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"[W]hat kind of over-privileged priss-ball can't chop his own friggin' vegetables?" asks Tim Carman of the Washington City Paper's food blog, about shrink-wrapped packages of prediced carrots, celery, and/or onions available at Whole Foods for the home cook on the go.
Expensive and kind of ridiculous, the prepped veggies seem to represent a new low for the lazy moneyed class of home cooks. Carman, however, makes the point that a $250-an-hour lawyer, for example, might value his or her time sufficiently to justify this sort of a shortcut. It might also be worth adding: Sure, the stuff's prediced and wrapped, but at least it's a precursor to actual cooking. By one highly overthought reckoning (see below), prediced Whole Foods carrots actually fall in the middle of the pack on the How Lazy Are My Carrots? spectrum of carrot preparation, shown here in order of least to most lazy:
* Cultivate and domesticate wild carrots; grow carrots in the garden; harvest, clean, peel, cook.
* Buy seeds; grow carrots in the garden; harvest, clean, peel, cook.
* Buy carrots; clean, peel, cook.
* Go to Whole Foods; buy preprepped carrots; cook.
* Go to restaurant; order dish with carrots.
* Have someone feed you cooked carrots so that you don't have to go through the work of lifting the fork.
* Feeding tube conveying constant stream of mashed carrots.
Image source: CHOW.com
It's real food. It's part of cooking real food. Why should you or I care if someone wants to shell out the extra money for convenience? It's better than canned pasta or frozen pizza.
This has been a very interesting thread to read; so interesting, in fact, that after all these years of reading CH, it inspired me to actually create an account in order to respond. Everyone has a different story and a different situation; a different set of priorities and a different set of needs. Personally, I have several different auto-immune diseases that leave me sick and exhausted the vast...+READ
This has been a very interesting thread to read; so interesting, in fact, that after all these years of reading CH, it inspired me to actually create an account in order to respond. Everyone has a different story and a different situation; a different set of priorities and a different set of needs. Personally, I have several different auto-immune diseases that leave me sick and exhausted the vast majority of the time. They also make me forgetful and clumsy, which is how I've cut myself 3 times in the last 2 years while trying to cook, 1 of which was so severe it required surgery, and my thumb now has permanently limited movement (to the extreme) and almost no feeling, since the nerves were severed. At this point, I'm a bit fearful of knives, since I so clearly suck at using them - and I will, at times, buy bagged veggies; I also love my mandoline slicer. I think we should all be able to get together and sing kumbaya that people are eating veggies, rather than spending 5 nights a week eating at McDonalds. :-)-COLLAPSE
Really now, it takes so little time to prepare vegetables, having kids is no excuse.
I buy the bell pepper "filets" at times because it's actually a pretty good value and I get red, green, and yellow all at once. To extrapolate that this is a sign of the apocalypse, or the "wussification of America" (if you think this year is good, you're going to love third grade!) would be funny if it wasn't so dumb. It seems like if you have the energy to get that worled up by this, you might...+READ
I buy the bell pepper "filets" at times because it's actually a pretty good value and I get red, green, and yellow all at once. To extrapolate that this is a sign of the apocalypse, or the "wussification of America" (if you think this year is good, you're going to love third grade!) would be funny if it wasn't so dumb. It seems like if you have the energy to get that worled up by this, you might want to increase your meds.-COLLAPSE
To be fair, I posted about this on Facebook and heard back that mom's with two children under the age of two should be exempt. That is the only exception. Or, not having knives.
From my experience, people who don't like to cut vegetables don't own a chefs knife. I wouldn't cut vegetables with a rinky-dink little, wobbly utility knife either.
This article and its commenters fail to think of the mothers who may not have time to clean and chop vegetables. Pre-Whole Foods, I know quite a few who would and still do rely on regular grocery store frozen pre-cleaned vegetables to create meals. It's not perfect but at least their families got non-processed food for dinner.
With all due respect to the arthritic, Whole Foods is a grand indication of the wussification of American cooking. It doesn't get anymore mindless, or overpriced. And, Amyzan, your nephew should be given a medal of valor given how much Whole Foods wastes everyday.
My dumpster diving nephew says the prechopped veggies are a frequent treasure of his excursions.
what over-privileged prill ball can't chop his own vegetables? Hmmmm, the one with severe arthritis? the one whose fingers hurt as she types this? Me?
