No Dry Polenta at Trader Joe's

[Ciccio]

I was near a TJ's. So, I thought I'd pop in and get a few things
including some dry polenta. They didn't have any. They just have that
precooked stuff. I double-checked with the customer service guy and he
confirmed that they don't carry dry polenta. I was surprised, given
all the variety of grains and pastas they carry.

Anyhow, I ended up buying dry polenta at Safeway...Just sayin'.

Ciccio

[evergene]

Same situation at the TJ's at 9th St. & Brannan in SF -- I was told
they've never carried it. They do carry white corn grits, which are
okay if you doctor them up a bit, but that ain't polenta. I'd
recommend that you buy your polenta at Rainbow when you're in city --
they get it from Giusto's (http://giustos.com/). But given your
reaction to the city of Berkeley, Rainbow would make you break out in
hives.

If you want spend an arm and two legs on corn meal, grits, etc., mail
order from Anson Mills in South Carolina,
http://ansonmills.com/products. Good stuff, in spite of their penchant
for product descriptions like "Artisan Handmade Fine White Polenta"
and "Artisan Handmade Coarse Rustic Polenta Integrale."

[sf]

On Sun, 11 Nov 2012 17:36:08 -0800, evergene
<ge...@geeaitcheekaygee.com> wrote:

> Same situation at the TJ's at 9th St. & Brannan in SF -- I was told
> they've never carried it. They do carry white corn grits, which are
> okay if you doctor them up a bit, but that ain't polenta. I'd
> recommend that you buy your polenta at Rainbow when you're in city --
> they get it from Giusto's (http://giustos.com/). But given your
> reaction to the city of Berkeley, Rainbow would make you break out in
> hives.

Is Giusto's the one in SSF? If so, they sell to health food stores
also. Should be easy to find with just a phone call or two.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

[JC Dill]

On 11/11/12 1:41 PM, Ciccio wrote:
> I was near a TJ's. So, I thought I'd pop in and get a few things
> including some dry polenta.

Dry polenta? Do you mean corn meal?

> They didn't have any. They just have that
> precooked stuff. I double-checked with the customer service guy and he
> confirmed that they don't carry dry polenta. I was surprised, given
> all the variety of grains and pastas they carry.

It wasn't all that long ago when TJs first started carrying flour. For
the most part they didn't carry items that one would consider "baking"
ingredients and most supermarkets put corn meal in with the sugar and
flour and other "baking ingredients". The ingredients TJs carried are
mainly for making main dishes - pasta, rice, sauce, meat & fish, fruits
& veggies, dairy. They have a few package foods for baking - primarily
for baking muffins or quick breads. AFAIK they don't carry cake mixes.
Basically, when you walk down the baking aisle at Safeway, you might
find 5% of those ingredients at TJs - flour, sugar, corn oil, baking
powder, nuts, and chocolate chips, and a few quick-bread mixes for
corn-bread, pumpkin bread, etc.

jc

[Ciccio]

On Nov 12, 6:18 am, JC Dill <jcdill.li...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Dry polenta? Do you mean corn meal?

No, I mean polenta that is uncooked i.e., dry. It is uncooked,
packaged and labeled as "polenta." That which is packaged and labeled
"cornmeal" has a much finer grind than polenta. Thus, the two are
not necessarily interchangeable.

That which is packaged as "Cornmeal" fails when using it to make a
main course the way we do with polenta. Even using it, to make side
dishes, instead of polenta, misses the mark for traditional Italian
polenta side dishes.

> It wasn't all that long ago when TJs first started carrying flour.

[speculation why TJ’s doesn’t have dry polenta snipped]

I'm sure they have their reasons for what they do. I just thought I'd
pass along that TJ's doesn't carry dry polenta, in case somebody puts
it on their list. They'll need to go to Safeway or some such.

