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Has anyone tried this? https://www.blueapron.com/ It seems cool but I'm worried that it will suck and I'll be out $60.
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Dec 4, 2016 05:36
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They're not terrible as gifts, I wouldn't live off them or anything.
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Dec 4, 2016 05:48
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Noun Verber posted:They're not terrible as gifts, I wouldn't live off them or anything. Are the ingredients actually fresh? I'm looking into this for myself as an alternative to frozen dinners a few nights a week.
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Dec 4, 2016 06:29
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I do them occasionally and enjoy it. I like not having to think about what to cook, but still eating a meal I'm cooking fresh. There are also some kind of cool recipes that I would never have tried on my own. PM me your email address and I can send you a link to get your first box free. You can cancel before the 2nd one ships and you'll be out $0.
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Dec 4, 2016 06:48
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I looked quick at the poster name and thought I had sleep posted. Blue Apron is probably a good idea for people that don't literally live down the block from Publix like I do. Maybe as a way to break new or nervous cooks out of their shells?
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Dec 4, 2016 15:58
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It's nice for forcing yourself to try a few new dishes and ingredients you never would've tried otherwise
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Dec 4, 2016 17:42
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Suspect Device posted:Are the ingredients actually fresh? I'm looking into this for myself as an alternative to frozen dinners a few nights a week. Yes. Frozen ingredients will be in a compartment at the bottom of the box with ice packs and everything else will be in a refrigerator section on top. The inside of the box is lined with insulation, and it's good enough that when I came home late once it was still something close to 40° inside. The produce isn't the best but it's passable.
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Dec 4, 2016 17:46
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I've tried Blue Apron and Home Chef and Home Chef is superior. Ingredients are separated by meal, which makes it quicker. Everything seems to be of really pretty good quality, comparable to what I would buy at the store. It's not cheaper than going to the grocery store, but it saves me a lot of trouble and keeps us from eating out so much for easy meals when we don't feel like cooking. It is way cheaper than eating out. Edit: Also the recipe cards for Home Chef were easier to follow and give you expiration times so you know how long you have before it has to be cooked ("Cook within 3 days" etc). They also give you cooking times to give you an idea of how long it takes to prep and cook each meal. briefcasefullof fucked around with this message at 22:52 on Dec 4, 2016 |
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Dec 4, 2016 22:49
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How are services like this with allergies? I've got a severe dairy allergy, I feel like that would kneecap a lot of potential premade recipes.
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Dec 4, 2016 23:25
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Home Chef has options to let them know what allergies you have. Don't know what sort of variety they have though.
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Dec 4, 2016 23:43
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Hello Fresh also separates by meal. I think blue apron's appeal is that it's cheaper than most
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Dec 4, 2016 23:48
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I was turned off even looking at Blue Apron by an ad that said they'd made a Top Chef winning dish even more succulent by replacing the duck with chicken.
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Dec 5, 2016 01:42
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Cavenagh posted:more succulent by replacing the duck with chicken. Wow. Just... wow. Does 'succulent' now mean 'safe for scaredy babies'? Or is it 'cheaper'
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Dec 5, 2016 02:32
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blue apron is literally trash and if you feel the need to receive 4 ounces of overpriced food via mail in 1lb of packaging because you are a baby who can't google a recipe and go to a grocery store and cook like a loving normal non-manchild you should pretty immediately just abort yourself hth v  v
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Dec 6, 2016 08:06
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There's also that whole "terrible working conditions for employees" thing.
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Dec 6, 2016 09:19
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mindphlux posted:blue apron is literally trash and if you feel the need to receive 4 ounces of overpriced food via mail in 1lb of packaging because you are a baby who can't google a recipe and go to a grocery store and cook like a loving normal non-manchild you should pretty immediately just abort yourself Counterpoint: I like Blue Apron because I don't have to gently caress with grocery shopping or having to figure out what I'm going to make that will use up an entire head of cabbage or bunch of parsley. They have a good business model (partnering with small family farms to source unique ingredients) and I get to try all kinds of recipes that I wouldn't have otherwise tried. It costs more than doing it myself but my time is worth money to me, so since I save at least two hours a week with not having to meal plan, grocery shop, and food prep, I think I come out ahead. And this is coming from someone who really, really, really likes to cook.
