premade???

[redace1960]

all right, kids, lets ask it, then...
in this year 2005, 'cuisine orientation' a given factor, are pre-made
ingredients acceptable practice? i.e mixes, stock in a box, freeze-dried
flaked potatoes, etc.?
or not??
i could qualify this a lot further, i know. lets start from the point that things
like birdseye instant side dishes, say, or cooked steak in a bag with mushroom sauce are just out.

[dano1]

sure it's acceptable-at Applebee's, Marie Calendar's, et. al. where the nuke rules.

Got to ask why you are asking....Convenience ain't very convenient, not to mention the food.

[phatch]

From my personal home-cooking perspective:

I have "instant" mashed potatoes mixes. I can tell the difference between them and the real thing, but I'll continue to use them on the ocassional weeknight when pressed for time or if I'm short on real potatoes in a crunch. I have to say, I've been pretty happy with the TRIO brand that you don't even add milk or butter to reconstitute.

I expect the fake potatoes at some level of restuarants. And a few of those "family diners" do get my patronage for some of those greasy spoon meals that can be very good. Especially on my travels in rural areas, the economics of the business prohibit using all fresh.

I had a pretty good meal in West Yellowstone last year. It was far from haute cuisine, but West Yellowstone is a very small town and doesn't have the traffic or richer clientele to support all fresh ingredients. I was happy to have a restaurant that could produce a meal for me and my family of some quality. I had the chicken fried steak. I'm a sucker for those. In that case, the potatoes were real, but I'm pretty sure the "steak" was bought pre-breaded and frozen. And the stock in the gravy was certainly not made on premise.

I use some canned vegetables. Corn and beets primarily. They're economical--and of acceptable quality and nutrition in the off season. I'm not fond of canned green beans. I'll go frozen for green beans. I prefer frozen corn too, but the cost/quality ratio isn't as strong there. I hate peas in all forms. Carrots I always use fresh and usally spinach is fresh, but a few times a year, I'll use frozen in some places.

And preserved foods, while lesser than their fresh counterparts have a long and true history in ALL cuisines. We can denigrate them, but I think we ignore our past and food heritage if we do so without balance.

I use "stock in a box" when I'm doing something big. If it's really big, it becomes practical to make a real stock, but otherwise turn to "Better than Bouillion" bases for small amounts.

As a camper/hiker, I use instant rice, instant refried beans and such things too, even some sauce envelopes occasionally. No, they're not as good. Practicality does win sometimes.

From a professional perspective, which I know about only second hand, there have been discussion on this board of some commercially produced demi that is of very good quality.

And much of what we revere in cuisine has some pretty good processing involved. Alcohols of all sorts, many cheeses, condiments...

Processing a product isn't inherently evil. But much that is processed is done poorly.

Phil

[redace1960]

dano- re your entry:
i've never had the opportunity to ask well informed people this question before; people who love the subject,
who 'know the difference' and can explain it. enquiring minds want to know!

[dano1]

In my mind, pre-made means a meal or side, heat and serve. I think frozen dinner, which isn't too far off the mark for many chains and other establishments. The taste is artificial, mass market, usually oversalted junk. Of course labor is kept to a minimum in these types of establishments due to this, as well as providing a consistent product.

If the option is available, choose fresh product-providing your cooks can "cook" . Of course where do you draw the proverbial line in the sand? When it comes to green beans almondine i ain't gonna be buying stouffers. I roast my own turkey breast and roast beef, but I'm not curing hams in house. I confit my own duck legs and I'll be darned if i dump a bag of risotto onto a plate from the microwave.

On a side note, had a character i was replacing extoll the virtues of one brand of frozen mashed potato vs another. When i asked why he wasn't just making em he said all he had to do was throught the bag in the table to heat. This "philosophy" applied to all of his cooking.

It's a personal choice, what are you comfortable with?

[Kerryclan]

Originally Posted by dano1

If the option is available, choose fresh product-providing your cooks can "cook" . Of course where do you draw the proverbial line in the sand? When it comes to green beans almondine i ain't gonna be buying stouffers. I roast my own turkey breast and roast beef, but I'm not curing hams in house. I confit my own duck legs and I'll be darned if i dump a bag of risotto onto a plate from the microwave.