Ciccio

[Ciccio]

On Nov 11, 5:36 pm, evergene <g...@geeaitcheekaygee.com> wrote:

> Same situation at the TJ's at 9th St. & Brannan in SF -- I was told
> they've never carried it. They do carry white corn grits, which are
> okay if you doctor them up a bit, but that ain't polenta. I'd
> recommend that you buy your polenta at Rainbow when you're in city --
> they get it from Giusto's (http://giustos.com/). But given your
> reaction to the city of Berkeley, Rainbow would make you break out in
> hives.

I went with somebody to Rainbow before. It didn't bother me. After
all, I grew up in North Beach during a time when it was ground zero
for American bohemians, beats, and even so-called hippies before rent
increases motivated them to move to the Haight.

I don't despise Berserkeley because of its atmosphere or even leftie
politics. I despise them for being bigots, particularly as to groups
to which me and mine belong either by accident of birth or by choice.
As such, if I have a choice, I'd rather my money not go to groups who
advocate bigotry whether it's the Black Muslim Bakery, the KKK, or the
City of Berkeley, just to name a few.

> If you want spend an arm and two legs on corn meal, grits, etc., mail

> order from Anson Mills in South Carolina,http://ansonmills.com/products. Good >stuff, in spite of their penchant for product descriptions like "Artisan Handmade >Fine White Polenta"

> and "Artisan Handmade Coarse Rustic Polenta Integrale."

They sound like an interesting change from the old stand-by Golden
Pheasant brand polenta. Especially the latter one you mention. Maybe
I'll give them a shot. Thanks.

Ciccio

[Todd Michel McComb]

In article <b3fcd2b6-3c9b-49ff...@qi8g2000pbb.googlegroups.com>,

Ciccio <franc...@comcast.net> wrote:
>No, I mean polenta that is uncooked i.e., dry. It is uncooked,
>packaged and labeled as "polenta."

A common brand is Golden Pheasant. (That's what you got at Safeway,
I would guess?)

For a while, our local Safeway wasn't carrying it either, so we had
to go to specialty stores for polenta, which was inconvenient, but
they started again a couple of years ago.

[sf]

On Mon, 12 Nov 2012 09:38:18 -0800 (PST), Ciccio
<franc...@comcast.net> wrote:

> I'm sure they have their reasons for what they do. I just thought I'd
> pass along that TJ's doesn't carry dry polenta, in case somebody puts
> it on their list. They'll need to go to Safeway or some such.

I'd like to know why finding the really coarse ground polenta is so
hard these days. I'm not saying it's impossible to find, it's just
not as ubiquitous as it was before.

[Todd Michel McComb]

In article <pvg2a8lrsbgft1c2k...@4ax.com>,

sf <sf.u...@gmail.com> wrote:
>I'd like to know why finding the really coarse ground polenta is so
>hard these days.

Fashion, of course. At least food fashion isn't as capricious and
fast changing as clothing fashion, so be thankful for that.

[evergene]

Off topic: Checking to get some information on my broccoli raab
plants, this description (edited for purposes of humor) caught my eye
(from http://www.victoryseeds.com/broccoli_de-cicco.html):
Di Ciccio
75 days — Introduced in 1890, 'Di Ciccio' is an old reliable Italian
variety... More productive than many hybrids and non-uniform in
maturity...

[Ciccio]

On Nov 12, 11:12 am, evergene <g...@geeaitcheekaygee.com> wrote:

> Off topic: Checking to get some information on my broccoli raab
> plants,

Off topic? Why, broccoli raab and polenta go well together.

Ciccio

[sf]

Not being Italian, I don't understand the evolution of modern day
polenta. Do you have any ideas about how it was being used before and
it isn't being used as much for now? Just curious. My big use for it
is to under pizza.

[Jon]

On Mon, 12 Nov 2012 11:00:14 -0800, sf <s...@geemail.com> wrote:

>I'd like to know why finding the really coarse ground polenta is so
>hard these days.

Purely speculation, but I'm guessing that this year's drought has made
many corn products harder to find, more expensive, or both.