Really good point boredwell.Thanks for reminding us that there can be a positive side to many things depending on who is looking at it!
chispa_c, no waste? i think it's better to waste 4 carrots than to throw out the plastic bags your two chopped carrots came in
hi-larious. who doesn't love a bell curve?
Packaged chopped, peeled veggies and fruits are a godsend for those of us with neuropathy, MS, Parkinson's and other disabilities(like a broken arm)which limit or preclude proficiency with a knife. For those blessed with two fully functional appendages, try chopping a butternut or peeling an apple with one hand.
I've been tempted to buy these things but the benefit isn't time, it's portion. I can't stand buying an entire bunch of carrots when i only need 2 or an entire bunch of celery when I only need 3. The price never comes out ahead with the pre-cut so I skip it but I'm digging the portions with no waste.
preprepped aren't really fresh anymore...like all those so-called "baby" carrots, which are in reality large carrots turned on a lathe to make them look tiny and cute.
Kinda lazy, no doubt, but at least these are real vegetables; the buyers have merely subbed out the prep work. Many of my co-workers don't even eat vegetable, let alone prepare them at home.
Most folks don't have decent knives, and even more don't sharpen them regularly, so chopping vegetables sucks. But get a nice knife and learn to sharpen it, and chopping is fun and quick. You get your vegetables in the shape you want - and you can store leftovers, sliced, in the fridge for another day.
No need to knock the iPad, although it is a high-income item and possession might correlate with the 80% of customers I see exhibiting ignorant and selfish behavior at whole foods. Don't ignore the fact that pre-chopped vegetables were a major source of food poisoning at Taco Bell rather recently... is four minutes of your time worth four days of intestinal armageddon? Not saying whole foods...+READ
No need to knock the iPad, although it is a high-income item and possession might correlate with the 80% of customers I see exhibiting ignorant and selfish behavior at whole foods. Don't ignore the fact that pre-chopped vegetables were a major source of food poisoning at Taco Bell rather recently... is four minutes of your time worth four days of intestinal armageddon? Not saying whole foods doesn't have a good process, I don't know the details, just food for thought.
Plus, if you get paid $250 an hour, you make enough working eight hours that you ought to take some time for yourself. Like a dish? Look up a recipe. Don't waste your whole life at work or going out. Going out to eat is only good if the place is amazing and expands your awareness and enjoyment of food. Get to know your food and learn to recognize signs of good/bad produce. Notice how the food you eat makes you feel.
Pre-chopped vegetables don't fit into that equation. Look up what a mirapoix is, and tell me if you're building one to cook a dish, you can't add two minutes to the process and use good, "WHOLE" foods?
Kind of ironic, no? WHOLE Foods, selling chopped, non-integral, foods? *grin*-COLLAPSE
Too busy to cook. Too busy to pick up a screw driver. Too busy to raise your kids. Don't wonder where your life went, if you let everyone else do it for you. Better get that new iPad, it will probably save some time in your day...
Meals don't have to take hours to make. Buying prediced doesn't save enough time to warrant the high price
Maybe not intravenous - maybe baby food - as close as you can get without the thing-a-majing tube to stuff grain down ducks for fois gras.
The salad bar is answer if you need a small quantity.
Quality is the issue for me: The pre-diced stuff is dried out and pretty tasteless.
they have intravenous carrot service now? why was i not informed?
It makes economical sense to buy precut veggies if you can't use a bag of carrots, lettuce, onion etc at one time. I have carrots and lettuce rotting in my fridge right know as I've just reminded myself to dump the stuff.
I guess I'm weird, I find playing with my food (prep work) almost as relaxing as walking the dog. Seriously, for the money you save buying whole veggies coupled with the chop time versus buying overpriced pre-cut stuff, the time to money saved ratio isn't good enough for me. I'll continue to stand in the kitchen and use my knives...yeah, I'm a bit old school...
