The family meal survives, says a survey by the Institute of Food Technologists.
The analysis found that last year, Americans ate a cooked meal at home five times a week, with just 20 percent of adults categorizing the proverbial family dinner as a “rare” occurrence.
Home cooking is declining, however.
The analysis found Americans are dining upon made-from-scratch fare a third of the time, down from 39 percent two years ago. Home cooks also rely upon refrigerated, convenience, takeout or pre-made dinners found in grocery stores or franchises such as Boston Market.Sales of chilled side dishes such as salads, cut-up fruit or entrees have shot up by 80 percent last year alone . . .
Many Americans don’t cook dinner. They assemble it.
I’ll confess that I’ve retired the salad spinner to the cupboard (where it takes up too much room, but better to have it take too much room there than inthe fridge) and started using pre-torn pre-washed salad bags. GOSH it’s convenient! And for having people over they’re even better! What this means is that I eat a salad at least twice a week more frequently than before.