coming into the store in the middle of the night could buy both cheddar cheese and toothpaste at the same time.

Of the five grocery stores I visited, Whole Foods and Safeway were the strongest in their block cheese options and display quality. The appearance of block cheese on the market plays a big role in its perception, inclining cheese buyers to purchase their cheese from more attractive, gourmet displays. I dismiss CVS entirely because it had no real display or craft cheese options. The two available cheeses were manufactured industrially, rather than artisanally. Furthermore, while Trader Joe’s did offer a wide variety of cheese options, its display was not as comparatively appealing, because it was not entirely suggestive of block cheese as a gourmet, handcrafted commodity. The creation of this craft imaginary for cheese consumers is what distinguishes the cheese displays at Whole Foods and Safeway. I would not entirely dismiss Dean & DeLuca, as it still had high-end and unique options such as the rosemary-infused Manchego. However, although the limited selection did not take away from its high-end quality, the small display still failed to create the same level of imaginary seen at Whole Foods and Safeway.

For a store like Whole Foods that brands itself on the high quality of the products it sells, it is only expected that it will have a large and impressive artisanal cheese display. On its online website, the market details the volume of its cheese options, including 32 soft, 10 grating, 10 blue-veined, 74 semi-firm, and 14 fresh cheeses (Johnston, 2007). Altogether, this amounts to over a hundred different options that encompass different sources of milk, lengths of fermentation, and flavors. At the same time, Whole Foods is well-stocked in other commodities as well, making it a great store for shoppers to experience an artisanal cheese selection while buying other groceries.

On the other hand, at Safeway, I was much more surprised to see this vast cheese selection. The extensive block cheese selection is likely related to the location of this particular Safeway in an affluent zip code of Northwest D.C. that includes the neighborhood of Georgetown, where food quality is held to higher standards. Safeway is a national chain, but from personal experience, not all branches offer this Cheese World like the Georgetown branch. It is thus due to its location that this Safeway is comparable to a market like Whole Foods in its cheese selection. Like Whole Foods, this Safeway is also a full supermarket where people do not have to compromise the rest of their grocery shopping to obtain craft cheese. The same can not be said for a specialty store like Dean & DeLuca, or a convenience store like CVS.

From a marketing perspective, Whole Foods and Safeway also did the best job in selling pairings for their cheese options. In both stores, their cheese displays were strategically so close to the crackers and jams that you could not look at the cheese without seeing these pairings as well. Known as upselling, this phenomenon is a clever marketing strategy that not only boosts the market’s own sales, but also enhances the ease of the customer’s cheese selection. Although the cracker aisle in Trader Joe’s is directly across from the cheeses, the cheese display itself is still in isolation, so shoppers may miss this placement while passing through the cheese section. At Dean & DeLuca, a few varieties of crackers and jams are above the cheese display, but a display of sausages in the same refrigerator takes away from the spotlight of the cheese display. At CVS, the cheeses do not even have their own display, and the two options are instead placed next to butter in the general dairy refrigerator. For an avid cheese lover and shopper, these distractive placements are a hindrance to the focus of their cheese selection.

Ultimately, cheese remains one of the most versatile food products in both its production and consumption. Moreover, the U.S. cheese market’s recent focus on craft cheese in particular places more emphasis on in the product’s quality of display. Therefore, stores like Whole Foods in Foggy Bottom and Safeway in Georgetown, which perform an exemplary job in both aspects, deserve positive reputations for being gourmet markets and modern hubs for craft block cheese.

References

Fox, P. F., Guinee, T. P., Cogan, T. M., McSweeney, P. L. H. (2000). Principal Families of cheese. Fundamentals of cheese science, 388. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=oRp5VCVTQQC&pg=PA388#v=onepage&q&f=false

Johnston, J. (2007). The Citizen-Consumer Hybrid: Ideological Tensions and the Case of Whole Foods Market. Springer, 37, 229-270. doi: 10.1007/s11186-007-9058-5.

