Oscar Wilde said a cynic is “a man who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing.” In the kitchen, especially in these shaky economic times, it’s easy to get caught up in the cynical viewpoint that “better” means “more expensive,” and “cheaper” means “lower quality.”
But food’s inherent value is manifold: flavor, nutrition, even the manner in which meals are taken. All these facets of the culinary experi-ence have consequence. The goal, then, is learning to increase the value of the foods we eat without driving ourselves to the poorhouse.
“We often hear that it costs more to eat healthfully,” says Melissa Buoscio, a dietitian for Jewel-Osco, “but it’s not true. If you think about the foods we want people to be eating more of, like grains and rice, and less of things like meats and fats, the shift is not only healthful but costs less.”
“The most famous example of good, nutritious, inexpensive food is the pasta dishes of Italy,” says cookbook author Clifford A. Wright. “Unlike the oftentimes huge portions you see in this country, Italians generally eat more reasonable servings of pasta flavored with vegetables and tomatoes and just a very small amount of meat.”
Wright, an expert on Mediterranean cuisine, says, “It’s only since World War II that the Mediterranean is the relatively wealthy place we know today. Historically, it’s been very poor, and interestingly, as nations become wealthy, their citizens eat more meat. In the Mediterranean, though, that hasn’t happened because for centuries they’ve had good food based on three things: olive oil, grains and vegetables. When meat is used, it’s used more as a condiment or flavoring element.”
Wright’s latest book, “Real Stew” (Harvard Common Press, $18.95), offers 300 recipes from around the world utilizing many of the less expensive cuts of meat such as brisket or lamb shoulder.
“The long, slow cooking of a stew breaks down the connective tissue found in the cheaper cuts, and if you have the right combination of other vegetables and fat and herbs and spices, you can feed 10 people with a two-pound brisket,” he says.
Kevin Karales, chef/co-owner of Platiyo restaurant, shares the “meat as flavoring” philosophy.
“Mexican cookery is filled with delicious rice dishes that are all wonderfully flavored with poblano or dried red chilies or chopped vegetables and just a little bit of meat,” Karales says. “It’s the same with beans. Pintos take very well to pork products, where just a little bit can turn a pot of beans into a complete dish.”
Of course, knowing just which ingredients to add and in what amounts can be a problem for the novice cook. As with so many things in life, education is key.
“Eating is something we do every day, and we owe it to ourselves to put some time and effort into it,” says Susan Goss, chef/owner of West Town Tavern. “I’m appalled by the number of people who depend on fast food, who don’t have the skills or interest to feed themselves.”
Goss volunteers her time teaching low-income Chicagoans about cooking and nutrition through a national program called Operation Frontline.
Low on the food chain
“The media tell us convenience is best, but the way to eat cheaply is to buy raw product,” she says. “I call it ‘buying lower on the prepared-food chain.’ If people would buy a whole chicken instead of boneless skinless breasts, they would get three meals instead of one for the same price.”
Karen Chan, an educator in consumer and family economics with the University of Illinois Extension program, agrees. “Convenience foods take a bite out of a food budget,” she says. “As a rule, the more convenient it is, the more you’re paying per serving.”
Chan also is well-versed in the little pricing tricks that can make grocery bills mount. “One of the things that catches people all the time is meat or seafood that’s sold by the portion, because it disguises the true and much higher price per pound.”
If this is starting to sound unsettlingly like a word problem from high school algebra, well, that’s exactly what it is:
Q: Ralph buys a package of two boneless pork chops for $3. If that package weighs 6 ounces, how much is Ralph paying per pound?
A: Well, first of all, Ralph has to remember that there are 16 ounces in a pound. Then he has to divide $3 by 6 ounces, which means he’s paying 50 cents an ounce. Multiplying 50 cents per ounce by 16 ounces per pound, Ralph discovers he just paid $8 per pound for the pork chops.
Phew. Now imagine how much more difficult the math would be if Ralph had paid $3.50 for the pork chops. Thank goodness most meat packages now reveal price per pound. Still, Chan suggests it might be wise to bring a calculator on shopping trips.
Chan also counsels shoppers to read labels carefully. “It’s an industry-wide trend to shrink the size of the product without shrinking the size of the container,” she says. “One week you buy a 1-pound can of coffee and you know what you’re getting. A month later you go back and the price looks good, but it only has 13 ounces. Unless you’re looking very carefully, you wouldn’t notice because the can is the same size.” The same trick is applied to chip bags and cereal boxes, even canned vegetables.
Whatever new tricks the food industry may come up with, Chan advises that all of the old rules for smart shopping still apply.
Savvy shopping
“Read the ads before going to the store, make a list, and don’t shop when you’re hungry. Also, smaller ethnic markets are often great for inexpensive produce and especially spices.” (A quick price check found whole black peppercorns at Patel Brothers, an Indian grocery on Devon Avenue, at $3 for 7 ounces–about 43 cents per ounce–while less than a mile away, the neighborhood’s chain supermarket sells them for $5.29 for 4.2 ounces–at $1.25 per ounce–nearly three times the price per ounce.)
