The $5B Battle for the American Dinner Plate • Hacker News Board

Re: The $5B Battle for the American Dinner Plate

#11

Post by sarwechshar » Sat, Jul 25, 2015, 4:43 AM UTC

takee wrote: post #2

I really enjoy cooking and think that it lets me unleash my creativity in a way. Cooking from raw ingredients at home is not only easier on the pocket but helps make sure that you eat healthier. I started cooking only in grad school and YouTube and a variety of recipe websites were a blessing to ensure I knew what I was doing.

What about exactly this growth in the middle of the cooking and eating out space with (mentioned in the article) the likes of Blue Apron? It seems like people can still cook what they like with some degree of control over what they eat whilst eating healthy but...they are likely to pay more for the convenience of getting only the ingredients and instructions they need.

My question is... Is this convenience catered only to those who can afford it?

Re: The $5B Battle for the American Dinner Plate

#12

Post by nostrademons » Sat, Jul 25, 2015, 4:44 AM UTC

benkuykendall wrote: post #8

I can't imagine this service helping me. It would easily double my ingredients' costs, and I enjoy planning and cooking meals myself. However, one related problem I have is the accumulation of ingredients. Something I cooked yesterday called for mustard, apple cider vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. Now I have enough of each to last a decade, and as a college student in NYC, space is at a premium. I wonder if there…

The packaged meal services get around this with small, individually-wrapped meal-size servings of condiments. You just pour it in the pan and throw away the bottle.

The downside of this - particularly for someone who would otherwise be interested in these services for using locally-sourced organic produce - is that it is so environmentally unfriendly. I've tried two of these services in the last week; they come in a big thermally-insulated box with plastic ice packs, and individually-wrapped plastic bags for each ingredient. One meal kit generates more trash than we would otherwise produce in a week, and most of it's in non-recyclable plastic or styrofoam that we've spent a generation getting rid of.

Re: The $5B Battle for the American Dinner Plate

#13

Post by nn3 » Sat, Jul 25, 2015, 4:52 AM UTC

benkuykendall wrote: post #8

I can't imagine this service helping me. It would easily double my ingredients' costs, and I enjoy planning and cooking meals myself. However, one related problem I have is the accumulation of ingredients. Something I cooked yesterday called for mustard, apple cider vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. Now I have enough of each to last a decade, and as a college student in NYC, space is at a premium. I wonder if there…

The trick is to not too slavishly follow the recipe.

I always replace obscure items in recipes with more common ones I have at home. For example instead of apple cider vinegar just use the plain vinegar you likely already have and use for other things. Usually works just fine and also cuts down on the planing significantly.

There are some more tricks. The best one is to go for relatively simple recipes. Avoid the "Indian housewife" style recipes who are designed for people who have nothing else to do.

Avoid the recipes from the "foot p0rn" industry with professional chefs, which are usually also too complicated and with too exotic ingredients. I

I often start with the ingredients and then select a recipe based on that (I call that "google cooking"). Basically you google something you already have in your fridge + recipe, and then replace anything too exotic with other things that you also have or just leave them out. May not end up exactly the same as originally intended, but typically works just fine.

Re: The $5B Battle for the American Dinner Plate

#14

Post by nn3 » Sat, Jul 25, 2015, 4:58 AM UTC

A good sub title of the article would be "The sad sad world of people who cannot cook"

Re: The $5B Battle for the American Dinner Plate

#15

Post by zhte415 » Sat, Jul 25, 2015, 4:59 AM UTC

benkuykendall wrote: post #8

I can't imagine this service helping me. It would easily double my ingredients' costs, and I enjoy planning and cooking meals myself. However, one related problem I have is the accumulation of ingredients. Something I cooked yesterday called for mustard, apple cider vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. Now I have enough of each to last a decade, and as a college student in NYC, space is at a premium. I wonder if there…

Perhaps you could buy saches of these - small 10g wraps. They're given away in pubs in the UK as condiments. Repackage them as multipacks of different mustards, vinegars, etc? I'm sure eBay has someone doing this, if not, ?

Re: The $5B Battle for the American Dinner Plate

#16

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Jul 25, 2015, 5:07 AM UTC

nn3 wrote: post #14

A good sub title of the article would be "The sad sad world of people who cannot cook"

[deleted]

Re: The $5B Battle for the American Dinner Plate

#17

Post by zhte415 » Sat, Jul 25, 2015, 5:12 AM UTC

My favourite hobby: Go to a restaurant or friend's house. Taste something good. Go home and do similar - research if necessary / results don't hit the spot.

This hobby is just plain fun, but is also has the benefit of saving money and really appreciating and showing that appreciation to a skilled chef.

Re: The $5B Battle for the American Dinner Plate

#18

Post by venomsnake » Sat, Jul 25, 2015, 5:23 AM UTC

Can we HN types create affordable combi ovens and be done with it?

Re: The $5B Battle for the American Dinner Plate

#19

Post by harlanji » Sat, Jul 25, 2015, 5:27 AM UTC

jmspring wrote: post #7

Oh for f's sake. Life isn't all about work, fast food, meal kits, (or burritos...mmm...burritos) are a stop gap. Making decent meals doesn't take a lot of time in the aggregate, it is just like planning out any other project. Prepare when you have time on the weekend, or a spare moment during the week. Soups and stews, lasagne, salads, even meat dishes can be prepared ahead of time and enjoyed over the course of days…

True this. I have about 5 goto meals that I can prepare, eat, and clean up in 15-30 minutes any time. While growing up my family made everything frozen and from cans, so I didn't learn there; I taught myself in college without any fanfare, and enjoy it (which, btw, CS degree w/ grad electives in 3 years, still had time to learn to cook).

Each meal is, as you say, zen to prepare. I make it perfect every time because I've made the same few meals dozens of times+. All are made with food from the organic market for << 10 per meal. Bonus: there's excellent food in SF, and if you eat at home 4 days per week the others don't hurt the budget so bad.

Re: The $5B Battle for the American Dinner Plate

#20

Post by sliverstorm » Sat, Jul 25, 2015, 5:30 AM UTC

ubernostrum wrote: post #4

technological wrote: post #3

Why cooking is viewed as difficult thing to do in US ? I see many people get surprised when I say we cook daily .

The article gives you a big hint: My mother is a fantastic cook, but she worked full time and in the rush to get dinner on the table by 7, she often relied on semi-prepared foods, like pre-marinated meats or curry mixes. From where I sat, cooking seemed like a drag, something that took time and effort in the midst of an already overcrowded schedule. It also notes that these "meal-kit" companies started in Europe and…

Notice the choice in foods. Is marinating meat hard? No. Does it take a whole lot of forethought and/or time? Yes. As compared to finely dicing onions, which is probably more difficult to do well than a simple marinade but also a lot faster.