Jones, G. (2013, January 29). Conversation with a cheesemonger. The Reluctant Gourmet. Retrieved from https://www.reluctantgourmet.com/conversation-with-a-cheesemonger/

McGee, Harold (2004). On Food and Cooking. The science and lore of the kitchen. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=mQgklAEACAAJ&hl=en

Paxon, H. (2008). Post-Pasteurian Cultures: The Microbiopolitics of Raw-Milk Cheese in the United States. American Anthropological Association, doi: 10.1111/j.1548-1360.2008.00002.x

Quackenbush, C. (2018). Archaeologists Have Discovered The World’s Oldest Cheese Inside an Ancient Egyptian Tomb. Time. Retrieved from http://time.com/5371503/ancient-egypt-tomb-old-cheese/

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The Capitol of Spices

For my last site, I ventured into Capitol Supermarket, located between 11th and N street NW. Advertised as a “family-owned neighborhood grocery store,” I was curious to see what kind of spices they would have.

The supermarket was huge. Shakira was playing on the speakers above as people did their shopping. The store was so big that I had to ask an employee where the spices were. He pointed to the front of the store and said they were located on separate aisles.

The first two section of the spices were unlike any of the previous stores I’d been to. While these sections had a variety of spices, I could tell that they were tailored to a particular population. Spices like taco seasoning, paprika seasoning, yellow coloring, fajita & jerk seasoning, complete seasoning, and chimichurri sauce are the kinds of spices used to make Central and South American food.

This section also contained spices/products I’d never encountered before like bee pollen, honey granules, meat tenderizer, and ground hot pepper, which was really cool!

Next to this section was a second, even more specific section that only contained the Goya brand (photo right below). This included adobo all-purpose seasoning, chopped garlic, chili pepper, and annatto seasoning. This area was obviously dedicated to customers who were looking to make Hispanic/Latino dishes. This section also made me think about the difference between seasoning and spices, because this grocery store seemed to group them all together.

Another thing I noticed was that all the spices in these sections were also written in Spanish. They were also very cheap (except for the honey granules and bee pollen). On average, the majority of the spices were between the $0.89 and $3.99 price range, which is pretty affordable.

After I took pictures and thorough notes of the first two sections, I thought I had all the information I needed, so I started to head out. But on my way out, I spotted a third and enormous section of spices (photo below).

There was so much variety and this area that I had to stop for another 5-10 minutes. The spices were neatly arranged and there were all kinds of brands- McCormick, Spice Classics, Morton, Essential Everyday, Wild Harvest, Sauer’s, Mrs. Dash, etc. They also had all types of spices- from basic, such as cardamom, pepper, bay leaves, and ground sage, to very specific, such as celery seed, Cajun, poultry seasoning.

I was impressed by this section. Nothing was written in Spanish and the variety wasn’t as diverse as in the previous sections. But, between the three different spice areas, virtually every kind of spice/seasoning anyone could ever need was available.

So, if you’re ever looking for spice variety, I would definitely recommend that you check out Capitol Supermarket!

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Salt: The Finale

I must say, I’m impressed.

On a cloudy Sunday morning, I took a walk to Georgetown’s “Social Safeway,” located on Wisconsin Ave. The supermarket (and it really is “super” sized) is located in a modern building on the second floor. When I first walked up to the automatic doors, I noticed a mural to my left (left picture). It was pleasant enough to look at and seemed to give the impression that the market supported local foods and community growth. Could this be true of a national grocery chain? Not so sure. 

As I made my way to the main floor, the first thing I noticed was the smell. It was the exact same mix of scents—sort of a plastic and lemon smell—that my hometown’s Safeway has. The store even looked the same, as it was crowded with colorful signs, balloons, and stacks of various candies and drinks (right picture). Although the store wasn’t busy, I saw several young families as I weaved my way through.

The salt was located at the far end of the store in an aisle that contained spices, oil, canned fruit, baking items, and plastic/paper goods. There wasn’t much of a “theme” in the aisle, other than a random mix of random things. The giant spice section was located at the very back of the wide aisle, just across from the plastic plates, utensils, and cups.

I was a bit overwhelmed by the massive selection. I spent about five minutes looking at the entire spice display but, to be honest, I couldn’t figure out the organization of it. Some of the seasonings were alphabetical, while others were organized by brand. I spotted a large section of salt on the bottom shelf. These salts were “family size” options that were fairly inexpensive and could probably last for years. The bottom shelf was well-organized, faced properly, and even had a large, box option. To my surprise, I found several sodium-free salts as well.

