# Stupid convenience items **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 13, 2004, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-convenience-items/250202 "2004-06-13T23:54:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2004, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-convenience-items/250202/81 "2004-06-20T16:35:32Z")
> [@Morelin](#): > > I have a minimally stocked kitchen. I don’t have eggs, flour, or baking soda, and I only keep a small container of milk. It’s easier to buy pancake mix than buy the ingredients to use maybe onc e a month or so. I have a 900 gm can of Nestle’s Nido Full Cream Milk Powder. Makes up into 6.2 liters of whole milk, not that nasty american instant skim milk garbage that is just nasty tasting. I like to cook, custards, puddings, anything that takes milk, but I don’t have to worry about my milk going sour, or not having enough if I get the urge to make something in the middle of the night…I also had a small container of powdered whole egg, as well as egg white [am currently out of both and dont have the cash or gumption to go out and replace them this instant, will probably do it mrArus next payday] I have a 25 cu foot reach in freezer at home, and keep a lot of ‘dry ingredients’ in it that I don’t use that often, I keep a 5 lb bag of flour in the freezer, as well as 5 lbs of corn meal [ploenta or indian pudding depending on whim=)] dried beans [anasazi, great northern, pintos, chick peas, lentils, that sort of thing=)] The whole bottom segment is dry goods. [I used to live in tidewater virginia, and hate bugs infiltrating my dry goods=)] ---
**Author:** ![Morelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Morelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morelin)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2004, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-convenience-items/250202/82 "2004-06-20T20:28:20Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > I have a 900 gm can of Nestle’s Nido Full Cream Milk Powder. Makes up into 6.2 liters of whole milk, not that nasty american instant skim milk garbage that is just nasty tasting. Oh, I should have clarified. We use SOY milk, Doommtrian is lactose-intolerant. And to answer the other questions, I dont cook or bake often. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-convenience-items/250202/83 "2004-06-21T01:01:58Z")
Ballpark isn’t good hotdogs, though. I’ve tried the singles, and they’re only so so. Hebrew Nationals are the best I’ve found at the grocery store, and they don’t even come with a ziploc seal! ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-convenience-items/250202/84 "2004-06-21T01:29:31Z")
Okay, saw another one today: Tide To Go. Tide laundry soap in little bottles; maybe enough for two or three loads of laundry, for a buck. Now, I never buy Tide in the first place, because, even on sale it’s bloody expensive; I’m not convinced it gets clothes any cleaner than the cheap stuff I buy. But in the little bottles like that (the sign below them said “Think Vacation”) are even _more_ ludicrously expensive than Tide in the big bottles. C’mon, folks, how hard is it to pour a few ounces of laundry soap into a little Tupperware and take it with you?? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-convenience-items/250202/85 "2004-06-21T02:36:34Z")
> [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > Canned biscuits aren’t bad, if you’re going to butter them. They don’t mix with gravy well at all, though, and the canned cinnamon rolls are…ew. There’s just something about the combination of that exact texture and those exact flavors that just doesn’t really work. > > I think I could get into crescent rolls and marshmallows, though. (Oh, who am I kidding? I’d eat shredded newpaper if you put enough marshmallows on it.) Well then, remind me sometime to post the recipe. They’re called gooey rolls and boy are they good! I’ll see if I can’t find the recipe tomorrow. I don’t feel like going down and looking for it now. I’ve made biscuits with Bisquick, but some day I’m gonna try the authentic ones. Soooo crumbly and soft. (And gravy…drool). **Zsofia** , are you kidding? Ballparks are the BEST. As for convenience items, I freaking adore those little steel wool soap scrubbers with the soap in them. Damn, those things kick major ass when it comes to scrubbing pots. Take that, grease!!! ---
**Author:** ![lezlers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@lezlers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lezlers)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-convenience-items/250202/86 "2004-06-21T03:01:36Z")
> [@Morelin](#): > > Oh, I should have clarified. > > We use SOY milk, Doommtrian is lactose-intolerant. > > And to answer the other questions, I dont cook or bake often. They make powdered soy milk. I’m vegan but don’t drink soy or rice milk regularly. I like to cook though, and I live by myself so opening one of those boxes of milk always bugs me, since I know I’m going to end up throwing it away in a couple weeks. [This stuff](http://www.veganstore.com/index-store.html?deptid=17117&parentid=39&stocknumber=438&page=1&itemsperpage=12) is a lifesaver. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-convenience-items/250202/87 "2004-06-21T18:14:33Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Hehe - too right, that one cracks me up every time I think of it - “Just add an egg and half a pint of milk” :smack: > > I used to work for a guy who thought convenience foods were the pinnacle of human achievement - at the time, there was a news story about ready-peeled oranges - apparently they were processed by coating them with some sort of chemical that partially dissolves the rind, making it possible for the machines to process them. He thought this was fantastic - oranges are, after all, impossibly difficult to peel if you are a busy executive. He was right, if it saves you the mess and disappointment of dealing with an orange that doesn’t peel cleanly. A busy exec doesn’t want orange juice all over his $1500 Armani! The other thing about convenience foods is they’re expensive compared to ordinary produce, but cheap compared to going out to a restaurant. Sometimes people are choosing in that light. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-convenience-items/250202/88 "2004-06-21T18:50:55Z")
> [@voguevixen](#): > > For some reason the recent glut of “newfangled” toilet brushes make me want to pull my hair out. First, there’s the one where you buy special toilet cleaner inserts that fit into the brush and dispense through it, because it’s SO HARD to dump a glug of bleach or bowl cleaner into a toilet. Second, there’s the paper toilet brush with the disposable head, because EWWWW! A regular toilet brush has germs on it. Who gives a crap? It’s only going to go back in the toilet! Oh these things are so stupid. The line on the commercials is, regular toilet brushes has so many germs on them! :eek: Well DUH as soon as you put the disposable “brush” into the water, it’s going to have germs on it too…and as soon as you use the “clean” toilet the next time, it’s going to have germs in it. The point is, you’re not drinking the water in the toilet or even touching it, so why waste the money to buy these things? And the flushable ones? These aren’t going to have the necessary “scrubbiness” to clean as well as a stiff toilet brush. (Although, you know what is a truly useful new convenience? They’re these tablets you drop into the toilet and let them fizz for like like 5 minutes, then scrub the toilet, and flush. They work better than the liquid cleaner and are easier.) > [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > Well, some folks use Bisquick. There are a lot of brands of pancake/waffle mix, most of which are sweeter than Bisquick. It seems entirely pointless to me, since all the ingredients are staple items in the minimally-supplied kitchen. About the pancake mix: I love to cook and bake stuff from scratch, but I use the pancake mix. The Krusteaze mix is really good. Why do I like it better? Well I have made pancakes from scratch many times, and the mix pancakes are just plain better. They have a lighter, fluffier texture, and they are easier…no measuring, no getting measuring cups and spoons dirty. It’s the same concept as cake mix. Don’t get me wrong, I love to bake from scratch, but honestly, I like cake mix cakes and canned frosting better. It just has a better texture and taste. And for $1 - $1.50 for a cake mix, that’s a pretty good deal. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-convenience-items/250202/89 "2004-06-21T19:15:52Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > As for convenience items, I freaking adore those little steel wool soap scrubbers with the soap in them. You mean SOS Pads? I never thought of them as a convenience item. They’re a necessity. I always have them on hand. ---
**Author:** ![Winnie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e480ec/32.png) [@Winnie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winnie)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-convenience-items/250202/90 "2004-06-21T19:29:54Z")
> [@BiblioCat](#): > > You mean SOS Pads? I never thought of them as a convenience item. They’re a necessity. I always have them on hand. Same here. I don’t thin SOS pads are any more of a convenience than regular sponges are, they are truly a necessity for certain things. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-convenience-items/250202/91 "2004-06-21T19:40:45Z")
[geezer]How hard is it to add your own soap to a plain steel wool pad? Damn lazy kids![/geezer] 😉 I guess lots of things we consider pretty standard would look like silly convenience items to someone else. On pancake mix, I used to make pancakes from scratch all the time in grad school. Take a 2cup pyrex measuring cup… Put in 1 cup flour, mix with a spoon of baking powder and some salt, add one egg, touch of oil and enough milk to make the mix watery enough to pour. If you’re comfortable with the recipe, it’s as easy as using any mix. I’m sort of ashamed that I have both a box of Bisquik and a box of Aunt Jemima pancake mix in my cupboard… ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-convenience-items/250202/92 "2004-06-21T21:43:48Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Spectre of Pithecanthropus_ > The other thing about convenience foods is they’re expensive compared to ordinary produce, but cheap compared to going out to a restaurant. Well, this isn’t necessarily true. My kids love those Lunchables things, but they’re really no cheaper than a McDonald’s Happy Meal, unless I have a coupon (for the Lunchables, I mean). Also, frozen pizza: it’s not as satisfying as Papa John’s or Domino’s. To buy enough frozen pizza to satisfy my family, I could easily order the special of the month at Papa John’s. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-convenience-items/250202/93 "2004-06-21T22:43:38Z")