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Dec 6, 2016 13:33
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There are definitely cons to Blue Apron but overpriced? That's not one of them for where I lived. They were exactly on par with buying the ingredients from my local supermarket. Something to do with cutting out a massive store from the supply chain. It's probably more expensive running a huge supermarket vs. their distribute/delivery model. I live in the bay area where everything is expensive anyway.
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Dec 6, 2016 17:58
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Are the portions good sized? I could imagine eating the 2-person portion all by myself without any problem
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Dec 6, 2016 18:02
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If you read the article it's just because they had temp agencies who would throw literally anyone off the street at them without properly vetting them and that they kicked those staffing agencies to the curb. I had to do that once when I learned the temp agency I used had a drug screening and background check process they followed "occasionally".
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Dec 6, 2016 18:08
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Bob Morales posted:Are the portions good sized? I could imagine eating the 2-person portion all by myself without any problem I find them to be very good sized, and depending on the meal my husband and I end up with leftovers about once a week. We never feel like it was too little food.
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Dec 6, 2016 21:09
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BA is how I got my start in cooking. It expanded my palette and taught me that cooking wasn't as scary of a task as I thought it was. I'd recommend it as a starting step if you wanna learn how to cook but don't know your tastes/how to cook at all.
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Dec 7, 2016 01:43
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mindphlux posted:blue apron is literally trash and if you feel the need to receive 4 ounces of overpriced food via mail in 1lb of packaging because you are a baby who can't google a recipe and go to a grocery store and cook like a loving normal non-manchild you should pretty immediately just abort yourself Basically this. Chop an onion guys. Jesus gently caress.
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Dec 7, 2016 08:48
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Spaced God posted:BA is how I got my start in cooking. It expanded my palette and taught me that cooking wasn't as scary of a task as I thought it was. I'd recommend it as a starting step if you wanna learn how to cook but don't know your tastes/how to cook at all. Well also, basically this. A lot of people are scared of cooking or just don't know what they like. Not everyone's kitchen brave. Do Blue Apron for a bit, develop a recipe catalog and an idea of what good produce is supposed to look and feel like, then ditch it and hoof it to the grocery store yourself. I highly recommend Publix, who will drat near take you by the hand and lead you skipping merrily down the aisles if you don't know where and item is. And God forbid they don't know where it is, they'll just about go to another store to find it for you.
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Dec 7, 2016 15:15
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Yeah like I said, I love to cook, I love to try new things, and I love Blue Apron for the easy factor. Also the nerd foodie subforum of a nerd website isn't exactly the target market for stuff like Blue Apron. I'm all for anything that gets yuppies interested in cooking for themselves.
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Dec 7, 2016 16:29
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Suspect Device posted:Are the ingredients actually fresh? I'm looking into this for myself as an alternative to frozen dinners a few nights a week. Blue Apron is a good alternative to frozen dinners. You do have to actually cook the food though. Are you looking for a service that delivers already prepared foods? Blue Apron is not that.
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Dec 7, 2016 16:38
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I tried a free trial of both blue apron and hellofresh. I would never actually sign up since yeah, I know how to cook and it's super expensive for what you get. You're paying for the convenience and hand holding. It was ok I guess if money just isn't an issue for you. I will admit that it gave me a couple of recipes that I would never had tried some of the ingredients otherwise and now love making them. But no, it's not like the ingredients come prepared for you. You literally get an onion or whatever and you have to chop it up. It's basically just giving you some groceries for just that meal in the amounts you need but no more and the recipe. So I guess if you're intimidated by getting into cooking it might be worth it?
