How to Make Ice Cream at Home
Ice cream is an amazing treat! Especially on those beautiful summer nights. But stopping buy your local shop can add up throughout the season. That’s why sometimes it’s nice to make your own homemade ice cream. It can sound intimidating, but it can actually be super easy. Here’s our guide to making ice cream at home!
The easiest way to make ice cream takes only four ingredients, a mason jar, and just a bit of elbow grease. 1 cup of heavy cream, 1.5 tablespoons of granulated sugar, .5 teaspoons of vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt is all it takes. Add these ingredients to a mason jar, twist the lid on tight, and shake. This is where the elbow grease comes in. The mixture needs a good shake for 4 to 5 minutes, if you can call in some backup or other members of the household that will certainly help. Just tell them they will be getting ice cream out of the deal!
Once it’s nice and shaken, the mixture will have doubled in size and nicely coats the back of a spoon. Once you’ve reached this point you know you’re ready for the next step…freezing! Store the jar in the freezer and in about 3 hours, you should have created firm, scoopable ice cream. This is the simplest way, but definitely add in your own flavorings to the base or toppings to the final ice cream product.
You can also make ice cream in plastic baggie at home. Add the same ingredients to small, resealable plastic bag, make sure all the excess air is out and the bag is sealed tightly. Meanwhile, combine salt and ice in a large resealable plastic bag. Place the small bag inside the large bag and shake, elbow grease again, but this time for 7 to 10 minutes, until the ice cream hardens. Remove from the bag and enjoy!
Sources:
https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a54721/ice-cream-in-a-bag-recipe / https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/how-to-make-simple-homemade-ice-cream
Vegetable Storage Hacks!
Mia Teal
E-Commerce Marketing Intern
If you are someone that enjoys growing a garden in the summer and is dedicated to taking care of it, you may be experiencing an overflowing volume of vegetables. While having a surplus is a good thing, you might be running out of people to share your vegetables with! We have some tips and tricks on how to store your vegetables to extend their lifespan, as well as delicious recipes that can be made. After all, summer is winding down and we would hate to have you lose all your hard work.
When storing your produce, you first need to consider what types of vegetables you have and whether it should be stored in a room-temperature area or in a refrigerator. For example, potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, garlic, tomatoes, and onions should be stored at room temperature, like a counter or kitchen table. Additionally, these types of produce should not be covered by a bag to allow them to breathe.
On the contrary, vegetables that should be refrigerated and stored in a sealed container or Ziploc bag include leafy greens, broccoli, cauliflower, radishes and carrots. By refrigerating produce in a sealed Ziploc bag, the cool moisture is held in. Additionally, ensure that the green tops of the radishes and carrots are removed prior to storage.
When storing your produce, be wary of what items you store next to each other. Apples should not be refrigerated directly next to leafy greens, broccoli, or cabbage due to ethylene gas that apples produce. This type of gas begins the ripening process and as apples begin to ripen, more ethylene gas is produced. Leafy greens are sensitive to ethylene gas, and by placing these next to produce like apples, you may lose your lettuce sooner than expected!
It is important to note that regardless of how well you store your produce, they will only last approximately one to three weeks depending on what type of vegetable it is. That is why you should always use your instinct to judge whether or not your vegetables should be consumed or thrown out.
Another great option is to try a new recipe using your fresh produce. Check out the recipes we have created below!
Spinach & Apple Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette : This combination of fresh apples, tomatoes, and spinach mixed with pecans and Gorgonzola cheese is the perfect side salad at dinner!
Instant Pot® Tortellini & Vegetable Soup: While this recipe calls for frozen vegetables, replace it with vegetables of your choice from the garden!
Air Fryer Loaded-Taco Baked Potatoes with Guacamole: This baked potato is filling, healthy, and delicious for even the pickiest of eaters! Be sure to stop by your local Price Chopper or Market 32 for PICS cheese and sour cream.
