What food prep job are you really lazy about?

[iCod]

Christ, I hate grating cheese. If I have to grate, I buy it grated. (But not Parmesan because I'm not a savage)
also real garlic if it's going in a tray bake, but anything else I buy the frozen stuff from Tesco
Dried chilies instead of fresh, and cooked food
haven't sieved flour for 30 years yet unknown for my brilliant sponge cakes

I buy the gousto meals, and so everything is portioned out and there. However it does mean that I have to chop onions and garlic etc when I’d rather use the prepared stuff. I bought one of those veg choppers, but I find by the time you get it out of the back of the cupboard from its box because of the sharp blades, set it up, then wash it out and wash the blades, it’s quicker to just use a knife.

I am a scratch cook, I’d say 80% of our meals are from scratch, cooked fresh and served immediately. DH might have leftovers for his lunch the next day but I don’t cook in bulk, because we like the variety. The other 20% might be pizza, M&S ready meals or kievs if we are knackered, takeaways etc.

i don’t tend to take short cuts with ingredients because I am into flavour and texture. So for example I wouldn’t use pre grated cheese in macaroni cheese because the starch coating on the pre grated cheese would turn the whole thing into a claggy nightmare. I like my cheese sauce to be smooth and glossy, so I always grate it myself - my wrists despise me for it.

Instead of taking short cuts with the actual ingredients I have gadgets that make prep easier. A simple garlic rocker is one of the best inventions I use. Shits all over garlic presses. I have a mandolin that I use to finely slice onions, carrots, spuds etc. I can adjust the thickness. I treat it like a live bomb when I’m using it because the blade is so sharp! I whizz things up in my nutri bullet, sauces, soups, dressings etc.

I cannot get on with pre chopped veg, but I do use frozen soffrito for spag bol, shepherds pie, casseroles etc. Twenty five years of chopping and peeling have made me pretty adept at both, I don’t even think about what I’m doing when I’m engaged in either activity. I also cannot get on with the idea of bunging everything in one pot at the same time and leaving it. The result is always sloppy, brown and flavourless. I brown off ingredients - as a chef would. My slow cooker is reserved for Christmas ham alone.

I’m not talking spending hours slaving away in the kitchen. I can whizz up flatbreads with Greek salad and grilled chicken in around 15 mins. I am roast some veg and grill a steak pretty fast. Takes me about 20 mins to fully prep, brown and season something like spag bol, which I then cook slowly on the hob.

I just feel like I deserve fresh, well made food, and that I have the skills to do it so why not? I’m talking home cooking not restaurant level food. The pressure of a restaurant would finish me off! But I do understand that other people have different priorities and preferences in life. It’s just that, for me, food is a privilege and a pleasure that I don’t take for granted.

I buy frozen chopped onions. I hate the was fresh ones make my eyes sting and my hands smell!

I love chopping veg - I find it quite meditative with a decent podcast or audiobook on in the background 😳

I do buy frozen mash though, and occasionally grated/flaked Parmesan because I usually only want a small amount and it's cheaper than buying a whole chunk.

That said I have got really bored of cooking and having to clean up almost every night - especially as it's just me, so I'm aiming to batch cook a month's worth of ready meals before I go back to work on Tuesday...

I embrace them all - ready made pizza bases, frozen jacket potatoes, ready prepared salad, grated cheese and prepared fruit, jar sauces, microwave rice and individual portions of frozen vegetables. You name it, I want to use it!

Who cuts potatos now to make chips, i just but frozen

Ready-minced garlic in a jar. Don't understand why you wouldn't really.

I bought this...it was terrible.
Fresh any day...i love chopping it and the aroma

I love peeling and chopping !
Maybe it’s a service I could offer
( I do buy ready made ice cubes though , and frozen spinach )
I sift flour , don’t wash the sift though , just tap it over the kitchen sink and it’s fine

I think that fresh parsley is readily available in shops and also not too difficult to glee growing in pots unlike basil. Both dried basils and basil are not very good so people don’t think of buying them. I’m half Italian and dried oregano/ thyme/ rosemary is great ( especially when given to me by the family ) but dried basil or parsley are no nos really.