I am in love with the miraprox from Trader Joes (precut carrots, onion & celery). I dump it in my slow cooker with a roast or a chicken, some herbs and broth and voila! On a weekend when I have energy I would not need the convenience. However, people on CH need to realize that everyone values their time differently. While I love to cook, after work I also need to keep the house clean, spend time...+READ
I am in love with the miraprox from Trader Joes (precut carrots, onion & celery). I dump it in my slow cooker with a roast or a chicken, some herbs and broth and voila! On a weekend when I have energy I would not need the convenience. However, people on CH need to realize that everyone values their time differently. While I love to cook, after work I also need to keep the house clean, spend time with my hubby, call the parents, and decompress from screaming teenagers (I'm a teacher). Cooking is often the LAST thing on my mind. Precut veggies often translates into actual veggies for dinner during the work week rather than frozen, or even none.-COLLAPSE
When I'm exhausted from work or otherwise very pressed for time, pre-cut vegetables make the difference between me having vegetables for dinner or having cereal for dinner. And I'm sure there are others who, without pre-chopped vegetables easily available, would likewise turn to fast food or microwave dinners for a quick meal--cut fresh vegetables, even if less fresh and more expensive than...+READ
When I'm exhausted from work or otherwise very pressed for time, pre-cut vegetables make the difference between me having vegetables for dinner or having cereal for dinner. And I'm sure there are others who, without pre-chopped vegetables easily available, would likewise turn to fast food or microwave dinners for a quick meal--cut fresh vegetables, even if less fresh and more expensive than vegetables cut in the home kitchen, seem like a pretty good alternative to me. In addition, the sale of baby carrots actually meant much less waste in the carrot industry: http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/babycarrot.html ; http://www.organicnation.tv/blog/how-and-why-baby-carrots-are-made.html
Not to mention: stores don't make us lazy. Whole Foods (and Kroger and Trader Joe's and Shop Rite and Publix and . . .) wouldn't have this stuff on the shelves if people didn't buy it.-COLLAPSE
there was a homer simpson episode of the simpsons concerning the progression from eating to laying and getting fed by a feeding tube.
Has the author every shopped anywhere else besides WF? Prechopped stuff is everywhere.
Pre-diced? Can't stay fresh for very long.
Where can I find a lawyer who only charges $250/hr?
Don't forget older folk - my husband's grandmother is a great cook but peeling and chopping veg is increasingly a struggle. Pre-peeled, pre-chopped veg are ideal for her.
Then there's the quantity issue. One person, maybe cooking once a week - fresh cut meripoix (Trader Joe's) makes more sense than purchasing a bag of carrots, a bunch of celery and a large onion.
Give me a break. After working 10 to 12 hours a day who wants to go home and spend quality time with a cutting board and a carrot? I'm all for pre-cut veggies, pre-made meals, carry out, and dining out. I work hard and my time is more valuable than a bag of pre-cut veggies.
Frozen doesn't taste the same as fresh, even pre-diced fresh. I sometimes (rarely) cheat with pre-cut butternut squash because sometimes my elderly hands can't cut through the squash (acorn squash is even harder but there's no pre-cut version of that that I've seen). If I were still working I'd have no qualms about using pre-diced anything!
Soxanne - you make a valid point. My mom suffers from arthritis and she does buy precut veggies if she has to cook for guests especially when the headcount is more than 6. They are a lifesafer when you are stressed and have no help.
I'm for anything that gets people to eat more vegetables, whether it's because they're too lazy to grow their own, too lazy to harvest, too lazy to chop. Hey, there are days when I'm even too lazy to cook and just go out to eat but I always get in my veggies.
and..... there are actually stores where you can buy some of these things frozen so you can just use a little bit at a time.... what will they think of next? Pre-sliced bread perhaps?
Why are pre-cut vegetables associated with Whole Foods? You can find them at every grocery store from your local chain supermarket to Trader Joe's across the country. I'd rather cry a few tears chopping my own onion rather than pay five bucks a pound for the pre-chopped ones at Stop and Shop, Giant. Kroger's et al. but who am I to dictate how others spend their money? At least the people buying...+READ
Why are pre-cut vegetables associated with Whole Foods? You can find them at every grocery store from your local chain supermarket to Trader Joe's across the country. I'd rather cry a few tears chopping my own onion rather than pay five bucks a pound for the pre-chopped ones at Stop and Shop, Giant. Kroger's et al. but who am I to dictate how others spend their money? At least the people buying these things are eating fresh produce, which is half the battle.-COLLAPSE
I think it's quite presumptuous to assume that people are buying precut vegetables because they're lazy and spoiled. I'm sure there are some people who are buying them because they just don't feel like cutting their own veggies, but in that case, you don't know their lives...I wouldn't call an extremely hard-working person who doesn't have much time for cooking and uses precut veggies as a way to...+READ
I think it's quite presumptuous to assume that people are buying precut vegetables because they're lazy and spoiled. I'm sure there are some people who are buying them because they just don't feel like cutting their own veggies, but in that case, you don't know their lives...I wouldn't call an extremely hard-working person who doesn't have much time for cooking and uses precut veggies as a way to still eat vegetables but would rather spend time with their children "lazy". Just different priorities. I'm sure everyone has their own mostly valid reasons for using them. Sometimes, the horror, I have the bagel guy slice my bagels. But I in fact CAN slice my own bagels. I must be terribly lazy.
