On 2015-10-25 2:37 PM, graham wrote:
> Discovered "Bulk Barn" yesterday.
> http://www.bulkbarn.ca/en-ca/index.html
> It appears to be a Canadian company but I'm sure there must be US
> equivalents.
> It is a veritable Aladdin's Cave and the temptation to buy things you
> might need is enormous. I stuck to what I will soon use: white choc
> chips, gluten flour, sprouted whole-wheat flour (for recipes in
> Reinhart's latest book) and pink peppercorns (for sprinkling in salads
> and also making "honey-pink peppercorn madeleines).
> However, I did give in and bought some Liquorice Allsorts!

They are are a number of them in the Niagara area and I shop there a
lot. You have to watch the prices because some things are really cheap
there while others are not much of a bargain. It is a good place to buy
steel cut oatmeal because they charge the same price per pound for it as
they do for large flake or quick cooking. The Wheatlets are their
version of Cream of Wheat but lacks the bran. I buy all my herbs and
spices there and they are usually about 10% of the price we pay for
pr-packaged stuff. I get my candied fruits for fruit cakes there.

The savings on things like flour depend on the quantities you buy. A
pound of AP flour might compare favourably with the cost per pund for
buying a small bag of flour, but it you do a lot of baking and use a lot
of flour, buying large bags at the grocery store is usually a better deal.

Given all the good stuff they have in their stores and the good prices
on a lot of it, I am always a little disappointed to see that so many of
the people I see there are loading up on candy. I suppose it doesn't
really matter to me if they want to load up on that crap instead of
taking advantage of the other good deals, but then I have to consider
that perhaps they are making so much money off the candy that they can
use the concept for me to get good deals on the stuff I want.

BTW.... some people may carp about the herbs and spices being out int he
open and subject to deterioration.... poppycock. When I can fill my
container of ground ginger for 20-30 cents instead of $4-5 I will take
the bulk stuff. I am saving enough that I can toss it if it starts to
degrade, but I can go in there once every 6 months and replace all my
herbs and spices for the cost of 2 bottles in the grocery store.