NYTimes Articles on Food, Drink, Culinary Culture 2013–

[Anna N]

 Nothing better than a thick, juicy pork chop!  A little time swimming in a sous vide bath, a quick sear on a screaming hot outside grill ...  Heavenly. A piece of pork barely a quarter inch thick is an insult to the animal that gave its life.  As for kale... I have this fantasy that the next time I run into somebody who tells me they love kale I am going to slip a hypodermic full of sodium pentothal into them and then give them a lie detector test.  OK so some people must at least tolerate it because it is ubiquitous, cheap and durable-- just like plastic. 

[Anna N]

2 hours ago, DiggingDogFarm said:

I subscribed to a premium vegetarian mail order meal plan back in the late 80's which had been advertised in Vegetarian Times magazine (I went vegetarian for a time as an over-reaction to a bout of cancer in my very early 20's.)

The plan was great and introduced me to many foods that I was, at the time, unfamiliar with, Asian, Middle Eastern, etc.

Having grown up in a very rural setting, there was very little exposure to diverse ethnic foods.

It was a wonderful experience.

 I can totally understand this reasoning.  Today of course in the area where I live there is very little food  from any cuisine that I cannot obtain with a little effort. But I wonder if others who subscribe to this plan may be introduced to new foods.  However I suspect that the demographic is such that this is not likely.  People who can afford to spend the grocery budget on meals in a box are not likely to be unsophisticated in terms of their food choices. 

[rotuts]

""   just like plastic ""

 

before kale became au courant  

 

it was the durable garnish that was put on plates at restaurants.   probably reused , rinsed or not, over and over.  never eaten.

 

In deed   SV  saved the pork-chop.   try an extra thick one SV --- stuffed !   I like 130.  rare-ish   a unique dish that way.

[KennethT]

@Anna N I agree with you completely... a thick pork chop is awesome - but, I think it's much harder to cook 'safely' than a thin one.  I'd imagine that these boxed meal companies have to assume that their customers don't have sv at their disposal... so to do it traditionally, you'd sear and then pan roast in the oven, which A) would take a lot of time and B) would require the use of a thermometer at some point to make sure that the chop is cooked through, which these companies probably assume their customers don't have either.  One thing to consider for these companies is food safety and liability - they'd much rather err on the side of a meat being overcooked than undercooked and getting someone sick.  That would be horrible for their PR.

 

And kale is just horrible... whoever started the kale trend should be strung up by their toes...

Edited April 16, 2016 by KennethT (log)

[Anna N]

19 minutes ago, KennethT said:

@Anna N I agree with you completely... a thick pork chop is awesome - but, I think it's much harder to cook 'safely' than a thin one.  I'd imagine that these boxed meal companies have to assume that their customers don't have sv at their disposal... so to do it traditionally, you'd sear and then pan roast in the oven, which A) would take a lot of time and B) would require the use of a thermometer at some point to make sure that the chop is cooked through, which these companies probably assume their customers don't have either.  One thing to consider for these companies is food safety and liability - they'd much rather err on the side of a meat being overcooked than undercooked and getting someone sick.  That would be horrible for their PR.

 

And kale is just horrible... whoever started the kale trend should be strung up by their toes...

KennethT

 

 I am positive you are correct.   And if I came across as suggesting that a meal in a box should involve the kind of things I do with a nice thick pork chop I apologize. It was not my intention.  I just think that a thin pork chop is very poor choice for protein when there are many other choice.  However, as rotuts points out, it may be a very common meal and appeal to a lot of people.  I rather doubt that I (and many others who are eG members) make an ideal customer for a service such as this.  

[KennethT]

@Anna N I understand you completely...  but I think these packaged meal companies don't have eGers in mind as their model customer.  I think their model customer is someone like my friend who I described upthread - someone who does not consider his/herself a cook in any sense of the word, and has limited time for shopping.  To us, a thin pork chop is not very agreeable, but to many Americans, it may be a good choice as we have been victims of the years of advertising pork as "the other white meat" - so it is perceived as healthier than beef, lamb or other red meats, which appeals to many people, but it is not as 'boring' as chicken...  it is something different, and maybe something people who don't cook often wouldn't consider on their own.