Also as mentioned, health issues play a part. And also as mentioned, WF didn't invent precut veggies.-COLLAPSE
In my city, there isn't a grocery store without pre-prepped veg. My inner hippie cringes at the fact that they're on styrofoam and wrapped in plastic, and my inner cheapskate cringes at the idea of spending $6.99/lb for freaking zucchini, but far be it from me to manage someone else's wallet for them.
@juncojunction, it's hardly the *only* place to get "interesting, quality food," and some would challenge you on the quality claim too ;) but you are right that prepped, packaged vegetables are pretty commonplace in supermarkets these days - every store from Trader Joe's to regional supermarket chains seems to sell them.
This doesn't really have to do with Whole Foods, though, does it? Don't most stores have pre-cut vegetables? Do you oppose deli and prepared foods?
I'm tired of the Whole Foods bashing--it's the only place to get interesting, quality food. If you don't like it, PLEASE go elsewhere.
As someone who has spent part of this year recovering from whiplash, I can say that there are times that slicing your own vegetables can be impossible. There were several times when pre-cut meant the difference between having certain vegetables and going without.
for people who live alone or with just one person, those pre-chopped veg can actually cut down on waste. some weeks i barely get to cook at home (work evenings) and the pre-chopped versions of veggies are often made for two portions and are mixed. in order to come up with two portions of mixed veggies i'd half to buy 5 or 6 different things and end up throwing out most of them the next week.
It's a life saver for those who are missing an arm.
Or t
If you're too busy to live your own life, it's time to look at priorities.
i can't believe i'm going to defend Whole Paycheck here, but they're not the only store to offer such convenience items. and as for the concept itself, do i buy pre-chopped or pre-sliced vegetables? no. but do i turn my nose up at those who do? absolutely not! i personally *enjoy* the prep work, but i know i'm in the minority. and as Soxanne pointed out, they're certainly helpful for those who...+READ
i can't believe i'm going to defend Whole Paycheck here, but they're not the only store to offer such convenience items. and as for the concept itself, do i buy pre-chopped or pre-sliced vegetables? no. but do i turn my nose up at those who do? absolutely not! i personally *enjoy* the prep work, but i know i'm in the minority. and as Soxanne pointed out, they're certainly helpful for those who lack the strength or manual dexterity to do it themselves. then there are the people who either believe they don't have the time to do it, or they lack the skills and/or the desire to learn. if they're willing to pay a premium to have someone else do the work, and it might actually increase the likelihood that they'll eat a vegetable instead of something less nutritious, then i'm all for it.-COLLAPSE
It's a life saver for those of us with Rheumatoid Arthritis.
I think the only vegetable I would do this for is pumpkin. I hate chopping and peeling pumpkins so much, but this early year I discovered an amazing pumpkin-potato-chicken soup recipe and now find myself cutting rock-hard, rhino-skinned gourds at least once a month...
I am sure I will feel differently about this when I have a screaming baby on my hands, but I have always felt that these pre-cut vegetables and fruit, as well as the prewashed lettuces and chard, were SO INANE!!! 1. less fresh 2. more chance of contamination cuz more hands touched it. 3. not hard to wash and cut stuff. Reminds me of this friend of mine who used disposable utensils because washing...+READ
I am sure I will feel differently about this when I have a screaming baby on my hands, but I have always felt that these pre-cut vegetables and fruit, as well as the prewashed lettuces and chard, were SO INANE!!! 1. less fresh 2. more chance of contamination cuz more hands touched it. 3. not hard to wash and cut stuff. Reminds me of this friend of mine who used disposable utensils because washing dishes supposedly "hurt his hands."-COLLAPSE
I buy some pre-chopped vegetables (though not at Whole Foods, just at a regular grocery store, where they are cheaper), because for some specific vegetables, I consider it worth it. Carrots isn't one of them, but squash and turnips are, because cutting them is a giant pain in my ass.
I have been known to do it for onions, too, because chopping onions makes me cry like a whiny little baby.