The shelf directly above the salt was dedicated to garlic products (including garlic salt!), and the shelf above the garlic was dedicated to pepper. I found it odd that salt and pepper were separated by the garlic section, since salt-and-pepper are often a package deal. However, other parts of the display that were organized by brand arranged the salt and pepper side-by-side.

I continued to scan the seasonings and found random pockets of salt throughout. The more specific—and, of course, more expensive—salt varieties were located on shelves around eye-level. I found salt flakes, imported Mediterranean Sea salt, pink salt, and salt mixes. These more expensive varieties were packaged in glass jars with grinders or pleasant-looking boxes.

All in all, I was surprised by the huge variety of salt at Safeway since this grocer is not a specialty store. By my count, there were around two dozen salts to choose from! I’d definitely say this trip was a success.

Well done, Safeway. Well done.

-Lauren Petersil

Quote of the Day: “A day without an argument is like an egg without salt.” – Angeles Carter

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Spice Hunting in Streets Market

This week, I decided to visit a grocery shop that was further away from where I live than the previous sites. It took me 25-30 minutes to walk to Logan Circle from my apartment in Foggy Bottom. After wandering around Logan Circle for a while, I found a little store called Streets Market on Massachusetts Avenue. After entering, I wasn’t surprised by how small the grocery store was- it is a market after all.

It didn’t take me very long to find the spices given that the market was about as big as a college dorm room. The spices were located in the canned food aisle, between the salad dressings/ cooking oils/vinegar area and the soups/sauces area. I was shocked by their selection. They had way more spices than I had anticipated (left and right photos).

The packaging, like the arrangement, was neat and easy to read, which fit perfectly with the aesthetic of the rest of the store.

However, after taking a closer look at the prices, I wasn’t so happy. $13.99 for ground cardamom? No, thanks… $6.49 for lemon pepper… ridiculous. $11.29 for a tiny stick of vanilla bean?! Again, no thank you. As I laughed at how ridiculous this was, I saw saffron from the corner of my eye and thought “oh man, this is going to be good. I bet this is the most expensive spice in here.” But I was wrong. Only $3.99 for Spanish saffron? Bizarre.

Maybe the spices were expensive due to the fact that most were organic? Regardless of the reason, even Whole Foods doesn’t charge that much for their spices. In terms of variety, Streets Market did have more than most stores, but since everything they sold was very basic, the better option would be to go shopping elsewhere.

If you’re looking for spices, this definitely is not the place to buy them, but it is a nice little grab-and-go store to check out if you’re ever in the area.

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Safeway Spices

This week, I decided to go to a grocery store I’d never been to before. As I was walking around Georgetown one Saturday afternoon, I came across Safeway. Located on 1855 Wisconsin Avenue NW, and known as the “social Safeway,” I was excited to shop, but also to socialize… I guess?

Finding the spices proved to be a more difficult task than expected. After ten minutes of unsuccessful searching, I finally found the spice section. It was hidden at the back of the store, nestled between the snack/chip/candy aisle and the cereal/coffee/juice aisle. The spices themselves were next to the cups/plates section and cooking oil section, which isn’t very intuitive, and probably why it took so long for me to find!

Aside from the amount of time it took me to find the spices, I was impressed with the selection (top two photos). It’s almost as big as the spices section in Whole Foods, which surprised me. They divided the spices area into two sections, which are organized by brand. The far-left ‘red’ section contains spices from McCormick and Signature Kitchens, and the one to the right contains Organic brands, such as Simply Organic, Morton & Bassett, and more McCormick.

Both sections of the spice aisle had a lot of variety in both the organic and non-organic category. This included both common spices such as cumin, onion powder, coriander, cilantro, pepper, chili flakes, and non-common spices such as Chinese five spice, Cajun, marjoram leaves, and poppy seeds.

What I found the most interesting, however, was a small set of spices organized by function or purpose (photo above). Under the ‘seasoning blends’ section were BBQ spices and rubs; under the ‘grilling’ section were herbs and poultry seasonings, and under the ‘garlic and onion’ were onion and pepper, Cajun, and vegetable seasonings. Giving customers options and ideas of how to use certain spice blends when cooking at home is a good strategy to increase product sales.