Open-Faced Butternut Squash and Kale Omelet: This hearty and healthy breakfast is delicious and easy to make! All you need are PICS eggs and bacon, your garden vegetables, and spices of your choice.
Happy Gardening!
S'more Summer Fun
S’mores are the star of summer campfires and backyard cookouts. Everyone loves the classic s’more, a harmonious sandwich of marshmallow and chocolate, stuffed between graham crackers. However, today we are suggesting more for your s’mores! Check out some of our favorite creative, next level s’more recipes to try at your next summer night hang out.
Rice Krispie Treat S’mores: Is there anything better than marshmallows and chocolate? Well yes, marshmallows and chocolate AND Rice Krispie treats. Rice Krispie treats will elevate your s’mores to an elite level of crispiness.
Candied Bacon S’mores: Candied bacon brings a wonderful sweet and savory mix. This is at the top of our list.
Roasted Berry S’mores: Berries pair wonderfully with chocolate, why not add them to your s’mores for a refreshing twist? We love roasted berries for a campfire aesthetic in the summer.
Salted Caramel S’mores: Decadent, gooey, and delicious Salted Caramel S’mores can become very addicting.
Tropical S’mores: These tropical s’mores will have you in vacation mode in your own backyard. Add some grilled pineapple, maraschino cherries, and toasted coconut to your s’mores and replace the graham crackers with white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. Paradise.
Chocolate Chip Cookie S’mores: This idea is simple, but oh-so delicious. Pack your s’more between your favorite chocolate chip cookies for more chocolaty goodness.
Elvis S’more: We all love a good Elvis sandwich, but how about an Elvis s’more? Peanut butter, banana, and bacon added to your s’more. Yum!
Grasshopper S’mores: This minty fresh recipe features dark chocolate mint, like an Andes, rather than your regular s’mores chocolate. A fun, tasty twist.
PB&J S’mores: Did you think we were done remixing sandwiches? Nope. Peanut butter and jelly s’mores are the best thing since sliced bread.
Caramel Apple S’mores: Last but not least, caramel apple s’mores. We recommend using a granny smith apple topped with a warm caramel drizzle.
This summer, we will be enjoying these different recipes at our campfires and highly recommend you do the same. The best part? All of your s’mores needs are conveniently located at your local Price Chopper & Market 32 or on our website.
home.grown. Prolong Your Garden with Pickling!
Mia Teal
E-Commerce Marketing Intern
Summer is the best time of year for fresh produce. At Price Chopper and Market 32, we partner with a wide variety of local farmers in the region, but we know that many Northeasterners enjoy growing their own produce. If you fall into this category, your garden may just be overflowing, and you can only give away so many tomatoes! Pickling could be a good alternative for you and your veggies. We have exactly what you need from mason jars and lids and other canning and pickling essentials like large-size vinegar. Read below on how to pickle if this is new to you, and then stop in your local Price Chopper or Market 32 to get the supplies you need!
What exactly is pickling, and is it just for cucumbers?
Pickling is the process of preserving food in a brine solution in order to extend its shelf life. By brining certain foods, bacteria are not allowed to grow. There are so many food products that can be pickled, and just a few are listed below. Some may even surprise you!
Cucumbers, garlic, pork, beets, carrots, eggs, strawberries, blueberries, radishes, shrimp. onions, squash, peppers, beef, and mangoes.
History of Pickling:
Pickling foods is nowhere near a new concept. According to archeologists and anthropologists, they believe that ancient Mesopotamians pickled. Later, pickling was a necessity for families to have food throughout the winter months and was crucial for sailors on long voyages.
How to Pickle Your Garden Veggies:
Fresh vegetables without bruises from your garden are ideal to pickle. The shape you choose to cut your produce is up to you, but cherry tomatoes are best when left as a whole and carrots work well when cut into spears.
- Prepare your mason jar by washing it with warm, soapy water and then rinsing out completely. Dry thoroughly with a towel.
- Cut your vegetables into the shape of your choice and trim the ends. Add in any spices if you choose or garlic.
