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Cost of Preparing Convenience and Home-Prepared Foods With an Electric Range and a Microwave Oven

Department of Food, Nutrition and Institution Administration, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20472

J.A. Phillips

Department of Human Nutrition and Foods, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061

J.M. Axelson

Department of Human Nutrition and Foods, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061

R.P. Lovingood

Department of Housing, Interior Design, and Resource Management, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061

J.M. Pearson

Department of Family and Consumer Studies, Radford University, Radford, VA 24141

M. Saltmarch

Department of Human Nutrition and Foods, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061

The composite cost of preparing 20 convenience foods and their home- prepared counterparts with an electric range and a microwave oven was deter mined. Per-serving costs were calculated for food, fuel used in preparation, and active preparation time at two wage levels. The majority of convenience foods (74%) cost more for food alone than did the home-prepared counterparts, while 52 percent of home-prepared foods cost more for fuel alone. Nearly all home- prepared foods (98%) had a higher cost for active preparation time at either wage level. When food and fuel costs were combined, 74 percent of convenience foods cost more than the home-prepared counterparts. However, when the cost of active preparation time was added, home-prepared foods become more expen sive. The combined cost for food, fuel, and active preparation time at minimum wage was greater for 70 percent of home-prepared foods than for convenience foods, and the combined cost with time valued at the market wage rate of a cook was greater for 91 percent of home-prepared foods.

Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, Vol. 14, No. 1, 29-40 (1985)
DOI: 10.1177/1077727X8501400104


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