And in many cases it can make a huge difference even outside of taste. For example, using pre-shredded cheese on your pizza? It will never melt and become gooe

And in many cases it can make a huge difference even outside of taste. For example, using pre-shredded cheese on your pizza? It will never melt and become gooey the way a low moisture block of mozzarella you've shredded yourself will. Because, as it becomes obvious once you learn about it, in order to prevent that shredded mozzarella from becoming just a clump of cheese, which is exactly what would happen considering the temperature differences it goes through and all sorts of crushing pressures that are applied on it until it makes it to your fridge. The pre-minced garlic needs all sorts of preservatives that will impart a significant flavor to preserve it and prevent it from browning. Presliced fruit is almost always gonna be covered in something to prevent it from spoiling. Sugar syrup might be the least offensive, but then it becomes less of a fruit serving than a sugar serving. There are good convenience foods you can use. Frozen foods are usually pretty high quality. The texture might not work for certain applications, but they are usually flash frozen when they are at the peak of the season and so really good when they're used. In fact, stuff like canned tomatoes are often better than their "fresh" counterparts during the off-season. Canned foods can also be excellent. No one sneers at people for using those, and in fact, most good chefs (and most of hte TV chefs as well) will recommend using those. Heck, even frozen sliced and peeled vegetables. But some convenience foods are simply not good if you are capable of doing without. Processed garlic is usually one of those.