People Break Down Which Previously Cheap Foods Have Gone Up In Price Due To Popularity
Trends are the worst.
When something catches on as the new "trend," forced popularity created for the sole purpose of increasing sales, you can expect one thing: a price increase.
After all, YOU don't want to be left out of the newest hot thing, right?
If you want all your friends to think you're cool and hip and "with it" then you better pay the 300% markup on this item no one cared about two weeks ago.
I repeat: trends are the worst.
Reddit user, captainstyles, wanted to know what you should never pay trendy prices for when they asked:
"What used to be a cheap food but has gone up in price because of popularity?"
The Way You Prepare It Should Not Be Factored Into The Price
"Brisket"
– Annaresti_
"Used to be that all the 'unusual' cuts of beef were much cheaper, so if you knew how to cook them you could get a deal: brisket, flank, skirt, flat iron, shank, oxtail, even marrow bones. Now it's all as expensive as everything else. I blame social media, click bait bs, and cooking blogs telling everyone how you can "take this cheap cut and make it the star of the show!". Well now it's not a cheap cut anymore. Why would I buy a flank steak over sirloin when it costs the same and is way harder to prepare properly."
– CarrotChungus
When An Event Jacks Up The Price
"chicken wings"
– nyc_vin
"74’, 75’ was the first time I visited the Buffalo NY area and was introduced to Buffalo Wings; I thought they were great. After we got back home to the Southwest, I went grocery shopping and picked up a package of raw chicken wings from the meat case. They cost 18¢ a pound; they were essentially throwaway parts of the chicken. Last time shopping around the Superbowl I had trouble finding them; they cost more than drumsticks and thighs."
– NotDazedorConfused
With Cheese, Mr. Squidward. With Cheese.
"Maybe not to a huge extent, but burgers."
"It seems like every time I go to a decent bar or that type of restaurant, what used to be a $10 - $15ish dollar standard burger has been replaced by 5+ "signature burgers" with ridiculous or random toppings that are each $25+ with a normal cheeseburger being listed for $20 or more at the bottom."
"Once at a restaurant in town, my wife ordered a normal burger and they brought out some weird peanut butter and jelly one and when we returned it we were still charged the full price for the "premium" version."
– candlecrusher
Baby, You Got A Stew GOing
"Big beef bones. They used to be dirt cheap, and we’d use them to make pho. Now roasted bone marrow is this bougie thing that costs an arm and a leg."
– Jojosbees
"This. My grandmother used to get bags of bones from her butcher for free. They were scrap."
"Now that people know what homemade stock is, they aren’t free anymore."
– tibbles1
The Pricing Literally Defeats The Purpose
"Food trucks used to sell affordable food. Now it's luxury prices."
– billybobjimmyjoe
"The Mexican food trucks in my area are still affordable. But the other ones are pretty expensive"
– MossiestSloth
"I grew up and live in a medium size beach city. As a kid, we'd always go to the beach, and get dinner/lunch/whatever from the food trucks parked up along the beach, because they were way cheaper, and simpler, food. Now they're so f-cking weirdly niche and fancy, it's cheaper for us to go to a high-class restaurant, it's ridiculous."
– Faithless195
When Restaurants Pick Up On A Trend...
"And now avacado toast is costing all of us our houses!"
– PerInception
"I think avocados are the real answer, I grew up in the late 90s from a Caribbean household and we used to be able to get bags of haas avocados for pennies now one avocado will cost you almost 2 dollars."
– SuperTeamRyan
"I just got a "deal" on 2 avocados for $5.00."
– Proper_Mud_5552
Aioli Fries Sound Familiar?
"A side of french fries at a sit down restaurant used to be the cheapest thing on the menu. Now you're looking at upwards of 7-8 dollars."
– 38563856
"Also, and don't get me wrong as I love food innovation, but it's usually standard fries with some sort of fancy dressings or spices or cheese. They have to make them seem bougie."
– PastelPalace
Shelly Past
"See the history of Lobster. I believe it used to be fed only to prisoners."
