Have you ever bought a pack of peeled potato, chopped carrot or diced onion? Recent statistics suggest more of us are buying ready-to-use fruit and vegetables.
According to Waitrose, which has a varied range of ‘lazy food’, there has been a 17% rise in sales across all prepared vegetables. Specifically, the upmarket chain has experienced a 40% rise in sales of peeled potatoes compared with a year ago. Diced onions are up 14%. and butternut squash/sweet potato mix has seen a 29% increase.
Of course, it’s not all about laziness, some people live alone and don’t want to eat their way through a whole butternut squash, some older people have arthritis and can no longer wield a potato peeler without pain but on the whole, the typical purchaser is a young or middle-aged professional looking to save some time.
Arguments against prepared food include the additional packaging required, the deterioration in freshness and possibly vitamin content and a further undermining of awareness about food – where it comes from and how it is produced.
For those that love food and cooking, part of the enjoyment lies in preparing raw ingredients and creating the end product from scratch.
It’s ironic that whilst many of us are happy to spend an hour watching Jamie/Nigella/Delia trying their hardest to demystify cooking and show how quick and easy it can be to produce tasty, nutritious and good value dishes, some of us still can’t find the time to peel an onion.
Read more at the BBC click here.