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Dec 7, 2016 19:29
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I've gotten a lot of Blue Apron and I don't suck at cooking. The Good: -Constant free offers. If you sign up for a free box, make sure you click "Skip this Delivery" for several weeks after. At some point they will then send you 3 free boxes for friends. Put all of them on different credit cards, give them to friends/family/so. Get 4 or more free boxes. Cancel all those accounts. Profit. -Real cooking. They'll have you fry meat in a pan then deglaze it like a pro. You'll make roux, you'll reserve pasta water for sauce. Real cooks were involved here. -Real ingredients. Potatoes, onions, the works. My favorite meal involved making a cream sauce with pine nuts and dousing that over shiso peppers and noodle. I actually really love that recipe. -You learn. Keep those recipe cards and learn to make real food on your own. -Directions are usually okay. The recipes are made idiot-proof, but a pro is going to see areas they don't make clear exactly what they're doing or why. So it's more like a Homes and Gardens cookbook, less like Alton Brown. -Okay flavor. Yeah it's going to taste like it was cooked by an urban white mom, because that's who it's for. Slightly bland, but not bad. Like an urban white mom who went to a cooking class. -Free cooler bags? If you've been looking for something to stuff your cooler with, get a free box of this poo poo, and you get two gigantic goddamn freezer bags with it. The bad: -They abuse their workers. -Jesus Christ all that wasted packaging. You will hear the environment screaming. -Expensive as gently caress. It's like $10/meal for the two-person option, as in $60 for 6 servings. If you're cooking at home and you spend this much you could be eating goddamn feelay mean yawn. -Have to send an email to a semi-secret address to cancel, can't directly cancel from clicking through site. (or click https://www.blueapron.com/cancel_subscription) -Requires a lot of cooking/mess. Sure you chop your own veggies and stuff, but this poo poo usually takes a half dozen ingredient bowls and 2 pots by the time you're done. You will quickly realize it's not actually easy enough. -Requires poo poo they don't list, like obviously you need a decent array of pans. And your own salt and pepper. And a meat flipper would help. Spatulas, a quarter baking sheet, a good nonstick fry pan, sauce pans in varying sizes with lids, lots of olive oil... I mean this is all basic stuff, but they talk like everything is in the box and don't make it clear what equipment a dummy really needs. A peeler, at least a couple wooden spoons and pan scrapers, lots of bowls for holding chopped ingredients helps a lot... -Won't follow mail forwarding. My free box got sent to my old addess and UPS actually DELIVERED it to old address despite the manager trying to send the package back, which I hope is actually illegal, but luckily I'm friends with the manager so I got the box. Blue Apron refunded me saying it hadn't been delivered, but refused to recognize the mail forwarding even after it happened. Their system just cannot understand a mail forward at all. If your address is tricky, have it shipped to work or something. So who is it for: -If you live in an urban area and you're not near a grocery store, one free box of Blue Apron and maaaaybe a second if you get desperate is not a bad investment. At that point it would be $5/meal for 12 meals, which ain't bad if you're swamped at work. -If you cannot cook to save your life but want to, try and box to get a feel for it. You'll be pleasantly surprised at the results. And you'll have had to do basic things like cut potatoes and onions. Good exercise.
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Dec 7, 2016 23:44
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revdrkevind posted:The Good:
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Dec 8, 2016 01:52
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unironically, untrollingly : the cost of packing and shipping potatoes and onions through the mail is more than the cost of potatoes and onions I mean gently caress I get that it's good for people who are intimidated by cooking, but there are 80 bazillion cookbooks out there that specifically cater to 'easy meals' it's great to get yuppies interested in cooking, but if getting them interested in cooking requires tons of wasted packaging & emissions to ship their lazy asses a single potato and onion - fuckem, not everyone deserves to eat actual food. anyways, love y'all, and glad to hear at least one goon has been turned on to cooking by a mail order potato and onion + recipe service. (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
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Dec 8, 2016 04:18
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TychoCelchuuu posted:Yeah sounds like they're really pulling out all the stops here. Way to be a dick y'all. Just ignore the part about pine nuts and shishito peppers (yes I typed shiso peppers because I forgot that's an in-joke). Which, yes, are a rarity for urban American cooks. I've also gotten pumpkin cavatelli, goat cheese, fresh herbs, shishito peppers, pine nuts, golden raisins (the service has a thing for using golden raisins to punch up a sauce), red wine vinegar, kale, grass-fed beef, scottish salmon... sometimes the recipes are just burgers and onion rings. Sometimes they're Korean rice cakes, fried chicken and biscuits, or stuffed squash with curry. The point is that real cooking starts with basics like potatoes and peppers. So does Blue Apron. That is a fine thing. I mean sure it would be 1000% better for the environment if they made you source your own potatoes, but to be fair, half the time those are coming on a truck from Guatemala too. Food in America is hosed. mindphlux posted:it's great to get yuppies interested in cooking, but if getting them interested in cooking requires tons of wasted packaging & emissions to ship their lazy asses a single potato and onion - fuckem, not everyone deserves to eat actual food. This is a totally fair point. Just like anyone who buys a new smartphone every six months. Consumerism in America is sick. But if you're not planning on starting a commune anytime soon, and you're just using the free boxes because there's no way you should ever pay $10/meal when you're home cooking, Blue Apron is maybe not the worst thing in the world. Now if someone actually pays for Blue Apron every week because they're fine paying $10/meal and throwing away fucktons of packaging every single week, pardon me I stand corrected, yes that person is Literally Hitler. The fact that Blue Apron hasn't gone out of business yet is a total mystery. Also if you've ever gotten their wine or anything else from their store, you are a cancer on society I hope you die.
