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When they first hit the mainstream, I was totally in favor of baby carrots. It happened sometime during my high school years and I remember being able to buy a turkey sandwich on a bagel and a small bag of baby carrots from the cafeteria for $1.50. It felt like a huge bargain and it gave me the sense that I was eating a fairly healthy meal, since nothing in my lunch had taken a trip through the deep fryer that the cafeteria workers loved so much.
Friday night I was at my local Acme, and I came across pre-packaged pineapple wedges, orange slices and grapes, pre-plucked from their stems. They were all packed in a plastic tray, which was then wrapped in cellophane. They came in four-packs, so the wrapped trays were then swathed again in an additional layer of cellophane, to keep them bundled together. I blame baby carrots for these overly packaged fruits, as they were the first product that made us accustomed to ready-to-eat produce.
I think we've gone too far. I know that people claim that these products increase the amount of fruits and vegetables that people eat, but how hard is it to slice an orange yourself? I know that fresh pineapple is a pain to cut, but if you don't want to trouble yourself with the minutia of taking it apart yourself, you can buy yourself a gadget that will do it in seconds.
What do you guys think about the pre-cut, pre-packaged fruit and vegetable trend?
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3-26-2008 @1:57PM Courtney said... Whoever said that buying prepackaged foods was for the "stupid and lazy", should get a clue. Some people don't have time to chop and cut some fresh foods between working 40-60 hours a week, having kids, and running every other errand life throws at them.
Saying that people, who choose to save 10-20 minutes a day in prep-time in order to eat fresh fruits and veggies (instead of ordering take-out or getting fast food at a drive thru), "don't deserve any" is a little harsh. I would rather buy prepackaged already cut fruits and veggies so that my child can have a healthy dinner instead of buying McDonald's for them.
I will agree that all the wasteful packaging should be minimized but there are many other industries out there that are much more wasteful in packaging who should be targeted first.
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3-25-2008 @8:42AM Leslie said... My kids will eat precut apple slices from a big bag more than if they had to get a knife out and cut an apple up. For some reason (braces etc) they don't like eating whole apples. Ditto for the baby carrots. I'd spend my time complaining more about the amount of prepackage junk foods than worry about the fruit/veggies out there.
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3-25-2008 @11:45AM Jason Levine said... I've got to agree with Courtney. I have a four year old and a ten month old. I don't always have time to make all of my fruits and vegetables from scratch. Time savers like baby carrots (perfect for four year old munchers) or pre-peeled/pre-cored pineapple are very welcome in my household.
As for the comment that I should buy a gadget for peeling/coring a pineapple, my kitchen space is limited. I don't peel and core enough pineapples to justify taking up valuable space with a gadget whose purpose is extremely limited. I don't need a thousand different gadgets cluttering up my kitchen for each and every different culinary task that I might be presented with. I have a simple vegetable peeler that I use for sweet potatoes, cucumbers, apples, etc. That's all I really need.
I do enjoy cutting up my own cauliflower and other veggies. However, when I know that time will be short, I have no qualms about buying produce which has already been prepared for me.
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3-25-2008 @1:28PM msjean said... how is this conceptually different from fish filets, thin sliced pork tenderloins or boneless skinless chicken breasts? modern americans are increasingly no more willing (due to laziness/pathetic knife skills) or able (time constraints) to prep a veg than they are to debone a piece of meat. but the food industry still wants them to buy ingredients and cook, so this is a natural evolution.
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