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Dang, I had the opposite experience with Blue Apron. Never saved time. Expensive and the recipes took 2-3x longer than it says on the box. Delicious food, but

Dang, I had the opposite experience with Blue Apron. Never saved time. Expensive and the recipes took 2-3x longer than it says on the box. Delicious food, but there was no leftovers. We finished the food and were still hungry. Cannot fathom using them as a meal provider. The only thing I learned is that roasted beats and carrots are delicious. Don't need Blue Apron anymore.

jonathanjaeger 8y ago
They recently added meals that take 20-30min rather than 30-55min and it has made a world of difference, not to mention they expanded the menu. I also find some of the meals tastier because they're simpler rather than using too many ingredients. I still get the occasional bland one, but they have improved. As a company I wouldn't invest in them. The amount they spend on advertising (e.g. really pricey podcast advertising) with a high churn rate is concerning.
- ghaff 8y ago
  I only used them once and one of the meals was the most complicated hamburger recipe I'd ever made and I didn't think it was really all that good. I half suspect there are motivations behind making the recipes for these services complex and a little exotic. If they had four ingredient recipes that took 10 minutes of prep, I daresay a lot of people would think "I'm paying 2x to 3x what I would pay in the grocery store for that???" I'm glad to hear they're simplifying things though. The only reason I'd use something like this is if they did a lot of the pre-prep so it really is a quick meal on a weekday night when I really just don't have the energy to do more than minimal cooking. (Especially when there's so much in the grocery store that's partly prepped these days.)
  - pfranz 8y ago
    There's definitely a novelty factor--sometimes it pays off and other times it doesn't. I think "the standards" for American cuisine have the least payoff. I like that they would rarely repeat the grain/rice. It's likely a lot cheaper for them to acquire something popular in Italy in bulk, interesting to try in a controlled setting, and if I want to make the recipe again I can swap it out for white rice. > The only reason I'd use something like this is if they did a lot of the pre-prep so it really is a quick meal That sounds like a different market than Blue Apron is going for. From what I've seen they seem to be focusing on people who like getting whole fruits and vegetables and you cut and peel them yourself. People who are interested in cooking, but don't necessarily have formal training. Other meal kits will probably be a better fit for a quick, weeknight meal with little to no prep.
  - behringer 8y ago
    What's really weird to me is that you can go to the store and get food that's basically ready to serve after you warm it up. You could eat steaks, fish sticks, brats, chicken, pork, chicken nuggets, fries, a huge variety of vegetables ready to be steamed from the frozen section. You could eat that every day and pay a quarter of what it costs for this stuff to be hand picked for you. You don't even need to season any of it and it's delicious fried up in olive oil and butter and a little salt.
    - ghaff 8y ago
      Most of the prepared food in the grocery store that you just need to heat up isn't very appealing to me for the most part. Fish sticks and chicken nuggets, blech. However, there are a lot of things like salmon, brats (as you say), etc. that mostly do just need a quick saute or bake. And vegetables can be very quick and simple as well. However, some people do like the idea of more complex meals and some of those people find BA makes it a bit easier to get there.
      - behringer 8y ago
        Don't tell me blue apron doesn't have fish sticks ;) I usually use fish sticks or other frozen fish for making fish sandwiches. 10 mins of cook time vs 60+ for fresh breaded baked fish. But to each their own!
        ghaff 8y ago
        I'm probably fussier than I used to be and the fact that I work mostly from home gives me more flexibility than I used to have :-) I'd be more likely to bread and saute some flounder--which is a pretty quick meal too. (And flounder is sold in vacuum packed individual servings so it can definitely serve as a "what's in the freezer?" meal.)
    - jonathanjaeger 8y ago
      I buy the family size of Blue Apron for myself (12 meals at $8.99 per serving). There is no food in NYC of any considerable size/quality/taste that is a quarter of that price for that amount of calories. Ramen noodles and tuna maybe..
  - jghn 8y ago
    They seem to frequently include one atypical or exotic ingredient, I’ve always figured it was a way to get people to think it’s something they can’t get at the store and thus more likely to purchase. To be honest it does work on me. I get a BA shipment here or there and it’s always because they’re using something I wouldn’t normally work with or see at the at the store. I personally don’t mind most of the other common complaints, I tend to do a lot of scratch cooking so these are usually quick recipes in comparison. Likewise it tends to be cheaper per-meal than my normal dinners.
