By Request: I design frozen dinners, AMA

Why does my brownie always get corn in it?

I don't know of any products we make that have brownies in them. What brand was it?

New question:

Why no brownies?

I don't know for sure, but that sounds pretty retro to me. Like back when TV dinners were really TV dinners.

I just wanted to post to let you know that this the best AMA I have seen. You are answering every single question posted and not just picking and choosing like others. Nice work.

Ps. Love the Stouffers Stuffed Peppers. http://i.imgur.com/ePGeZ.jpg

Haha I know someone who's done a lot of work on those; I'm sure he'll love the feedback!

True story about the stuffed peppers: I was in college, living in an apartment. I splurged and got the frozen stuffed peppers meal at the local Kroger because I was feeling fancy. Now, a meal that fancy can't be prepared in the microwave. So, being the college foodie that I was, I opted to heat it in the toaster-oven instead for a more authentic flavor.

I was shocked at the 50-minute cook time, but ignored my extreme hunger pangs as I dutifully watched it slowly cook and brown through the glass window. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, my meal signaled its doneness by the rich "ding" of the toaster oven.

With the giddiness of a little boy on Christmas morning, I flung the oven door open, revealing my glorious repast. I gripped the edges of the cardboard tray, and proceeded to the dinner table to devour the fruits of my labor.

Unfortunately, my thermodynamics classes had failed to warn me that the tray was exceedingly hot, a sensation I chose not to realize until my trip to the dining room was 50% complete. Mere inches from the table, the tray slipped from my fingers, rendering my long-awaited dish of glory as nothing more than a heap of sauce and hair on the carpet.

My roommates guffawed at my misfortune, igniting a hungry and unsatisfied beast within me. I proceeded to smash our finest patio chaise lounge (permanently a fixture in front of the tv) into a heap of twisted aluminum and plastic tubing. I went to bed hungry and humiliated that night. I still can't bring myself to purchase a frozen stuffed pepper meal.

You learn more from your failures than from your successes. Try again, grasshopper.

[deleted]

Haha I will!

Also, the LC mac and cheese and pizzas are delicious :3 I have been eating low cal for about 4 mos now and these make day to day life so much easier and less likely to give up and eat every cookie and greasy food in sight :3

In all seriousness though, I have been really wanting buffalo chicken wings/chicken strips for a while now, but this is impossible to find in well portioned meals (They only come in huge bags along with high calories). I will create a new religion after you if you can find a way to get me some!

The closest thing I know of is our Digiorno Pizza and Wyngs. It's not really a single serving though.

You are ordered to eat a frozen meal without heating it up. What do you eat?

Definitely not one of the ones with shrimp because those are raw in the package.

Maybe I'd pick this one: It would be pretty hard to fold though

1. Why so much broccoli? I cheer when there's a different type of vegetable.

2. Why so much sodium?

Don't diss broccoli! I did my MS research on broccoli. It's extremely good for you!

Every food company is working on reducing the amount of sodium in their products. Unfortunately, it just makes everything taste better. You'd probably be surprised at the sodium levels in Lean Cuisine, they're way lower than normal frozen meals.

Does Nestle know you're doing the IAmA here? Also is this sponsored?

They don't know, and it's not sponsored. But they encourage us to talk about our products as long as we don't discuss anything confidential.

Thanks for the response. It seems like you're very satisfied with your job. I wish there'd be more people like you around! :)

Do you usually explore various ethnic cuisines or are you ordered to stick to mainstream cuisine since it sells well?

We're getting a bit more exotic with our products. We have a couple Indian varieties of Lean Cuisine now, for example. The new "Chef's Pick" varieties are meant to be more interesting and "culinary chic" than typical frozen meals. It's fun for us when we get to be more creative as well.

I ate some kind of frozen dinner and it was a curry, it was really good and my curry standards are hard to impress. Keep up the good work.

Was it Lean Cuisine?

Yeah I think so but I'm not sure.

We have at least two Indian varieties, and I agree the sauces have great flavor.

[deleted]

Yes, any trade secrets, formulas, information on how we manufacture things. You get the idea.