- Pack your vegetables tightly in the mason jars. Ensure that there is some room from the top of the vegetables to the rim of the jar.
- Prepare your brine by following the steps below:
- Combine: 1 cup water, 1 cup vinegar of choice, 1 tablespoon of salt, and 1 tablespoon of sugar
- Poor into a small pan over high heat and bring to a boil
- Continue stirring to ensure the salt and sugar dissolve
- Pour brine into mason jars
- Let vegetables cool for at least one hour before enjoying. The longer they sit in the brine, the better.
Happy Pickling!
Shop Pickling Necessities
The Rise of Avocados
Until recently, the avocado was fairly unknown, met with tons of questions and not enough answers. Now it’s eaten every day across the county in a plethora of different ways. So how did the avocado become so mainstream? On this National Avocado Day, we decided to look back at the avocado and how it became the superfood sensation that it is today.
The rise of the avocado took quite the marketing effort. Consumers weren’t always familiar with the fruit and the best ways to enjoy it. Part of this was because it wasn’t always known as an avocado. At first, they were given the Spanish name “Ahuacate,” derived from Aztec origins, but that wasn’t the easiest to pronounce. They were also called the “Alligator Pear” because of their bumpy, olive-colored skin. However, that name was both unappealing and misleading, given the many differences between pears and avocados. Finally, in 1915 a group of farmers put their heads together and came up with a new name: the avocado.
By the time the 1980s came around, U.S. dietary guidelines recommended a low-fat diet. Continuing into the 90s, the trend was tough on the avocado industry, despite their efforts to educate the public on the health benefits of avocados. Of course, up until that point, avocado producers had not done much to educate the public on how to eat an avocado, nor did they promote them in the context of Latin American cuisine where these fruits shine. Therefore, folks had no idea how or where to add avocado.
Finally, in the 90s, the California Avocado Commission hired Hill & Knowlton a public relations firm who introduced “Mr. Ripe Guy” a mascot used to educate and promote all things avocados. Mr. Ripe Guy got the ball rolling on what turned into an all-out campaign to promote these superfruits. Hill & Knowlton worked to showcase avocados on the ultimate stage, the super bowl, getting big time NFL stars to share their favorite recipes, and market guacamole to fans around the country.
Avocado sales quickly skyrocketed with its crop value spiked by nearly 70%, turning the avocado from an anomaly to a household grocery item. Now guacamole is one of the go-to Super Bowl Sunday snacks. Today, avocados are featured in endless amounts of recipes and people pay extra to have some avocado thrown in their salad, added on their sandwich, or even spread on their toast.
For some awesome avocado recipes and inspiration check out our website. Don’t forget to stop by your local Price Chopper & Market 32 or shop with us online for all your National Avocado Day needs. It’s time to celebrate the emergence of this awesome superfruit!
Chill Out and Relax on National Refreshment Day!
Mia Teal
E-Commerce Marketing Intern
Each year, National Refreshment Day is celebrated on the last Thursday of July. That day is today, July 28th! There is an interesting history with National Refreshment Day. The word “refreshment” was originally spelled “refreschement” in Late Middle English. While the spelling has been altered, the meaning has not. By definition, “refreshment” means to be revitalized and rejuvenated after a difficult time or situation.Traveler Beers, located in Burlington, Vermont founded this National Day in 2015. Whether you are celebrating by the pool or in the office, Price Chopper and Market 32 have a variety of different drinks for you to unwind and relax.
Peach Paradise : This recipe is fun and very easy to make. Be sure to stop by our produce department for fresh peaches and PICS lime juice.
Iced Caramel Vanilla Latte : Price Chopper and Market 32 have a wide selection of coffee, sweeteners, creamers, and milk. This delicious latte is perfect before your morning commute to the office!
Chocolaty-Orange Smoothie : The combination of fresh oranges and PICS Belgian Dark Chocolate will have you head-over-heels for this smoothie!
