We all have things we can’t do without
Be it coffee or fresh bread, we all have that one comfort food we need to survive self-isolation
“Flour is my toilet paper,” says Deb Sudul.
A keen home bread baker, Sudul says she initially rolled her eyes at the news of people who seemingly can’t get through the COVID-19 crisis without hoarding toilet paper. But she soon realized she had her own anxiety — running out of flour.
Like scores of other coopedup Calgarians, she’s rising to the challenge of spending time in self-isolation by turning out loaf after golden loaf. Witness the scores of people hunkered down at home who are posting shots of their cookies, sticky buns and other floury creations on social media. (It must be said this isn’t possible for everyone; essential workers and those short of time, money and resources may not be able to stock up, stay home and cook.)
“Bread is the absolute foundation of food,” says Sudul, a retired piano teacher. “Baking it makes me feel like I’m producing something rather than buying. It’s a self-sufficiency thing.”
If bread baking is therapeutic and the end result is delicious and nourishing, it also now means becoming a small-potatoes “prepper.” Flour, the most basic of foodstuffs, was cleaned out of supermarkets this past week, causing some consternation.
Many of us have a food thing we can’t live without. Kraft Dinner must be at the top of many people’s lists; about 15 million boxes of the pantry staple sold in March in Canada, more than double the amount from the previous month, according to the Financial Post.
Over the weekend, I tapped my network and discovered a grocery list of food items my contacts say they can’t go without: coffee, lentils, eggs, bananas, avocados, peanuts, smoked kippers (!), and, from a passionate number, chocolate.
My thing is canned tomatoes. From a 28-ounce can of red gold, I can spin an “instant” tomato soup, a batch of pizza or bolognese sauce. Recently, after fruitlessly hunting high and low for tinned toms at supermarkets, I decided to change my weekly shopping strategy and hit up The Italian Store, a retail outlet, deli and cafe operated by Great West Italian Importers. It carries Mediterranean staples such as canned and jarred goods under its Scarpone’s label.
There, keeping a safe distance from other shoppers, I picked up a flat of canned plum tomatoes. Sweet relief. I also scored a precious 20-kilogram bag of enriched flour for my husband, another hard-core bread baker.
“We’ve had a run on the Italian flour. People have been going crazy for it,” says Sera Duros, one of the family-run company’s owners.
Likewise, coffee is in hot demand at The Italian Store. “People are saying, ‘I can stay home as long as I have coffee.’ We’re trying to buy as much as we can. We can’t go without our morning coffee.”
Duros, who can’t live without good olive oil, sees a lot of Calgarians turning to homemade meals for comfort.
“Cooking is therapy. It makes you feel so good. Your family loves it. People aren’t going out to the restaurants so it means there’s a lot of demand for our stuff.”
Pierre Lamielle, a chef, illustrator and cookbook author, also applauds home-cooking and the humble canned tomato. He says tomatoes are one of the few foods that naturally satisfies all of the five tastes: sweet, salty, bitter, sour and umami. But, butter is his jam.
“Butter is important for my health and well-being,” says Lamielle, a Calgary contender on Top Chef Canada and winner of the Chopped Canada TV series. “It’s a genetic, French thing. I don’t want to find out what happens when I run low.”
He keeps a life-preserving stash of butter in the freezer, some in the fridge for uses such as grating over pancakes and more at room temperature for when the “irresistible” urge to bake cookies strikes.
Baking cookies brings us back to flour — and thoughts of whether we’re facing shortages of it and other food supplies. Are concerns justified?
Duros is unsure. On Monday she ordered more flour, but could only get two pallets, not the six she wanted. Her supplier of Canada’s legendary Five Roses flour has told her there could be a shortage. So, for now, The Italian Store is limiting sales of bags of flour to two per customer.
I take some comfort in the words of Gary Sands, senior vice-president, public policy and advocacy for the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers. In a recent opinion piece for Postmedia, he said grocers run “very tight margins” to control inventory and prevent food waste. So, when shoppers start stockpiling and hoarding, it disrupts those lean, just-in-time supply chains. Presto: empty shelves.
“But there is simply no reason for panic buying in Canada. Grocery stores are staying open. Our food supply chain is robust, safe and secure. Suppliers have assured retailers that enough food is being produced and there are no shortages of essential products such as, yes, toilet paper,” Sands writes.
“Bear in mind, too, that in some categories, Canada is a net food exporter. We are, for example, a major producer of grains, beef, chicken and dairy products.”
It leads me to believe perhaps our homegrown basics, such as flour, will be readily available. Depending on how long the pandemic lasts, imports such as coffee — and some of the other food items we think we can’t live without — might become luxuries, like in bygone days. Shop accordingly.
For her part, Sudul isn’t taking any chances. She stocked up on flour, yeast and salt.
“Even if the stores shut down, we could live on bread and water. At least we’ll have bread. That’s enormously comforting to me.”