[Deryn]

I think however that even people with 'no taste' and little life/cooking experience would only order a meal kit that included a very thin pork chop which turned out tough and curled when cooked as directed ... ONCE. And if that was the menu they bought as their first order, they might not return with follow-up orders on the strength of that disappointment. That is not a good thing for a company that wants repeat customers to maintain and grow their business.

Edited April 16, 2016 by Deryn (log)

[Anna N]

 

Ingredients for the second meal.

 

Meal

 

 And the instructions for putting the meal together..

 

 

The plate ready for service. 

 

In some ways this was much more satisfying than yesterday's meal. The oven fries were crispy and delicious. However I did give them a good wash after I had cut them up, a short soak in some ice water and then thoroughly dried them before tossing them in the oil. ( thanks to @Okanagancook  for the practice I got a couple of days ago doing almost exactly the same thing,  I did find the parchment lining of the baking sheet a better option for me then the foil. The fries did not stick iat all in and hence did not break up when I tried to flip them. 

I had serious doubts that chicken wings would be cooked through in only 12 minutes  until I saw the wings!  Chicken of budgerigar wings?  They were perhaps the smallest wings I have ever seen.  The issue with cooking wings in a pan on top of the stove is the splatter.   I did eventually grab my splatter screen but it was a bit late and I have a  cleanup job now.

 

 I opted not to put cold, wet kimchi on top of potatoes that I had just cooked to be crispy but served it alongside.  It was pungent and fiery kimchi so I opted  to forgo the hot sauce.

 

 The glaze for the wings was meh.  Not awful but not something I would choose  again.   The soy sauce glaze was very thick  and difficult to get out of the small bottle.  But the bottle would hold exactly the quarter cup of water called for so I think they missed an opportunity to suggest to just fill up the bottle with water and add it without using a measuring cup. 

 

As far as portion size goes I felt it was sufficient for a meal for myself but I know I would've been laughed out of my kitchen by my son-in-law if I served wings this tiny..

 

 I have one potato left and another order of wings which are in the sauce and can be reheated for another meal.

 

 I would say that the only thing this meal saved me was shopping for the ingredients. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Duvel]

10 hours ago, Anna N said:

 Nothing better than a thick, juicy pork chop!  A little time swimming in a sous vide bath, a quick sear on a screaming hot outside grill ...  Heavenly. A piece of pork barely a quarter inch thick is an insult to the animal that gave its life.  As for kale... I have this fantasy that the next time I run into somebody who tells me they love kale I am going to slip a hypodermic full of sodium pentothal into them and then give them a lie detector test.  OK so some people must at least tolerate it because it is ubiquitous, cheap and durable-- just like plastic. 

 

I grew up on kale and I love it. All this "modern" treatment of kale of course is terribly wrong (kale smoothie, anyone ?), but given the proper treatment is one of my favorite seasonal veggies. If you find a brown one (harvested after the soil it grows in was frozen solid), the dump it chopped up into a pot full of onions caramelized in goose fat (with attached skin and other little left-overs), add a couple of heavily-smoked sausages and then boil it for a good couple of hours it's one of the best things winter has in store for you. And as you eat so much of it (including said sausages) you need a significant number of "Korn" shots to somehow digest it. Double win !

 

So please, no badmouthing the poor kale ...

[kayb]

Well, I'm sorry it was such a disappointing experience. Sounds like they need some significant culinary advice to help turn what is a good, on the face of it, idea into something that would be enjoyed by more people. I grew up eating thin pork chops that were cooked within an inch of their lives, and I still don't like pork as rare as I see it cooked here, but I agree about the tendency of the thin "breakfast chops" to be tough.

 

But, @Anna N, I am thoroughly in your corner on kale. Nasty stuff.

