The average supermarket, according to industry statistics, carries nearly 39,000 items.
That’s great, but when there’s one thing you really need, you couldn’t care less about those other 38,999. And when you can’t find that one item…well, you might find yourself cursing the sheer size of the store as you wander from one end to the other, and back again.
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If we always shopped in the same store, we’d know where everything was. But we don’t, do we?
Last week I went on a scavenger hunt of sorts to four local stores, each from a different grocery chain, with a list of several dozen items that have stumped my colleagues or me in the past. In some cases, I was surprised to find an item in the same section in all four stores. Yippee! But usually, that was not the case.
Let’s start with dried fruit. Those lovely raisins and Craisins and apricots were in the produce section at one store, in the canned fruit section at another and in the baking aisle at the other two stores. And each place makes sense! But just to confound things, one store also featured a second dried fruit display (in clear plastic boxes) at the end of the freezer aisle.
And that’s just the beginning.
Here’s a partial list of other foods on my search list and where I found them. If you’re curious, I visited a Piggly Wiggly, a Pick ‘n Save, a Sendik’s and a Sentry.
Milk and more milk: We all know where to find fresh milk, but it’s those other “milks” that can trip us up. Coconut milk? Look in either Asian or Hispanic foods. Dulce de leche? Hispanic foods, if the store carries it. Powdered milk was either in the baking aisle with the canned milk or in the coffee aisle; but buttermilk powder wasn’t necessarily next to it. (At one store, it was with the Jell-O and pie fillings.)
And if you’re looking for shelf-stable alternative milks — almond, soy, rice — you might want to ask a grocer before you search. I found them variously in the cereal aisle (next to the granola), the baking aisle and the coffee-and-tea aisle.
Juiced! Pretty consistent results here. Even Key lime juice was stocked with the other fruit and veggies juices (top shelf, typically), not in the baking aisle. And if it’s clam juice you want, you’ll find it parked in the canned meat aisle, near the tuna.
(In my quest, I made a few other quirky juice discoveries: kraut juice (who knew?), next to the fruit nectars; and garlic juice and French dip “au jus” in the condiment aisle.)
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Crumbs up: Graham cracker crumbs were found at each store in the baking aisle. So far so good. But if it’s cornflake crumbs or bread crumbs you’re after, try the bread aisle first. No luck? Check salad dressings and vinegars. Or look for the dried beans and rice.
Luck be a ladyfinger: Tiramisu on your menu? Those cute little cookies you need were found variously in the Italian food section, in the cookie aisle or in the bakery.
Gluten-free: The category has grown, no question. But while some stores group all the G-F items together in one place (one even had gluten-free ladyfingers!), others integrate the products throughout the store. If you can’t find something, don’t give up: Ask.
It’s a wrap…or not: Looking for won ton skins or eggroll wrappers? Hmm. At the first store I checked they were with the tofu in produce. At two other stores, they were also in produce — but at opposite ends of the department from the tofu. And one store carries them only frozen: shelved above the burritos, pizza rolls and pierogies.
Some items were in the same location in three of the stores…but in an entirely different place in the fourth. Just enough to create doubt whenever it shows up on your list. Two examples:
Maraschino cherries: In the condiment aisle with the olives at three stores — but with the canned fruits in the other. Frankly, I think they belong in the baking aisle. That’s how we most often use them, right? And if not, then we’re plopping them in a brandy old-fashioned.
Quinoa: With the rices and boxed pilafs at three stores — but at the fourth, in a special gluten-free department. Yes, quinoa is gluten-free, but….
Sticky fingers: Three sticky sweeteners — so much in common, except for where you’ll find them. At one store, the honey was with the jams (as it was at every store), the maple syrup was with the pancake syrups and pancake mixes, and the molasses was in the baking aisle. And as much sense as it makes to place the real maple syrup with the artificial stuff, at two stores it was in the baking aisle, with the molasses.
A few other random items:
Agave nectar/syrup: Surprisingly consistent: in the baking aisle with the sugars.
Chutney: Don’t look in jams or in ethnic foods. It’s with the ketchups, mustards and barbecue sauces.
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Energy bars: Paired with granola bars at only one store, where they were next to the cookies. Otherwise off by themselves: in health and beauty at one store, in the pharmacy department at another (between the protein shakes and nutritional supplements).
Sun-dried tomatoes: In the canned vegetable aisle (with the canned tomatoes or apart from them), with the salad croutons, and/or in the Italian food section. Also check produce.
Tahini: Check Italian foods, Asian foods or the jam-and-peanut butter aisle.
Jerky: Look for the chewy meat snacks in one of two places: in their own display near the meats, or in the snack aisle, at home with the cocktail nuts.
And just for fun, I threw a few nonfood items on the list. Toothpicks and drinking straws — they’re with the paper plates, folks (though straws were in housewares at one store).
And to my delight and surprise, I found cheesecloth at every store, in the housewares section with the kitchen gadgets. No more special trip to the hardware store!
But another item — a seasonal one that I suspect other customers are in search of these days — was not sold at any of the stores. I asked.
Feel like making Popsicles for the kiddos? You’ll have to get your wooden sticks somewhere else.
Nancy J. Stohs is food editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. E-mail her at [email protected]. Follow on Facebook and Twitter: @NancyJStohs.
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What foods or other items do you have a hard time tracking down at the grocery store?
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