Conspicuous consumption: cheese and bags

Not cooking, but generally food related. I've been stimulating the economy again, both directly and by proxy. My lovely mother sent us a box of delicious cheeses as a prize for my having filed my dissertation. Mm. I know Zingerman's is expensive, and people I know who have lived in Ann Arbor tend to feel that they're overhyped as well as overpriced, but they really do make great presents. And I'll tell you, the cheese is great.

In anticipation of the weeks when the farmer's market is bursting with so much fresh produce that we can hardly carry everything we buy, I've ordered a few more of my favorite reusable bags. These are exactly what I want in a shopping bag. I love that they stuff into their own attached stuff sack. You can never lose the sack, and you don't fuss around with rolling the bag up just so -- just quickly stuff it in. When stuffed, they are small enough to toss into any old corner, so that you always have one or more on hand. The bags themselves are strong and lightweight. They hold a lot and conveniently fit the metal frames that hold plastic shopping bags open, found at the end of many supermarket checkout lines. They hold up well to being used ungently, week after week. The only trouble is that I've lost a couple in the few years since I bought my last batch, while also finding more places where I'd like to stow one or two (my suitcase, for example). So I'm replenishing the stocks.

While I was at it, I also ordered this collapsible market basket, because I'm quite terrible at managing my purchases without one. I don't do a good job of shopping in descending order of sturdy denseness, so I'm always having to try to shuffle things around in my bags in the middle of the market, while also trying not to get in anyone's way, and then accidentally dropping my eight plums directly on top of my tiny lettuces anyhow. We'll see how the basket works. Do you have any favorite sacks, baskets, carts, or other useful reusable containers for food shopping?

Comments

[avogadro]

I love those Acme Bags very, very much, and have managed to stash them prit-near everywhere. During my long road trip, they were invaluable for toting stuff to the ballgame and beach and keeping my lunch together.

Have you ever considered getting a wheeled grocery cart? I always see folks in my neighborhood grocer's pulling the metal foldable cage-carts, but this seems like a pleasant alternative.

[redfox]

The internet seems to have caught up with me on the Acme bags; lots more love out there than there was when I bought my first batch (well, they were newer then.) The trouble I've always seen with the wheeled carts is that they're deep -- so they run into the same risk of having something medium-delicate in the middle and finding it hard to dig it out to shuffle things around and avoid squishing.

I gave the basket its trial run today and deem it good. Got a compliment from one of the farmers, too!

[Lindy (aka Mum)]

Oh, these bags and basket are so nice- I long to replace the mashed up collection of cloth bags I've accumulated over the years. They are horribly bulky and also ugly. But I guess it's seriously out of line with the whole concept to throw them out and get new ones? Sigh. They will never wear out.

Maybe I will find I have lost them. But I doubt it, somehow.

[Piera]

I really like the Whole Foods reusable bags because their handles are long enough that you can wear them like shoulderbags, making it easier to lug groceries. Those Acme bags are nice too because unlike the Whole Foods bags, there is no branding on the side, making them even more all-purpose than Whole Foods' (which I use for more than groceries)!