    - ghaff 8y ago
      The first meal I got from BA was some sort of poached Cod with ramps. Ramps I had never heard of although I understand now that some people get very excited by them during their short season. (I think I've seen them once in a grocery store--Whole Foods naturally.) However, I'm pretty sure that if you substituted scallions, the world would not come to an end.
      - jghn 8y ago
        I think you're spot on with that last assessment. Generally those ingredients I mentioned I'm sure don't make a big difference over some other reasonable substitution. For me, it makes for a nice change of pace anyways and as I've mentioned in another comment the BA meals tend to be quicker/easier to prepare than my normal cooking so that's also a nice change of pace. I tend to order one shipment ever 2 months or so on average I'd guess.
  - duderific 8y ago
    We've been using Gobble and we really like it. Usually the 4-year-old can't/won't eat it, but at least my wife and I don't have to worry about what to make for dinner 3 times a week. The food is really tasty, simple to make, one pan and takes around 30 minutes (not the 15 minutes that they advertise, but still ok.)
chad_strategic 8y ago
I agree that there is just enough food, maybe not enough. But then again, I'm dropping weight. So maybe a good thing. I got faster making meals over time. For me right now time is more important than money. I don't think have ever eaten more roasted beets, carrots, cauliflower, kale and broccoli in the last two years, than I have in my life. (and enjoyed.)
- ghaff 8y ago
  Roasting vegetables seems so obvious in retrospect and, even for a group, it's actually much easier to control doneness. I'm not sure why it mostly only appeared as a technique (outside of root vegetables and squash) relatively recently in the US.
chrisseaton 8y ago
> Delicious food, but there was no leftovers. I don't understand why do you want leftover food?
- SkyPuncher 8y ago
  So you can eat it for lunch the next day.
  - chrisseaton 8y ago
    If you want two meals why not get two meals instead of expecting one meal to provide two - doesn’t seem like a reasonable expectation to me.
    - behringer 8y ago
      Because when you're paying $10 for one meal you kind of hope it goes a little further. To put this in perspective, if I go to the store and buy a 10 dollar meal, I'll be eating: porter house, slathered in butter and olive oil, asparagus fried in the juices, with a baked potato. I'll have also a side of chilean grapes and a slice of cheese cake for desert. 10 dollars is a crazy amount for a dinner. (Ok that might cost more like $15)
      - crysin 8y ago
        A porterhouse alone is typically 8 to 10 dollars, so no you're meal you listed there is more like 20. Sure Blue Apron is expensive but don't go making it sound like you can have a big nice steak, a baked potato, an expensive dessert, some butter and vegetables for near the same cost.
        Spivak 8y ago
        If you buy every single ingredient absolutely but that's not how cooking-at-home food math works. You head to the grocery store and buy whatever beef cut is on sale so if you're buying a porterhouse it's because it's $4-6. Your pantry is already stocked with butter, flour, eggs, sugar, and potatoes. You had some almost stale graham crackers lying around which is why you decided to make cheesecake. You hit up the store buy some asparagus, cream cheese, and whatever fruit is in season rounding out to about $10-12 bucks and you've pretty much got the meal with plenty of leftovers and leftover ingredients for whatever you do next. You can spread a good cheese out over multiple meals to lower the cost but I'm not seeing how to get even a brie without going over budget here though.
pfranz 8y ago
It's really tough to time a recipe. Especially, because Blue Apron has so many whole foods that need peeling and cutting--it's not like you just put it in the oven and set a timer. I do think their estimations are a bit idealistic. I've seen the prep times vary 2-3x depending on who in the family makes it. One thing I've noticed that can improve prep times is taking a basic knife skills class. You'll notice grandmothers who have been cooking for decades are often pretty clunky with a knife. There are still some things that you have limited control over that will slow you down: counter space, kitchen layout, sink size, or what bowls and pots you have. Years ago I feel like they had more leftovers. Usually, it was the side dish where they gave you a whole head of cabbage instead of half to prep. It was usually mentioned in the recipe. I had been meaning to look back to see if they amended the recipes when they repeated them removing the leftovers--but I haven't used Blue Apron in probably a year now. I'm glad you learned that roasting vegetables are dead simple and delicious. I feel like growing up with canned and boiled vegetables this was somehow a well kept secret until recently. But there are other meal-kits out there that vary widely on complexity and prep time.
- robertAngst 8y ago
  As a note, we have been cooking, daily, for 5 years. I'm good enough with a knife, that I use a knife hone daily. Still took 2-3x longer than suggested. Not sure if I can blame the user.

