eli5: How do “instant” versions of foods (instant oatmeal, coffee, rice, etc.) exist? Why are they not the standard since they’re so efficient?
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Coffee in particular, most of the desirable flavour comes from oils that evaporate even at room temperature. Freeze drying doesn’t bring them along. They have done an objectively fine job with the smell of instant coffee, but it is missing something versus fresh.
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taste. Anyone who has had frozen foods will tell ya, cooking in the oven will taste much better than microwave. you’re sacrificing taste for speed.
They require more processing. Instant noodle is cooked, then deep fried, and after that dehydrated. Other instant things like rice and such, similar things are done, but with steam, and once again they are dried. Coffee/tea is basically brewed and freeze dried to remove water to make powder.
They take extra steps and processing, which add costs (Although compensated for by longer shelf life). The noodles I mentioned are not healthy for you. But most “instant whatever” products aren’t really that different from not processed. They might be slightly “inferior” quality because they been processed mechanically and by chemically (as in, not adding chemicals but things like boiling, frying, drying).
But I do know lots of recipies that call for instant versions of common products, or otherwise processed products. Milk powder, condensed milk, instant oats, puffed rice, tea powders, instant potato smash (Like I know that my grandma makes this really good traditional potato casserole every yule and it is done with instant mashed potatoes as a base and powdered potatoes). They are ingredients like any other on the grand scheme of things.
But if you compare the price/kg then instant products are more expensive to “not processed” ones. So 10kg of basic rice is cheaper than 10kg on instant.
But a good thing to remember that these products are efficient from your perspective. From the perspective of supply chains they are not. But consumers are buying more and more of these “processed” food, and lot of them aren’t any less healthy than the regular ones having only been basically cooked and dried. I myself have noticed that having to wait 30 minutes to cook potatoes or rice, just to save few euros… is simply not worth it lot of the time.
For why it’s not the default for everything, well, try instant coffee alongside properly brewed coffee and you have your answer. Or instant rice alongside well cooked rice by someone who knows what they’re doing.
I’m not a snob, instant coffee is fine in a rush or if it’s all 4 that’s available. But it does universally taste worse than coffee brewed from freshly ground beans.
Instant food is always at least slightly worse. It’s always a balance between convenience and flavour. If the thing isn’t that difficult to make anyway then there’s little value in an instant version.
Because they are trash and most people prefer things done the right way, albeit not instant…
Some instant foods are always sub par.
Most instant foods don’t work properly as ingredients when cooking something they are required in.
Nearly all instant foods are much more expensive. For some things like oatmeal you are paying more for the packaging and processing then the oats cost themselves in some markets.
Just compare a ‘real’ coffe, an instant coffe and some 3in1 variant and you are going to taste the difference.
Same with the instant soup versus the soup of your granny.
They are not even close. Sure the instant versions are really nice for time saving and for ppl how don’t know/ want to cook, but the the cost of quality.
Ok think about an instant coffee Vs a coffee from ground beans. That should answer your question quick enough!
Might be convenient having quick ways of doing stuff but it may not taste as nice.
Rice is also very complicated! Rice needs to obsorb flavours whilst it cooks so instant rice would be no good. Also different methods of cooking produce different results or sticky rice, risotto etc.
“Instant” doesn’t mean “best.” A good example is oatmeal. I’m diabetic, which means that I have to pay attention to the carbs in my diet. I try to stick to foods with a low glycemic index, foods that don’t cause my blood sugar to spike. Instant oatmeal has a high glycemic index, one minute oatmeal a little lower, old fashioned oatmeal is much lower, and steel cut oats the lowest. Instant oatmeal also tends to be flavored and sweetened with sugar, making it even more unhealthy.
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