You sir, have designed my dinners for the past couple of months. AMAZING

Haha, don't let me take the credit. Which ones have you been eating?

I play lacrosse so I either have to watch what I eat or go with whatever. Honestly the stouffer's lasagna with meat and sauce has been a lot of them when I don't have to watch what I eat. When I do, it's really weird but I LOVE lean cuisine chicken carbonara.

Yeah everyone loves our lasagna. It's awesome.

I'll let the team know you like the carbonara!

I wish some company ,whether it be Nestlé or anyone else, make a category of frozen foods for athletes who need something good and fast but not too much before practice or games but hey I don't know. Whatever you guys are doing, pleeeeaaaase keep doing it!!!

Thanks, I'll relay your suggestions.

How do you prevent carbonara sauce (supposed to be thickened with partially cooked egg yolk) from getting grainy when microwaved?

Science!

One of my recent purchases of the Butternut Squash Ravioli had way too many snap peas in it. Who should I blame for this?

Also, how do you figure out the cook times for the various meals? Trial and error or is there a formula based upon the ingredients?

A lot of people knock TV dinners, but I've found them to be very helpful when it comes to portion management for weight loss. I've used this quite successfully and with all of the varieties you don't get bored. So keep up the good work. I also like the use of yellow carrots; orange is just so boring.

There's always going to be some variability when you're making products in a factory. If you call the number on the box and let them know there were too many snap peas in your meal, we will use that feedback to continually improve our products, and they'll probably give you some coupons as a thank you for your feedback.

I'm glad you like the yellow carrots! It's very intentional. We get bored with orange too.

I always liked the Kid Cuisine penguin.

I don't think we make that!

Jeeze man, what do you make then!

Not brownies, that's for sure.

Womp, womp.

We make this

You just made my night! Reddit meetup when I start there in August? haha I think I'll be working on Lean Cuisine.

No Way! I can't wait to meet you.

Are lean cuisine type dinners really any healthier, or is it just a smaller portion?

They are. We have strict requirements for things like calories, sodium, and saturated fat. There's actually a government regulation for the term "lean" and we have our own internal guidelines as well.

Thanks for doing this, it's made me a lot more secure with my love for frozen food. What products have you contributed to specifically that we might be familiar with?

Thanks, most of my work is still on its way to the shelf though, so I need to keep it under wraps for now.

i burn the roof of my mouth alot, is there anything being studied currently to fix my problem?

Haha try blowing on your food until it's at a manageable temperature!

SWEDISH MEATBALLS

FRENCH BREAD PIZZA

THANK YOU

THAT'S ALL

Thanks!

Hi there, I'm entering my sophomore year and I'm pretty sure that my decision to major in Food Science last year was a good idea. My question is, what sort of classes best prepared you for this job? Were the upperclassmen classes more specific to finding your career? Or did the entire program in general help you out in being a part of Nestle? edit:grammar

I took a fruit and vegetable processing course that I didn't really like at the time, but it taught me a lot. Food chemistry and flavor chemistry were pretty useful too. Honestly though I think you can learn a lot more on your own if you are curious and passionate. It's more important for scientists to know how to learn new things than it is for them to know existing things. You need to be resourceful and curious to keep growing as a scientist.

Any reason for the lack of vegetarian options? Are you working on increasing vegetarian options? The ones I have found are delicious!

We have a whole line of "Veggie Cuisine" with Gardein chick'n. We also have 20 or so other vegetarian options. Our offerings vary by grocery store; keep looking!

How did you get into this field? What kind of background does your company look for when hiring employees for your type of job?

I've always been obsessed with food and a huge geek for science and math. When I was a kid, I told my family I wanted to be a "mathematical chef" when I grew up. It took me until I was already a physics major in college before I realized I could get a degree in food science, so I decided to change gears and devote everything to becoming a food scientist. In graduate school I was on the team that won the food science college bowl national championship, that's how obsessed with food science I am. That obsession eventually led me here. Generally the people who do my job have at least a B.S. in food science or something really similar like chemistry, biochemistry, or maybe nutrition. A master's degree helps if you don't have a BS in food science.

Very cool. Without reading your reply here I can definitely see your passion for your field! It is very inspiring as someone who is in her first year of graduate school.

