The Lure Of Costco

 Costco is one of those customer nirvanas.It offers food in bulk quantity for relatively low prices.Members of their club can walk in and buy anything from three dozen eggs to even jewelry and designer hand bags. It;s the ultimate shopper and home chef's paradise.

New contributor BenRyder Howe who has also written for New Yorker Magazine wrote about this retail giant in today's New York Times Wednesday Food section. Costco has been around since the Sixties started by Sol Price. His family were the immigrants from Minsk who  started in New York in trade. In the 1920's they moved to San Diego California where young Sol then went to the University of Southern California.He began by re-presenting grocers and other merchants He began to then  buy San Diego warehouses into member only bazaars. members were charged a small fee.Shoppers could buy anything from hosiery to cigarettes. The bazaars were called Fed Mart. The key was making those members renew year after year.It was easy for him to do. Mr. Price was known for his gift of connecting with consumers.even though he was making money he was at odds with it , thanks to his family's Socialist beliefs.In fact Costoc is one of the best places to work for today.Most people who started off as baggers are now executives and their pay rate is much in line with the Price family values. A starting salary is twenty-six dollars an hour as opposed to other big box stores like Target and Walmart which start employees off at seventeen dollars an hour.

Costco contributed to flourish as it 's name changed in the 1990's. It grew too, with the first Costco opening up in Anchorage Alaska. It has merged with several different companies over the years yet strangely and stubbornly maintained Mr. Price;'s vision. 'Now the stores are world wide with more planned for  South Korea, China Japan and Australia. There have been drawbacks .For years the company refused to add more warehouses.It was because of management concerns regarding that new facilities would be too challenging to run. The concerns seemed to have wane because Costco now opens up thirty warehouses a year. Trends in foreign countries, namely the Asian market come to the States.Expertise in South Korean and Taiwanese shopping have translated into availability  in the US of such products as braised abalone in brown sauce,giant red sea cucumber and Chinese style bacon- cured pork strips. For one Toktoker Yutack Kang has told his 463,00 about  another Asian staple frozen durian pulp and declaring that their Asian food section is superb. This resonates deeply with Asian American shoppers Other shoppers have developed a cult like love of the store.The store is great if you do have a big family to buy for. Smaller ones may wind up with overage  and stale food.

Costco will always be the number one store in the US.It offers a wide arrange of different items .It also lets people buy food in bulk - something other grocery stores don't offer.

Gifts For The Gourmet Dad

Father's Day is a week away and it's time to start seriously thinking about gifts for his special day. If he's into serious cooking then think about some interesting cooking and baking gadgets and ingredients your gourmet dad may like. It's be a true surprise and a real treat to receive something unusual.

Men love gadgets. That's a given. A gourmet father may enjoy the various ones designed to make cooking  easier. A sous vide or a water oven is the perfect present, especially for the fussy cook. It's basically a water oven that cooks food perfectly. The food is put into a vacuum sealed pouch and then cooked for a period of time. The end result is juicy. flavorful cuts of meat and tender vegetables.  It can even bake a cake ! Everything comes out restaurant perfect every time.  It is pricey at five hundred dollars but dad will get a lot of use out of it. A bit cheaper but still fun is an air fryer. Whatever is cooked in it also comes out perfect. A big plus is that you can cook fried food in the air fryer without all the grease and calories. Price wise they come as low as $39,99 at Target or Wal-Mart. It will get a lot of use. If your father loves the smokiness of a good barbecued rib or chicken, then think about getting him a smoker. These can be pricing with the most expensive starting at $1,200 however you can buy a simple charcoal one for $170 to $180. It can smoke everything from beef to fish  along with chicken and pork.

For dads who love flavor think about exotic spices. Berber spice is big right now, since it can be used in the Moroccan egg dish shakshuka. It can also be used in Ethiopian dishes along with being a tangy rub for chicken and beef cuts.For a more Asian vibe consider a large shaker full of Chinese five spices. One of the pluses is that this can be made at home.It's a mix of star anise, cloves,Chinese cinnamon, Sichuan pepper and fennel seeds. You can also add anise seed, ginger root, nutmeg and turmeric.It's great for rubs but also adds to stews and batters for fried foods. For the baker dads,  think about bottles of Neilsen Massey extracts. The company has such interesting and classic flavors as vanilla, peppermint, coffee and lemon.It also sells vanilla paste and sugars which produces a more vibrant vanilla flavor. You can also buy whole vanilla beans that come from such exotic islands as Madagascar and Tahiti along with Mexico. The company also  sells rose and orange blossom water for Greek and Middle Eastern dessert recipes. A box of Ghiradelli baking chocolate is perfect for those dads who love to bake brownies and cakes.

There's plenty to buy for the gourmet dad.  It can be a fun gadget or an interesting spice. Whatever it will be he will love it, that's a guarantee.

Your Fall Kitchen Arsenal

Now that we're swinging into the holiday cooking season, it pays to reassess your kitchen arsenal. Take stock of what you have and what you may need. Having a kitchen that's ready for all that cooking and baking is a plus. It makes for easy, headache free experiences , without any unnecessary drama.

The first and most important task is assessing your bigger appliances. Is the stove working properly? What about the broiler? If you feel your oven isn't working to full capacity, either get it checked out or replace it. You don't want it conking out on a heavy cooking day like Thanksgiving. The same goes for the microwave and the toaster oven. If they're acting wonky, then it's time to replace them. Another must is checking out the appliances that you only bring out for Thanksgiving and Christmas. How is the electric carver working? Again replace it if there's a problem or it's not working right. As for the carving knives, make sure they've been sharpened ahead of the holidays. You can take them to any knife sharpener or buy your own whetstone. Amazon has a wide variety of the last  and they 're all reasonably priced  from $12 .00 for a simple brick like whetstone to a more elaborate one for $34.00. Keep in mind that you can use these all year round and will also come in handy when you have to use your knives on barbecued roasts. Also check your turkey basters. You may need to get a new one or you may just need to wash it after being dormant for almost a year. Again, every grocery store and big box store like Target and Wal-mart sell themThey're an easy find.

With holidays come baking. Since Thanksgiving is a big pie day, reassess your pie plates.Can they hold up for another season. Do you feel like you need pie weights? You can buy these but keep in mind that you can sub in everything from beans to even a metal chain. Pie weights are used for blind baking - that is baking the crust and not the filling. This is good for cream pies more. Also if you're thinking about making sweet potato or apple pies, make sure you have good paring knives to get rid of the skin. Some home chefs like to take this month to test bake Christmas cookies.  If that's the case, then  make sure you'll have a roll or two of parchment paper and baking sheets for cookies. How are your cookie cutters? Plastic ones can crack while metal ones can rust. Replace them if yours are not in the best shape.  How is your cookie press? Again, get a new one if the barrel or nozzle are cracked.  Also if you want to change up the designs , now is the time to get the Christmas themed ones. Try to buy the ones from the company that made your press. The discs will be easier to fit into then gun then. Candy makers should also look over their molds. Are the molds OK and usable? Or are they cracked and misshapened thanks to hot sugar and chocolate being poured into them. If so, then head to your craft store for new ones.

Holiday time is stress time. It can be even worse when your kitchen arsenal isn't up to par. Make sure everything is working and up to par before the big days arrive. You'll feel better along with creating better meals and treats.