When the package says “add half a teaspoon of butter” or whatever, it’s just straight up lying to you. There is literally ZERO perceivable difference between instant rice made with only water, and instant rice made with water plus a little butter. I’ve tested this myself. If you think the half-teaspoon of butter does some kind of fancy chemistry thing that’s necessary for the instant rice to do its thing… No. The butter literally doesn’t do anything. Absolutely nothing. Zilch. The package literally just tells you to add butter because market analytics show that if the package tells you the truth — that you really only need to add water — people will be biased to think it’s a “worse product”. So the butter is literally a placebo! Just a placebo, nothing more! And the same also goes for an enormous amount of instant foods that tell you to just add water plus, very conveniently, exactly one Extra Ingredient™!
How fucking many cows had their boobs fondled all because instant food companies noticed a slight increase in sales if they lied on their packaging? Hell, even for those who used margarine, how much margarine did you end up wasting on a literal placebo? How many teaspoons did you have to wash for no reason?
What the fuck
Cute of you to think I’m only putting in a half teaspoon of butter into anything.
I don’t know what instant rice is, but a lot of “recipes” in the US are basically combining pre-processed ingredients and purposely adding extra steps so people will feel like they did something.
it’s kind of similar to the IKEA model of providing a kit for people to assemble furniture and, afterward, feeling increased satisfaction for having accomplished something and internalizing the sense that they built the furniture… only, with industrial food “preparing” it’s remarkably more pathetic.
if you told people to “just add water” it would break the illusion.
it’s kind of similar to the IKEA model of providing a kit for people to assemble furniture and, afterward, feeling increased satisfaction for having accomplished something and internalizing the sense that they built the furniture
I don’t think that’s why IKEA furniture needs to be assembled. If you’ve ever tried to move a piece of pre-assembled IKEA furniture, you’ll know why it comes in pieces. There’s a reason people value hardwood. It doesn’t disintegrate as soon as you put pressure on it in the wrong direction.
if you told people to “just add water” it would break the illusion.
The illusion that butter tastes good?
of course it’s not “why”. same reason they don’t package water with your instant rice: it’s a cost savings strategy first. what we are discussing is how this strategy is turned into a value-add through marketing.
literally a discussed phenomenon: https://www.leidenpsychologyblog.nl/articles/the-ikea-effect-the-feel-good-factor-of-self-assembly
I think Betty Crocker (or its parent company) did market research in the 50s and found out that people felt guilty for the mix that you just had to rehydrate, it felt extra artificial and removed and like they had no part in it. They fixed this and secured market dominance with their response, the “Just add an egg” formulation. Crack and whisk an egg amd atir it in, and it feels like you’re taking part in making it.
IIRC this comes up in The Century of the Self.
People but butter in their rice?
I’ve only ever used rice cookers
It’s the same with eggs and cake mix…
Apparently, mere water doesn’t cut out the same feeling for DIY baking as well so the fresh egg was required there to imitate that…