 

 

[Anna N]

7 hours ago, kayb said:

Well, I'm sorry it was such a disappointing experience. Sounds like they need some significant culinary advice to help turn what is a good, on the face of it, idea into something that would be enjoyed by more people. I grew up eating thin pork chops that were cooked within an inch of their lives, and I still don't like pork as rare as I see it cooked here, but I agree about the tendency of the thin "breakfast chops" to be tough.

 

But, @Anna N, I am thoroughly in your corner on kale. Nasty stuff.

 

 

 The meals were disappointing but the experience not so much.  I love a chance to explore something new to me in the world of food. I understand a little more now about the logistics of developing this kind of service.  I know now that by no stretch of the imagination can it be considered value for money for myself.   That is not to say that others might not find it so.   Since I have one really good friend who is almost always willing to take me grocery shopping I can do far better for my money by selecting my own ingredients.   The amount of prep time and effort saved was quite minimal and that was huge factor for me.  As for kale...  @Duvel .... After two hours of cooking it might become edible especially with enough pork products involved!

[Anna N]

 

So I just could not bring myself to bin all the ingredients from the second dish of that first meal.   The kale hit the bin but the pork chop, and the grated sweet potato hash were doctored up with some Maggi sauce, frozen peas and a little butter.  I have had far worse. 

[MelissaH]

@Anna N, your story of only being saved prep time reminds me of a story I read (and can't remember where, or I'd give them credit): when cake mixes were first being developed, those in charge made a conscious choice to have bakers add their own eggs, because they found that it made people feel more like they were really cooking (and, presumably, less guilty about using a mix in the first place). I suspect this was also a conscious decision to have you grate your own sweet potato, and those things can be a bugger to grate. For one thing, the whole sweet potato probably keeps better than grated sweet potato. And this way, you get to do more of the work yourself, so it's more like you really cooked your own dinner and had to make some decisions (such as whether to grate the potato on a box grater or in the food processor).

 

One thing I'd like to find out is, in six months or a year or two years, do people who started cooking with these meal kits generally go on to do their own shopping and cooking? Are they better able to choose and follow a recipe? If not, I'd say that the only goal accomplished is that of the manufacturers of these meal kits: making their pockets heavier.

[Anna N]

50 minutes ago, MelissaH said:

@Anna N, your story of only being saved prep time reminds me of a story I read (and can't remember where, or I'd give them credit): when cake mixes were first being developed, those in charge made a conscious choice to have bakers add their own eggs, because they found that it made people feel more like they were really cooking (and, presumably, less guilty about using a mix in the first place). I suspect this was also a conscious decision to have you grate your own sweet potato, and those things can be a bugger to grate. For one thing, the whole sweet potato probably keeps better than grated sweet potato. And this way, you get to do more of the work yourself, so it's more like you really cooked your own dinner and had to make some decisions (such as whether to grate the potato on a box grater or in the food processor).

 

One thing I'd like to find out is, in six months or a year or two years, do people who started cooking with these meal kits generally go on to do their own shopping and cooking? Are they better able to choose and follow a recipe? If not, I'd say that the only goal accomplished is that of the manufacturers of these meal kits: making their pockets heavier.

 Yes it certainly occurred to me that most things keep better when left whole. Does not take long for grated sweet potatoes to look very, very sad. I really needed to have spent more time thinking about why I thought these meal kits might meet what I hope will be a short term need.  In retrospect things that need little more than reheating make more sense. On good days I can make a perfectly normal meal.  On those other days ready-made meat pies, quiches or even home made soup from my freezer make much more sense. I am still glad I tried the service. 

[ElainaA]

3 hours ago, MelissaH said:

@Anna N, your story of only being saved prep time reminds me of a story I read (and can't remember where, or I'd give them credit): when cake mixes were first being developed, those in charge made a conscious choice to have bakers add their own eggs, because they found that it made people feel more like they were really cooking (and, presumably, less guilty about using a mix in the first place).