jonathanjaeger 8y ago

They recently added meals that take 20-30min rather than 30-55min and it has made a world of difference, not to mention they expanded the menu. I also find some of the meals tastier because they're simpler rather than using too many ingredients. I still get the occasional bland one, but they have improved. As a company I wouldn't invest in them. The amount they spend on advertising (e.g. really pricey podcast advertising) with a high churn rate is concerning.

ghaff 8y ago
I only used them once and one of the meals was the most complicated hamburger recipe I'd ever made and I didn't think it was really all that good. I half suspect there are motivations behind making the recipes for these services complex and a little exotic. If they had four ingredient recipes that took 10 minutes of prep, I daresay a lot of people would think "I'm paying 2x to 3x what I would pay in the grocery store for that???" I'm glad to hear they're simplifying things though. The only reason I'd use something like this is if they did a lot of the pre-prep so it really is a quick meal on a weekday night when I really just don't have the energy to do more than minimal cooking. (Especially when there's so much in the grocery store that's partly prepped these days.)
- pfranz 8y ago
  There's definitely a novelty factor--sometimes it pays off and other times it doesn't. I think "the standards" for American cuisine have the least payoff. I like that they would rarely repeat the grain/rice. It's likely a lot cheaper for them to acquire something popular in Italy in bulk, interesting to try in a controlled setting, and if I want to make the recipe again I can swap it out for white rice. > The only reason I'd use something like this is if they did a lot of the pre-prep so it really is a quick meal That sounds like a different market than Blue Apron is going for. From what I've seen they seem to be focusing on people who like getting whole fruits and vegetables and you cut and peel them yourself. People who are interested in cooking, but don't necessarily have formal training. Other meal kits will probably be a better fit for a quick, weeknight meal with little to no prep.
- behringer 8y ago
  What's really weird to me is that you can go to the store and get food that's basically ready to serve after you warm it up. You could eat steaks, fish sticks, brats, chicken, pork, chicken nuggets, fries, a huge variety of vegetables ready to be steamed from the frozen section. You could eat that every day and pay a quarter of what it costs for this stuff to be hand picked for you. You don't even need to season any of it and it's delicious fried up in olive oil and butter and a little salt.
  - ghaff 8y ago
    Most of the prepared food in the grocery store that you just need to heat up isn't very appealing to me for the most part. Fish sticks and chicken nuggets, blech. However, there are a lot of things like salmon, brats (as you say), etc. that mostly do just need a quick saute or bake. And vegetables can be very quick and simple as well. However, some people do like the idea of more complex meals and some of those people find BA makes it a bit easier to get there.
    - behringer 8y ago
      Don't tell me blue apron doesn't have fish sticks ;) I usually use fish sticks or other frozen fish for making fish sandwiches. 10 mins of cook time vs 60+ for fresh breaded baked fish. But to each their own!
      - ghaff 8y ago
        I'm probably fussier than I used to be and the fact that I work mostly from home gives me more flexibility than I used to have :-) I'd be more likely to bread and saute some flounder--which is a pretty quick meal too. (And flounder is sold in vacuum packed individual servings so it can definitely serve as a "what's in the freezer?" meal.)
  - jonathanjaeger 8y ago
    I buy the family size of Blue Apron for myself (12 meals at $8.99 per serving). There is no food in NYC of any considerable size/quality/taste that is a quarter of that price for that amount of calories. Ramen noodles and tuna maybe..
- jghn 8y ago
  They seem to frequently include one atypical or exotic ingredient, I’ve always figured it was a way to get people to think it’s something they can’t get at the store and thus more likely to purchase. To be honest it does work on me. I get a BA shipment here or there and it’s always because they’re using something I wouldn’t normally work with or see at the at the store. I personally don’t mind most of the other common complaints, I tend to do a lot of scratch cooking so these are usually quick recipes in comparison. Likewise it tends to be cheaper per-meal than my normal dinners.
  - ghaff 8y ago
    The first meal I got from BA was some sort of poached Cod with ramps. Ramps I had never heard of although I understand now that some people get very excited by them during their short season. (I think I've seen them once in a grocery store--Whole Foods naturally.) However, I'm pretty sure that if you substituted scallions, the world would not come to an end.
    - jghn 8y ago
      I think you're spot on with that last assessment. Generally those ingredients I mentioned I'm sure don't make a big difference over some other reasonable substitution. For me, it makes for a nice change of pace anyways and as I've mentioned in another comment the BA meals tend to be quicker/easier to prepare than my normal cooking so that's also a nice change of pace. I tend to order one shipment ever 2 months or so on average I'd guess.
- duderific 8y ago
  We've been using Gobble and we really like it. Usually the 4-year-old can't/won't eat it, but at least my wife and I don't have to worry about what to make for dinner 3 times a week. The food is really tasty, simple to make, one pan and takes around 30 minutes (not the 15 minutes that they advertise, but still ok.)

