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This moment may sound familiar: It's 4 p.m. on Wednesday, and you realize the dinner you had been planning to make isn't going to work out.
這樣的時刻聽起來或許很耳熟吧：周三下午的四點，你意識到你之前一直計劃烹制的晚餐無法實現了。
It's one of the most stressful points of weekday life, according to consumer research. Now in response, packaged-food companies and grocery stores are developing meals that aim to strike a delicate balance. They are quick and simple to prepare, but still feel like cooking a homemade meal.
針對消費者的研究表明，這是人們平日生活中壓力最大的時刻。作為應對舉措，現在加工食品公司與食品雜貨店開始研制旨在達成微妙平衡的餐食。它們準備起來快速又簡單，但又依然給你一種親自下廚的感覺。
The target market is a lucrative one. Companies say these are homes where women-and increasingly men-like to cook when time allows, and they generally spend more on groceries. They often feel guilty relying on frozen foods or boxed meals, but a busy day can back them into a prepared-food corner.
它的目標市場頗有利可圖。各食品企業稱，它們的目標客戶為女主人（以及越來越多的男主人）喜歡有在時間時親自下廚的家庭，而他們在食品雜貨上的花費一般都比較高。依靠冷凍食品或盒飯填飽肚子往往會讓他們覺得內疚，但是一天忙下來，他們只好退而求其次地選擇預制食品。
To pull off this tricky task, companies are working to identify subtle cues that signal cooking, even in convenience foods. In many cases, scientists at major food companies have found ways to make quick meals that involve only one step. But to these consumers, that ease translates as culinary cheating.
為了完成這項棘手的任務，食品企業努力尋找起有烹飪象征意義的微妙要素，連方便食品也成了它們的調研對象。有不少大型食品企業的科研人員找到了只需一個步驟的快捷烹飪方法。但是，對這些消費者而言，簡單也就意味著烹飪過程中的投機取巧。
Kraft Foods Group Inc. spent about 18 months developing its new Recipe Makers product. During tests, researchers showed moms versions with one or two sauces. The women liked the two-sauce option better because more steps felt closer to homemade, says Risa Schwartz, associate director of consumer insights and strategy for Kraft. Other research showed these women wanted to spend at least 15 to 30 minutes peeling, chopping or doing other meal preparation 'to have it count,' Ms. Schwartz says.
卡夫食品集團(Kraft Foods Group Inc.)花了約18個月的時間研制其新推出的Recipe Makers產品，研究人員在試驗過程中向媽媽們展示了配備一或兩種醬汁的產品。該公司負責消費者洞察及策略事務的副總監里莎?施瓦茨(Risa Schwartz)稱，媽媽們更喜歡配備兩種醬汁的選擇，因為步驟更多感覺更像是自己親自下廚。她還指出，其他研究表明，媽媽們希望至少花上15至30分鐘時間做些削皮、切菜或其他烹飪準備工作“以讓這頓飯顯得有價值”。
Recipe Makers, rolling out on grocery shelves now, comes in nine flavors such as Asian Fish Tacos and includes at least two sauces that are mixed with fresh ingredients like meat, pasta and vegetables. The Verde Chicken Enchilada version has one bottle of creamy ranchero 'filling sauce' to mix with shredded chicken before wrapping it in tortillas. A packet of tomatillo 'finishing sauce' is poured over the tortillas before topping with cheese and baking in the oven. Kraft created recipes for the oven, slow cooker and skillet. 'The microwave doesn't feel good to this consumer,' to cook a whole meal, says Ms. Schwartz.
Recipe Makers產品現已在各商店上架，它有亞洲風味墨西哥玉米餅包炸魚等九種口味，包括至少兩種與肉、意大利面和蔬菜混拌在一起的醬汁。綠辣椒醬墨西哥雞肉卷配搭一瓶濃稠的由西紅柿和青椒制成的“拌餡醬”，先把它與切碎的雞肉攪拌在一起，再把雞肉卷進玉米粉圓餅。另外，一種袋裝的粘果酸漿“裝飾醬”則用于淋在圓餅上，再在其上點綴些奶酪便可把餅放入烤箱中烘烤。卡夫設計了用于烤箱、電燉鍋和煎鍋的食譜。施瓦茨說：“對此類消費者來說，使用微波爐（做一整頓飯）讓他們感覺不好。”
Bumble Bee Foods talked to more than 25,000 consumers before rolling out its Bumble Bee SuperFresh frozen seafood last month, including a parchment paper pouch for steam-cooking the fish in the oven. Consumers said they fear overcooking fish and don't like the odor. 'At first we wondered, does it need to come already wrapped in parchment' to cut down on work, says Suzanne Stites, senior vice president and general manager of Bumble Bee Frozen. Instead the additional step-taking fish out of a vacuum-sealed bag and putting it in parchment-helped cooks 'feel involved,' she says.