One last thing I noticed around Safeway and not just in the spices section was the sheer number of yellow “Club Price!” sale stickers they have at every aisle, corner, and row. While it’s nice to know how much money you’re saving with a Safeway card, it can be distracting when shopping, especially for smaller items like spices where the sale sticker sometimes blocks the price tag.

This trip to Safeway was definitely worth it in terms of spice selection, and if you’re looking for spice variety around D.C. and aren’t near a Whole Foods, Safeway will not disappoint you!

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Say Cheese: Dean & DeLuca ed.

Take 3. I find myself at Dean & DeLuca’s in Georgetown. It’s 6 p.m. on a Saturday night. A small, upscale Italian mart in the heart of M street, Dean & DeLuca’s can be better described with one word: overpriced.

I walk in hesitantly, already knowing that I’m going to spend too much money on something I won’t need- probably chocolate. Stay focused. The layout of the store is a little unfamiliar to me, and I walk around for a while until I finally find the block cheeses. I notice that all the workers are dressed like chefs, and are serving food from the center island of the store. Did someone say bougie? There’s no better word to describe that I’m seeing. 

From a distant view, it seems as though the cheese section is not as large as I expected it to be for an Italian mart (bottom right). I walk over to the display, noticing its strategic location across from shelves containing jams and crackers. I also notice that there are sausages in the same display of the cheeses, perhaps a marketing effort that is really just taking away from the display’s focus on cheese (top left).

Although this store does not have many cheese options, the selection still appears to be unique and high in quality. I again choose to focus on Manchego here (top right), my favorite cheese. I see a 6-month Manchego, 12-month Manchego, and Rosemary-infused Manchego. I ask the lady working behind the counter what how much the 12-month Manchego costs. $32 per pound. Are you serious? I think something in my face told her that I was shocked, because she then added that the 12-month is the most expensive of their three options.

I also saw that there were a few varieties of goat cheese. There was also smoked mozzarella for $11.25 per pound (bottom left). What’s so special about smoked mozzarella? I’ve never tried it.

One price really caught my eye. here was a “Blue Old Chatham Ewes” cheese for $42 per pound. I hope to g** that tastes incredible! There was also one “featured” cheese sitting at the top ledge of the display. It was named “Gouda Beemster XO,” priced at $24.50 per pound. It didn’t look like anyone had bought any yet. No surprise. Next to the cheese were 3 bottles of extra virgin olive oil. I think the display was missing bread or something, because the bottles of olive oil next to the Gouda were otherwise placed in a strange location. Whatever. I lost interest and moved on after seeing that price, too.

While the store itself was not crowded at all, there were two middle-aged people, who appeared to be a couple, standing by the Gouda display. They asked for a few samples, and then walked away from the counter, probably after looking at the prices. I don’t blame them.Look, Dean & Deluca’s is a great place, with what appears to be a lot of Italian authenticity. Its biggest flaw, though, and this is a pretty big flaw, is that it’s not in everyone’s budget, and certainly not in mine. Maybe I’ll visit 20 years down the line, that is if the store hasn’t gone bankrupt yet, and give it another shot. But for now, who needs overpriced Manchego anyways? Kraft cheese, please..

[allaboutfoodgwu]

More Spices!

Greeting, spice lovers.

For my second grocery store location, I decided to visit the Trader Joes located on 1101 25th street NW, about 5 minutes away from the Foggy Bottom campus.

Like in Whole Foods, the spice aisle location is not very intuitive. It is sneakily nestled between the canned products aisle and baking mixes section. One thing that struck me was how well the spices are arranged and categorized by color, type, and brand of spice.

In terms of selection, I was surprised to see how many herbs were being sold, which brings up issues of categorization and variety. The majority of the spices are either dried herbs, such as basil, oregano, French thyme, or variations on chili/pepper, such as black pepper, cayenne, chile seasoning, red chili pepper, and lemon pepper. The rest, except for the saffron, are common, everyday spices such as bay leaves, garlic powder, cinnamon, and paprika.