Finally, perhaps the most important consideration in getting the best value for your food dollar is this: Remember that you don’t have to have a lot of fancy ingredients and time-consuming preparations to make a wonderful meal.
The French use the term terroir to refer to all those less-than-quantifiable factors that go into making a wine: the topography of the vineyard, the angle of sunlight, the type of soil, etc. Maybe by focusing on our “kitchen terroir,” the surroundings and spirit in which our meals are taken and the care with which they are prepared, we may discover new value in the simplest of dishes.
Goss tells of one of her students, a young pregnant woman living on food stamps, who was preparing at home one of the meals she had been taught in class. In the midst of cooking, the student’s mother came home from work, smelled the dinner on the stove and burst into tears, saying, “I can’t remember the last time I walked into a room and smelled food that someone was making just for me.”
Chef Alain Sailhac has similar feelings about the power of food. Now the executive vice president and senior dean of studies at the French Culinary Institute in New York, Sailhac was executive chef at Le Cygne and then Le Cirque when those restaurants earned their four-star ratings. All those stars notwithstanding, Sailhac knows it’s not just the food that makes the meal.
“The best meal is when you feel happy with someone,” he says. “This is the best meal in the world. Every summer I go home to France, and sometimes I will go to the market and buy a couple of tomatoes and some bread and cheese. One beautiful tomato, so full of sun, with a few drops of olive oil and a little coarse salt, and because I have my wife close to me and a nice view, that’s it. It’s perfect.”
It’s perfect. There’s no better value than that.
Beyond the standard starches
Bored with white rice and burned out on noodles? Here’s a sampling of other delicious grain products from around the world–all readily available in Chicago-area markets–that provide excellent value and good nutrition.
Your local bookstore and, of course, the Internet, will provide you with plenty of interesting preparations for them all.
Bulgur wheat: This cracked wheat is popular in Middle Eastern cookery and the principal ingredient in tabbouleh, the popular parsley-enhanced salad. It is simple to prepare: Soak one part bulgur wheat in one and a half parts boiling water 30-60 minutes, until the water is absorbed.
Kasha: Hulled and crushed buckwheat “groats,” kasha is commonly used in Eastern European and Jewish cooking. Basic preparation is to simmer about 12 minutes in a 2-1 liquid-to-kasha ratio; it often is served with gravy.
Quinoa: Pronounced “KEEN wah,” this tiny grain was originally from Peru. Quinoa can be simmered in two parts liquid (water or broth) to one part quinoa for about 15 minutes. It makes a good substitute in most rice recipes.
Pearl barley: Though most often found in soups, pearl barley can also be cooked and served like rice, simmered 30-45 minutes in water or stock (two parts liquid to one part barley).
Couscous: This Moroccan pasta product is easily prepared and marries well with a variety of meats, vegetables, and even citrus and dried fruits. The common instant couscous is simply poured into boiling liquid (two parts liquid to one part couscous), taken off the heat and allowed to stand 5 minutes until the liquid is absorbed.
Israeli couscous: This pearl-size couscous can either be boiled in salted water 8-9 minutes or treated more like rice in its many preparations.
–James P. DeWan
Tips for value shopping
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Here are a few suggestions for getting the most value out of your food shopping. Though some may be as common and obvious as “look both ways before crossing the street,” it never hurts to be reminded. Also, don’t forget your calculator!
1. Make a list and stick to it. Not only does this save time at the market, it also allows you to view your eating habits in their entirety. While this may be a shock for some of us, it’s an easy indication of just how dependent we are on the more expensive convenience foods.
2. Buy in season. Everything is better and cheaper when it’s in abundance. And in the spring and summer, consider growing your own herbs in containers or the garden. They’re easy to grow, and–if you’ve priced fresh basil, oregano, tarragon and the like at the market–will provide many months of gourmet flavors for a relatively small cost.
3. Visit your produce market. The big chains have higher overheads and are therefore often more expensive than the smaller markets that are ubiquitous in the Chicago area.
4. Buy in quantity, but don’t buy more than you can use or so much that your family gets bored. Warehouse stores can deliver great bargains, if you shop wisely.
5. Remember that grains, rice and beans are always inexpensive, keep well and can be easily prettied up with just a few additional ingredients.
6. Cook for and eat with people you love. Everything will taste better.
–J.P.D.
Roast pork loin ith mushroom and dried cherry relish
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Standing time: 15 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
Chef Susan Goss offers this recipe, which can be made even more economical by using any bone-in pork roast, raisins in place of dried cherries, and button mushrooms in place of shiitakes.