What kind of meals do you cook for yourself? Are you as creative when you are home as you are at work?

I like to make all kinds of things. Mostly Italian or Tex-Mex dishes because they're easy. One of my favorite dishes involves cooking shrimp in garlic, oregano, and olive oil, then adding canned tomatoes, white wine, and cream with a little lemon juice and serving it over angel hair. It takes about 15 minutes and feeds me for 4 days!

Where did you study food science? My sister just finished her freshman year of food science. Any advice?

I studied at Ohio State.

The best advice I can give is follow your passions. When I got to college I realized that you need to pursue something that you love, rather than just something that you're good at. Having a passion for a subject will make you want to learn more, and that's what helps you get ahead instead of just learning what's required of you.

Do you eat TV dinners, or do you avoid them thanks to being in the business?

Favorite Dish?

The Stouffer's Sautes for Two are awesome. The Cajun Shrimp Alfredo is my favorite.

For Lean Cuisine, I like the Fiesta Grilled Chicken, and the new Ranchero Braised Beef is really tasty too.

So, do you let it stand for a minute? Or like everyone else, heat 3 minutes, then just start into it?

I make sure that I don't burn myself

[deleted]

SmartOnes is made by Weight Watchers, and they get a lot of sales just from being associated with them even though people prefer our products in taste panels.

[deleted]

There's a Stouffer's one with beef. I just linked to it in another response, by coincidence:

It's pretty delicious

Thanks for the success story!

[deleted]

Seriously, people don't realize we make our pasta fresh, which is why it's so good.

Had to do some work at a Nestlie Water Bottling plant. I was impressed with how they are so organized, right down to how many pens in what desk drawer in case someone needs to work from that desk everything is the same. (German efficiency).

Is it the same where you work?

Also, do you actively look to improve the quality of taste of the meals or are they kept bland tasting for the lowest common denominator of taste?

What is the ratio of commercial heat and serve meals ( restaurants and institutions) does Nestlie make compared to residential (?) (store bought) heat and serve?

Our factories are very organized, but fortunately I have my own work space where I can use my Das Keyboard and look at my favorite pictures.

We do everything we can to make our products taste as delicious as possible while staying within our nutritional, cost, and feasibility constraints. That being said, we might do something like refrain from making a super spicy dish because it might turn off a large portion of consumers.

We do have a portion of our business dedicated to food service, but I don't know how large that portion of the business is.

Have you ever thought about putting a little bit of hot sauce in a seperate package so the choice is on the consumer? I would appreciate this quite a bit.

Keep up the good work.

Thanks for the suggestion!

Which switches does your Das Keyboard have?

Actually I have a standard one at home with the blue switches and a silent at work with the brown switches.

The blue switches are fun to type on, but I think I prefer the browns. I love typing on my keyboard at work; I actually wish I had more paperwork to do so I could type on it more.

What brand names does Nestle put their food out under?

Check this out

Just one thing - please, please, please design more meatless meals for us lazy vegetarians. We exist.

I'm hearing a lot of comments like these; I'll let the team know!

Do y'all buy buy and eat competitor's frozen meals to get a feel for what's out there?

Kashi frozen meals are why god invented freezers. And Lean Cuisine stuffed cabbage.

brb going to wal mart

Part of our jobs is to stay aware of what's going on in the marketplace. We want to be setting the trends.

Worst thing you have ever heard of showing up in a Frozen dinner. (ie bandages hair stuff like that.)

Baby corn. Gross!

Do you eat these yourself, after you've witnessed the whole process?

Yep I have my personal favorites. I really like the Buitoni products and the Stouffer's Sautes for Two. They're our more "premium" items and are meant to serve as more than one meal.

meant to serve as more than one meal

You heat up a frozen dinner, eat some, then repeat?

I have to tell you this is blowing my mind.

Well it's a little more involved. You thaw the sauce and throw everything in a pan, stir it for about 13 minutes. Then you eat half of it and put the rest in the refrigerator for the next day.

At least that's what I do when I'm eating alone.

So are you saying that there are no preservatives in your food?