Trader Joes also has a lot of distinctive spice mixes and seasoning blends-- everything but the bagel sesame blend, mushroom & company multipurpose seasoning blend, 21 seasoning salute-- that you wouldn’t find much of anywhere else.  

I also observed that Trader Joes provides brief descriptions next to the price tag that give customers idea of what they can do with that particular item (second photo). Ground cumin, for example, is “for tacos, chili, and more!” while the garlic powder can be used “for sauces, stir fry, garlic bread, and more!” This is a good way to entice customers to buy certain products if recipe ideas are being suggested with the item.

One of the most intriguing observations vis-à-vis spice location is the way in which some are strategically placed away from the spice aisle (last photo compilation). One of the “flyer items” that I kept seeing was Trader Joe’s mushroom & company multipurpose seasoning blend located at the end caps of the aisles, and right above the frozen food section, at eye level. After having seen it three times, I finally picked up the spice and contemplated buying it, but in the end, I resisted! Smart move though, Trader Joes, smart move. You almost got me!

That concludes this week’s blog post- until next time!

[allaboutfoodgwu]

THE ESSENTIAL 

Field Trip 1:

Isabella Zambrano

 Walking in the Whole Foods Market in Foggy Bottom; you see an array of people that differ depending on the time of day and day of the week. On a weekday around 11:00 am you might find more GW students bustling about, but on a Saturday around 5:00 pm you will find a range of ages and people who are not necessarily students. You will see small children all the way to the over 65 years old crowd. 

The doors open in a Whole Foods automatically, as if to say “come on in!” and lead you to either the stairs or the escalators to take you down to the main market. The lights are warm; and the general ambiance reminds you of a farm with wood pieces here and there, and soft nature colors making up the signs. Especially since once you descend the stairs, the first thing you see are the fruits and vegetables. 

As you continue to wander on into what seems like a food utopia, there it is between the chips aisle and the condiments/international foods aisle is the oil end shelf. The essential ingredient no one seems to talk about, but that a boy band might write a catchy tune about on how no one know’s it’s beautiful. That is how obviously essential the indigent is.

There are three large shelving units with seven shelves each of oils. One of the shelving units is just vinegar, another is for olive oil, and the third is for other types of cooking oil. The wall behind it is a beige neutral tone and above it are some green neutral tone signs. One says “Quality Standards,” the middle one says “We Are Committed To Foods That Are Fresh, Wholesome And Safe To Eat.” And the last one says the typical Whole Foods Market logo. This is the only location for oils in the store, and it has it’s own section primarily because there are so many different kinds. 

The oils tends to be arranged by size, and by most commonly purchased. The top shelves having the smaller bottle sizes and a diverse arrangement of brands. The middle sections tends to have larger bottles of cooking oils and only contains a few varieties, but practically entirely Whole Foods brand products. As you move down the bottom, the brands become more diverse and have a range of sizes; but all generally smaller than the middle rows of cooking oil. 

There are certain cooking oils that have less of them on the shelf than other’s due to customer’s purchasing them. On the olive oil side (the middle shelving unit); what is practically gone is the regular large bottle of Whole Foods olive oil, and then followed by a few remaining bottles of the large and small Italian olive oil, and then the Greek olive oil. It seems that two brands of extra virgin olive oil were also popular and those are also GMO free brands (one on the first row and the other on the second to last row of the unit). Another one that was completely gone was the cheapest extra virgin olive oil for $5.99 (last row). 

On the non-olive oil side; the people were purchasing the small and medium sizes of canola oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, grass-fed ghee butter, grape-seed oil, and the spray coconut and olive oil. These last two items were on sale and on the very last row. A lot of the items were either in plastic jars, or glass jars, and the spray bottles were in tin cans. 

There were not a lot of people around this grocery item, there were more people in the aisles that preceded it than these three shelves. Generally, only what appeared to be students and middle aged professionals would pass by it, but no one ever stopped. The shelves were left alone until someone recalled to appreciate their beauty.

[allaboutfoodgwu]

Whole Foods Spices!

For this project, I decided to take a closer look at a category of product that most everyone uses for cooking: spices. While I won’t discuss the ambiguity of this category in relation to its definition and content in this post, it is something that I had to keep in mind while I was gathering observational data, which I will come back to in my culminating post.

