Food storage
“Best by” isn’t the whole story.
A practical US guide to food dates, opened packages and the storage history that matters more than a quick glance at a label.
Category: Supermarket
The supermarket is one building with different rules in every aisle. These guides follow the whole trip, from the produce display to the checkout, and they begin with the same question each time: how much of this will you actually cook this week? Start with The best deal is the food you actually use. before you compare package sizes, then read What Italy’s Carrello Tricolore teaches about grocery deals. to judge a promotion against your own basket. When a bag or a box uses words you cannot verify, Which flour does your recipe actually need? shows how to read it. Every safety figure here comes from FDA, USDA or FoodSafety.gov.
The supermarket is one building with different rules in every aisle. These guides follow the whole trip, from the produce display to the checkout, and they begin with the same question each time: how much of this will you actually cook this week? Start with The best deal is the food you actually use. before you compare package sizes, then read What Italy’s Carrello Tricolore teaches about grocery deals. to judge a promotion against your own basket. When a bag or a box uses words you cannot verify, Which flour does your recipe actually need? shows how to read it. Every safety figure here comes from FDA, USDA or FoodSafety.gov.
Flour
Which flour does your recipe actually need?
All-purpose, bread, cake, whole wheat and Italian 00 explained without making the bag more mysterious.
Squid
Squid, calamari and totano: what are you buying?
Italian names do not map neatly onto an American seafood label. Ask about species, size and preparation.
Seafood
Blue crab: familiar American seafood, different Italian story.
Understand the origin, choose the right form of crab and buy for the meal you actually want to make.
Supermarket
What a food trade fair has to do with your grocery shelf.
A look back at Cibus Connecting Italy 2023 and the questions consumers can ask about new products.
Supermarket
What Italy’s Carrello Tricolore teaches about grocery deals.
A 2023 price campaign becomes a practical lesson in checking a promotion against your own basket.
Fruit
How to buy strawberries you will want to finish.
Color, condition, package size and a simple refrigerator routine matter more than the biggest berry.
Fruit
How to choose a watermelon without the folklore.
A field spot and a sound rind are useful clues. No tapping trick can guarantee the sweetest fruit.
Produce
Potatoes: buy for the way you cook.
A practical guide to russets, waxy potatoes, storage and the small choices that make dinner work.
Pantry
Who makes the store-brand colomba—and does it matter?
What a manufacturer name can tell you, and why the same factory does not guarantee the same cake.