Grocery Industry Confronts a Problem: Only 10% of Americans Love Cooking (2017) • Hacker News Board

Re: Grocery Industry Confronts a Problem: Only 10% of Americans Love Cooking (2017)

#51

Post by opportune » Tue, Dec 10, 2019, 2:11 AM UTC

porknubbins wrote: post #28

FussyZeus wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder how much of this is due to the proliferation of ridiculous recipes from the 70's and 80's. Like so much of that stuff is unhealthy as hell, takes FOREVER to make and involves a list of ingredients longer than my leg. Meanwhile I can bang out a rosemary chicken that's low calorie and delicious in like 10 minutes of actual work and a half an hour playing games on my couch, and steam up some vegetables to go wi…

Well modern America has no real food culture. Most countries combine the same 5 local staples like rice, vegetables meat, local seasonings etc so they always have it on hand and know how to easily make something. Here check an Nytimes recipe and it will have you doing hours of prep and ridiculous steps like getting one pan out and dirty just to slightly toast something to make it restaurant quality presentation. Don’…

I guess there isn’t an absolute default culturally, but it’s not that hard to get started making basic food. I think most people are just lazy / get anxiety about things they don’t know how to start.

When I first started cooking I mostly just baked or pan fried meat, microwaves or sautéed vegetables, and made slow cooker chili / other soups. Maybe that doesn’t fit most people’s definition of cooking but IMO there is nothing wrong with a dinner of (seasoned) baked chicken thighs with some microwaved frozen broccoli. It takes like 5 minutes of actual work too.

Re: Grocery Industry Confronts a Problem: Only 10% of Americans Love Cooking (2017)

#52

Post by therealdrag0 » Tue, Dec 10, 2019, 2:12 AM UTC

sonofaplum wrote: post #24

I've been seeing a nutritionist to try to help with weight loss and his emphasis has been on a healthy plate, which is a plate that is half vegetables, a quarter protein, a quarter starch or grains. Even at nice restaurants, it is extremely difficult to order meals that fit these proportions, and, as you move down the quick service spectrum it gets harder and harder. By the time you arrive at fast food, its difficult…

For a while I was really good about taking 40-50% of restaurant meals home as leftovers. Then something changed and now I haven't done that in a while and have since gained 10lbs. Restaurant meals are "okay" portion if that's all you eat for half a day, but many of us can't help but snack, and the combination is no bueno.

Re: Grocery Industry Confronts a Problem: Only 10% of Americans Love Cooking (2017)

#53

Post by therealdrag0 » Tue, Dec 10, 2019, 2:14 AM UTC

sombremesa wrote: post #8

I have another statistic: 0% of Americans love doing laundry. So why is Tide still in business?

raises hand meekly I like doing laundry. I find it relaxing/meditative.

Re: Grocery Industry Confronts a Problem: Only 10% of Americans Love Cooking (2017)

#54

Post by clSTophEjUdRanu » Tue, Dec 10, 2019, 2:16 AM UTC

JMTQp8lwXL wrote: post #39

sonofaplum wrote: post #24

I've been seeing a nutritionist to try to help with weight loss and his emphasis has been on a healthy plate, which is a plate that is half vegetables, a quarter protein, a quarter starch or grains. Even at nice restaurants, it is extremely difficult to order meals that fit these proportions, and, as you move down the quick service spectrum it gets harder and harder. By the time you arrive at fast food, its difficult…

I never understood why vegetables are difficult to get as a "fast food" format. With salt pepper oil and heat, they can be very tasty. There has to be a huge market for Jack in the box equivalent for healthy eating. Most of the existing fast casual chains miss the mark. Chipotle comes to mind, but it's still mostly grains and protein and still lacking in vegetables, beyond the optional pico de gallo for your burrito.

Fast food is engineered to hit all the sweet spots that our primate brains desire. No matter how delicious my asparagus or salad can be it's difficult to compete with a Quarter Pounder.

Re: Grocery Industry Confronts a Problem: Only 10% of Americans Love Cooking (2017)

#55

Post by Figs » Tue, Dec 10, 2019, 2:19 AM UTC

abeppu wrote: post #34

A "demography is destiny" aspect to this: Since households are smaller (we marry later or not at all; have fewer children), those who do cook are cooking for fewer mouths, which leads to more time spent per meal consumed. 5 single people cooking and cleaning for themselves put in substantially more time than a one person cooking/cleaning for 5. Also there's some amount of waste from scaling down recipes originally wr…

> what do I do with the rest of this can of tomato paste?

