Good Eats - From the Garden to Your Table.

Phil says: Quick! How many deli meats can you name off the top of your head? Let me give it a try: bologna, chicken roll, turkey breast, corned beef, ham, spiced ham, pastrami, roast beef, salami, liverwurst, pepper loaf, olive loaf, capicollo. Whew… I have to catch my breath! And that's just the tip of the cold-cuts iceberg.

The surest way to save money on sandwich meat is to use coupons and search for what's on sale—just as you do with your other supermarket purchases. But here's some other advice to help you avoid getting ripped off at the deli counter.

Check for water

It's common—and perfectly legal—for food manufacturers to add water (either plain or mixed with sodium and/or spices) to cold cuts, including ham, roast beef, and turkey. (It's used as a filler and can also enhance the flavor.) So look carefully at the label on deli meat and think about how much you may be paying just for water. The U.S. Department of Agriculture requires manufacturers to clearly label cold cuts with the exact percentage of added water. Watch for stickers that say "10% Water-added" or "Contains up to 10% Added Moisture.” Though there's nothing wrong with that per se, you should be aware that you're paying for a pound of water for every ten pounds of cold cuts you buy.

Consider the cuts

A closer look at the label will tell you which of these three types of cold cuts you're buying:

• Whole cuts of meats or poultry (roast beef, corned beef, turkey breast)
• Sectioned and formed products (ham, pressed turkey)
• Processed products (salami, bologna, turkey roll).

Typically, the whole cuts are the most expensive. You can still get a quality product if you buy the other varieties, but it's important to look carefully at the ingredients so you know exactly what you're getting.

Sectioned and formed products are chunks of the meat—such as multi-part turkey breasts or cooked hams—that are pressed together to form a single piece. The process is quite simple (and natural): the various pieces of meat are "tumbled" in a device that resembles a washing machine. Centrifugal force brings the myosin (a sticky protein) to the surface of the meat to act as a natural adhesive, binding the pieces together. The meat is then placed in a mold (square, oval, round, oblong, etc.) to make it convenient to use or slice.

Processed cold cuts include meats that have been chopped, seasoned, and then formed into a symmetrical shape, such as bologna and salami. There are two processing methods: emulsion, where the meat is chopped finely and the proteins react with fat to hold it together, and non-emulsion which typically results in coarser textures. You can usually tell how a meat has been processed just by looking at it: If the color and texture is the same, it's most likely emulsion processed. If you're able to see individual ingredients, such as spices or peppers, it's probably non-emulsion.

For the best cold cuts at the best price, check out the labels to make sure that they don't contain too many fillers—including sugar, corn syrup, gelatin, carrageenan (seaweed), and whey—and other meat byproducts, such as lips, tripe, stomachs, and hearts. If those last few ingredients are listed on the label, you're getting very cheap meat. I wouldn't recommend buying it, despite the lower cost.

Don't delay! Have a sandwich today.

Discarding food that you haven't had a chance to eat is one of the most egregious and expensive wastes of your grocery money, so be aware that cold cuts are highly perishable. Once opened, prepackaged meats will last only three to five days. Freshly sliced cold cuts from the deli, even if stored properly, will last only one to three days. So eat them quickly, and if you have leftovers, be sure to keep them in an airtight plastic bag placed in the coldest part of the refrigerator.

Want to know how to get the most for your food dollar? Send your questions to me at plempert@supermarketguru.com.