食品公司Bumble Bee Foods在8月份推出了Bumble Bee SuperFresh冷凍海鮮產品，它配備一個用于在烤箱中蒸魚的仿羊皮紙紙袋。在此之前，該公司對25,000多名消費者進行了調查。消費者稱他們怕把魚做老了，而且不喜歡魚腥味。Bumble Bee Frozen的高級副總裁兼總經理蘇珊娜?斯蒂茨(Suzanne Stites)說：“一開始我們在想，是否有必要把魚包在仿羊皮紙中（以減少麻煩）”。她說，多出的步驟──將魚從真空密封袋中取出，然后把它放在仿羊皮紙上──有助于讓下廚者“有參與感”。
For Holly MacMillan of Athens, Ga., the weekday dinner crush often kicks off with a dreaded phone call at work from her husband at around 4:45 p.m. 'Have you had a moment of inspiration about dinner?' she says he asks.
對喬治亞州阿森斯(Athens)的霍莉?麥克米倫(Holly MacMillan)來說，上班時間接到丈夫在下午四點四十四五分左右打來的令人心驚的電話時，工作日晚餐的煩惱往往也就開始了。她說丈夫總是在電話中問：“你對晚飯吃什么有想法了嗎？”
'It's awful,' says Ms. MacMillan, 41, vice president of marketing for a money management firm and the mother of three children ages 7, 5 and 1. 'I'm like, 'I'm in the middle of a meeting, no,' ' she says. Planning dinner is the most stressful part of the day, she adds.
麥克米倫說：“那太糟糕了，我會說，‘我正在開會，還沒想法?！彼衲?1歲，是一家資金管理公司的營銷副總裁，也是三個年齡分別為七歲、五歲和一歲的孩子的媽媽。她說安排晚飯是一天當中讓人壓力最大的事情。
On weekends, Ms. MacMillan serves dishes such as scallops breaded in panko and wrapped in bacon. On Sundays, she sometimes cooks ground beef for pasta sauce and tacos during the week. But by Wednesday, meal planning often 'goes sideways,' she says. Out comes the microwavable Bob Evans Macaroni and Cheese and frozen peas, a meal that takes minutes to prepare and that her kids love.
在周末，麥克米倫會用裹以面包粉的扇貝和培根做些培根扇貝卷這樣的菜。有時候，她還會在周日做些牛肉末用于配搭平日的意大利面醬和墨西哥卷餅。她說，盡管如此，到了周三晚飯的安排常常會“出偏差”。最后想出的就是可用微波爐烹制的Bob Evans通心粉、奶酪和冷凍豌豆，這頓飯只要花幾分鐘時間準備，而且孩子們都很喜歡吃。
'My mom was a stay-at-home mom and cooked everything from scratch, so in my mind I should be doing it,' Ms. MacMillan says.
麥克米倫說：“我的母親是一位全職媽媽，她樣樣親力親為烹制每一道菜，所以我就認為我也應當這么做。”
Midweek is the cooking-from-scratch low point for most households. Last year ConAgra Foods Inc. bought Bertolli and P.F Chang's brand frozen skillet meals from Unilever PLC. 'The most popular day of the week to use these brands is Wednesday' because you pour the complete meal into a pan and heat, says Jen Wulf, consumer insights manager for the brands at ConAgra. Still, because consumers warm them in a skillet, 'they feel a little bit more engaged' than heating a frozen meal in the microwave, she says.
對大多數家庭而言，周三是樣樣親力親為下廚的最糟時刻。食品公司ConAgra Foods去年從聯合利華(Unilever PLC)手中收購了Bertolli and P.F Chang的冷凍便餐品牌。ConAgra公司負責這些品牌消費者洞察事務的經理珍?伍爾夫(Jen Wulf)稱：“一周當中吃這些食品最多的日子是周三”，因為你可以把一整頓飯倒進平底鍋中加熱即可。盡管如此，由于消費者使用煎鍋加熱這些食品，所以與用微波爐加熱冷凍食品相比，“它們會讓你多一些參與感”。
Weeknight dinner is 'a bit like Groundhog Day. You solve for it and then you think about it again the next day. That amplifies the stress,' says Darren Serrao, vice president and general manager of innovation and business development for Campbell Soup Co.
Campbell Soup公司的副總裁兼創新與商務拓展事務總經理達倫?塞勞(Darren Serrao)說，平日里每晚的晚飯“有些像‘土撥鼠日’。你解決了問題，第二天你又要接著考慮它，這加劇了壓力”。
Recently Campbell introduced Slow Cooker Sauces and Skillet Sauces. The products, such as Toasted Sesame with Garlic and Ginger, flavor meat as it cooks in a pan or slow cooker. The sauces aim to please home cooks who avoid 100% prepared meals and want to feel involved in the cooking process, Mr. Serrao says.
