In my country, there is a growing trend that you can go into most supermarkets and find done-for-you packaged, seasoned meat and even peeled green bananas, therefore, all you have to do is pour out the contents and start cooking. I am now seeing that the next generation could be spared of all the hassle that we had to undergo in preparing food to be cooked, probably they will have the food not being prepared for cooking but being cooked and packaged and available on the supermarket shelves.
On one hand I can really see how this trend would be convenient, especially to and for people like me who don't know how to prepare complex meals. But on the other hand, I have a lot of health issues that I am trying to cure through the foods that I eat, and the more and more people I talk to these days, the more people seem to have allergies and food issues. So I think it is best if people prepare and cook meals themselves, because at least then you will know exactly what went into it.
I generally avoid these, especially the pre-seasoned/marinated fresh meats, or fresh meats which have been breaded, since they're often older meat that was about to expire. Often times they cover them with paprika and seasonings to cover up the appearance of the meat, which has likely started to turn grey. As for pre-peels or chopped veggies, I usually avoid those too unless they are at a good price and look fresh enough. Stuff like peppers and onions start to get kind of slimy if they are pre-cut and sitting around on the shelf too long. I would rather just cut them at home when I am ready to cook them. But stuff like pre-peeled garlic is usually priced really well, so I will get that.
I could see how they could be useful but I avoid those personally. I find they're usually full of chemicals and aren't particularly healthy, so I prefer to cook and prepare everything from scratch myself. I have food allergies so this also ensures that I can definitely eat it. To me, using prepared food from the store doesn't seem like a good idea.
I can get pre prepared meals here and already cooked meals and pre-prepped ingredients (meats, veggies etc etc). I won't buy them though. First, their meals are unhealthy. Rarely, I might buy a salad if we're out and about and need something quick, but not often, I can usually wait. Veggies etc are already depleted by the time they get to the store, it would be worse if they were all cut up and ready to go. I much prefer preparing my meals myself, although I see the convenience and why many would like buying the prepared meals.
I would rather purchase the raw ingredients and cook with them, instead of using the pre-packaged, pre-seasoned items. Some of these pre-packaged items have added preservatives. Also, I think that the shelf life of unprepared produce is longer than the already pre-sliced, making it so that the produce will last longer in your fridge, therefore less trips to the store are required. I can see that the convenience would be more practical for some people, but I would prefer the raw, unprepped versions.
The trend's arrived in my neck of the woods, too, but I'm not all for it. You find that the price of stuff like peeled/chopped onions and pre-washed spinach suddenly goes up, all because of the 'convenience', and I don't see the point because I mean, how much time will you save really? 2 minutes? I don't think it's worth it and anyway, I'd rather do it myself so I'm assured of the hygiene. The only thing that I'm guilty of buying readily peeled and chopped tends to be butternut because I find it a nightmare to prepare LOL
I don't like the taste of most prepped foods in supermarkets here but I admit they are convenient and if you go to the right ones like the international brand markets you can get some good ones that have a relatively good taste. For the most part I just prefer to buy food at restaurants instead if I'm going to spend around the same amount of money anyway. I don't think the prices are that much cheaper and the convenience doesn't equal the quality I'll get enough for me so I just choose to buy at the restaurants where I know I'll like the taste. As for pre peeled vegetables and other similar products, I try not to buy those too because they are usually just discards that were fixed to make sellable again. Peeled carrots, for example, as I've heard, are just the less attractive carrots that were peeled to make them sellable again, and the same goes for packaged salad which is supposedly an accumulation of the discarded leaves. I'm not too sure but considering the price for those is much higher I think I'd much rather just stay safe and get the cheaper ones that I can be more assured of the quality of.
I might as well call this pre-prepared food trend at supermarkets as the "7 Eleven" effect. When visiting other cities and without cooking utensils at my disposal, I make do with their ready-to-go meals as purchasing them saves me time and effort but of course you have to sacrifice a bit of your budget. Although convenient, this new trend sort of fosters dependency on pre-prepared food. It will not serve people well during emergency situations. Cooking is sill a valuable skill.
I prefer the old fashioned methods of purchasing the ingredients and preparing the food myself. I have my own way of doing things and am rather picky in the kitchen. I do like the idea of buying pre chopped veggies and stuff when I am in a hurry, that is convenient, but I really like to marinate my meats with ingredients I enjoy, not what the store thinks I will enjoy.
