"convenience" news and stories

I like my hamburger and hot dog buns to be lightly toasted when possible. Usually, I will simply open them up and toss them onto the grill while the dogs cook. If I'm not grilling, I just eat the buns plain. I have never put a hot dog bun into the microwave to attempt to achieve a "bakery-fresh" texture and, even if I did so, I would certainly not put the hot dog in the bun before microwaving it. In my experience, microwaving does nothing to improve the texture of bread and having an unheated hot dog in it would help even less.

As such, I fail to see the appeal of Oscar Meyer's newest product: Fast Franks. Three hot dogs are packaged in buns and, when you're read to eat, you just put the whole thing in the microwave. Oscar Meyer says that Fast Franks are "mouthwatering to imagine." I'm imagining, and I have to disagree. 

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I always considered beans on toast to be an easy, but satisfying meal to make. I mean, you open a tin of beans, warm them up in the microwave (or on the stove, if you want to be fancy) while you toast a slice of bread and then spoon some beans onto the toast. I wasn't one for adding butter to the toast, too, but that is certainly a popular option. The point is that beans on toast is a two-component meal and it looks like two was one too many for Heinz, since they have compacted it into a pre-made frozen food, much like a bean-filled pop tart.  It's currently being tested in New Zealand and, if it enjoys success there, it will be treated to a wider release.

Somehow, I think I'll still be able to cobble together this dish on my own, but I suppose if you're really in a hurry....

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After the mishaps with the Wolfgang Puck self-heating lattes, I am a little leery of any packaged coffee that makes itself. At least JavaVoo uses the microwave instead of a potentially explosive internal heating device.

JavaVoo uses a patented "pressure brewing" process in which water is forced through a filter of organic coffee grounds during a quick, 2-minute trip in the microwave. The empty water bottle, included in the package and upended on the top during brewing, is removed and disposed of once the drink is made, allowing the user to drink right from the cup. In addition to being able to brew plain coffees, the company has developed flavored latte drinks, which include milk/cream and sweetener, and non-coffee beverages, like spiced chai tea and cinnamon cider. JavaVoo premiered at the Fancy Foods Show this month in Chicago and seemed to be very well received, both because it is convenient and organic, hitting two hot-button trends with one product.

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The San Francisco Chronicle did a taste test of 9 store brands of prepopped, bagged popcorn that they found around the Bay Area. While microwave popcorn doesn't really take that long to make, the bagged stuff offers even more convenience and instant gratification. Not to mention the fact that opening a bag of it will not leave your kitchen smelling like popcorn for the next 24 hours. The Chronicle's criteria? They looked for flavor and appearance, but the most important quality for the popcorn to have was crunch. If it wasn't crispy, it wasn't worth eating, and not all the brands stacked up. Their top two picks were Whole Foods 365 Organic and O Organics, which is the Safeway store brand. Following the top brands were Erin's (from Andronico's market), Bearitos Lite (from Rainbow) and Trader Joe's. The other four finishers? Let's just say that if the taste tester didn't want them, neither do you.

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Strangely enough, I always thought that bananas were the ultimate single-serve food. They're conveniently packaged in their own skin and fit easily in your hand. The waste is minimal, not to mention biodegradable, and the fruit is filling and tasty. Chiquita is rolling out a new line of single-serving bananas for convenience stores, presumably to compete with packaged snack foods. Not only will the bananas be retailing at much higher prices than they do at the grocery store, but they will be packaged. A single serving, packaged banana is a concept that is so unnecessary it is difficult to find words to describe it further. Fortunately, only one word is needed: ridiculous.

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