Iceland - I don't understand some of these products

[KFC]

I was in Iceland this afternoon and some of the products really are puzzling. Things like already cooked mashed potatoes, frozen. I get the concept of Iceland - crap convenience food for poor and stupid people. But who can't manage to bake/boil a few spuds? You're just wasting money for worse quality food with this junk.

Obviously people are buying it or they wouldn't stock it... who buys this and why?

Crap thread I know... I'm bored.

And let me pre-empt the comments about why I'm shopping there in the first place I live abroad - there are some things you simply can't get elsewhere. It is actually quite handy to have here - I'm just curious as to how they sell some of this junk at home.

btw they also do some frozen waitrose food - will be sampling the goats cheese and spinach pizza later

[mph1977]

KFC said:

I was in Iceland this afternoon and some of the products really are puzzling. Things like already cooked mashed potatoes, frozen. I get the concept of Iceland - crap convenience food for poor and stupid people. But who can't manage to bake/boil a few spuds? You're just wasting money for worse quality food with this junk.

Obviously people are buying it or they wouldn't stock it... who buys this and why?

Crap thread I know... I'm bored.

And let me pre-empt the comments about why I'm shopping there in the first place I live abroad - there are some things you simply can't get elsewhere. It is actually quite handy to have here - I'm just curious as to how they sell some of this junk at home.

btw they also do some frozen waitrose food - will be sampling the goats cheese and spinach pizza later

all the supermarkets seem to do pre prepared veggies to a greater or lesser degree ... we as a population have become used to washed potatoes - to the point where unwashed spuds are now seen as a pemium product in some supermarkets ! but ready peeled or ready made mash ?

[Shaw Tarse]

Convenience

[KFC]

They're already cooked and mashed then put in a freezer bag - you just stick them in the oven.

Stuff like bags of frozen greens are handy - but to me buying already cooked mashed potato seems a complete waste of money, to give yourself a worse meal...

[duckers26]

KFC said:

Iceland - crap convenience food for poor and stupid people.

Does that comment make you feel superior?

[plasticpig]

Frozen mashed potato is upmarket surely? Really poor people would use Smash?

[GG89]

duckers26 said:

KFC said:

Iceland - crap convenience food for poor and stupid people.

Does that comment make you feel superior?

+1 you then go on to say you're having a frozen pizza later.

Get off your fking high horse.

[anonymous-user]

All the supermarkets do ready made mash, sometimes a quid for 500g and it is pretty nice.

Iceland does have a high proportion of very processed foods but is cheap too, but you go there because you expect quantity over quality.

Similar to not shopping at Waitrose when you can get cheaper comparable food elsewhere but if you want a better perceived quality over quantity.

[22s]

KFC said:

They're already cooked and mashed then put in a freezer bag - you just stick them in the oven.

Stuff like bags of frozen greens are handy - but to me buying already cooked mashed potato seems a complete waste of money, to give yourself a worse meal...

You've hit the nail on the head with your first sentence there.

Homemade mashed potatoes

1. Buy raw potatoes, buy butter/milk/whatever you add
2. Wash and peel potatoes
3. Boil pot of water, add potatoes
4. Drain potatoes
5. Mash potatoes with butter/milk/whatever you add
6. Serve probably lumpy mashed potatoes

Ready Made Potatoes

1. Buy cooked potatoes in packet
2. Preheat oven, put potatoes in
3. Serve

[grumbledoak]

A top tip for anyone with babies or little kids: frozen mashed potato is great; easy to make a load, put in small containers, and microwave from frozen while baking the fish fingers.

Buying it pre-made is a step too far, IMO.

[KFC]

GG89 said:

+1 you then go on to say you're having a frozen pizza later.

Get off your fking high horse.

No high horse involved - like I say I understand the concept of convenience food... but where do you draw the line? For me its way above already cooked mashed potato

[Mobile Chicane]

Frozen mashed potato is great for making fish / shepherd's / cottage pie. Saves using yet another pan.

[Shaw Tarse]

KFC said:

No high horse involved - like I say I understand the concept of convenience food... but where do you draw the line? For me its way above already cooked mashed potato

Where do you draw the line?

[GG89]

KFC said:

No need for a wife - I have a cleaner once a week, and I went to a local restaurant and ordered 30 meals in boxes that can be frozen.

Where do you draw the line?

[mattdaniels]

KFC said:

They're already cooked and mashed then put in a freezer bag - you just stick them in the oven.

Stuff like bags of frozen greens are handy - but to me buying already cooked mashed potato seems a complete waste of money, to give yourself a worse meal...

So you can appreciate how a bag of frozen pre-prepared vegetables is handy, as long as that frozen pre-prepared vegetable is not a potato.

[KFC]

mattdaniels said:

So you can appreciate how a bag of frozen pre-prepared vegetables is handy, as long as that frozen pre-prepared vegetable is not a potato.

For me (living alone) if I buy bags of green veg they'll often end up in the bin unused as they went off. Fresh potatoes last for ages... no need to bag them frozen to avoid wasting them.

[KFC]

Shaw Tarse said:

Where do you draw the line?

If something is both easy to cook and relatively long lasting while uncooked... I certainly wouldn't be buying it already cooked then frozen.

[Mobile Chicane]

Another consideration over and above convenience is that frozen veg (at least in the UK) is significantly cheaper than fresh, with no loss of nutritional value as it's frozen within a few hours of picking.

The frozen section is hidden like a guilty secret at the far end of most supermarkets. They don't want you to find out how good a deal it is.

[dazco]

http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/main-ingredient...

If it's good enough for delia, it's good enough for me. I must be stupid

[KFC]

dazco said:

http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/main-ingredient...

If it's good enough for delia, it's good enough for me. I must be stupid

Thats a fair point and mentioned by MC above - I hadn't considered it being used as an ingredient of something else like that. I just assumed it was going to be served up with microwaved beans and a boil in the bag burger or something.