Classic Pimm’s Cup : The Classic Pimm’s Cup is refreshing to say the very least. The fresh basil, mint, lemon, and orange tastes give this drink the perfect summer feel.
Caramel Milkshake : Who doesn’t love a delicious milkshake on a hot summer day? Celebrate this National Refreshment Day with this caramel milkshake that is easy to make!
Raspberry Iced Tea Pops : Looking for something fun to make for National Refreshment Day? These ice pops are the way to go! All you need are peaches, raspberries, and PICS raspberry tea for this recipe.
Price Chopper and Market 32 offer a wide range of beverages, non-alcoholic and alcoholic, to keep you refreshed all summer long! Check out our catalog below.
Shop Ice Cold Drinks!
Happy National Refreshment Day!
home.grown. Corn: How Sweet It Is!
Sweet corn is a seasonal treasure. It’s one of our favorites to enjoy all summer long, especially in peak growing season here in the Northeast! We’re proud to source sweet corn locally when the season rolls in, but did you know that this crop takes a sourcing journey all the way up East Coast each year, before our region’s annual bounty hits?
May
Warmer weather typically hits our region in full force by mid-May, and the people of the Northeast hit their backyards. Early in what we like to call “grilling season,” we’re usually tapping into Florida’s sweet corn season, as our Northeast farmer’s plant, water and tend to their fields.
June
By June, the summer season is officially setting in. Around here, the weather heats up, the sun stays out and our sweet corn starts to come a bit closer. We move our map pin from Florida to Georgia and begin bringing in Georgia-grown sweet corn for a while. Northeastern cornstalks have sprouted by the end of the month, in preparation for harvest in a few weeks. We can hardly wait.
July
Weather factors heavily into almost all of the crops we source locally each year, and sweet corn is no exception. While we prepare for the mid-July checkered flag on our beloved local sweet corn, we source our corn in parts of North Carolina and Delaware, where local corn season has set in. It’s delicious, as was the Floridian and Georgian corn, but we’re chomping at the bit for corn from our backyard!
It’s Here!
Sometime between mid and late July each year, our favorite point in the local agriculture season hits: sweet corn season. Our Produce teammates smile from ear to ear, pun intended, as crates from friends like Shaul Farms in Fultonham, New York, Paul Mazza Farms in Colchester, Vermont, and more start to arrive. This amazing season seems to go by in the blink of an eye, much like the holidays do, and typically lasts until mid-September. Our local farmers deliver consistently during this time, and we can’t get enough!
Want to read more about home.grown. produce season in the Northeast? Visit our blog and check out our Ready Magazine.
Mango Mania!
Mia Teal
E-Commerce Marketing Intern
Did you know there is an entire day dedicated to celebrating mangos? That day just happens to be today, July 22nd! Happy National Mango Day to all our mango-loving customers!
The History of Mangos in India:
Mangos flourish in sub-tropical regions and were first grown 5,000 years ago in India. While many of us eat mangos as a delicious snack or in a recipe, there is a much deeper meaning to mangos in India. Mangos are a symbol of love in this country and giving a basket of mangoes is a gesture of friendship. Today, India is the world’s largest producer of mangoes!
Mango Varieties – When are they in season?
When you go to your local Price Chopper or Market 32 to purchase mangoes, you may not realize that there are hundreds of different mangoes! Even more interesting, not all mangoes grow in the same season. Check out a few below!
Honey Mangos:
Honey mangoes are a vibrant yellow that turns a deep golden color when fully ripe. The taste is super sweet, and, well, has a honey flavor of course!
Peak Availability: Between March and July.
Rainbow Mangoes
Rainbow mangoes can grow up to seven inches long with a thin, multicolored skin. They are very sweet and turn a blush red color when ripe.
Peak Availability: Spring to early summer
Haden Mangoes:
When eating this type of mango, you can expect a sweet, yet, bitter aftertaste. These mangoes are bright red with green undertones which turn yellow as they ripen.
Peak Availability: March to May
Ice Cream Mango:
Yes, you read that right! Ice cream mangoes are about five to six inches long. The flavor is sweet and resembles a mango sorbet flavor.
