# The Lipton Instant Mashed Potatoes with Knorr Beef Gravy Mix Kit and its purchasers **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 27, 2002, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lipton-instant-mashed-potatoes-with-knorr-beef-gravy-mix-kit-and-its-purchasers/139154 "2002-11-27T17:49:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Thylacine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thylacine/32/1143_2.png) [@Thylacine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thylacine)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2002, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lipton-instant-mashed-potatoes-with-knorr-beef-gravy-mix-kit-and-its-purchasers/139154/41 "2002-11-28T01:32:44Z")
I loved the day a friend was helping me unpack my shopping. She saw an instant potato pack and said “ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww” and then went back to crunching up her Pringles chips. So clearly, when it comes to food police, it is alright to eat dried potato flakes if they are reconstituted, deep fried and covered in flavourings. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2002, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lipton-instant-mashed-potatoes-with-knorr-beef-gravy-mix-kit-and-its-purchasers/139154/42 "2002-11-28T04:04:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Libertarian \* > \*\*I wish I could figure out how to do it. My every attempt ends up tasting like flour (or corn starch when I’ve tried that). Especially sausage gravy. I’m a pretty good cook, but I just can’t get the gravy thing. Sadly, I love it. \*\* Lib, you have to cook it longer. If it’s still tasting like flour or cornstarch, it’s not done. And mix the cornstarch or flour with cold water, not warm. No lumps that way. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2002, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lipton-instant-mashed-potatoes-with-knorr-beef-gravy-mix-kit-and-its-purchasers/139154/43 "2002-11-28T04:11:23Z")
I don’t live in the US, and I love cooking (as proved by my website). Some times my SO and I watch the commercials in the American TV channels and just ponder what makes people be so lazy as to not actually COOK their food. I mean, it’s not like in the old days when you actually had to grow your food and decapitate your chicken for heaven’s sake! What comes next? Pre-chewed food? ---
**Author:** ![leechbabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@leechbabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leechbabe)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2002, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lipton-instant-mashed-potatoes-with-knorr-beef-gravy-mix-kit-and-its-purchasers/139154/44 "2002-11-28T04:34:25Z")
Damnit I thought I had gotten over those mashed potato pregnancy cravings but you lot just had to start talking about them did you. :: wanders off to find a restaurant that will serve mashed potatoes at 3.42 in the afternoon :: ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2002, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lipton-instant-mashed-potatoes-with-knorr-beef-gravy-mix-kit-and-its-purchasers/139154/45 "2002-11-28T04:40:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dantheman \* > \*\*Sure are a lot of food snobs in here. God forbid some of us like something you don’t. > > Look, I need my food preparation as simple as possible. I’m very tired when I get home, and to me it’s easier to just heat something up. It tastes good, it’s not much work, so leave me alone and lemme eat it. > > Thanks. 🙂 \*\* Me too. Give me my instant mashed potatoes please. My mom always made them from real potatoes, but I really don’t give a rat’s ass myself. I hate peeling potatoes. Sure, they tase different, but I am not a potato freak so I DON’T CARE. Put some gravy on them and all I taste is gravy. Whatever is easier is what I do. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2002, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lipton-instant-mashed-potatoes-with-knorr-beef-gravy-mix-kit-and-its-purchasers/139154/46 "2002-11-28T05:00:01Z")
You had peanut butter? All we ever got was a handful of salted in the shell peanuts and a hammer. ---
**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:** [November 28, 2002, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lipton-instant-mashed-potatoes-with-knorr-beef-gravy-mix-kit-and-its-purchasers/139154/47 "2002-11-28T05:06:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sauron \* > \*\*I strongly prefer instant mashed potatoes to homemade mashed potatoes. Have ever since I was around eight years old. \*\* I prefer Stove Top and Butterball stuffing to the homemade stuff. As for cake mixes-my mother always used the mix, but made her own icing. Sometimes, it’s just a time issue. I, however, cannot cook. Wait-no, I CAN. But I don’t like to cook. ---
**Author:** ![reprise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@reprise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/reprise)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2002, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lipton-instant-mashed-potatoes-with-knorr-beef-gravy-mix-kit-and-its-purchasers/139154/48 "2002-11-28T05:23:32Z")
While I make gravy from the pan drippings, the reason your average person here doesn’t by pre-made gravy, but sticks with the packet mixes is because gravy in a jar is so damned expensive. I generally don’t like the taste of instant mashed potato, but I used to always use instant in preference to fresh when making salmon patties - they held together a lot better if I used instant made with very little fluid. **DDG** , what price are they selling this package for? Because my ULTIMATE convenience food is either a TV dinner (roast with vegies) or frozen lasagne, both of which are well under $5 our money (about $US2.50). It’s interesting to learn that Lipton sells products other than tea in other countries. ---
