McCormick's Recipe Inspirations

[Special K]

"We measure, you create!" Pre-measured spices with a recipe card.

http://www.mccormick.com/Products/Herbs-and-Spices/Recipe%20Inspirations/Spanish-Chicken-Skillet.aspx

I suppose it would be good for someone who is just learning to cook - use these once or twice to get an idea of what spices go in what dishes, and how much. But I don't think it'll catch on.

Do you?

[nakji]

I wonder why they bother to separate the spices out like that? It seems a traditional spice packet with the spices mixed would be be just as good.

[emmalish]

Oh that's so sad. But I'm sure a lot of people will buy it. I'm thinking that for people who usually cook with things like Hamburger Helper, this is one step closer to cooking "from scratch"!

[nakji]

I guess it'd be useful if you didn't want to buy lots of little packs or bottles of herbs...but still.

[Lisa Shock]

Well, at least if the package is sealed well, the herbs will be potent and fairly fresh. I can recall visiting people's kitchens where they had jars/cans of spices that were a decade+ old, and had been purchased to make one specialty dish and never touched again.

[Dakki]

I'm with Lisa... but I bet the quantities and proportions will be geared towards a corporate idea of Middle American tastes, that is, boring and bland.

[KarenDW]

This looks like something which would be useful to have at the cottage, or when camping. Lightweight, compact, probably moisture resistant.

Or, from a business perspective, good to put into a holiday rental property.

[cookingofjoy]

I know nothing of marketing (and hopefully this reference isn't inappropriate), but this conversation made me think of Friedan's interview in Feminine Mystique:

Every effort must be made to sell X Mix, as a base upon which the woman’s creative effort is used.

The appeal should emphasize the fact that X Mix aids the woman in expressing her creativity because it takes the drudgery away. At the same time, stress should be laid upon the cooking manipulations, the fun that goes with them, permitting you to feel that X Mix baking is real baking. “

By using X Mix the woman can prove herself as a wife and mother, not only by baking, but by spending more time with her family….Of course, it must also be made clear that home-baked foods are in every way preferable to bakery-shop foods.

It's kind of like a next step - make the person feel like they're really cooking, but also make the value-added product crucial. It requires more involvement than a spice packet. I also wondered if it might be more appealing than the spice packets because the individual spices can be identified, it might seem healthier? I don't know if any of this would make it more likely for the packets to catch on, though

The camping or vacation property idea makes a lot of sense.

[nakji]

Ah, so it's like a gateway drug for cooks...sell them on the usefulness of individual spices, give them a recipe card, and hope they'll buy the whole bottle of paprika next time?

[RobertCollins]

Yeah, gateway....

Then they will be so hooked thy will instantly call Pensey's and order a weeks pay check load of spices that are the result of expectations , not knowledge. So therefor, they will have boosted the economy but still can't cook.

Maybe we should watch "Food INC" again.

[scubadoo97]

This is not the only thing I've seen pre measured and packaged. I ran across a salsa in a bag. Onion, tomato, cilantro, peppers etc. all in a bag and you just toss them into your blender of food pro. Instant salsa gonna get you

[Special K]

Yes, I've seen guacamole "kits" at Trader Joe's, too.

[Emily_R]

Ah, so it's like a gateway drug for cooks...sell them on the usefulness of individual spices, give them a recipe card, and hope they'll buy the whole bottle of paprika next time?

I think this seems totally reasonable for new cooks who are unaccustomed to playing with multiple spices... I don't understand the huff about this product here -- this hardly seems worth the indignation when there are so many far more wretched convenience products out there...

emily

[judiu]

When I worked for a grocery chain here in Florida, we sold prepacked vegetables for soup; a carrot, an onion, maybe the odd parsnip, a couple of tired stems of parsley, and whatever else the produce department felt like unloading. Don't remember ever selling the item, though!

[Dakki]

I've seen those, usually packaged with soup bones or stew meat, and wondered who ever bought them.