Peak Availability: June and July
Keitt Mangoes:
Popular in Asian countries, Keitt mangoes are sweet and fruity. Unlike many other mangoes, this type stays green even when ripe.
Peak Availability: March to April, August and September
Interested in more ways to eat mangoes? Check out a few of our recipes below!
This delicious meal will have you coming back for seconds! A few main ingredients in this recipe include tilapia, mango, cayenne pepper, and PICS white rice.
This is the perfect Sunday-morning breakfast that your family will love!
Change up your next “Taco Tuesday” with these pulled chicken tacos. The sweet and salty combination is a must-try!
Happy National Mango Day!
New Items: Frito-Lay Lays Layers
For more than 75 years, Lay’s® – one of the marquee brands from PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division – has consistently brought its fans unique innovations that explore different flavors and textures, delivering smiles and joy to generations of potato chip fans. Shoppers are always on the hunt for new snacks, and America’s favorite potato chip brand is giving them something in 2022 that they’ve never seen before with the introduction of a brand-new product line: Lay’s Layers.
Lay’s Layers are not your ordinary chips. They are multi-dimensional, one-of-a-kind potato bites with layers of delicious crispiness. Bite-sized, flavorful, and unlike anything Lay’s has unveiled before, they deliver a truly new snacking experience.
“Lay’s fans are known for finding joy in the every day – no matter what life throws their way – and this multi-faceted approach to life helped inspire Lay’s Layers,” said Melissa Miranda, senior director of marketing, Frito-Lay North America. “Lay’s Layers is a new offering in the Lay’s portfolio that is just as multi-dimensional and flavorful as our fans’ lifestyles.”
The new Lay’s Layers product line will feature two delicious flavors fans know and love:
- Three Cheese: A tangy and cheesy blend of cheddar, parmesan, and gouda
- Sour Cream & Onion: A savory blend of onion and sour cream
Are You Ready For Your Summer Getaway?
Mia Teal
E-Commerce Marketing Intern
Nothing says summer like a nice, relaxing vacation with friends and family. Whether you are a lake or a beach person, Price Chopper and Market 32 want to make sure you have everything you need for your trip! If you are looking for new places to vacation this summer, you are in luck. Check out some great getaway spots below!
Lake George (Lake George, NY): Located in Upstate New York, Lake George has a variety of fun options. Whether you want to lounge by the beach, challenge your athletic abilities at Adirondack Extreme, or take a boat cruise of the lake, Lake George has an option for everyone!
Cape Cod (Cape Cod, MA): Cape Cod is booming with things to do, which makes this location a very popular destination in the summertime. Be sure to try out some amazing lobster rolls and other seafood restaurants while you are there!
Crystal Lake (Barton, VT): Located in the beautiful state of Vermont, Crystal Lake is three miles long and one mile in width. This destination has a variety of “outdoorsy” activities ranging from boating, paddle boarding, picnicking, and fishing.
duBois Beach (Stonington, CT): Located right outside of Mystic, Connecticut, duBois Beach is perfect for your family. You will find that this beach is in close proximity to the downtown shops and restaurants. While you are here, don’t forget to watch the sunset. It will take your breath away!
Hampton Beach (Hampton, NH): Hampton Beach is a family-friendly beach with many different activities. You can rent a cabin or campfire right online! Make sure to pack your marshmallows!
Lake Wallenpaupack (Stroudsburg, PA): Lake Wallenpaupack is a gorgeous, 13-mile-long lake in Pennsylvania. Whether you want to hangout in the sand, play a round of miniature golf, or visit Costa’s Family Fun Park, this lake is perfect for your next trip!
Wondering what to pack for lunch and snacks while by the water? Check out some of our favorites below. Just make sure you don’t forget the ice when packing your cooler!
Last but certainly not least, bug spray and sunscreen are a must! Check out Price Chopper and Market 32’s collection below to find exactly what you need for your big trip.