WholePaycheck chain won't be carrying Jamón Serrano

Originally Posted by foodguy

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it does have a fairly delicate flavor, but that's not a bad thing in my book. it almost reminds me of a pio tosini prosciutto from Parma, which is the best I've found imported to the US.
I'm definitely partial to stronger, more country hams, so that makes sense. I tend to like very dry, very salted.

i do like those too. but a really great prosciutto should not be that way ... it should have a delicate texture, practically melt on the tongue, with a flavor that's more complex than forceful.

Maybe I have to explore proscuitto a little more as well.

just remember that it's more milanese and bolognese than it is napolitano. it's served everywhere, of course, but the esthetic is much more italian elegance than earthiness.

Originally Posted by foodguy

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i'd be really surprised if they didn't have jamon serrano ... that's really pretty common. i can readily understand, however, why they may not have jamon iberico or jamon iberico de bellota, which are harder to come by and, delicious as they are, ridiculously expensive.

why is jamon iberico so expensive? is it the diet of the pigs or the age, or simply its rarity?

i would think of cost of production, size of production, and rarity (possibly also media exposure and import taxes)

Originally Posted by iammatt

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Unfortunately, they seem to rigidly apply a certain corporate code to ingredients that should be judged on an individual basis.

I do know that WFM has a list of "unacceptable ingredients" that they won't carry, but how would you suggest that they be judged "on an individual basis"? Perhaps a "deliciousness to harm" ratio?

Originally Posted by 1969

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I do know that WFM has a list of "unacceptable ingredients" that they won't carry, but how would you suggest that they be judged "on an individual basis"? Perhaps a "deliciousness to harm" ratio?
OK, here is an example. I was talking to a guy who raises what are known to be the very best rabbits for human consumption in the US. Whole Foods approached him looking to buy some rabbits, but they explained that, since he kept his rabbits penned, they would not pass muster at Whole Foods. They needed to be free range. He explained to them that you really cannot raise free range rabbits, so they said they were not interested. Case by case would determine that one would select rabbits which were treated as well as rabbits could be treated, and not that rabbits should not be sold because they actually cannot be raised the Whole Foods way.

Originally Posted by iammatt

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OK, here is an example. I was talking to a guy who raises what are known to be the very best rabbits for human consumption in the US. Whole Foods approached him looking to buy some rabbits, but they explained that, since he kept his rabbits penned, they would not pass muster at Whole Foods. They needed to be free range. He explained to them that you really cannot raise free range rabbits, so they said they were not interested. Case by case would determine that one would select rabbits which were treated as well as rabbits could be treated, and not that rabbits should not be sold because they actually cannot be raised the Whole Foods way.

OMG!

Originally Posted by iammatt

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OK, here is an example. I was talking to a guy who raises what are known to be the very best rabbits for human consumption in the US. Whole Foods approached him looking to buy some rabbits, but they explained that, since he kept his rabbits penned, they would not pass muster at Whole Foods. They needed to be free range. He explained to them that you really cannot raise free range rabbits, so they said they were not interested. Case by case would determine that one would select rabbits which were treated as well as rabbits could be treated, and not that rabbits should not be sold because they actually cannot be raised the Whole Foods way.

ugh. that sounds like the LA Dept. of Health reasoning for banning wild mushrooms in 2005.

Originally Posted by mharwitt

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ugh. that sounds like the LA Dept. of Health reasoning for banning wild mushrooms in 2005.

that one was a little more complicated. first of all, they only banned them in farmers markets, and only for a couple of weeks. but there was a real issue that these vendors (there were only three of them), were selling on mushrooms without any kind of verification that they were safe. I've known one of hte vendors for years and have bought mushrooms from him regularly, but i can also understand how a city regulator might have problems with it. say someone picks up a false morel instead of a true morel and someone with a compromised immune system gets sick from it.
at the time, there was a lot of fun made about the inspectors not realizing that wild mushrooms were really wild, and foraged, not grown, but when you think about it, how often have you seen "wild mushrooms" on a menu that then wound up being shiitakes, maitakes, or even worse, portobellos or creminis.
whole foods, on the other hand, if it is as presented, seems like a pretty clear case of people following the rules, rather than thinking.

Originally Posted by iammatt

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OK, here is an example. I was talking to a guy who raises what are known to be the very best rabbits for human consumption in the US. Whole Foods approached him looking to buy some rabbits, but they explained that, since he kept his rabbits penned, they would not pass muster at Whole Foods. They needed to be free range. He explained to them that you really cannot raise free range rabbits, so they said they were not interested. Case by case would determine that one would select rabbits which were treated as well as rabbits could be treated, and not that rabbits should not be sold because they actually cannot be raised the Whole Foods way.

Good example, but actually more a case of someone locally simply being thick than a matter of corporate rigidity.

Originally Posted by foodguy

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that one was a little more complicated. first of all, they only banned them in farmers markets, and only for a couple of weeks. but there was a real issue that these vendors (there were only three of them), were selling on mushrooms without any kind of verification that they were safe. I've known one of hte vendors for years and have bought mushrooms from him regularly, but i can also understand how a city regulator might have problems with it. say someone picks up a false morel instead of a true morel and someone with a compromised immune system gets sick from it. at the time, there was a lot of fun made about the inspectors not realizing that wild mushrooms were really wild, and foraged, not grown, but when you think about it, how often have you seen "wild mushrooms" on a menu that then wound up being shiitakes, maitakes, or even worse, portobellos or creminis. whole foods, on the other hand, if it is as presented, seems like a pretty clear case of people following the rules, rather than thinking.
your point is valid, and i'm not saying that it's ridiculous for the state to develop standards for wild mushroom sellers, but the LA Dept. of Health's action was (or at least seemed to be) timed and applied arbitrarily, and they backed off of it as soon as there was an outcry. it's not as thick-skulled as the WFM example, but i think it falls into the same family of where did this sudden concern come from and why would it necessitate banning all wild mushrooms, and only in farmer's markets?

Originally Posted by mharwitt

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where did this sudden concern come from and why would it necessitate banning all wild mushrooms, and only in farmer's markets?

not to belabor (or to overly defend), but the assumption is that if you're buying mushrooms from an established store, there is a verification trail. at the farmers market, it could be just some guy who found something interesting growing in his backyard. that's not to say the big sellers were like that, but, sadly, rules are written with the worst-case scenario in mind.

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/prod...-standards.php Here is a link to their quality standards for animals and meat. I would suggest this person was actually not following anything other than their own intution, which was wrong.