chad_strategic 8y ago

I agree that there is just enough food, maybe not enough. But then again, I'm dropping weight. So maybe a good thing. I got faster making meals over time. For me right now time is more important than money. I don't think have ever eaten more roasted beets, carrots, cauliflower, kale and broccoli in the last two years, than I have in my life. (and enjoyed.)

ghaff 8y ago
Roasting vegetables seems so obvious in retrospect and, even for a group, it's actually much easier to control doneness. I'm not sure why it mostly only appeared as a technique (outside of root vegetables and squash) relatively recently in the US.

chrisseaton 8y ago

> Delicious food, but there was no leftovers. I don't understand why do you want leftover food?

SkyPuncher 8y ago
So you can eat it for lunch the next day.
- chrisseaton 8y ago
  If you want two meals why not get two meals instead of expecting one meal to provide two - doesn’t seem like a reasonable expectation to me.
  - behringer 8y ago
    Because when you're paying $10 for one meal you kind of hope it goes a little further. To put this in perspective, if I go to the store and buy a 10 dollar meal, I'll be eating: porter house, slathered in butter and olive oil, asparagus fried in the juices, with a baked potato. I'll have also a side of chilean grapes and a slice of cheese cake for desert. 10 dollars is a crazy amount for a dinner. (Ok that might cost more like $15)
    - crysin 8y ago
      A porterhouse alone is typically 8 to 10 dollars, so no you're meal you listed there is more like 20. Sure Blue Apron is expensive but don't go making it sound like you can have a big nice steak, a baked potato, an expensive dessert, some butter and vegetables for near the same cost.
      - Spivak 8y ago
        If you buy every single ingredient absolutely but that's not how cooking-at-home food math works. You head to the grocery store and buy whatever beef cut is on sale so if you're buying a porterhouse it's because it's $4-6. Your pantry is already stocked with butter, flour, eggs, sugar, and potatoes. You had some almost stale graham crackers lying around which is why you decided to make cheesecake. You hit up the store buy some asparagus, cream cheese, and whatever fruit is in season rounding out to about $10-12 bucks and you've pretty much got the meal with plenty of leftovers and leftover ingredients for whatever you do next. You can spread a good cheese out over multiple meals to lower the cost but I'm not seeing how to get even a brie without going over budget here though.

pfranz 8y ago

It's really tough to time a recipe. Especially, because Blue Apron has so many whole foods that need peeling and cutting--it's not like you just put it in the oven and set a timer. I do think their estimations are a bit idealistic. I've seen the prep times vary 2-3x depending on who in the family makes it. One thing I've noticed that can improve prep times is taking a basic knife skills class. You'll notice grandmothers who have been cooking for decades are often pretty clunky with a knife. There are still some things that you have limited control over that will slow you down: counter space, kitchen layout, sink size, or what bowls and pots you have. Years ago I feel like they had more leftovers. Usually, it was the side dish where they gave you a whole head of cabbage instead of half to prep. It was usually mentioned in the recipe. I had been meaning to look back to see if they amended the recipes when they repeated them removing the leftovers--but I haven't used Blue Apron in probably a year now. I'm glad you learned that roasting vegetables are dead simple and delicious. I feel like growing up with canned and boiled vegetables this was somehow a well kept secret until recently. But there are other meal-kits out there that vary widely on complexity and prep time.

robertAngst 8y ago
As a note, we have been cooking, daily, for 5 years. I'm good enough with a knife, that I use a knife hone daily. Still took 2-3x longer than suggested. Not sure if I can blame the user.