CONVENIENCE FOODS AND HOME-PREPARED FOODS HEATED WITH AN ELECTRIC RANGE AND A MICROWAVE OVEN

Twenty convenience foods used by at least one percent of households surveyed in the spring portion of the 1977-78 Nationwide Food Consumption Survey were prepared, along with their home counterparts, with an electric range and with a microwave oven. Yield, total and active preparation time, energy consumption, cost per serving, and sensory quality of the foods were determined, and nutrient content was calculated from tabulated values. Relationships were assessed between the density, moisture content, and fat content of a food and the amount of energy and heating time required for preparation; and between the degree-of-readiness of a food and the required amount of energy and preparation time.;The majority (78%) of home-prepared foods yielded more servings than did convenience foods, and 78% of foods prepared with the electric range weighed more than microwave-prepared foods. The majority (91%) of home-prepared foods required more total preparation time than did convenience foods, while all home-prepared foods required more active preparation time than the convenience counterparts. Most foods (78%) required more total preparation time with the electric range than with the microwave oven. However 78% required more active preparation time or the same amount of active time when prepared with the microwave oven. Most home-prepared foods (78%) required more energy to prepare than did convenience foods; 63% of foods required more energy to prepare with the electric range than with the microwave oven. The food cost per serving was greater for convenience than for home-prepared foods. However, including the cost of active preparation time made home-prepared foods more expensive. Foods cost more per serving prepared with the microwave oven than with the electric range. No preference trend was seen for either convenience or home-prepared foods; baked products were scored higher when prepared with the electric range. Convenience and home-prepared foods contained similar amounts of nutrients. Trends were not seen relating density, moisture content, or fat content to energy consumption or heating time, and degree-of-readiness was not necessarily related to energy consumption or preparation time.