Rice limits in warehouse stores?

[Manedwolf]

5lbs of bread flour is now $4.99

WOW, I just picked up two bags for $0.83/ea... I also picked up whole wheat flour for $1.13/5lbs.

Bought 10lbs of pinto beans for $6, on the low end of the regular $0.60-$0.80/lb, cooking oil for $2.00/qt, which is also average. I buy my rice in 11kg bags for $4.50-$6.00 depending on type.

Why are newspapers hyping this BS?

Probably because it's reality for some people, dependent on region?

The fact that flour costs that much here isn't hype, that's the price on the shelf in the market. Also, there's some empty slots for other varieties.

[PTK]

That's really odd. I live outside Denver, CO... you'd think I'd be experiencing the "bad" prices/policies here, too, since I'm just outside a huge city.

[mbt2001]

As far as I know, this has been reported in New England (a long way from rice fields) and California.  Oil prices do have a little effect here.  Texas is a big rice producer, I go goose hunting in rice fields around El Campo, Texas.

Where you are is not so impacted....  yet.  As this develops, I am sure China and others will buy more and more rice from wherever they can get it. 

We will see how it plays out.  Now you know though, so stock pile food an ammo.  That is what I am doing.

[PTK]

so stock pile food and ammo

I have been for years. 

Now is a bit too late to "stock pile" either if this news is true, for the simple reason of expense. Ammunition is already too dang expensive to stock up on.

[Bogie]

I dunno how much rice a chinese restaurant would actually go through... The buffet up the street from me may go through a few cooker-fulls a day... Not all that much, since us roundeyes often miss the rice...
 
Mexican restaurants tend to push "rice and beans" with each combo plate, so I'm guessing they'll use more.
 
But frankly, a few kilos will go a LONG way...
 
A few years back, a fellow named Dvorak turned me onto the Basmati stuff... IMHO, it's the best... But you gotta cook it right. Steaming is out.
 
Get strainer. Dump rice into strainer. Rinse. Dump rice into pan of boiling water. Give it about 5-7 minutes or so (depending on region of rice), and drain through strainer. You'll never cook rice another way again.
 

[The Annoyed Man]

Sounds like it's time to freak out, panic and start stockpiling beans and tortillas 

[Manedwolf]

I just use a Japanese rice cooker.

[K Frame]

Merged two topics on the same subject.

[Gewehr98]

Just tried to put 20lbs of rice in my truck's gas tank.

How, exactly, does that work again?   

[The Annoyed Man]

Just tried to put 20lbs of rice in my truck's gas tank.

How, exactly, does that work again?   

Google 'sake recipe' 

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

so stock pile food and ammo

I have been for years. 

Now is a bit too late to "stock pile" either if this news is true, for the simple reason of expense. Ammunition is already too dang expensive to stock up on.

I agree with keeping some extra food stored, "just in case", but these current events are being blown way out of proportion. 

It's nothing new for discount stores to limit the amount one customer can purchase.  I've seen quantity limits placed on everything from ammo to baby diapers to cat litter.  They do it because they don't want people to buy up their entire inventory of one particular item.  It mucks up their their supply chains and distribution systems, and it alienates customers who expect their favorite items to be in stock all the time.

Food shortages aren't going to happen here.  Americans can easily afford to bid food prices up above what most of the world can comfortably pay.  A few extra dollars a day in food costs are no big deal to the average American (we'll gripe about it, but we'll pay it easily).  A few extra dollars a day is more than enough to price much of the world out of the market.  It's darned unfortunate for the rest of the world, but it's true.  America will be the last last place you'll see food shortages.

[PTK]

Food shortages aren't going to happen here.  Americans can easily afford to bid food prices up above what most of the world can comfortably pay.  A few extra dollars a day in food costs are no big deal to the average American (we'll gripe about it, but we'll pay it easily).  A few extra dollars a day is more than enough to price much of the world out of the market.  It's darned unfortunate for the rest of the world, but it's true.  America will be the last last place you'll see food shortages.

How dare you bring logic into this!

[Firethorn]

As far as I know, this is the FIRST TIME ever that the U.S. has "rationed" anything (save WWII) even informaly.  Also, it is expected to get worse.  Mom and Pop shops will be less affected in the beginning than the larger retailers...  Remember, this only just started happening.

