"Just Add Flavour"
The term "
instant meal" is used to describe any food or
beverage that can be made
edible with the
introduction of water and/or sufficient heat. Such products include
instant coffee,
instant noodles and
instant curry, as well as all the
ready-made meals for which
Marks and Spencer and
Tesco are
almost famous. These are the ones that require only the slightly
humourous instructions "
remove sleeve and pierce with a fork" as well as the much
sought-after skill of opening, closing and operating a
microwave.
Yes,
instant meals are the
saviours of the
modern world. Quality usually goes
out of the window, but price goes down and
time is virtually non-existent. They're not really even "instant", or you'd be able to buy one and immediately eat it. Yes, this is technically possible, though not
advisable (i.e. you
can do it, but it
might kill you). I don't actually mind this new move towards
instant meals, despite all of the
connotations about it being
symbolic of our society; people that have become used to instant food often expect
instant love,
instant gratification,
instant results.
I don't mind it because I'm going to
University in a few months and I aware that I'll probably
die without
Pot Noodles and the
UK equivalent of
Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. It's not that
I can't cook, just that
it'll take far too much effort to cook every night, especially with the amount of
work I'll be doing. Yes, give me a
home-cooked meal or a good
bolognese anytime, but failing that -- I'll be content with
dehydrated cardboard and
processed cheese.