Americans are still pinching pennies, and some of that budget cutting is happening in our kitchens. But spending less on food doesn't have to mean sacrificing quality or taste. Centuries of effort in cultures around the world has gone into creating delicious, inexpensive and surprisingly healthy peasant cuisines.
Last week, we compared the prices of staple foods at mainstream chain supermarkets and small international groceries, and the small independents frequently had the better deals. But where those little markets really shine is on their prices for spices.
Saving money gets a tasty twist at international grocery stores, where your favorite foods often come with much smaller price tags. And with food costs on the rise, what a better time to explore than right now.
Diamond Foods is buying the Pringles brand of chips from Procter & Gamble for $1.5 billion. The deal is the latest -- and biggest -- of a stack of acquisitions for the maker of Emerald nuts and Pop Secret popcorn, making Diamond to the No. 2 snack company after PepsiCo's Frito-Lay.
As food prices continue to rise, many food companies are shrinking packages instead of raising item prices. But don't be fooled: You're definitely paying more for less.
That cherished American tradition -- summer grilling -- is about to get pricier. Rising grain prices are affecting livestock feed, which in turn affects meat production. And surging overseas demand for both U.S grains and meat are adding to the equation.
Japan's domestic food supply faces plenty of threats, including nuclear radiation, a crippled distribution infrastructure and a shaky electric grid. But there's some good news for U.S. suppliers: A shortage of domestic beef and pork could increase the market for imported meat.
As the crisis at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant continues, some worry that radiation from the damaged reactors will reach U.S. shores. Dr. Edward Maher, president of the Health Physics Society, and an environmental science expert at Harvard, explains why we should breathe easy.
Both a major buyer and processor of fish, Japan is an important link in the global seafood distribution chain. So the effects of the disaster -- including the ruined ports, roads, fisheries and processing centers -- have taken their toll on the seafood industry worldwide.
The Christian season of repentance, Lent, is underway. And with the season comes an increased demand for seafood -- as traditional followers of Lent avoid meat on Fridays. That demand has caused some restaurants to alter their menus, and seafood retailers to consider their supplies.
In this economy, cash-strapped consumers have become more budget conscious and less concerned about appearing cheap. As a result, better-known brands have steadily been losing ground to store-branded food products.
First spotted in Pennsylvania in 1998, the brown marmorated stink bug has marched far and wide, decimating crops wherever it shows up. It tends to overwinter in cozy American homes -- and it teaches a harsh olfactory lesson to anyone foolish enough to crush a stink bug.
