The Grocery Store Baked Goods That Won't Hold Up To Delivery
For anyone short on time (or a car), delivery services can be a god send. Like magic, companies such as InstaCart, Uber Eats, and Amazon Fresh can teleport grocery store products from your computer screen to your doorstep.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, these companies inevitably grew in popularity. With lockdown restrictions and the looming threat of the ubiquitous virus, grocery shoppers throughout the United States opted to outsource the work. This resulted in American grocery-delivery spending to skyrocket from $500 million in pre-pandemic 2019 to a whopping $3.4 billion by June 2020, according to the Associated Press.
But as COVID-19 has cooled off, the nationwide demand for grocery delivery services has, too. Nonetheless, the demand is still there. And if there's one piece of advice the most diligent of delivery service users have, it might be to tread with caution when opting for the delivery of grocery store baked goods.
Where to draw the delivery line
Bon Appétit advises that grocery shoppers not source certain items from delivery services. From the bakery section specifically, the outlet says to avoid two goods: baguettes and croissants. The reason for these products' fleeting freshness is that grocery store bakeries typically do not use many (or any) preservatives to make their breads. Consumers may see this as a good thing, but fewer preservatives make it less likely that these products hold up in transit.
Fellow bakery buffs can appreciate the power of a freshly baked baguette. Crusty on the outside, spongy and soft on the inside, there is no pleasure as simple, yet sacred. However, most of the beauty of a baguette is captured in its freshness, which can be lost in transportation. As Bon Appétit explains, "Baguettes lose a lot of crunch throughout the day at a bakery. What if the one you order is from the end of the day, and then gets even soggier because it's grouped with refrigerated items in the truck?"
As for croissants, a similar explanation applies. "As with baguettes, they soften and lose their best assets throughout the day," writes Bon Appétit.
Better approaches to buying baked goods
Instead of opting for online delivery in the bakery department, Bon Appétit urges those who are willing and able to make the trip themselves to select their baguettes and croissants at the grocery store. Better yet, the outlet urges shoppers to consider sourcing their baguettes and croissants from local bake shops, where their dollars will support smaller businesses — and the product quality will likely be highest.
Besides, having these goods delivered to a shopper's home can hardly replace the experience of walking past the bakery section (or into a stand-alone bakery), inhaling the sweet, warm scents of the daily bread, and admiring the artisan baked goods that line the shelves while mulling over which one they will choose to bring home.
Another option for the ambitious — try baking them at home. With countless recipes circulating the internet, your creations may not come out perfect, but they are guaranteed to be made with love (and not to mention, to fill your home with those sweet scents). The bottom line is, if you're going to enjoy baguettes or croissants, try to enjoy them in their best forms.