Paula Deen Mac And Cheese

[jennyema]

$30 a pound? Seriously?

I love "really good cheese" ( as opposed to Cabot or Cheese and Butter which are good or sargento which is OK) and will pay $$ for it but I hardly ever pay that much. And I never would for parm or romano.

I usually buy my "really good cheese" at Formaggio (which has its own aging cave) or at Murray's, Fairway or Zabars in NYC. Most of their stock is well below $30/lb Even super aged Italian cheese.

 

[GotGarlic]

Boston is the closest port to Europe. That is why foreign airlines like to land here.

Foreign airlines land in Boston because it's a major American city. They also land in New York, Baltimore, Miami, Atlanta, etc. Even Detroit Metro Airport receives international flights.

The fees are lower than NY. Also the same for ships. We also have a very large Italian community in Boston and surrounding communities. So fees for imports from Italy are lower.

I'm sorry, but that makes no sense. There's a very large Italian community in New York as well and I've never heard of import fees having any relationship whatsoever to the ethnicity of a community.

How do I know all this? I worked at Logan Airport and the head count papers used to come across my desk. MassPort is also in charge of all the shipping. There is more involved, but to complicated to go into here.

When was that? Is it possible international business practices have changed since then, like the seamen's hospital system we discussed earlier, that was eliminated in 1981?

Cabot Cheese is shipped throughout NE on a daily basis with their own trucks. Always fresh. I have no idea why Wisconsin cheeses are so expensive.

Prices are determined as much by supply and demand as by cost, and costs aren't always what they seem. We don't have much of an Italian community here, but I can get just about any cheese I want. Imported Parmigiano Reggiano, cut daily from the wheel, is on sale for $9.99/lb. this week. One of the stores I go to offers 20% off any specialty cheese to its email newsletter subscribers about once a month.

 

[medtran49]

Well, import fees are federal fees, with possibly some state/county/city tacked on, though I don't remember ever seeing that when I passed thru Miami Customs back when I used to travel international and occasionally had to pay the fee. So, at the very least, the base fee (Federal) is going to be the same regardless of where you clear Customs. Nor, do I remember seeing anything other than Federal fees when some very expensive items were shipped home from Italy and we had to pay tax after they got to the States.

I will say though that I have seen imported parm very close to $30 a pound in 1 particular grocery store chain in my area. That's been a while though and price has come down. I guess enough people figured out they could buy a huge wedge at Costco for the same amount a tiny little wedge would cost at 1 of those grocery stores so they brought their prices down more in line with Costco (though still not that low).

 

[Steve Kroll]

Boston is the closest port to Europe.

Sorry, no. That would be Portland, Maine. But what does it really matter? Despite what you might think, Boston doesn't really have a lock on the imported cheese market. We get imported cheese in pretty much every major city in the US. Here in Minnesota imported Parmigiano averages $8-11/lb.

According to one list, Atlanta has one of the best cheese shops in the country. I don't know personally if they have imported Parmigiano or Romano but, if not, there are several Italian delis listed on Yelp. And if you still can't find it any of those, there are at least a half dozen Whole Foods that should have what your friend wants. If it averages $30/lb, I'll eat my hat.

Atlanta is a good sized cosmopolitan city. Not so back-woodsy that the average grocery store worker would not have heard of Romano cheese. That's just plain silly.

 

[bakechef]

Sorry, no. That would be Portland, Maine. But what does it really matter? Despite what you might think, Boston doesn't really have a lock on the imported cheese market. We get imported cheese in pretty much every major city in the US. Here in Minnesota imported Parmigiano averages $8-11/lb.

According to one list, Atlanta has one of the best cheese shops in the country. I don't know personally if they have imported Parmigiano or Romano but, if not, there are several Italian delis listed on Yelp. And if you still can't find it any of those, there are at least a half dozen Whole Foods that should have what your friend wants. If it averages $30/lb, I'll eat my hat.

Atlanta is a good sized cosmopolitan city. Not so back-woodsy that the average grocery store worker would not have heard of Romano cheese. That's just plain silly.

I was thinking the same thing, I live in smaller southern city and honestly there isn't much that you can't find here. $30 a pound cheese is a rare thing, it exists here, but wouldn't likely be Parm or Romano, but something far more obscure.