Alrighty here it is-Gooey Rolls! 1/8 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 (8 ounce) package large marshmallows 1 1/2 tablespoons light stick margarine, melted 1 (8 ounce) can quick crescent dinner rolls Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat 8 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Dip each marshmallow in the melted margarine and roll in the sugar mixture. Separate the dough into triangles. Wrap one triangle around each marshmallow and pinch the dough together. Place each one in a muffin tin. If there is any extra margarine, drizzle over the top of the rolls. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes. Makes 8 rolls. Let me know if you try it. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-convenience-items/250202/94 "2004-06-21T23:03:55Z")
That sounds good, **Guinastasia**. My specialty is Monkey Bread. **MONKEY BREAD** 4 (10 oz.) cans Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuits® 1 cup sugar 1 tbsp. cinnamon 1 & 1/4 c. pecan pieces 1 cup brown sugar 1 & 1/4 stick butter 1 tsp. vanilla 1 tbsp. cinnamon Mix together sugar and 1 tablespoon cinnamon in a Ziploc® bag. Cut each biscuit in quarters and shake to coat in the Ziploc® bag. Layer biscuits and pecan pieces in a well-greased Bundt® pan. In a saucepan, combine the brown sugar, butter, vanilla and remaining cinnamon. Bring just to a boil and pour over biscuits and pecans. Bake at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes or until done. Let stand in the pan for 10 minutes. Invert onto serving plate and serve. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-convenience-items/250202/95 "2004-06-22T06:07:19Z")
Oh now THAT sounds good. I gotta try that. I’ll report back. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-convenience-items/250202/96 "2004-06-22T06:20:26Z")
> [@nyctea scandiaca](#): > > About the pancake mix: I love to cook and bake stuff from scratch, but I use the pancake mix. The Krusteaze mix is really good. Why do I like it better? Well I have made pancakes from scratch many times, and the mix pancakes are just plain better. They have a lighter, fluffier texture, and they are easier…no measuring, no getting measuring cups and spoons dirty. Have you tried putting a touch of extra baking powder in and letting the batter rest before cooking? I just eyeball my pancakes, but I always put in way more baking powder than I would in biscuits, and I have my batter completely mixed before I ever turn on the stove. The difference it makes in the texture is phenomenal. ---
**Author:** ![Sengkelat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Sengkelat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sengkelat)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-convenience-items/250202/97 "2004-06-22T07:44:43Z")
Okay. Okay, okay, okay. I’m just completely wrong, the number of posts saying that grated cheese is wonderful is now in double digits, so clearly I don’t know what I’m talking about. Of course, last time I was at the store I didn’t see any bags of pre-grated gruyere or gouda. If you’re going to buy pre-grated cheese you’re stuck with cheddar and mozzarella. I’ll never understand the public’s devotion to cheddar. > [@Zsofia](#): > > I can’t stand grating lemon zest, either - that’s one thing I wish I could just buy. It seems it all just ends up on the grater and I can’t get it off. Plus I end up with less skin than I started with. I recommend Microplane zesters. They make zesting much less of a hassle. Traditional four-hole zesters suck. SOS pads are definitely a must-have in my kitchen. Nothing gets baked-on foods off of glass baking trays better. And I admit, I’ve been known to buy pancake mix. I’ll change my ways, though. I’ll only make pancakes from scratch from now on. And I buy pre-forrmed beef patties. I don’t mind forming ground beef into patties (my technique is generally to just split the tray of meat in half and fry it as two burgers, actually) but having to make a zillion patties before freezing them just isn’t going to happen. So pre-pattied meat makes it possible to take just one burger’s worth of meat out of the freezer at a time. I own the paper version of the disposable toilet brush. It’s awful. It’s not abrasive enough to scrub properly. I’m disappointed. I’m a fool. It really seemed like a good idea at the time. Kraft Eazy-Mac is one of the most disgusting foods I’ve ever tried to eat. They say it’s the same, just pre mixed, but it’s inexpressably foul. I bought it once by accident, and never will again. Oh-so-gross. Normal Kraft Mac & Cheese, though, is actually useful and convenient. It combines portion control along with cheese that doesn’t go bad while waiting in the fridge. Besides, it’s a festive orange color. What’s not to like? ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Girl)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-convenience-items/250202/98 "2004-06-22T07:56:48Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > I think the Dawn dish brush is laughably silly, does it even dispense soap? Unless you have some serious carpal tunnel issues, you’ll get far better performance with a plain jane brush and elbow grease rather than relying on some pathetic D-cell powered motor to do the scrubbing. Throw a 9.6V rechargable cell and a powerful motor in there, maybe we’ve got something. Okay, I know I’m gonna regret this. Yes, I bought the stupid battery-operated dish scrubber. Hey, I’m a geek and I like powertools, ok? It’s ok. It gets down into the tall glasses and takes off milk poo from unrinsed glasses pretty easily. What’s so wrong with easy? Dang it, I work all day and wash a lot of dishes at work, so I don’t see anything wrong with something that makes a crappy chore like dishwashing easier. Same reason I use a Downey ball; so I don’t have to time a second trip to the washer to catch the rinse cycle. And why I buy pre-shredded cheese and bagged lettuce (Leafy Romaine or Hearts of Romaine for us) that really don’t seem that much more expensive if you count the labor I’m saving calculated at my hourly work wage. Hey, I just remembered. I’m not getting paid to shred cheese. My family just wants dinner an hour ago! As to pancake mix, I have buttermilk pancake mix (some hoity-toity Vermont pancake mix - meh) because while I like buttermilk pancakes, actual buttermilk makes me want to hurl (ssh, I have [milk issues](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=262771)), so I would never, ever buy the stuff. Besides, it’s just add water which is great because cooking three things at once (eggs, pancakes, corned beef hash/bacon) is a real challenge for me. The less complicated the better. I gotta say it though. Krusteaze has always struck me as quite an unappetizing name for pancakes. Ballpark singles are great for the kids because otherwise they would forget to put the open hotdog package into a ziplock and I’d have hotdog jiz all over my fridge stinking it up for weeks. On the other hand, those stupid Lunchables really get my goat. My kids have to have them because they’re ‘so cool,’ but they don’t even like the way that skanky ham tastes so the cat ends up eating what they’ve abandoned! GRRRR! And tuna in a bag. Puh-lease! Have you seen the price difference from already outrageously priced canned tuna? And juice boxes - oy! I mentally see pocket change flying out of the juice box when the kiddo sticks the straw in and half of it squirts out onto the floor. Gimme a can of concentrate (actual juice - not sugar water) and a sippy cup any day! I was dubious at first about my favorite convenience item purchased recently, but I had to try it just to see if the convenience/price=good buy formula applied. I found some plastic baggies that you stuff with hamburger meat and it makes a perfectly formed patty. The individually wrapped patties go into the freezer until it’s time to cook them. I take as many as I need out of the freezer, rip off the plastic and throw them right on the grill. They aren’t too thin, too thick, too lumpy and they don’t crack on the edges. A bit pricey, but thumbs up, nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-convenience-items/250202/99 "2004-06-22T11:03:31Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Cinnamon Girl_And juice boxes - oy! I mentally see pocket change flying out of the juice box when the kiddo sticks the straw in and half of it squirts out onto the floor. Gimme a can of concentrate (actual juice - not sugar water) and a sippy cup any day! I don’t like to buy concentrated juice and mix it up, because invariably someone puts the pitcher back in the fridge with a half-inch of juice in it until everyone’s forgotten about it until you open the door and it smells like a bottle of spilled wine in there! I actually do buy juice boxes, but I buy them at a discount store where the 100% juice ones are 15 cents each. As far as the stuff squirting out as soon as the kid grabs it, well, my youngest is four, and I’ve taught her to hold it by the sides; but when she was younger, we had a rigid plastic juice box holder. We got ours at the same store where we buy juice boxes, but they’re also sold at WallyWorld. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-convenience-items/250202/100 "2004-06-22T13:22:22Z")
> [@norinew](#): > > Okay, saw another one today: Tide To Go. Tide laundry soap in little bottles; maybe enough for two or three loads of laundry, for a buck. Now, I never buy Tide in the first place, because, even on sale it’s bloody expensive; I’m not convinced it gets clothes any cleaner than the cheap stuff I buy. But in the little bottles like that (the sign below them said “Think Vacation”) are even _more_ ludicrously expensive than Tide in the big bottles. C’mon, folks, how hard is it to pour a few ounces of laundry soap into a little Tupperware and take it with you?? Now, see, I _might_ buy that, if we went somewhere on vacation where I was going to be doing laundry. Mainly I’d buy it for the bottle - and I’d save the bottle and re-use it. Only because I’d be afraid of the Tupperware coming open. It’d be worth it to me to have a top that screwed on securely. But I never do laundry on vacation anyway, so it’s a moot point. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-convenience-items/250202.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-convenience-items/250202.md?page=6)