**Author:** ![Tamex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Tamex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamex)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2002, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lipton-instant-mashed-potatoes-with-knorr-beef-gravy-mix-kit-and-its-purchasers/139154/49 "2002-11-28T05:48:03Z")
There’s a column in the Taste section of the Star Tribune called [Tidbits](http://www.startribune.com/stories/404/) that pokes fun at new food products. Two things that the columnist has mentioned are the cold cereal “kit”, mentioned above, and the pre-made, crustless, frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. OK, my daughter is 6, and there are two things that she can make _all by herself_: cold cereal and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. So, who buys this stuff? If you can’t find the time to make your own PB&J sandwich, something’s very, very wrong (and like you’d remember to thaw your sandwich ahead of time, anyway! Don’t say “use the microwave”, 'cause in the time the microwave takes, you could have made a fresh sandwich. Of course, if you’re that time-strapped, perhaps you could really use that time while the microwave is doing its magic to make that direly-needed trip to the bathroom or something. Then again, if you have to choose between making a PB&J sandwich and using the bathroom, something’s wrong!) ---
**Author:** ![reprise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@reprise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/reprise)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2002, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lipton-instant-mashed-potatoes-with-knorr-beef-gravy-mix-kit-and-its-purchasers/139154/50 "2002-11-28T06:13:34Z")
[quote] pre-made, crustless, frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. [quote] Please tell me you’re kidding. I thought it was bad enough that you can buy pre-peeled, pre-sliced vegetables here… Does anyone happen to know what price they charge for the abovementioned sandwiches? Pre-packed sandwiches here are really expensive - I could buy a Happy Meal for what a sandwhich costs at my kids schools. I could buy 4 loaves of bread for what a sanwich costs at the school canteen. ---
**Author:** ![Persephone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@Persephone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Persephone)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2002, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lipton-instant-mashed-potatoes-with-knorr-beef-gravy-mix-kit-and-its-purchasers/139154/51 "2002-11-28T06:13:34Z")
> [@](#): > > I’ve seen nearly as bad - peanut butter and jelly processed into thin, wrapped slices rather like American cheese. You’re supposed to peel off the plastic and stick it between bread slices. No. This is just…\*wrong. \* I don’t say this just as a parent with children who would eat PBJ all day, every day if I’d let them. I say this as a full-grown adult who would eat PBJ all-day, every day if I’d let me. I’ve got nothing against convenience foods, believe me. Hamburger Helper, ramen noodles, and boxed mac & cheese are staples in my house. But…instant PBJ? No. That is so wrong it just makes me want to cry. It’s wrong, wrong, wrong. ---
**Author:** ![reprise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@reprise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/reprise)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2002, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lipton-instant-mashed-potatoes-with-knorr-beef-gravy-mix-kit-and-its-purchasers/139154/52 "2002-11-28T06:16:26Z")
BTW, the breakky pack I can understand - it’s great for truckies and other people on the road who don’t want to carry around with them food and utensils, and it’s cheaper than eating breakfast at a truckstop each day. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2002, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lipton-instant-mashed-potatoes-with-knorr-beef-gravy-mix-kit-and-its-purchasers/139154/53 "2002-11-28T06:23:51Z")
I was in Wal-Mart today, and they had a complete (if rudimentary), fully-cooked turkey dinner in a box for sale for about $25. I can imagine situations in which this might be an option, but if I were in such a situation, I’d almost certainly just go out somewhere. I encountered the most inexplicable “convenience food” ever back in college, when my roommate’s girlfriend’s mother worked for a company that provided food for school lunchrooms. She gave him a whole bunch of “egg dogs”–frozen scrambled-egg-like-substance in the shape of a hot dog that one could microwave. He loved them. I timed it one day, and it took me about one minute more to cook actual scrambled eggs than it took him to prepare a frozen egg dog, and that was only if you counted cleaning the pan. Dr. J (whose 16-lb. Butterball is brining as we speak) ---
