Decent supermarket rye (and/or pumpernickel) - do they exist?

I like it, too.

Levy’s has been around since 1888 and is now owned by Arnold’s. Their campaign back in the ‘70s to make rye bread more popular with the non-Jewish community was extremely well-received and is quite famous to this day.

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I’m not exactly sure where you’re located, but if you are in the NYC area, I would try Orwashers Bakery. There are 2 locations in Manhattan you can pick up at:
UES…308 E. 78th St.
UWS…440 Amsterdam Ave.

In Long Island (Roslyn Heights) at:
377 Willis Ave.
(it seems that the above 3 locations will deliver as well)

or you can order nationwide via Goldbelly.

Here’s their site:

https://www.orwashers.com/our-products

As for supermarkets, my beloved and very picky Nana Pauline used to swear by the Publix Bakery inside Publix Supermarkets. But if you are indeed in the NY area, that suggestion won’t be of any help to you. When my Nana was alive, Publix was basically only in Florida, but I know they have grown substantially in size. I hope their rye bread is still as good as it was (I can’t speak of their pumpernickel as I’ve never had any.)

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I can get Heidelberg seeded rye bread in a Queens NY supermarket. Maybe, you can source it near you. I quite like it. It’s much much better than Levy’s.

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Glorious breads, to be had almost everywhere… Düsseldorfe Flönz and Mettwurst in background

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Orowheat USED to make a New York Extra Sour Rye. It was IMHO way better than the several ryes they still make. No clue why they dropped it. If you’re used to the twice-baked Jewish deli rye taste, as I am, packaged supermarket rye is disappointing at best.

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The Oroweat resembles the pumpernickel we served at an Austrian cafe in D.C. back in the day.

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Orowheat has been owned by Group Bimbo of Mexico for over 20 years. They also own the following baked goods companies (copied/pasted from Wikipedia, so take the list with a “grain” of wheat? :joy:)

  • Arnold
  • Ball Park (buns and rolls)
  • Barcel (Takis)
  • Bays English muffins
  • Beefsteak
  • Bimbo cakes and bread
  • Boboli
  • Brownberry
  • Colombo – sweet and sourdough breads
  • EarthGrains
  • Entenmann’s
  • Francisco bread and rolls
  • Freihofer’s – bread and cakes most commonly found in upstate New York
  • Grandma Sycamore’s – homemade breads, based in Utah and found in the intermountain west area
  • J.J. Nissen – breads commonly found in New England
  • Lender’s Bagels
  • Maier’s bread
  • Marinela – Mexican cookies and pastry
  • Mrs. Baird’s bakery primarily present in Texas and surrounding states
  • Old Country restaurant bread
  • Old Home bread primarily seen in the Midwest
  • Oroweat – bread primarily sold throughout the United States
  • Sara Lee (North America Fresh Bakery unit only)
  • Stroehmann bread
  • Thomas’English muffins and bagels
  • Tía Rosa home-style bread, pastry, and tortillas

IMHO, Bimbo has ruined many good or even great brands as they were bought out.

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We were (are) absolutely obsessed with this stone oven sourdough bread we discovered last summer. It’s basically all we ever got for home - perfect with any cheese & salumi :heart_eyes: only 10 more weeks…

I almost feel guilty for not getting more variety while there. I’ll try harder this summer :wink:

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I stopped in to TJ’s earlier, and turns out they also have pumpernickel in the same line.

Took pics of the ingredient labels for you.

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:astonished: :grimacing: :astonished: :grimacing:

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Thanks for sharing that ad campaign!

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Thanks for the mention of Mestermacher. Its on my Amazon list now and I’ll look for it at local stores.

You’re welcome! As someone who once wanted to be a copywriter, it’s long been a favorite of mine!

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Caramel color is never a good sign

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I got some pumpernickel after all this discussion. Didn’t see the swirled.

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It’s flavorful, I’d say.

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It’s flabbergasting what’s sold as “pumpernickel” in the US. Truly.

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As one of the last listed ingredients, not a major source of concern.

Farmed salmon is artificially colored pink (it’s grey). Pandan dishes usually have added green coloring to signify the pandan. Tandoori chicken uses red color, (actually for people to even recognize it as such, you need the color).

Did you have an American store brand you like (or like better, assuming you’ve tried the TJ’s bread) that you’d recommend to the OP?

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Caramel color has over the years raised some concerns wrt cancer risk. As with most artificial additives, there is some health risk associated but some of the data for caramel coloring looks at least for me concerning enough to try to avoid it

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4333292/#:~:text=The%20use%20of%20these%20compounds,risk%20[8–11].

Rye breads and pumpernickel are quite popular in Germany and so eating them in the US is just sad and I haven’t seen or tasted anything even decent besides a few imported, frozen ones from Germany.

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