McCain "Purely Potatoes"

[neighborguy]

I don't understand this product. Does anyone have an explanation for me?

It's a bag of frozen potato cubes meant to go in the microwave. I assume the marketing it geared toward people 'too busy with life' to do the tedium of washing, peeling and cutting while still wanting the idea of the home-made comfort of mashed potatoes. Once out of the microwave, there's still the mashing and addition of flavourings, still a lot of work imho.

I just don't get this and the first time I saw the commercial I was confused. Are there people out there who would buy this? Are there marketing geniouses out there who really think this will work?

[MandalayVA]

I think Ore-Ida has a similar product.

[cheesecake17]

Steam N Mash Potatoes.

That commercial is ALWAYS on.

[visciole]

Nothing surprises me after they began to pre-mix peanut butter and jelly in the same jar.

[Cathy]

The Mister and I have been laughing for years at the abundance of products made for people who don't own knives.

I've seen people buying the refrigerated peeled and cut potatoes for a few years now. Seems that frozen is just another step.

[cheesecake17]

My favorite was the red cabbage cut in half and plastic wrapped on a foam tray. Why not buy the whole cabbage? You're going to need to do more than cut it in half anyway...

[Fydeaux]

Perhaps the buyer doesnt need a whole cabbage and doesnt want the remainder to go to waste?

People buy a lot of products that we dont understand to save themselves some time or money or inconvenience. This is America and that's their priviliege. Not everyone thinks like a Chowhound; I'm OK with that.

[LA Buckeye Fan]

I wish I could still get those. I live alone and usually have to throw out a lot of vegetables that come in big packages...celery, green onions, cabbage. They are limp by the time I get around to using them all.

[cheesecake17]

It was both halves in the tray.

[buttertart]

Did they match? Perhaps they were from two cabbages that had gotten a bit shabby on one side.

[cheesecake17]

Looked matchy enough to me. There was a whole shelf of them. Red and green- and it wasn't even packaged half red + half green per pack.

[FrankD]

You're probably still young. There are a lot of older people who would find it difficult (or dangerous) to cut through a whole cabbage, while still being able to deal with a half sitting safely on the counter. So mama can still make cabbage rolls!

And, while I love turnip (or rutabagas or swedes or whatever), I do find it time consuming and a nuisance to pare off the wax, and slice it into cubes. If I could buy cut and cubed turnip, I'd probably eat it more often.

[visciole]

But don't you need the whole head, with intact leaves, to make cabbage rolls?

[cheesecake17]

I am still young, I guess :)
Makes sense what you're saying about older folks.

I used to visit and grocery shop with an older woman who couldn't see very well. I peeled and cut up most of her veggies and stored them in ziplocks and tupperwares so that she could cook them later in the week.

[LA Buckeye Fan]

re:
"It was both halves in the tray"

lol..that's very different ::said in my best Emily Littela voice::

[buttertart]

Wrap that celery in aluminum foil and it will last practically forever. I used the last of a bunch I bought last Christmas last week - was slightly the worse for wear but still green and absolutely not rotten anywhere.

[JerryMe]

I'm going to have to try that trick. I hate having the last of the celery go bad.

Thanks Buttertart!

[buttertart]

You're very welcome. I learned it on CH. It really works.

[cheesecake17]

people do buy it. saw one woman in the supermarket buying several bags. it's not something i would buy, but i guess i could understand it.

[Jen76]

She may have been a couponer, too. There are people who will buy just about anything if it's cheap enough (or free) after pairing a sale with a coupon. I suppose it's not really that diffferent from buying any other frozen veggie. And, if you have a freezer, you can store them there for later use. Could come in handy in hot weather places where things like fresh potatoes don't keep very well for very long.