September 18, 2020
Fall is prime time for bulk food shopping—and smart shoppers know it’s the perfect season to stock up and save. With peak harvests and lower seasonal prices, fall is ideal for buying produce, grains, and proteins in bulk. Not only can you take advantage of wholesale deals, but you’ll also have plenty of extra ingredients to preserve, pickle, and can. It’s a cost-effective way to stretch your grocery budget while building a stocked pantry you can rely on now and throughout the year.
Can Shopping at Bulk Food Stores Help You Lower Your Food Costs? Absolutely.
Looking to stretch your food budget this fall? Buying bulk foods for meal prep is one of the smartest ways to save on your grocery bill. Preserving produce and meats helps extend the life of your wholesale groceries. Plus, jams, pickles, and jerky make great holiday gifts. So, stock up on products from your bulk food store and preserve those fall flavors for seasons to come!
What Kinds of Fall Food Can You Buy in Bulk and Preserve?
You can easily pickle, dehydrate, and can just about anything. All it takes is some basic equipment and a few recipes under your belt. Focus on versatile, long-lasting ingredients like root vegetables, beans, rice, oats, apples, squash, and meats. These staples are perfect for big-batch cooking and are easy to preserve.
Easy Fall Produce Prep Ideas Using Bulk Ingredients
Buying in bulk opens the door to easy meal prep through pickling, canning, and other preservation methods. Turn extra vegetables into crunchy pickles, simmer fruits into shelf-stable jams, or pressure-can soups and sauces for ready-to-eat meals. These methods not only extend the life of your ingredients but also fill your pantry with quick, homemade options you can rely on all season long. It's a flavorful, cost-effective way to make your bulk purchases go even further.
Creative Canning Ideas
Before you decide to can, it’s important to know there are two different canning methods, water bath and pressure canning. The type of canning method you use depends on the ingredients you’ve chosen.
Low-acid foods like whole vegetables and meats require pressure canning. High-acid foods like fruits, pickles, and chutneys work best for water bath canning. You can find countless fall fruits and vegetables at your bulk food stores that are perfect for canning, but here are some ideas to get you started:
- Apples: Slice apples and use them later for pies, pastries, and more! Add a little citric acid, and you can employ the water bath method. Apple butters and applesauce also lend themselves well to canning.
- Corn: Canning corn is a fantastic way to lock in that fresh corn-on-the-cob flavor. It will require pressure canning, but the results are worth it!
- Cranberries: Stock up on fresh cranberries from your wholesale grocery and make cranberry sauce, cranberry relish, and cranberry jam.
- Squash: Fall squash and pumpkin are delicious when canned. You can cut the squash into pieces and preserve them using a pressure canner or make purees, pie fillings, soups, and more.
Turn to Pickling for Zesty Flavors
Cucumbers are top of mind when we think of pickles, but a variety of veggies, and even fruit, can be pickled to extend the longevity of your bulk produce. Pickling vegetables, and even fruit, extends the longevity of your bulk produce. Toss them in a salad, add them to a cheese board, and even use them as a brunch cocktail condiment. Check out these zesty recipes:
- Root vegetables like beets, carrots, turnips, and fennel
- Cruciferous vegetables like brussel sprouts, cauliflower, and cabbage
- Fall fruits like apples and pears
Get creative with your pickles and feel free to experiment. If you are new to pickling, there are some basic recipes you can follow, then branch out once you get the hang of it. While you are visiting your wholesale store, you can pick up your pickling essentials.
Build your own pickling kit from your bulk food store. You’ll need:
- Mason jars in all sizes
- White and apple cider vinegar
- Sugar
- Black peppercorns
- Salt
- Dill seed
- Mustard seed
- Allspice
- Ginger
- Cinnamon
Delicious Dehydrated Treats
Dehydrating fruits, vegetables, and meat can really stretch your grocery budget. What’s more? You don’t have to invest in an expensive food dehydrator to get the job done. Your home oven works perfectly to make fruit chips, jerky, and a slew of other tasty treats.
Not sure where to start? Take some inspiration from some of the items found at your wholesale grocery supply store:
- Beef Jerky: While there are lots of methods to stretch your meat budget, turning thin cuts of beef into jerky is a terrific way to get more out of your grocery dollar. Whip up your favorite marinade and pop the strips in the oven for easy, homemade jerky.
- Kale Chips: Fall is a perfect time to get your hands on some hearty, leafy greens. Kale chips are easy to make, a healthy alternative to potato chips, and a smart way to keep your greens from spoiling. You don’t have to stop at kale chips. Dehydrate other greens like collards, beet greens, chard, and even bok choy!
- Fruit and Vegetable Crackers: Looking for a gluten free option for your meat and cheese boards? Dehydrating fall fruits like apples and pears, and root vegetables, make a great cracker alternative. You can also break the chips into smaller bits and add to trail mix.
- Mushrooms: Fresh mushrooms are abundant in autumn. You can stock up, dry outyour favorite fungi, and save them later to use in everything from soups, rice pilaf, pasta sauces, and more.
Stretch Your Fall Grocery Budget With CHEF’STORE
CHEF'STORE offers affordable, high-quality meat, produce, dairy, spices, baking ingredients, and much more. Whether you are feeding a small household or a large family, you can take advantage of our competitive prices this fall.
CHEF'STORE has partnered with trusted third-party grocery delivery services so you can have wholesale deals delivered right to your door! Chances are, there's a CHEF'STORE bulk food warehouse in your neighborhood. Search our locations and find what you need at the prices you want.
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