Have you decided what to serve for Christmas dinner yet? Why not give goose a try! Whether you serve it as the star of the meal or alongside traditional favorites like ham, turkey or beef, a succulent roast goose adds a delightful flair to your holiday table.
Historically, goose has been a firm favorite in Europe. Not only did Charles Dickens famously write about a tender and flavorful goose as the centerpiece of the Cratchit’s Christmas table in A Christmas Carol, but in Victorian England, “Goose Clubs” were formed where people could save up all year just to have a Christmas goose! In recent years, thanks to growing interest in seasonal, alternative and local food, goose has been gaining more and more popularity in the US as well.
Choosing a turkey used to be pretty simple. All you’d have to do is get a head count of dinner guests and find the biggest bird possible to feed the crowd. Now it can be pretty daunting. Here’s some advice to help you make the right turkey choice for you.
The biggest difference for almost any turkey you choose at Whole Foods Market is that they are fresh. Our birds are harvested close to the time of being sold. You may not realize that the FDA allows birds to be harvested in February, kept at 27°F for months and then sold as fresh in November. That’s not what we sell here, but people who are buying our fresh birds for the first time aren’t used to getting turkeys that are really fresh.
Okay, leute (that’s “folks” in German), with Oktoberfest just around the corner, I thought it was a good time to talk sausages and Sausage Meisters! For those of you not familiar with the term “Meister,” the direct translation from German is “Master” — as in a master craftsman.
Before we worked here, a few team members (myself included) went through a Sausage Meister apprenticeship program in Europe and we became official Meisters. Skipping forward a few years, we wanted to bring the same skills into the Meat Department at Whole Foods Market so our customers could have sausages made fresh in-house. Over the last few years, we developed a training program similar to the one in Europe for our own Whole Foods Market Sausage Meisters. Read the rest of this entry »
After many weeks of regional competitions among top butchers at Whole Foods Market stores across the country, eleven finalists in our Best Butcher Competition will go head-to-head for the national title of “Best Butcher.” The competition kicked off in May with more than 300 butchers participating. Now, the semi-finals and finals will be held at the 2011 Amstel Light Meatopia presented by Whole Foods Market on July 23 at New York’s Brooklyn Bridge Park and will showcase how professional butchers execute and merchandise the perfect cuts.
We have trained butchers in every single store, which really sets us apart. This competition celebrates these highly regarded in-house butchers and puts the spotlight on the art of butchery — a pursuit that takes a high degree of skill and years of experience to master. They will be demonstrating their prowess in how to use intimidating equipment with precision while breaking down meat without sacrificing its integrity.
The Best Butcher Competition takes the idea of popular culinary battles to a new level by allowing an audience to witness this clash of the cleavers in person. Finalists will be judged on presentation, workmanship, knife-handling skills and more. The competition will be accompanied by the full Meatopia event with half a dozen ranchers sharing how they raise their animals, live music, and every kind of meat cookery from over 45 great chefs including Michael White (Ai Fiori, Osteria Morini, Marea) and Michael Psilakis (Kefi, Fish Tag, MP Taverna).
It started as a dream. Erick Jensen, President of Pineland Farms Natural Meats, wanted to replicate the success of beef cooperatives on the west coast in his home state of Maine and produce the finest natural beef in the country. To make his dream a reality, Erick approached Whole Foods Market’s Northeast Region in 2002 and, with about half a dozen small producers from northern Maine, they started supplying our stores in that area.
“Whole Foods is our longest running customer. They were one of the first companies to give us a chance and see the value in a supplier network working with local producers.” Erick continues, “They believed that cattle producers in the northeast could compete with the quality from the west and mid-western parts of the country. They have been a leader in all aspects of sustainable natural beef production. The Global Animal Partnership’s 5-Step program is just the latest example of how Whole Foods leads. They never follow.”
Just a quick reminder that today only, Friday, February 18th, you can buy Organic Whole Chickens for just $1.69 per pound. (Offer valid in U.S. store only) Head to your local Whole Foods Market store right now! (There is a limit of 10 chickens per person ’cause we want to have enough for everybody!) And these aren’t just any chickens. They meet the USDA’s organic standards, which means:
No antibiotics, ever.
Access to the outdoors.