–frinkmahii
"My great aunt’s boyfriend was a Canadian who grew up destitute. He used to be so embarrassed bringing lobster sandwiches for lunch every day from his parents scavenging the beach that he would trade them for pb and js"
– scmcdono1
The Basic Breakfast, It Used To Be Called
"Breakfast’s. Not too,too long ago two eggs, hash browns, slices of bacon and toast could be had for just a couple of bucks; everyone agreed it was still a restaurant bargain."
– NotDazedorConfused
A Cool Treat
"stuff like icecream trucks. when i was younger i remember them being cheap, now they are like 5 usd per popsicle"
– GooigiHasDrip
When Big Companies Take Over
"Coffee. Coffee was cheap as shit until Starbucks made it cool to overcharge for it."
– ShrimpBisque
I Miss The Cheap Ones
"I'm definitely going to say tacos."
"Tacos used to be the cheap food. Go to the taco guy, get like 3 tacos for $3."
"Now, it's like $12 for 2 tacos and they call them fancy deluxe names."
"I will happily pay more for Birria tacos, but they shouldn't cost 5 time a normal one."
– TheProphecyIsNigh
Now It's Gourmet
"Sushi. They used to be fast food for Japanese workers."
– 2ninh
Not To Mention The Fancy Ones
"Hamburger."
"It used to be the cheap way to feed your family. No it is usually more expensive than roasts or lower priced steaks. I have invested in a grinder attachment for our counter mixer so that I can stock up on roasts when they go on sale for $2.99/lb and grind it myself. It ends up at least $1.00/lb cheaper than store bought ground beef."
– richg0404
The Price Of Your Favorites
"Bologna."
"There was a time when I was young where our family was struggling and we had to cut back on groceries. One of my most favorite foods from that time that I still love today was fried bologna."
"My mom used to be able to get the great big industrial sized things of bologna you see behind the counters now for peanuts."
"Now you're paying a fortune for these little baby sized portions. I miss being able to cut and fry and extra thick portion that's 2/3 the size of my plate."
– Theearthhasnoedges
Milk's Favorite Cookie
"Oreos. They are just cookies, cheap little wafers with some cream and sugar filling. Why is a box 4 to 6 dollars it’s crazy! They are delicious but come on!!"
– skothan
Nothing Worth Having Is Affordable!
"Oysters. In the Pickwick papers, charles dickens said oysters and poverty went hand in hand. Bars in the north east would give them away for free to get people to buy more beer. Now they’re 1-2$ each at a raw bar, and 6 charbroiled ones can be 15-20 dollars at places in New Orleans (never mind further inland where the supply lines cost kick in)."
– PerInception
No Substitutions
"Oat milk. It used to be so inexpensive then everyone decided it was great and so overpriced I don’t even buy it anymore."
– AWD-ESTATE
Less Bang For Your Buck
"Indian food. I used to be able to fill up for under $10. Now it's at least $25 for the same meal."
– LusciousLennyStone
This One Stings The Most
"I’m surprised how expensive Taco Bell has become. You used to be able to feed an entire family or one severely drunk college kid on 10$"
– technician33
"I remember when their menu was all under $1."
SadPlayground
"59-79-99 cents"
"59 cent bean burritos. Those were the days."
Matookie
Maybe we all eat ramen tonight, huh?
What food do you think has gotten completely out of control? Let us know in the comments!
The humble potato is pretty much everyone's favorite comfort carb. It's the kind of thing that can be elevated fine dining, casual street food, or even a knock out drink!
Potatoes can be bread, pasta, a snack, a meal - or even an artistic medium and source of energy if you're not in the mood to actually eat the super spud.
Reddit user flacidballoon asked:
Hey Reddit, what's your favorite way to eat potatoes?
The result is an ode to the only root to ever derail a potential presidential campaign; and it is GLORIOUS. If you're low-carb or no-carb, you might want to skip this article. For the rest of us, grab your forks and let's get down.
Butter Butter Butter
It's kind of amazing how much butter you can get into finely mashed potatoes. Fine dining restaurants use about a 3:1 ratio (three pounds potatoes: one pound butter). Ridiculous.
- o_shrub
A famous chef actually used half and half. Apparently it tastes like heaven... Probably because you're considerably closer to going there if you eat it a lot.
If something tastes like heaven at a restaurant you can be quite sure it's because of excessive amounts of cream or butter in the dish.