 

 

I'm not sure if this is the only source but I read that story in Laura Shapiro's Something From the Oven. It's a rather scary book about how the food industry maneuvered their way into people's kitchens after World War II. It's sort of a follow up to her book Perfection Salad about how, in the 1900's - 1920's, home economists persuaded women that cooking the way their mothers had cooked was not "scientific" and that women who were not being appropriately "scientific" were failures as wives, mothers and probably as people. (Because if you were a woman then, what mattered other than succeeding as a wife and mother? Unless you were one of those home economists in which case you were clearly in the vanguard of home science.)

 

edited to add - When I think about it, isn't there a parallel of sorts with Blue Apron and their competitors that goes beyond the sweet potato?

Edited April 17, 2016 by ElainaA (log)

[Tere]

2 hours ago, Anna N said:

 Yes it certainly occurred to me that most things keep better when left whole. Does not take long for grated sweet potatoes to look very, very sad. I really needed to have spent more time thinking about why I thought these meal kits might meet what I hope will be a short term need.  In retrospect things that need little more than reheating make more sense. On good days I can make a perfectly normal meal.  On those other days ready-made meat pies, quiches or even home made soup from my freezer make much more sense. I am still glad I tried the service. 

 

Just so. I generally graze in the week on salads and the like because of a combo of doing 5 and 2 and lack of drive to cook just for myself, but I always always have some decent home made soup or similar in the freezer in small quantities for complete lack of spoons days. And a couple of ready meals.

[AnneN]

On 4/7/2016 at 5:38 PM, DiggingDogFarm said:

I follow a once a month or once a week cooking routine for many of my meals.

Sous vide has made it easier and more convenient in many ways.

This sounds interesting. I'm curious what you make ahead using sous vide. I love making steaks sous vide but don't normally think of using sous vide for cooking in advance; I should.

[SLB]

Just yesterday I observed some seriously incompetent delivery dudes doing a horrible job with something like a thousand boxes, which I guess were scheduled for delivery to addresses near my office building.  One hand-truck was piled high with amazon and Blue Ribbon (meal-kit) deliveries.   mean piled and re-piled because everything kept falling over onto the ground until they finally took the job seriously of stacking strategically.  The boxes were piled so foolishly, and fell over so frequently, I figured that everybody was overly stoned.  It was ridiculous.

 

But the real problem?  Those boxes sat in the sunshine for at least 90 minutes while the delivery dudes figured out what they were going to do to get their actual job done.  I kid you not, they were all over the ground when I arrived at my office at high noon, and I just kept staring at the catastrophe for the next hour and a half.  In the photos, the Blue-Ribbon boxes have cooking tools as decoration on them.  

 

A poor novice-cook is gonna think s/he got sick from something they did.  

 

Edited April 19, 2016 by SLB (log)

[rotuts]

are these the BlueApron boxes ?

 

 

with the sort of blue cleaver on them ?

[SLB]

Yes.  There are some on the other truck, also.

.  

Edited April 19, 2016 by SLB (log)

[rotuts]

that's unfortunate.

 

why not call them and tell them ?

 

 

 

I don't work for them, nor will I be getting their products.

 

but this might be corrected if you are willing  to speak to them.

Edited April 19, 2016 by rotuts (log)

[SLB]

Yes, I mean to, but was kind of swamped yesterday.  Will do.  It's insane. 

[rotuts]

they might also like to join eG and get some ideas here.

 

lots of others have.

[Deryn]

Where are those delivery 'drones' when you really need them to just carry one parcel, hover over your roof, and drop your package (of glasses perhaps) efficiently on the concrete sidewalk outside your house? Seriously though, that is one horrendous delivery fiasco you witnessed, SLB.  I wonder if these delivery people are our 'best and brightest'.

 

 

[ElsieD]

When I came back today from running some errands, I found a message on my answering machine to say I had a delivery.  The only thing I could think of was that some tax stuff had been dropped off for people I do tax returns for.  Instead, it turned out to be a delivery of 3 meal kits that I had (totally inadvertently) signed up for.  To say I was surprised is an understatement.  This is a company called Goodfood.  The kits are pictured below.  I'll report separately on how they are.