Having shopped at Whole Foods for nearly four years, I already knew where the spices were: down the stairs to the left, between the non-alcoholic drinks and dairy aisles. I also knew that the spice aisle was separated into two: a larger section, and a smaller one.

However, someone who has never stepped foot in Whole Foods would probably struggle and spend a few frustrated minutes wandering around the store looking for the spices section, which made me think about the oddity of its location- why next to the cereal? And why have two different spice sections separated by apple sauce, out of all things?

At first glance, I see that the spice section is neatly organized and laid out, but also overwhelming.

The spices are arranged by color, brand, and, as I will emphasize throughout this post- perceived importance- which leads to some spices getting all the attention, and some not. The left portion of the large section of spices mostly contains Whole Foods brands (365), and the majority of them are labelled as organic. In the middle of this section are the apparently ‘popular’ spices like cumin, saffron, garlic and onion powder, rosemary, nutmeg, oregano, and black pepper. Unlike some of the other ‘less popular’ spices that I will discuss later, these are plentiful. They have multiple spaces and rows individually dedicated to them (why, oh why does garlic powder need six individual rows on the same shelf?), which is most likely a strategy to get consumers to buy them as they are placed directly in front of their line of sight.

On the right side of the larger spice section is a mix of Whole Foods products (Simply Organic), and Frontier Co-Op products. The Co-Op products in the middle section are a little bit more exotic than any of the spices mentioned in the left section. These include adobo seasoning, ground sage, mustard seeds, cayenne, chili powder, and bay leaves.

By contrast, the top and bottom shelves aren’t nearly as glamorous or well put-together as the middle sections. Unless you’re very tall, the top shelf products are difficult to see, and are thus reserved for non-365 products even though they are also organic Whole Foods spices, which makes me wonder what the difference is. The top shelf is also home to the perhaps ‘less popular’ spices such as curry powder and cinnamon sticks.

The bottom shelf was one of the most fascinating because I couldn’t figure out a pattern or way to explain its arrangement, so I simply classified it as miscellaneous. It included large quantities of salt and pepper, as well as an array of strange items like lava salt, extracts (vanilla, almond, lemon), Old Bay seasoning, and Rowdy Ritty Rub spice (huh?) that I didn’t think belonged to or would associate with the spice category.

In contrast to the more popular or common spices found at the center of the shelves, the more ‘ethnic’ spices were out of reach; isolated in small in corners, making them difficult to spot. Spices like Balti curry, berbere, and chimichurri were dispersed and scattered around the edges, forcing the shopper to search for them. The garam masala and curry powders were also isolated and placed at the very top right corner, almost out of visual reach. Unlike their popular counterparts, the ‘ethnic’ spices don’t have rows upon rows dedicated to them, which makes it difficult for shoppers to spot and subsequently purchase them. I also noticed that in this aisle, Whole Foods sells the same products, but from different countries or regions (Turkish bay leaves versus local or American bay leaves), and that the non-imported products are more expensive.

While I don’t have as many observations from the smaller section of the spice aisle, a few more elements are worth mentioning. In addition to being displayed and packaged in smaller quantities (with an emphasis on being organic, of course!), all of the spices were angled down in a way that prevented shoppers from knowing what they were unless they directly picked them up or bent down, which blocked the aisle pathway. This arrangement doesn’t seem very practical.

Furthermore, the fate of the bottom spices in this section mirrored the fate of the miscellaneous items in the larger section. The ‘rejects’ in this section proved to be even stranger than the lava salt, vanilla/almond/lemon extracts, or old bay seasoning. These items-- I am reluctant to call them spices-- included spearmint, poivre noir-- which just means black pepper in French and is probably why it wasn’t able to secure a spot in the popular spice section-- onion granulates, and juniper berries.

The combination of awkward orientation coupled with the amount of reject spices makes me think that this section is used to get people to buy the bigger and more expensive spices in the larger section.

Finally, I have two concluding observations from this grocery store adventure. The first is that ginger, onion powder, garlic powder, and rosemary are all strategically placed in the middle part of the spice section, are bountiful, and difficult to miss, which makes me think that this is a tactic to encourage customers to buy packaged herbs instead of fresh ones.