For those poster taking the mick out of those questioning dried parsley - this is why it’s not commonly used by many especially when fresh parsley can be grown a little bit easier than say coriander / basil.

Dried parsley is considered poor because the delicate essential oils that give fresh parsley its bright, grassy flavor evaporate or deactivate during the dehydration process. 1, 2, 3]
Most users on Reddit agree that delicate leafy herbs like parsley lose almost all of their character when dried, often leaving behind little more than a dusty texture or a faint scent resembling old hay. 1, 2, 3, 4]
Key Reasons Dried Parsley Fails
Loss of volatile oils: Heat and air destroy the bright, fresh compounds responsible for parsley's distinct, clean taste. 1, 2]
Tasteless profile: Unlike sturdy herbs such as oregano or rosemary that concentrate and thrive when dried, parsley becomes effectively flavorless in most dishes. 1, 2]
Unappealing texture: Instead of the vibrant crunch and green pop of fresh leaves, dried flakes become brittle, faded, and papery. 1, 2]

Main substances on grater cheese

The main substance used in store-bought grated cheddar is cellulose powder, which acts as an anti-caking agent to stop the cheese shreds from sticking together. 1]
Why It Is Used

• Prevents Clumping: Cellulose absorbs surface moisture and coats the cheese pieces so they remain loose and separate inside the bag.
• Improves Shelf Life: By keeping the cheese dry, it helps prevent the shreds from spoiling or fusing into a solid block too quickly. 1, 2]

Other Common Additives

• Starches: Potato starch or cornstarch are frequently mixed in to help absorb moisture.
• Natamycin: A natural mold inhibitor used to extend shelf life. 1]

Just came on to ask why some posters are having trouble washing things… doesn’t it all go in the dishwasher? That’s my kitchen hack… bung everything in. And if there’s some special thing that has to be hand washed— don’t use.

I don’t have a dishwasher. Well I have a husband and tween so depending on the day and moods I sometimes have 2 dishwashers but neither of them are an electric powered box in the kitchen.

I haven’t diced an onion for years thanks to the frozen onions.

I can taste the vinegar and I really dislike it. I use frozen garlic puree cubes.

preheat the oven - just add 15 min to the cooking time
mashed potatoes, just can't be arsed. frozen or powdered are fine (there are better brands wiithout added shit)

and my bosch mum does the chopping/grating/grinding

Omg feel seen
i hate this as well grating cheese 🤣🤣

il do a Big Mac and cheese for us and say to husband il do it - but you need to grate the cheese 🤣🤣

im the same with carrots if they need to be grated - not often it comes up but some recipes I make for my kids (a veggie burger and a pasta sauce I do calls for grated carrots) I hate doing it

Because it doesn’t taste anything like fresh?

What's wrong with me adding a sprinkle of ordinary goddam cornflour to grated cheese to stop it clumping please?

Seems there is some horror out there about that!

Is cornflour poisonous or dangerous to use? 😊

A mini food chopper is the ultimate kitchen MVP in my opinion!

It's funny, cos I hate chopping onions tiny too! However, I love my food chopper and would rather use that and wash it up than chop forever! 😆 Admittedly, I do throw it in the dishwasher (not the pull string lid).

Every time I buy garlic in a jar my DH notices it. So the next best thing is a decent garlic press. I've bought fancy branded ones and they're just not strong enough. The ikea one is a beast and I love it.

I buy frozen chopped ginger as it tastes better than a jar and I hate chopping fresh ginger, plus I never use it all before it goes mouldy.

If you use a box grater, no wonder you hate it. Try a cylinder grater - they’re a game changer.

My lazy dodges are buying ginger paste in a jar, ditto red chilli paste, and now and then I use garlic paste, too.

Grated cheese freezes really well. I periodically grate a big block in the Magimix and freeze it.

Another freezer tip - keep root ginger in the freezer and grate as required. Much easier than grating fresh, which goes all wet and clumpy.

Mostly, I don't mind peeling, grating and chopping etc. I find it therapeutic, even after work.

But I use frozen whole leaf spinach, microwave rice (only the plainer sorts from Tilda) and fresh (not frozen) mashed potatoes from the chilled aisle. These things all make me happy, so thanks to the inventors.