As one of the forum members outspokenly and honestly offended by the Semi-Homemade type of cuisine, I felt I should respond to this question.

Simply put, I agree with the above quote. Sure, I take shortcuts and I know that many foods we think of as "pure" are actually processed. I do draw the line at unhealthy, high sodium, convenience foods such as rice or noodle mixes, frozen meals, canned heat & serve mixed things (stews, spaghetti, baked beans), etc.

I will, however, use canned beans for some recipes if pressed for time and good low sodium stock. As I'm not much of a dessert person or baker - I generally hit the bakery or just serve fruit and/or ice cream. And, I'll make whipped cream and would rather not have a topping at all than use cool-whip! Just my opinion.

[KeeperOfTheGood]

Hey oh

lol

Well, an interesting question. Yes, it does depend on "what" the pre-prosessing is. I have no trouble using canned stock (organic) for a small dish. For a large dish, I will make stock. I have no problem having canned beans in the cupboard for those days when we have 30 minutes to make serve eat and leave (often that is the time we have for lunch between morning school classes and afternoon school classes).

Although, yes, my wife uses pre-fabbed dinners for work, we never serve them as "food" in the house. I like fresh garlic, mostly because jarred goes off so fast or can be on the nasty side to begin with. I do use jarred roast peppers, they tend to be cheaper and just as tasty as fresh, and jarred pickled jalepenos (nice minnced in an omlet).

Hmmmm, however, yes, I agree, and as a family we no longer patronise establishments that nuke bags of food. It is beyond me paying someone to nuke a frozzen bag for me.........

[redace1960]

i've got that kid in a candy store feeling....wow.
i don't think of what i put out here at home as cuisine but rather
as really good scratch cooking. i haven't used canned stock since i was
nineteen. for anything. on the other hand i think nothing of using campbells
cream soups since i met my husband, who grew up on preserved everything
up in alaska and likes that type of thing. and dammit, some of that 50's type
food is pretty good tasting. (most of it, however, is obscene.)
of course, i have this leeway since i'm only cooking for an audience of three,
myself included, and i refuse to be fired.
i think of cuisine as being a level of food that was developed for professional
service, whether that service took place in great houses or dining establish-
ments. if i was cooking that type of thing, like out of escoffier (not that i
ever have) or classical french or chinese (which i have), i would stick strictly
to what was called for because its supposed to be 'just this, just so'. isn't it?
or am i way off here? thats the impression i've always had, anyway.

[redace1960]

quel horreur!
she cooks with cream soup!
hey, i'm not a food knotzzi. (the program wont let me spell it right.)
i used to be, but i left it behind with the elton
john and striped toe socks. let me hasten to
guaranfrickentee you we don't eat like that every night.
.....yeah, and i asked another completely unassociated
question in the middle of a forum. d'oh!
i'll ask it elsewhere. do continue if you feel so inclined.

[KeeperOfTheGood]

Originally Posted by redace1960

i think of cuisine as being a level of food that was developed for professional
service, ... like out of escoffier ... i would stick strictly
to what was called for because its supposed to be 'just this, just so'. isn't it?
or am i way off here? thats the impression i've always had, anyway.

LOL

Well, did you know that he was the quintisential "short-cut" man? He re-wrote many traditional recepies to be easy and quickly made, and he also had his own line of sauces "pre-made" in jars (#37 Sauce Diable Escoffier for example).

[redace1960]

i never knew that! i knew chef boyardee did it, but
escoffier? holy beurre blanc, batman! i need to read
your source.

[KeeperOfTheGood]

The ESCOFFIER COOKBOOK A guide to Fine Art of French Cuisine Auguste Escffier published by Crown Publishers Inc, a division of Random House Inc.

http://www.randomhouse.com/crown/cat...sbn=0517506629

His own text. In this eddition (and I will assume that all the editions are like this) each entry is numbered. Going either by the entry number or the name you should find these in his text.

[redace1960]

i am embarrassed to say ive never read this one.
thats going to change pdq. thank you!
...say, did chef boyardee leave behind any record
of his accomplishments?