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Dec 8, 2016 15:58
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I'm sure glad the two choices here are mailed potatoes or living in a commune. This sets out a very logical example! But, speaking as someone who HAS spent a lot of time growing his own food, nah, you're a loving idiot. Most people just go to Safeway and that's a gently caress lot better for the environment AND for learning how to cook. But please feel free to bask in your ignorance.
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Dec 8, 2016 19:10
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I only user Uber Pool so I can order my potatoes over the internet guilt free, assholes.
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Dec 8, 2016 19:21
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Mr. Wiggles posted:I'm sure glad the two choices here are mailed potatoes or living in a commune. This sets out a very logical example! I grew up on a rural farm and helped my grandparents run their tractor. My rig also has a GTX99x9 that hasn't even been released yet my uncle works for NVIDIA and I have kanji stickers on my car. Look I was in the marines and- Ranter posted:I only user Uber Pool so I can order my potatoes over the internet guilt free, assholes. It's almost like we live in a primarily service based economy where people resell items at a markup using value-added services to justify the cost. Is it always like this around here?
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Dec 9, 2016 05:05
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Yeah. Take a gander at the crock pot thread for even more snobbery.
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Dec 9, 2016 05:52
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While the level of hostility targeting those using blue apron was unnecessary, I do wonder how much extra waste this does create vs buying it at a grocery store. It seems like a lot of plastic packaging is used from watching an unboxing youtube video, that being said grocery stores themselves also use a stupid amount of plastic with everything.
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Dec 9, 2016 06:43
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revdrkevind posted:I grew up on a rural farm and helped my grandparents run their tractor. My rig also has a GTX99x9 that hasn't even been released yet my uncle works for NVIDIA and I have kanji stickers on my car. Look I was in the marines and- loving lol. Hit the showers kid, you're out of your league.
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Dec 9, 2016 08:16
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If you like blue apron but don't like: - the absurdity of regularly mailing food - the cost - the quality of their ingredients - bland food Try Mealime. It's basically the same except you still have to go and actually buy the food. I used it for a few years and it was loving rad. They know how to design a loving dinner, most/all of them had contrasting colors, textures, and tastes. They showed me the right way to make a Caesar salad, brussel sprouts, Waldorf salad, and a bunch of other things. I am gushing here but it does not fully convey the love I have for it. It is loving awesome. I paid like $8 a month I think? Plus about $40 per week on food (I'm in the Midwest). But they have a free version now which includes everything most people give a poo poo about. Free. the littlest prince fucked around with this message at 16:11 on Dec 9, 2016 |
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Dec 9, 2016 12:57
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Ranter posted:Yeah. Take a gander at the crock pot thread for even more snobbery. Check out blue apron's newest recipe: 1. Canned Chicken 2. Canned Salsa Combine in slow cooker. well done!
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Dec 9, 2016 14:48
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the littlest prince posted:If you like blue apron but don't like: This looks really interesting. I'm going to try it out. Thanks for the suggestion.
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Dec 9, 2016 16:33
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I meant to type up an effortpost on it a while ago but I am lazy. Instead I'll note some things may be helpful:
The paid version has more recipes, nutrition, favoriting, recipe notes, and the ability to view previous meal plans. Probably the recipe variety is the biggest benefit. It's $6/month now or $50/year. Probably worth it but I stopped using it before they added the free version so I dunno, it might suffice. $50/year is a pittance though.
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Dec 9, 2016 17:14
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