Campbell于不久前推出了電燉鍋醬汁與煎鍋醬汁。這些產品，比如加入蒜和姜的烤芝麻，可用于給在煎鍋或電燉鍋中烹制的肉類調味。塞勞稱，推出此類醬汁旨在取悅那些不想完全親手準備食品，但又希望感覺參與了烹飪過程的家庭下廚者。
Campbell's dubs about 25% of consumers 'constrained wishful eaters,' says Charles Vila, vice president of customer and consumer insights for Campbell. 'These are the folks that have incredible time pressures, but they are trying to get a good, tasty, convenient meal on the table,' he says. For many, cooking can mean as little as turning on the oven or pouring a can of soup over rice, he says.
Campbell負責客戶與消費者洞察事務的副總裁查爾斯?維拉(Charles Vila)稱，該公司把大約25%的消費者戲稱為“被迫一廂情愿的食客。他們都是些時間極為緊張的人，但又想在餐桌上吃一頓營養、美味又方便的飯”。他說，對他們許多人而言，下廚就只不過是打開烤箱或澆一罐湯汁在米飯上。
Papa Murphy's is a 1,360-location pizza chain where customers add ingredients to an uncooked pizza on site and then cook it in their own oven. It shuns pizza boxes, instead wrapping the pizzas in cellophane in a subtle bid to make it more like a meal. 'If you pull something from the refrigerator it wouldn't be in a box,' says Ken Calwell, chief executive of Papa Murphy's International. When consumers 'actually turn on and preheat the oven, there is something that reminds them of their grandma or mom,' he says.
Papa Murphy's是一家擁有1,360家分店的匹薩連鎖企業，顧客可在未烘烤的匹薩上現加食材，然后把它放在他們自己的烤箱中烤制。該公司沒有使用匹薩盒，而是采用玻璃紙包裝匹薩，這一巧妙的小舉動是為了使它更像一頓像模像樣的飯。Papa Murphy's International的首席執行長肯?卡爾維爾(Ken Calwell)說：“當你從冰箱中拿出食品，它不會是裝在盒子中的?！彼f，當消費者“打開烤箱預熱時，有些東西會讓他們想起他們的祖母或母親”。
Katherine Wintsch, founder of The Mom Complex, a consulting firm that studies moms, has found mothers like meals that are about 75% already prepared. The firm asks moms to download a cellphone app, then input 'high passion or pain points' throughout the day. Dinner planning is 'the highest intensity pain point' during the week, says Ms. Wintsch. 'Usually around 4 p.m.'
研究媽媽們的咨詢公司The Mom Complex的創始人凱瑟琳?溫徹(Katherine Wintsch)發現，媽媽們喜歡準備工作已經完成了大約75%的食品。該公司讓媽媽們下載了一個手機程序，輸入在一天當中“高度熱情或極其痛苦的時段”。溫徹說，安排晚飯是一周當中“最為痛苦的時段，通常為下午四點左右”。
Because weekend cooking behavior is so unlike weekdays, General Mills Inc., makers of brands from Hamburger Helper to Green Giant, doesn't tend to study it, says Judy Bowman, global consumer insights director for General Mills. 'We focus on Monday through Thursday dinners.'
食品公司通用磨坊(General Mills Inc.)負責全球消費者洞察事務的總監朱迪?鮑曼(Judy Bowman)稱，由于周末的烹飪行為與平日大為不同，該公司一般不會去研究它。她說：“我們主要關注周一至周四的晚餐?！蓖ㄓ媚シ皇荋amburger Helper與綠巨人(Green Giant)等品牌的生產商。
For most consumers, a convenient weekday meal means cooking with about three ingredients for around 20 minutes, Ms. Bowman says. Later this summer General Mills plans to introduce Old El Paso Mexican Cooking Sauce in three flavors intended to be combined with fresh ingredients to please 'semi-experienced' cooks who need an easy weeknight dinner, she says. 'The sauce is the tough part for people. They don't know what to put in, they don't know what to make and it's really hard to get the flavoring just right.'
鮑曼指出，對大多數消費者來說，平日里的一頓方便餐意味著三種左右的食材和大約20分鐘的烹飪時間。她說，通用磨坊今年推出三種風味的老埃爾帕索墨西哥風味烹飪醬汁，并把它們和新鮮食材搭在一起，以取悅需要簡便平日晚餐的“半生不熟的”烹飪者。她說：“調制醬汁對大家來說很有難度，他們不知道要放入什么，不知道要做什么，而且要調配出恰到好處的味道非常難。”
Still, some 'people want to put their own touch on things,' and control flavor, especially experienced cooks, says Jason Lepes, kitchen category merchant for FreshDirect, a New York City-based grocery-delivery business. He says their meal kits, including chopped meat, vegetables, and a cooking sauce, are 'for someone who is OK with us taking the creativity out of it,' like a busy parent.
賈森?萊佩什(Jason Lepes)在紐約市食品雜貨配送商FreshDirect負責餐廚類產品批發業務。他說：“（有些）人想在事物上留下他們自己的烙印。”他說，他們的配餐包包括切好的肉、蔬菜和烹飪醬汁，“適合對我們去除創造過程的做法沒意見的人”，比如說忙碌的家長。