My final observation came at the end, when I wandered into the international aisle to see if there were items that for whatever reason hadn’t made the cut to the spice section, and to my surprise, I found one: Korean chili flakes. This led to confusion, anger, and disbelief on my part. Are Korean chili flakes not good enough to be in the section that is dedicated to flavor depth and spiciness? Are they in the international aisle because they cannot be consumed or bought independently of Korean food? Whatever the reason, it seems a bit ethnocentric to me, and as I continue to gather data in other grocery stores, I will see whether or not it is a recurring pattern.

[allaboutfoodgwu]

SAY CHEESE: Whole Foods ed.

Welcome to the world of cheese! This is my first post for my field research project for Anth 4008. I will be studying cheese, specifically block cheese, in five different grocery stores.

Take 1. I start at the good old Foggy Bottom Whole Foods, also known as my second home. If you’re a GW student, you’re probably also a slave to Whole Foods. I mean, it’s a grocery store in the heart of our campus with a whole floor’s worth of prepared foods. Who isn’t going to go? Dare we ask for it to be affordable, though?

As a senior, I’m very familiar with the layout of Whole Foods. But I’ve never evaluated the store as closely as I will now. I walk in at 10 p.m. on a Monday night. The store is not nearly as crowded as it usually is during lunch or dinner hours. I go downstairs for the block cheese, because the upstairs area only has grab-and-go items and prepared foods. I know that the main cheese display is all the way at the back, so I head there.

While walking toward the back, I notice a large cheese display in the middle of the store (top left). What is this? It’s almost like a shrine for cheese! And it’s not just for any kind of cheese- it’s for the 24-month aged Parmigiano Reggiano that’s “hand-cracked in house.” Wow. I also notice that a huge cheese wheel sits at the center of this display. How authentic. The actual block slices of cheese for sale sit on top of this wheel, and the display also contains an array of seasoned crackers. Now that’s convenient. The placement of this display is a bit strange, because the middle of the store mainly has fresh fruits and vegetables. The closest display next to the cheese here was actually bananas. What do bananas have to do with cheese? Nothing, I hope.

As I continue towards the back of the store, I finally come across the entire array of block cheeses in an open, glass rim display. That’s it, exactly what I was looking for. You name a cheese, and I can probably find it for you here. For each type of cheese, the sliced blocks sit on top of the wheel. This section has a series of cheeses from many different areas of the world. For each type of cheese, the blocks are sitting on a wheel of the cheese itself, giving it a bougie, gourmet-like appearance.

Each type of cheese also has a black card label that states the origin and a brief description of the cheese. For the “Asiago Fresca,” the card says “Cleveland, Wisconsin” and its description is “soft and chewy with an outspoken tang.”

I try to find the Manchego, my favorite cheese.  This display has three different types of Manchego, each with a different age: 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month (bottom left). I pick up the 6-month Manchego, and remember how expensive it is. One narrowly sliced block is over $7. What! Well, I put it in my cart anyways. Who’s going to resist? Not me.

Above the display of cheeses is an exhaustive display of different types of crackers and jams (top right). Suggested pairings, I guess? Overall, this display is so large that it took me around 10 steps to walk from one end of the display to the other. There was no one around me while I was at the display, probably because it was so late at night. It could also have been because this cheese display is slightly out of the average student’s budget, and students are usually the only ones still out at this hour in Foggy Bottom.

Eventually, I come across even more cheese in another refrigerated area. At about eye level, I notice blocks of 365 or Whole Foods brand Cheddar cheese (bottom right). I also see Monterey Jack and Mozzarella. Below eye-level, I also find more blocks of Cheddar cheese, but they are not the Whole Foods brand and their selection is much smaller. Strategic placement.

Finally, I see a sampling display of “Blazing Buffalo Cheddar” cheese that’s on sale for $10.99. I wonder what the original price was. Of course, this is when I finally see someone. Free cheese? Everyone’s there. He seems like a student because he is wearing a backpack, but he looks relatively young to be a college student. I sample the cheese while I’m there as well. It was good, but then I remembered it was $11. I noticed the person who was sampling did not buy the cheese either. Great minds think alike, I guess. Hold in your smiles and don’t Say Cheese again until I take on Trader Joe’s next week!