The world isn’t what it used to be. Our lives seem more hectic and we often find ourselves stressed over work and lack of ‘time’ to do the little things in life. This trend is followed closely by television producers who seek to help us all out by creating programs that save us time when it comes to cooking.
Fueled by the wildly popular ’30 Minutes Meals’ with Rachael Ray, the Food Network provides several shows in their line-up specifically targeting the ‘quick’ factor:
- 30 Minute Meals
- Good Food Fast with Family Circle
- Quick Fix Meals with Robin Miller
- Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee
But has this focus on making cooking quick reduced the quality of the food and potentially the loss of culinary techniques (and ultimately our cooking traditions)? Should we substitute turkey cutlets for the Thanksgiving roasted turkey because it can be prepared in 30 minutes? Although I enjoy watching each of these shows for different reasons, I find myself feeling a bit shameful, that maybe I’m feeding the downfall of our civilization.
Each show has its technique for saving time — from using smaller pieces of meat that cook quickly to employing slow cookers so you are freed from the kitchen. The most disturbing and saddening show for me though is ‘Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee’. While she is sure to be the greatest party hostess you’ve ever met her cooking methods advocate using 70% premade products along with 30% fresh to make quick and tasty meals. I find this 100% wrong (and somewhat lazy).
One website dedicates a forum to the discussion of Ms. Lee, “Television Without Pity: Semi-Homemade Cooking“. This gives me hope that not everyone is buying into her cooking … actually, it’s not so much cooking as it is assembling a set of pre-made products into a bowl, pan, or dish. Not very creative.
My hope is for Semi-Homemade to run its course and be replaced by programming that celebrates cooking. Cooking that uses fresh ingredients and utilizes time-honored techniques. Time will tell.