Check our labels and you'll see that most of our products say "no preservatives." Freezing is literally the only preservative we need; in fact, frozen fruits and vegetables often have greater nutrient content and flavor than fresh because they can be harvested when they're at their peak and flash frozen immediately afterward, whereas fresh fruits and vegetables are usually picked before they're fully mature so that they don't rot by the time you buy them.

Are they frozen just the same as frozen vegetables(snap frozen)? If so how do you do this on an industrial scale?

Like xenokilla said before I could, we freeze it as fast as possible to limit ice crystal aggregation. The faster you freeze something, the less cellular damage is done to the food because slower freezing results in larger ice crystals that form in between cells. Those crystals draw water from within cells, dehydrating them. That water gets lost during thawing.

What would you say are the tastiest ones? Any items we should look for or avoid?

Check out the Lean Cuisine Ranchero Braised Beef. It's one of the new Culinary Round Table items, inspired by some top level chefs that we bring into our kitchens to assist our in-house chefs in creating new concepts.

This reminds me a lot about articles I've read about how airlines used to make their in-flight dinners, just with a different set of constraints as it relates to end product.

Apparently the noise on an airplane actually makes the food taste worse, so I feel especially bad for those technologists.

Would you say these dinners are as healthy as a regular meal? How much preservatives are put into each package?

We don't need to add preservatives because freezing is itself a very powerful preservative.

With regards to healthiness, it really depends what you're comparing it to. Lean Cuisine is designed to be a healthier option with less fat, saturated fat, and sodium, while Stouffer's is designed to be hearty and wholesome while still being nutritious.

I think what MitchOssimPants was asking was more like, if I ate Stouffer's for every single meal, and had recommended levels of things like exercise and additional snacking, would I get fat? Would I have health problems?

It's a hypothetical, although I used to cashier at a grocery store and we had several people (usually twenty-somethings who looked like maybe they had never had to use a kitchen appliance themselves their whole life) who would come through with just microwave dinners, every week.

I'm no dietician, but the best nutritional advice I can give is eat a varied diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, and make sure you have a good energy balance (calories in vs. calories spent).

Many people are aware of "sugar substitutes" in their food (some choose to watch to avoid them), but less people may perhaps be aware of "fat substitutes", such as olestra.

Are fat substitutes as prevalent as sugar substitutes in food in general, and are fat substitutes or sugar substitutes more likely to come in "under the radar" to your average consumer? (consumer doesn't know they're eating any substitute).

No, I don't think fat substitutes are nearly as common as sugar substitutes. Every diet soda has sugar substitutes in it, and even some other products do as well. Fat substitutes are still pretty rare, although I noticed that about a year or two ago, the Lay's potato chips made with Olestra came back under a different brand name.

Interesting AMA. I don't have a question, but please tell the person responsible for Stouffer's Mac and Cheese that it is amazing.

A lot of people are responsible for that!

What's your favorite food? (Non-TV dinner)

I really like sushi. Fresh salmon and white tuna (escolar), and of course toro (fatty tuna).

But I struggle with that question because I love all kinds of food. I grew up in Texas, and I really love good Mexican food too. Then there's Indian, and French, and Creole... Too many to choose a favorite!

Were you guys happy about Jim Gaffigan's stand up about hot pockets?

Personally I find it hilarious. I think it's required listening for people that work on that brand.

Can you compare the healthiness of TV dinners vs. "normal" food?

It really depends. "Normal food" composes everything from broccoli to foie gras; you can't treat it like it's all the same.

But I can say that we are committed to continually improving the healthfulness of our products, and we have to meet strict nutritional requirements when we formulate our products, especially for Lean Cuisine.

I'm living in a hotel for a few months because of work. I recently bought too much frozen stuff. Will a couple of my frozen dinners/tv dinners be ok in the refrigerator section of my mini-fridge for a couple days? One is sweet n' sour chicken and the other is fettucini, if that factors in at all. Cool ama!

They will probably be ok, just make sure that the food gets up to 160 degrees F when you reheat it. I've never really tried that.

These meals always are a balanced meal, but my diet calls for other things. You should make some that are like High Protein and really low carb or something along those lines.

We have a few like that. Look for the ones that don't have rice or pasta.