Ever notice how most grocery stores still carry buckets/tubs of lardsomewhere in their meat sections? What is this 1955? Who the heck is buying this stuff? Yet, a lot of people must still be buying this product or they wouldn’t stock it.
Other nominees include moustache wax and personal care products straight out of the 1950’s (e.g. “Brylcreem, a little dab will do ya”) complete with packaging unchanged since that time.
I’m buying the lard! Outside my neighborhood, which is Hispanic and Eastern European, both cultures of which whom love their lard, I’ve actually found it frustratingly difficult to find lard sometimes.
I can’t think of any old-timey products that seem weird to me, but I’ve always wondered who in the hell, outside of me from time to time, is buying all the fresh turmeric root in my neighborhood. My local grocery has been stocking it for a couple of years now, and I can’t figure it out. There’s no Southeast Asians or South Asians in this neighborhood. There’s maybe about 5% Chinese, but I don’t think it’s used that much there. We’re maybe 75-80% Hispanic. I’m not aware of it being used a lot in that culture, but maybe I’m wrong? I’ve been wanting to ask the store manager about it.
Hey, my father still uses Brylcreem. He’s 85, mind you, so he’s hardly at the leading edge of fashion. But there’s someone out there still buying the stuff. (And actually, it’s getting hard to find, so that my mother will clear out the Walmart when she does find it available.)
I live maybe an hour away from an Amish community. There’s a grocery store in this Amish-influenced community that has nearly an entire aisle devoted to those kind of supplies. Being an avid vegetable gardener, this is a good thing. We usually make a point to stock up on certain supplies whenever we head down there.
I take it you weren’t raised in a mostly Hispanic area; lard is a critical part of traditional Mexican cooking. Although I have noticed the iconic lard container you linked to is rarely available in the largest sizes anymore.
Exactly. I still buy it from time to time if I run out from what I rendered with my own hogs. Not as good, but better than anything else offered at the market so I’m glad they still stock it.
The answer to many of these is: “hipsters.” Either that or Whole Foods yuppies.
Lard? The trend is now flavor in moderation, not constant low-cal. While the previous mantra was “all fat is bad,” now lard is seen as having low saturated fat (the Bad Kind ™) compared to butter etc. That said I don’t know if I’ve noticed it for sale, but haven’t been looking.
Moustache wax? Bryl Cream? Are you kidding? Yes, mostly 30-something guys who probably work as a “mixologist.”
I don’t know about kraut juice, but pickle juice sans pickles is sometimes sold. Can be used for cocktails or a “pickle back.”
Hipster bars and restaurants love using Mason jars as glasses. And home canning shares a lot with home brewing, meat curing, and other new(ish) trends. Not sure that people need to buy the supplies enough for a smaller store to stock it, but what do I know?
