Grocery

April 24, 2017
In this savory investigation of grocery stores, the supermarket is no cesspool of mindless consumerism but a dynamic embodiment of changing diets and mores. Ruhlman (The Soul of a Chef) profiles Cleveland’s Heinen supermarkets, interviewing the owners, shadowing buyers at new-product expos, even bagging groceries at checkout (an astonishingly sophisticated art). Inspired by his father’s love of shopping, Ruhlman’s view of supermarkets is a sympathetic one that debunks many bad raps foisted on food retailers—the milk is in the back because the dairy cases fit there, not to make shoppers walk past the other products—and revels in the sheer abundance that supermarkets offer and the logistic miracles that make this abundance possible. Ruhlman is less sanguine about the processed foods supermarkets sell, which he feels are ruining our health—“breakfast cereal,” he warns, “is a kind of unseen, underground threat, humming endlessly away, like missiles”—and launches ill-considered admonishments to buy organic and beware of GMOs. Much of the book is a fascinating portrait of how the sustainability movement is revolutionizing groceries with an avalanche of local produce, grass-fed meat, organic everything, and nutritional supplements. (Heinen’s “wellness department” is advised by a chief medical officer.) The soapboxing sometimes overreaches, but Ruhlman’s lively reportage yields an engrossing tour of the aisles.

March 15, 2017
Cookbook author and food writer Ruhlman (In Short Measures: Three Novellas, 2015, etc.) explores the evolution of the American grocery store and how it has affected what we eat in this country.The author uses two of his Midwestern hometown grocery chains, Heinen's and Fazio's, and his memories of his father's love of food and grocery shopping as the foundation for this engaging narrative. While he notes that many other writers have covered the history of the grocery store, the broken industrial food production system, and the nutritional benefits of various foods, Ruhlman delivers -a reported reflection on the grocery store in America, and an expression of my own love, anger, opinions and concerns over what is in them, how it got there, and what it all means.- He believes that grocery stores are more than just a place to buy food; they reflect both positive and negative aspects of many areas of American culture. His lively story combines personal anecdotes and family memories with accounts of his travels around the country and interviews with various grocery store owners, medical professionals, and suppliers--e.g., Brian and Kathleen Bean, the founders and owners of Idaho's Lava Lakes Land & Livestock, purveyors of top-notch lambs. The author also talked to food entrepreneurs working on new ways of growing our food, such as Freight Farms, a company that converts shipping containers into greenhouses. Ruhlman delves into the importance of hydroponics for growing produce, and he tracks the evolution of the prepared food craze and the importance of learning to cook and enjoy real, nutritious food. The author sprinkles in just enough pertinent references to relevant food-related titles to keep the narrative moving along at a quick pace. An illuminating journey through and behind the grocery store, which, -perhaps more than any other mechanism of change...has the power to shape how we raise and produce food in America.-

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Starred review from August 1, 2017

One might think that a book about grocery stores would only appeal to the most avid reader of the literature, but food writer Ruhlman (Ruhlman's Twenty) offers an absorbing, firsthand look at an industry that takes in $650 billion annually. America has an abundance of grocery stores, and an abundance of products that fill those stores, yet few people know how grocery stores operate or where their food comes from. Ruhlman traces the history of grocery stores from trading posts to the emergence of retail chains and superstores, specifically profiling the Cleveland family-owned chain Heinen's Foods. Exploring the various departments, he learns how and why products are selected and merchandised. The author takes a trip through the aisles with his doctor, examining the health claims of foods. Later, he attends a food expo where all the latest products are on display, meets with Heinen's chief medical officer, and even takes a turn bagging groceries. Ruhlman has definite opinions on the nutritional value of many products, and spends a portion of the book addressing these. VERDICT This fascinating look at the ins and outs of the grocery store offers something for everyone: food, family, history, business, and health issues.--Melissa Stoeger, Deerfield P.L., IL

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2017

One might think that a book about grocery stores would only appeal to the most avid reader of the literature, but food writer Ruhlman (Ruhlman's Twenty) offers an absorbing, firsthand look at an industry that takes in $650 billion annually. America has an abundance of grocery stores, and an abundance of products that fill those stores, yet few people know how grocery stores operate or where their food comes from. Ruhlman traces the history of grocery stores from trading posts to the emergence of retail chains and superstores, specifically profiling the Cleveland family-owned chain Heinen's Foods. Exploring the various departments, he learns how and why products are selected and merchandised. The author takes a trip through the aisles with his doctor, examining the health claims of foods. Later, he attends a food expo where all the latest products are on display, meets with Heinen's chief medical officer, and even takes a turn bagging groceries. Ruhlman has definite opinions on the nutritional value of many products, and spends a portion of the book addressing these. VERDICT This fascinating look at the ins and outs of the grocery store offers something for everyone: food, family, history, business, and health issues.--Melissa Stoeger, Deerfield P.L., IL

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from May 1, 2017
Prolific food-writer Ruhlman's new book is more than its title suggests. As expected, it explains the marketplace for groceries, meats, produce, and other foods thoroughly. What readers may not anticipate (unless they have read Ruhlman's other books, such as Egg: A Culinary Exploration of the World's Most Versatile Ingredient, 2014) is the author weaving two family stories into his observations of supermarket business and consumer behavior. The first story is about his relationship with his father, a man who loved grocery shopping on Saturdays. The other is about the rise of Heinen's Fine Foods, a family-owned supermarket chain in Cleveland, featuring brothers Tom and Jeff Heinen and several of their employees. Ruhlman also profiles farmers and ranchers that the brothers visit seeking healthy and high-quality items for their stores. Chapter 16, about where supermarkets buy produce, is particularly enlightening and could stand alone as an article. This book ends with Heinen's opening a store in a restored, historic bank as part of downtown Cleveland's renewal campaign. Informative and inspiring, this microhistory deserves space in most public libraries.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)