Portion it out into tablespoon sized lumps and freeze it.

Re: Grocery Industry Confronts a Problem: Only 10% of Americans Love Cooking (2017)

#56

Post by clSTophEjUdRanu » Tue, Dec 10, 2019, 2:19 AM UTC

spamizbad wrote: post #27

empath75 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uber for laundry sounds like a business plan to me.

Already done (several times) and on the startup scrap heap.

What? There are already services that go around, pick up laundry, wash the stuff, and return it folded. It's expensive but this is not a new business.

Re: Grocery Industry Confronts a Problem: Only 10% of Americans Love Cooking (2017)

#57

Post by JMTQp8lwXL » Tue, Dec 10, 2019, 2:23 AM UTC

CommieBobDole wrote: post #46

impendia wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who doesn't enjoy cooking all that much, I've noticed this too and been distressed by it. Restaurants, almost uniformly, serve unhealthy food. There are exceptions to this, but they don't seem to be all that popular. When I go out to eat with friends I am often stuck eating something heavier and less healthy than I would like. Is there some good reason for this?

Yes; restaurants, especially nice restaurants, are in the business of selling food which people eat primarily for pleasure, not for nutrition. It's an indulgence, not sustenance. Even those restaurants who want to appeal to a 'healthy eating' audience find that their less healthy items sell better; considering the difficulty of succeeding or even surviving in the restaurant business, they start to emphasize those ite…

The misconception is tasty food and healthy food are orthogonal qualities; that's thankfully far from the case! For example, you could a make a restaurant quality chicken breast entree with a white wine reduction and heavy cream sauce, seasoned with Herbs de Provence. If you're a follower of Keto, you'd notice these ingredients are all low carbohydrate, and offer protein and fats. Pair with seasoned veggies and you've got yourself an entree, it's delicious, and it's far from consuming the "empty" calories of typical fast food.

Re: Grocery Industry Confronts a Problem: Only 10% of Americans Love Cooking (2017)

#58

Post by JMTQp8lwXL » Tue, Dec 10, 2019, 2:24 AM UTC

abeppu wrote: post #34

A "demography is destiny" aspect to this: Since households are smaller (we marry later or not at all; have fewer children), those who do cook are cooking for fewer mouths, which leads to more time spent per meal consumed. 5 single people cooking and cleaning for themselves put in substantially more time than a one person cooking/cleaning for 5. Also there's some amount of waste from scaling down recipes originally wr…

Cook for 2, and have the second portion be tomorrow's lunch. Cooking for 1 is possible but too much overhead.

Re: Grocery Industry Confronts a Problem: Only 10% of Americans Love Cooking (2017)

#59

Post by JMTQp8lwXL » Tue, Dec 10, 2019, 2:25 AM UTC

rovr138 wrote: post #6

I like cooking but end up with a bunch of things to clean if I get creative.

Clean as you go. Plan your tasks before you begin cooking. If you spend 30 minutes cooking, you'll have maybe a handful of 2-3 minute breaks between steps.

Re: Grocery Industry Confronts a Problem: Only 10% of Americans Love Cooking (2017)

#60

Post by caf » Tue, Dec 10, 2019, 2:28 AM UTC

JMTQp8lwXL wrote: post #39

sonofaplum wrote: post #24

I've been seeing a nutritionist to try to help with weight loss and his emphasis has been on a healthy plate, which is a plate that is half vegetables, a quarter protein, a quarter starch or grains. Even at nice restaurants, it is extremely difficult to order meals that fit these proportions, and, as you move down the quick service spectrum it gets harder and harder. By the time you arrive at fast food, its difficult…

I never understood why vegetables are difficult to get as a "fast food" format. With salt pepper oil and heat, they can be very tasty. There has to be a huge market for Jack in the box equivalent for healthy eating. Most of the existing fast casual chains miss the mark. Chipotle comes to mind, but it's still mostly grains and protein and still lacking in vegetables, beyond the optional pico de gallo for your burrito.

There's an Australian chain that does vegetables in the "fast food" format (they have a presence at highway service centres, that sort of thing). So I think you might be right about there being an unserved market for this. ( https://www.oliversrealfood.com.au/pages/our-menu )