Flavor Delivery Device
All potatoes are just flavor delivery devices. Potatoes are very bland, hence why nearly every method to prepare them uses tons of salt or other condiments.
Ever had unsalted french fries? Nasty.
Mashed potatoes without butter, salt and milk? Nasty.
Potatoes au-gratin? Tons of cheese, salt and cream.
Pommes dauphinoise? Again with the salt and cream.
Pommes Anna? Salt and butter.
Hasselback potatoes? Salt, butter and herbs.
Potatoes make a very good base to add other flavors to. It's all in how you prepare them. A baked potato is not fully prepared until you slather it with butter and other toppings. Just like mashed potatoes aren't fully prepared till you add the butter, milk and salt.
Source: classically trained chef.
Samwise Style
GiphyI liked them boiled. Or mashed. Maybe stick 'em in a stew.
What's taters, precious??
Hash Browns
Hash brown.
- Mr_Zacek
This. With extra crispiness on the outside
- dlrust
Non-crispy hash browns are a total why bother.
With a runny egg and country gravy on it.
Carne Asada Fries
Carne asada fries.
Someone wanna explain what this is? I know I could google but that doesn't help the next guy, or further the discussion. Carne is meat, what kind of meat? What does asada mean?
- Vranak
Carne Asada is a type of steak often used in Mexican food. Marinated, grilled, and thinly sliced. It's absolutely delicious. Carne Asada fries is just fries, steak, cheese, and then whatever other toppings you want (guacamole, sour cream, pico de gallo, etc).
Scalloped Does Not Mean Scallops... Or Cheese
Scalloped with lots of sharp cheddar.
I avoided them my whole childhood because I hate scallops, big mistake.
Me too! I never really asked I just heard and declined immediately, with that kind of name I must not like them. I went like 15 years without the deliciousness in my life. Who wouldn't like potatoes with tons of cheese?
- claryn
My grandma made the BEST scalloped potatoes. Thin sliced so all potatoes were tender, lots of cheese plus some (I think) sour cream to make it all creamy. Tissue-thin onions that melted into the cheese sauce.
She's been gone 7 years. My aunt makes them every holiday, but she's a joke of a cook and takes short cuts so it's all crap. I know I could recreate it, so could my mom. But, it's just not the same. You KNOW it's not made by grandma.
I miss my grandma.
- Lo452
Here is my weird hill to die on. Scalloped potatoes do not have cheese! I love cheese so much, BUT scalloped potatoes should be a white sauce. If including cheese you are now making potatoes au gratin. I am the type of cook who will at least double the cheese in any recipe, but we grew up eating scalloped ham and potatoes on special occasions and there was no cheese.
Thank you! I was dumbfounded everyone was agreeing and no one was pointing this out.
Pickled
GiphyNot my favorite way per se, but a way that I just tried recently. Pickled potatoes.
The Mexican restaurant on the corner serves pickled potatoes alongside their pickled jalapenos. I decided to give them a try. Sliced potatoes 1/4" thick and boiled them for about 10 minutes until they were edible but firm. I packed them in a jar with 50/50 vinegar/water and 2 tbsp of salt. Other herbs and spices to taste. I used oregano, thyme and crushed red pepper.
After a week in the fridge, they're a great beer snack. Also add carrots and jalapenos to the same batch for a variety of pickles in a single jar.
- NewRelm
"Mouth Feel" is one of those things that's hard to describe, but the moment you experience it you know exactly what it is. Like art, mouth feel is up for interpretation. Everyone's palates are different, but there are those foods which almost everyone can get behind. Thankfully, we have self-proclaimed 'foodies' to steer us in the right direction.
Reddit user, u/Wakizeki, wanted to know about the best foods with the best feels when they asked:
What food has the absolute best "mouth feel"?
People Share Their "How Did Our Ancestors Discover This Was Edible" Moments
It's one thing to be a foodie. It's another thing to put your life at risk because you're a little hungry and you want to be adventurous. How did our people learn what we could and could not consume? Who exactly discovered what seasonings paired perfectly with things? Who was the brave who learned for us that ketchup should always be on a fry? Deep thoughts friends. Deep thoughts.
Redditor u/maniacz2 had a really good life question we never really think about by asking.... What food has made you wonder, "How did our ancestors discover that this was edible?"