In the Epicurious Test Kitchen, we believe in cooking from scratch. We are home cooks who love the process of every step that goes into preparing a meal. Except that sometimes we don't. Because sometimes, we need to get dinner on the table faster than it would take if we washed and dried all our salad greens and peeled all our veggies. So when we shop the produce aisle at our local grocery store, we sometimes—sometimes—buy certain fresh fruits and veggies pre-prepared.
We're not maniacs, of course. We have standards. These seven pre-prepped produce items are cool; stay tuned for our story on those that aren't.
Peeled and seeded butternut squash
If your supermarket sells it peeled, seeded, and halved, that's your best bet, since you can still control how you want to cut it. If you're going to be pureeing it into a soup, though, may as well go for the peeled, seeded, and cubed version.
Washed and boxed greens
We havea lot of ideas about how to buy the best prepared salad greens, but the most important place to start is to look for prepared greens sold in plastic clamshells rather than bags; those are less likely to be all squished and bruised by the time you get them home.
Peeled and cooked beets
Look for cooked and peeled beets vacuum-sealed in plastic—it saves you the effort (and mess!) of cooking and peeling beets for your favorite beet salad.
Cubed pineapple
Most fresh fruit is better when you eat it moments after peeling and slicing it. Fresh pineapple, however, stays fresh for a few days after cutting. Whether you're simply eating it (we like it with a pinch of chili and salt) or mixing it into a salad or salsa, be sure to use it within a couple days of purchasing.
Peeled garlic
If you're making any recipe that calls for more than 10 cloves of garlic—let alone 40—go ahead and buy that garlic already peeled. The cloves stay fresh for about two weeks in the fridge.
Peeled pearl onions
Pearl onions are notoriously annoying to peel, and freshly peeled pearl onions will keep in the fridge for about 10 days, so what's the downside? Go ahead and buy them pre-peeled and indulge in a side dish of glazed pearl onions.
Baby carrots
This one is probably the one you're already buying, right? Those peeled and "baby" portioned carrots are so easy to munch for instant snacks. But they're also a handy cooking shortcut. Making pureed carrot soup? Just throw those babies straight in the pot.
Pomegranate seeds
A sprinkle of fresh pomegranate seeds gives a winter salad new life. If you really dont want to get the seeds out yourself, look for a package of pomegranate arils—but look out for juice hanging around in the bottom of the container, which can lead to sliminess.
