Ludicrous "convenience" foods

[inmysparetime]

Chatting about pre-grated cheese got me thinking about "convenience" foods that are actually not that convenient. What foods have you seen in shops that are just as much effort as but twice the price of normal food?

Ready grated cheese has potato starch (and sometimes other stuff) added to stop it sticking together. That is why it is powdery.

Grated cheese is good if you've got a DH who doesn't think soup is complete without a sprinkling but CBA to grate it himself. Also if you're making cheese sauce in a hurry. In those applications the texture doesn't matter.

Instant tea is quite nice. My aunt claims she got pregnant thanks to instant tea

Pre peeled poatoes are ridiculous and rather expensive. As are pre cut mushrooms, which are also very dry.

Liquid egg is very lazy as well.

liquid eggs are quite good because they are usualy treated to be sterile. so they are safe to use for people who cannot use eggs otherwise due to salmonella/camphylobactor risks.

I make a huge portion of mash at the weekends when I can persuade the kids to peel the potatoes for me then freeze it. The also freeze cooked rice. Both can be cooked from frozen in the microwave, saving loads of time.

I also have an oven that can be programmed to come on at a certain time and go off again after the required cooking time. Baked potatoes are a great use of this, so they are ready for us coming home from work but if we are slightly delayed they don't spoil in the cooling oven.

If I had liquid egg then I could make a half-batch of a recipe that calls for 1 egg but makes a stupidly enormous amount of biscuits.

Liquid eggs need treating because they can come from dodgy sources.

Yes, I agree grated cheese is odd tasting so I'd never use it in sandwiches, but in a lasagne or soup the powder is washed off and just leaves the cheese.
duchesse, did oyu mean me?

No, sorry, the list of ingredients in the jam sandwich! MN went offline and I didn't realise my thing had posted and yours wasn't there when I pressed post!

ooh I've just looked and see what you mean. More worryingly it says "May contain one or more of the following" - they don't even know!!

I use some convenience foods. Tonight's dinner is pork chops, with packet stuffing balls on top (though I am going to add chopped, vacuum packed chestnuts, and grated apple to the stuffing), served with frozen roast potatoes and frozen sweetcorn. I've got group psychotherapy this afternoon, and by the time I get home, I am too knackered to want to cook.

I think my favourite convenience food is garlic in a toothpaste tube.

Mrspnut - have you ever tried freezing home-made roast potatoes? Dh really wants me to have a go at this, because the frozen roasties are stupidly expensive compared to home made. I am somewhat resistant, because I know who will end up peeling all the bloddy potatoes - and with 5 adult appetites in the house, any meal needing potatoes (apart from baked ones or new potatoes in their skins) means I am chained to the potato peeler for ages.

I can't be doing with instant cake mixes though - I did get them once or twice for the boys when they were little, but thought they tasted horrible.

Iceland frozen fish finger sandwiches, and frozen scrambled egg on toast - those have got to take the prize, though!

Frankly the microwavable fish finger sandwich and scrambled egg smack of 9-10-11 yo being left alone for whatever reason but being trusted to cook with the stove. I can sort of see why some people might have to buy those. Problem is that the microwave also gets things hot so wouldn't necessarily avoid burns. Might just avoid tipping boiling kettle down self or igniting the kitchen I guess.

• not being trusted to use stove

I often use frozen mash and other veg. I am the only person who eats them, it is a lot of effort to make fresh just for me. If I buy a couple of kilos of potatoes, they generally go green and sprouty by the time I've remembered them. Ditto onions.

"Does it make you a better person if you don't use convenience foods?"

Why of course not, Usual!!

...........It just means that you love your children more.

mrspnut I do that with mashed potaotes, generally on a sunday cook loads of stuff and freeze, but mash always goes watery when defrosted, even if I tip water out mash its "sludgy" what am I doing wrong

everyone who thinks grated cheese is the same as block cheese think again, they do add potato starch to it to stop it all clumping and sticking together. Potato starch is almost pure sugar... you might as well sprinkle icing sugar on your cheese :o

Would it work better if you froze the boiled potatoes, then mashed them after reheating them, jammy?

thats a good idea thanks will try that, as its great just to get everything out of freezer in morning on "rush" days so kids not eating pizza every night

Squirty cheese has to get on this list, it's just so wrong.

SDTG - I do freeze parboiled potatoes that are coated in a thin layer of oil ready to go in the oven from frozen.
I also freeze cooked yorkshire puddings for convenience.

Jammydodger - Mine never have, I make quite a dry mashed potato for freezing. Just a bit of butter and no milk. Freeze it in plastic boxes and reheat in the microwave in the plastic box. Give it a few good stirs as it heats up and it's ready to go.

Jammy, I reheat mine from frozen too - don't defrost it inbetween.

Brilliant thanks will try all these

I shit you not, I saw crumble mix in Tesco today. Crumble mix! It's flour and butter fgs!

Ps I am currently eating a Tesco ready meal.

Tis all v well to talk about freezing batches of stuff, I don't have a big freezer so I can't. I suspect that the people who convenience food is aimed at are less likely to have a big freezer too.