The 'US' isn't rationing anything.  It's just a few stores, and I've seen plenty of rationing of this sort.  'Limit 2', for example.

[RevDisk]

As far as I know, this is the FIRST TIME ever that the U.S. has "rationed" anything (save WWII) even informaly.  Also, it is expected to get worse.  Mom and Pop shops will be less affected in the beginning than the larger retailers...  Remember, this only just started happening.

Uh.  Odd, every time I see a major sale, I always see a "ration" notice of X items per customer. 

Food prices here are more or less the same as always.  Maybe a quarter above what I remember from last year this time.  Then again, I can't throw a rock these days without hitting three roadside produce stands, four Amish guys on tractor, two tourists with cameras and a bulk food store.  If the rest of the country is starving, I'll be gripping about being limited to couple dozen different types of veggies and meats, and mildly short on the fruits.

[Scout26]

so stock pile food and ammo

I stock pile ammo so I can go shoot food.   

[thebaldguy]

I have seen prices on rice, flour (especially real bread flour), coffee, milk, eggs and other items going up in price dramatically over the last several months. I do look for those things when on sale, and try to pay less. Buying the larger sizes sometimes saves some money as well. The 25 pound sack of all purpose flour is a much better deal than any other size, and it stores well. Share it with some friends/family who will use it.

As far as rice goes, we eat quite a bit of it. We buy and use La Preferida extra long grain for Mexican cooking, Kokuho Rose sushi grade rice and Basmati rice for asian cooking, and Minnesota Wild Rice. We usually buy rice in 5 or 10 pound packages, and pickup some extra on sale.

[PTK]

Minnesota Wild Rice... where are you buying it? How much per lb?

[thebaldguy]

Minnesota Wild Rice... where are you buying it? How much per lb?

Here in Minnesota, wild rice is sold everywhere; from roadside stands and gift stands to supermarkets. I've seen it online as well. They actually have choices between "hand harvested" and commerically grown in paddies like other rices. Cheaper wild rice was around $5.00 a pound, while the natural hand harvested would be double. Long unbroken grain packages are more expensive as well.

Wild rice takes much longer to cook than regular rice, but after you cook it/partially cook it goes well in a variety of things from breads and muffins to suffings and hot dishes. James Page Brewing out of Minneapolis used to brew a wild rice lager that was pretty tasty.

I work with an asian gal loves rice, but doesn't like wild rice. She doesn't like the nutty flavor, and thinks it's too overwhelming.

[PTK]

Any suggestions on mail-order outfits selling it? All I found from Googling is expensive "gourmet" marketed wild rice for upwards of $10/lb. 

[thebaldguy]

Hey PTK, here's a few Minnesota places that sell wild rice online; you want to buy the cultivated variety. It's cheaper than the hand harvested and just as good.

http://www.mnwildrice.com/

http://www.christmaspoint.com/

http://www.mooselakewildrice.com/

[mbt2001]

Maybe it won't "happen here" as all of you say and maybe it is being "blown out of proportion".

But...

Mexico, Italy, Egypt, Haiti and others have all had severe food shortages and / or can't afford the food that is in market.  I can tell you that prices of corn, wheat, soybean and others are going up up up.  There have been several major droughts and crop shortages...  A U.S. recession is underway and all the experts are saying that we haven't heard the last of the "bad news". 

I have heard said that beef and pork prices are going to start going up.  Ranchers are having to pay more and more to feed their livestock, so many of them are "liquidating" the herds.  Beef and pork prices have taken stayed low as a result of this, so you can expect things to eventually catch up with us, in which case there will be a shortage of meats on the market. 

Makes sense to take this seriously.  I don't usually play the Chicken Little, but I really have a bad feeling about this one.

[coppertales]

I stopped by the local Vietnamese market and they had jasmine rice stacked to the ceiling in 25 and 50 lb sacks.  No shortage there.

I stopped by a local "kinda health food market" and they had all the short grain brown rice I could carry off for 60 cents a pound, no shortage there.

I think it is just a figment of the commodity brokers to drive up the prices....chris3

[Ezekiel]

There truly is an international hops shortage.

High quality suds at my local brewery is going up...

[K Frame]

Copper,

You're seeing what is currently in the supply chain.

It's what's coming behind that, or in reality isn't coming behind that, that is the issue.