1 boneless, rolled pork loin roast, about 3 pounds
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
3/4 cup apple cider
3 cups thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms or 1 pound button mushrooms, sliced
2 leeks, trimmed, thinly sliced
4 tablespoons each: red wine vinegar, dried cherries or raisins
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place the roast in a shallow baking dish; rub with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, 1 tablespoon of the thyme leaves, 2 teaspoons of the salt and ground pepper to taste. Pour apple cider over the roast. Cook, basting occasionally, until a meat thermometer registers 150 degrees for medium, about 1 hour; remove from oven. Let the roast rest 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat; add mushrooms and leeks. Cook, until golden and tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in vinegar and cherries; increase heat to medium high. Cook, stirring constantly, until vinegar evaporates, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the vegetables; stir to melt sugar and coat vegetables. Stir in remaining 2 teaspoons of the thyme, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and ground pepper to taste. Slice roast; serve with relish.
Nutrition information per serving:
480 calories, 38% calories from fat, 20 g fat, 7 g saturated fat, 130 mg cholesterol, 890 mg sodium, 28 g carbohydrate, 47 g protein, 2.2 g fiber
Braised white beans with Swiss chard, black olives and rosemary
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
This recipe from chef Susan Goss is delicious. In the test kitchen, we mixed red and green Swiss chard leaves in this recipe. If you can’t find chard, kale can be substituted.
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 large onions, thinly sliced
1 pound mushrooms, halved if large
1 pound Swiss chard or kale, chopped
2 cans (15 ounces each) large white beans, drained, rinsed
1 can (14 ounces) chicken broth
1 cup pitted black olives, halved
Grated zest of 1 orange
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter, cut into pieces, optional
1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions; cook until soft and golden, 7 minutes. Add mushrooms; cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add chard, beans, chicken broth, olives, orange zest and rosemary.
2. Heat mixture to boil; reduce heat to simmer. Cook 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Whisk in butter, a few pieces at a time, until melted.
Nutrition information per serving:
335 calories, 32% calories from fat, 13 g fat, 1.8 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 925 mg sodium, 44 g carbohydrate, 16 g protein, 11 g fiber
Groundnut stew from Ghana
Preparation time: 35 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
This recipe was adapted from “Real Stew,” by Clifford Wright.
1 chicken (3 pounds), cut into 8 pieces
1 large onion, halved
1 piece (1 inch long) fresh ginger, peeled
2 cups water
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 tomato, peeled, seeded, chopped
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
2 teaspoons salt
1 to 2 teaspoons ground red pepper
1 medium eggplant, peeled, cubed
1/2 pound fresh small okra, stems trimmed
1. Place the chicken, one of the onion halves, ginger and water in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat. Heat almost to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer, partly covered, about 40 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, blend the tomato paste with the oil in another large pot; cook over low heat 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Chop remaining onion half. Increase heat to medium; add chopped onion and tomato. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes.
3. Transfer chicken pieces and half of the broth to the pot with the tomato and onion. (Reserve remaining broth.) Add the peanut butter, salt and red pepper; stir to mix well. Cook 5 minutes. Stir in the eggplant and okra. Reduce the heat to low; cook, partly covered, until the chicken and vegetables are tender, 40 minutes. Add more broth if thinner stew is desired.
Nutrition information per serving:
750 calories, 58% calories from fat, 49 g fat, 12 g saturated fat, 135 mg cholesterol, 1,565 mg sodium, 25 g carbohydrate, 56 g protein, 8 g fiber
Pinto beans with chorizo and cheese
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour, 40 minutes
Yield: 7 cups
This was adapted from a recipe by Kevin Karales of Platiyo restaurant. These beans can be served in tortillas, with a fresh salsa sprinkled on top.
1 pound dry pinto beans, sorted, rinsed
1 pound Mexican chorizo sausage, removed from casing
2 large onions, chopped
8 cloves garlic, minced
8 plum tomatoes, chopped
4 jalapeno chilies, seeded, chopped
1 tablespoon dried thyme
8 ounces Chihuahua cheese, grated
1 teaspoon salt
1 small bunch cilantro, chopped
1. Cover beans with water in large pot; heat to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Cook until beans are tender, about 1 hour, 40 minutes. Drain in colander, reserving water.
2. Meanwhile, cook chorizo over high heat in the large pot, stirring often, until cooked through. Remove with slotted spoon; set aside. Add onions to pot; cook over medium heat until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add garlic; cook, stirring often, 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, chilies and thyme. Cook 5 minutes; remove from heat.
3. Mash some of the finished beans with a wooden spoon; leave most of the beans whole. Add to pot. Add chorizo, cheese and enough bean liquid to make a stewlike consistency. Cook over medium heat until heated through. Add salt; stir in cilantro.
Nutrition information per cup:
670 calories, 48% calories from fat, 36 g fat, 16 g saturated fat, 90 mg cholesterol, 1,350 mg sodium, 52 g carbohydrate, 37 g protein, 15 g fiber
