Colder Days Call For Winter Menus

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31118, 22 July 1966, Page 14

Colder Days Call For Winter Menus

(By Our Grocery Reporter)

Colder weather this month—particularly in the last few days—is pushing up sales of cold weather foods as housewives plan their winter menus.

Top-selling lines at the moment are porridge, canned soups, soup mixes, baked beans, spaghetti and pudding mixes.

“Convenience foods,” such as packs of different vegetables, are also very popular. One large soup maker is unable to meet demand just now because of a plant change.

Rice.— There seem to be good prospects for the new season’s United States rice crop. It should be harvested and ready for shipment late in August. Rice prices have been advancing for some time now because of the Vietnam war and the famine in India. A shipment of Siam rice is expected at Lyttelton soon and the price may have risen considerably.

Canned Fish.— Recent quotations for South African canned pilchards are still low. Pilchards are not very popular in New Zealand, but demand might increase if salmon Is scarce. However, shipping from South Africa is difficult and unpredictable. Japanese Oysters.— Japanese oysters, too, are still being quoted at low prices. In fact, oysters from Japan can be landed at lower prices than New Zealand’s own oysters. There are good stocks of both boiled and smoked Japanese oysters.

Canned Meats.— Several New Zealand meat packers Increased prices on July 11. The rises, from 2d to 3d for a 12-ounce can, cover tongue, corned beef, ham loaf pork luncheon meat and other canned meats.

Californian Prunes. — Prospects for the prune market are not good because of production cuts. California estimates it will only produce 135,000 tons thia year against 176,500 tons last year. This means higher prices In line with Australian prunes.

Cooking Fat.— The makers of margarine vegetable fat are now releasing Chefade on to the market in four pound cans. Hotels, restaurants and chip bars have been using this for some time. Chefade is a solid, white substance that melts into oil. It has no odour. When re-used the oil leaves no fatty taste in the

-nioiith in the way that some fats do. At an expected retail price of 12s a can it should be popular with housewives.