6 ms·

I can't imagine this service helping me. It would easily double my ingredients' costs, and I enjoy planning and cooking meals myself. However, one related prob

I can't imagine this service helping me. It would easily double my ingredients' costs, and I enjoy planning and cooking meals myself. However, one related problem I have is the accumulation of ingredients. Something I cooked yesterday called for mustard, apple cider vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. Now I have enough of each to last a decade, and as a college student in NYC, space is at a premium. I wonder if there is room for innovation here.

nostrademons 11y ago
The packaged meal services get around this with small, individually-wrapped meal-size servings of condiments. You just pour it in the pan and throw away the bottle. The downside of this - particularly for someone who would otherwise be interested in these services for using locally-sourced organic produce - is that it is so environmentally unfriendly. I've tried two of these services in the last week; they come in a big thermally-insulated box with plastic ice packs, and individually-wrapped plastic bags for each ingredient. One meal kit generates more trash than we would otherwise produce in a week, and most of it's in non-recyclable plastic or styrofoam that we've spent a generation getting rid of.
- pbreit 11y ago
  Blue Apron, for one, claims all of its packaging is recyclable.
nn3 11y ago
The trick is to not too slavishly follow the recipe. I always replace obscure items in recipes with more common ones I have at home. For example instead of apple cider vinegar just use the plain vinegar you likely already have and use for other things. Usually works just fine and also cuts down on the planing significantly. There are some more tricks. The best one is to go for relatively simple recipes. Avoid the "Indian housewife" style recipes who are designed for people who have nothing else to do. Avoid the recipes from the "foot p0rn" industry with professional chefs, which are usually also too complicated and with too exotic ingredients. I I often start with the ingredients and then select a recipe based on that (I call that "google cooking"). Basically you google something you already have in your fridge + recipe, and then replace anything too exotic with other things that you also have or just leave them out. May not end up exactly the same as originally intended, but typically works just fine.
- enraged_camel 11y ago
  >>The trick is to not too slavishly follow the recipe. Sure, but this is mostly for experienced cooks who know what alternatives are feasible for a given ingredient. For everyone else, ending up with something that tastes like crap and having to order pizza is too big of a risk. It's also about building expertise. When I learn a new recipe, I follow it as closely as possible until I can cook it without looking up the instructions. Only at that point do I feel comfortable with deviating and experimenting: because I know what the actual thing is supposed to taste like, I can try alternatives and judge whether they work well.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
zhte415 11y ago
Perhaps you could buy saches of these - small 10g wraps. They're given away in pubs in the UK as condiments. Repackage them as multipacks of different mustards, vinegars, etc? I'm sure eBay has someone doing this, if not, ?
- prawn 11y ago
  I thought the same thing. Someone should sell a mixed pack of a couple dozen sachets. I cook a reasonable amount and have a cupboard full of various vinegars, oils, etc but for someone who doesn't cook often, the mixed sachets could work well to cut down wastage.
thaumasiotes 11y ago
Just speaking for myself, I frequently snack by dipping bread in Worcestershire sauce. And I'd probably use mustard in sandwiches if I felt the need to use it up... but it's not like mustard (the standard yellow kind) is terribly expensive. Anyway, I wouldn't have a problem chewing through a supply of bread, mustard, meat (pick your favorite), and cheese (ditto).
selimthegrim 11y ago
Think of them as signposts to expand your creativity. I often sautee green beans in a mixture of half soy sauce and half apple cider vinegar, for example.

nostrademons 11y ago

The packaged meal services get around this with small, individually-wrapped meal-size servings of condiments. You just pour it in the pan and throw away the bottle. The downside of this - particularly for someone who would otherwise be interested in these services for using locally-sourced organic produce - is that it is so environmentally unfriendly. I've tried two of these services in the last week; they come in a big thermally-insulated box with plastic ice packs, and individually-wrapped plastic bags for each ingredient. One meal kit generates more trash than we would otherwise produce in a week, and most of it's in non-recyclable plastic or styrofoam that we've spent a generation getting rid of.

pbreit 11y ago
Blue Apron, for one, claims all of its packaging is recyclable.

nn3 11y ago

The trick is to not too slavishly follow the recipe. I always replace obscure items in recipes with more common ones I have at home. For example instead of apple cider vinegar just use the plain vinegar you likely already have and use for other things. Usually works just fine and also cuts down on the planing significantly. There are some more tricks. The best one is to go for relatively simple recipes. Avoid the "Indian housewife" style recipes who are designed for people who have nothing else to do. Avoid the recipes from the "foot p0rn" industry with professional chefs, which are usually also too complicated and with too exotic ingredients. I I often start with the ingredients and then select a recipe based on that (I call that "google cooking"). Basically you google something you already have in your fridge + recipe, and then replace anything too exotic with other things that you also have or just leave them out. May not end up exactly the same as originally intended, but typically works just fine.

enraged_camel 11y ago
>>The trick is to not too slavishly follow the recipe. Sure, but this is mostly for experienced cooks who know what alternatives are feasible for a given ingredient. For everyone else, ending up with something that tastes like crap and having to order pizza is too big of a risk. It's also about building expertise. When I learn a new recipe, I follow it as closely as possible until I can cook it without looking up the instructions. Only at that point do I feel comfortable with deviating and experimenting: because I know what the actual thing is supposed to taste like, I can try alternatives and judge whether they work well.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]

zhte415 11y ago

Perhaps you could buy saches of these - small 10g wraps. They're given away in pubs in the UK as condiments. Repackage them as multipacks of different mustards, vinegars, etc? I'm sure eBay has someone doing this, if not, ?

prawn 11y ago
I thought the same thing. Someone should sell a mixed pack of a couple dozen sachets. I cook a reasonable amount and have a cupboard full of various vinegars, oils, etc but for someone who doesn't cook often, the mixed sachets could work well to cut down wastage.

thaumasiotes 11y ago

Just speaking for myself, I frequently snack by dipping bread in Worcestershire sauce. And I'd probably use mustard in sandwiches if I felt the need to use it up... but it's not like mustard (the standard yellow kind) is terribly expensive. Anyway, I wouldn't have a problem chewing through a supply of bread, mustard, meat (pick your favorite), and cheese (ditto).

selimthegrim 11y ago

Think of them as signposts to expand your creativity. I often sautee green beans in a mixture of half soy sauce and half apple cider vinegar, for example.