**Author:** ![CRorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CRorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CRorex)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2002, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lipton-instant-mashed-potatoes-with-knorr-beef-gravy-mix-kit-and-its-purchasers/139154/54 "2002-11-28T06:34:57Z")
The funny thing about this is: I haven’t been able to choke down a mashed potatoe in years. _yarg_ I _kinda_ like french fries… I’ll eat them if I’m hungry and I only have time to run to a jack in the box. Potatoes are icky. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2002, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lipton-instant-mashed-potatoes-with-knorr-beef-gravy-mix-kit-and-its-purchasers/139154/55 "2002-11-28T06:47:48Z")
I simply don’t eat certain foods (like peanut butter) enough to justify buying a whole jar of it for one sandwich. If I had a really bad craving for one I might buy a premade one rather that buying a jar of peanut butter and a jar of jelly. Those are all things I don’t buy regularly. Same with potatoes - why buy a whole bag to make mashed potatoes - a dish I eat maybe twice a year? ---
**Author:** ![reprise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@reprise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/reprise)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2002, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lipton-instant-mashed-potatoes-with-knorr-beef-gravy-mix-kit-and-its-purchasers/139154/56 "2002-11-28T07:32:13Z")
Can you not purchase potatoes loose in the US? You can buy them in the bag here, but you can also purchase them by the kilo. So if you only want one or 2 or 12 potatoes, you don’t need to buy a bagful. It’s usually CHEAPER to buy bagged vegies here, but there isn’t any fruit or vegetable that you can ONLY purchased pre-packed (the only exception to this rule I can think of is strawberries). ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2002, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lipton-instant-mashed-potatoes-with-knorr-beef-gravy-mix-kit-and-its-purchasers/139154/57 "2002-11-28T08:00:05Z")
I never thought of buying them seperately. Still, I prefer the ease of instant. ---
**Author:** ![Tamex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Tamex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamex)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2002, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lipton-instant-mashed-potatoes-with-knorr-beef-gravy-mix-kit-and-its-purchasers/139154/58 "2002-11-28T08:10:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by reprise \* > \*\*Does anyone happen to know what price they charge for the abovementioned sandwiches? Pre-packed sandwiches here are really expensive - I could buy a Happy Meal for what a sandwhich costs at my kids schools. I could buy 4 loaves of bread for what a sanwich costs at the school canteen. \*\* Quoth Al Sicherman (The man who writes the [Tidbits](http://www.startribune.com/stories/404/) column I linked to before): > [@](#): > > **What they cost:** Mr. Tidbit paid $2.39 at Rainbow for a box of four undersized sandwiches (they are about half the size of sandwiches made with whole slices of untrimmed bread). > > **What you’d save by not bothering:** Skipping the details (you’re welcome), each 58-gram Uncrustable contains about an ounce of bread and an ounce of filling. Trimming house-brand white bread and using name-brand jelly and peanut butter, both in 18-ounce jars, four sandwiches this size would cost about 96 cents – Uncrustables cost 2 1/2 times more. (You can crimp home-made ones with fork tines, or you can spend umpteen dollars on an electric sandwich sealer, and perhaps still feel superior for not buying frozen sandwiches.) ---
**Author:** ![reprise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@reprise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/reprise)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2002, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lipton-instant-mashed-potatoes-with-knorr-beef-gravy-mix-kit-and-its-purchasers/139154/59 "2002-11-28T08:21:30Z")
Given that US money is worth almost double ours, they are hella expensive sandwiches… You guys must pay heaps over there for peanut butter and jam. You could make a lot more than 4 sandwiches here for $US1 ($AUD2) if you bought the ingredients and made them at home. I pay roughly $1 per loaf for bakery bread, which has 23 slices. That’s about 50 cents your money. Sounds like it’s about time for another “how much do staple foods cost where you live” thread. ---
**Author:** ![anya\_marie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@anya\_marie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anya_marie)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2002, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lipton-instant-mashed-potatoes-with-knorr-beef-gravy-mix-kit-and-its-purchasers/139154/60 "2002-11-28T08:32:44Z")
I saw the frozen PB&J dealie in the freezer section of my grocery store, they did not look right on the box. I think peanut butter and jelly come in at just under USD $2 for a jar of 18-20 ounces. I am out of both and have to get more, when i go getgroceries next. . [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lipton-instant-mashed-potatoes-with-knorr-beef-gravy-mix-kit-and-its-purchasers/139154.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lipton-instant-mashed-potatoes-with-knorr-beef-gravy-mix-kit-and-its-purchasers/139154.md?page=4)