Only organic vegetarian feed.
And on top of that, all of the producers are rated by the 5-Step™ Animal Welfare Rating Standards developed by Global Animal Partnership. Learn more about how we’ve chosen to partner with the Global Animal Partnership to certify our producers’ animal welfare practices.
Go get your chickens and then try one of these fabulous recipes:
Oh yeah, this is my kind of sale. This Friday only, February 18th, you can buy Organic Whole Chickens for just $1.69 per pound. (Offer valid only in our U.S. stores.) That’s quite a deal. (There is a limit of 10 chickens per person. You know, we gotta have enough for everybody!) And these aren’t just any chickens. They meet the USDA’s organic standards, which means:
No antibiotics, ever.
Access to the outdoors.
Only organic vegetarian feed.
And on top of that, all of the producers are rated by the 5-Step™ Animal Welfare Rating Standards developed by Global Animal Partnership. Learn more about how we’ve chosen to partner with the Global Animal Partnership to certify our producers’ animal welfare practices.
So, you know you’re going to head to our store on Friday to stock up on whole organic chicken. Now, do you know what you are going to cook? Here are 10 delicious recipes calling for whole chicken. Some of them you cook whole and some you cut up the chicken first. Don’t worry…I know you can do it! Pick up 10 chickens on sale, freeze some of them and try every one of these recipes!
The more you know about our meat, the better. That’s just the bottom line around here. Our standards require no added hormones* and no antibiotics, ever. Our true partnerships with farmers and ranchers allow us to offer the highest quality, local and organic choices. And with leading animal welfare standards we’re encouraging a human approach to raising animals. Ultimately, we believe in great-tasting meatfrom healthy animals.
Watch these videos to learn more. This one highlights what makes our meat different:
I’m really excited to announce that we are providing shoppers with a new level of transparency about how farm animals are raised by now offering beef, pork and chicken certified under the 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating system.
The rating system is the signature program of Global Animal Partnership, a nonprofit organization that facilitates and encourages continuous improvement in animal agriculture. Independent, third-party certifiers audit farms and rate animal welfare practices and conditions using a tiered system that ranges from Step 1 (no crates, cages or crowding) to Step 5+ (animals spend their entire lives on one farm). We are proud to adopt this new rating system that helps shoppers make even more informed buying decisions while offering them peace of mind that the animals from our producers are raised with care. Read the rest of this entry »
At this time of year on cold, winter evenings, most people are staying inside and those who are brave enough to venture out are wrapped up in winter coats, hats, scarves and gloves. Rather than ponder on whether you can feel your toes or how many days are left ‘til Spring, why not try a warm and hearty lamb stew to keep spirits high?
The lamb you get year round from Whole Foods Market is raised to our strict quality standards:
Welcome to Whole Story, the official blog of Whole Foods Market.
Don’t know us? In a nutshell, we are the world's leading natural and organic grocer and we’re passionate about healthy food and a healthy planet. Learn more about us.
We’re lucky to have a whole bunch of smart, passionate people doing incredible things in areas like organics, supporting local growers, green practices, fair trade, micro-lending and all kinds of food related stuff. We’ll use this blog to share some of the cool things going on around here.
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Have you decided what to serve for Christmas dinner yet? Why not give goose a try! Whether you serve it as the star of the meal or alongside traditional favorites like ham, turkey or beef, a succulent roast goose adds a delightful flair to your holiday table.
Choosing a turkey used to be pretty simple. All you’d have to do is get a head count of dinner guests and find the biggest bird possible to feed the crowd. Now it can be pretty daunting. Here’s some advice to help you make the right turkey choice for you.
Okay, leute (that’s “folks” in German), with Oktoberfest just around the corner, I thought it was a good time to talk sausages and Sausage Meisters! For those of you not familiar with the term “Meister,” the direct translation from German is “Master” — as in a master craftsman.
Just a quick reminder that today only, Friday, February 18th, you can buy Organic Whole Chickens for just $1.69 per pound. (Offer valid in U.S. store only) Head to your local Whole Foods Market store right now! (There is a limit of 10 chickens per person ’cause we want to have enough for everybody!) And these aren’t just any chickens. They meet the USDA’s organic standards, which means:
