Making Convenience Food More Convenient
I just got back from a trip to London, and have spent quite a bit of personal blog space praising the vibrant British food scene. Now, just when I thought it was safe to defend British cuisine to the hilt, The Guardian reports that Heinz is planning to launch ready-made baked beans on toast: “a frozen, fused sandwich that goes in the toaster.”
How convenient can convenience food get? Tim Dowling’s hilarious and thought-provoking article takes us through the world of British “super-convenience” foods: pre-cooked rice, partially-cooked microwaveable bacon and, the shame of Britain’s supermarkets, tea granules.
Ironically, as Britons cook more and farmers’ markets sprout up all over the countryside, sales of canned foods have increased by 10%, with canned baked beans enjoying a 13% increase since 2001—which makes Dowling wonder if the British culinary revolution has truly taken hold.
