Yep, you can actually find par-cooked rice.

And not par-boiled minute rice, but actual cooked, frozen rice.

Rice is not a hard thing to cook. It’s quite simply one ingredient plus water and a pinch of salt. It doesn’t take long to cook, doesn’t require special equipment or a lot of attention. It needs no mixing, no special technique. It is, matter-of-factly, easier than boiling an egg.

So why is it that we don’t find this product completely absurd? I’m quite certain pre-cooked rice would be laughed off the shelves in just about every Asian country.

I’d like to blame the manufacturer for producing this, but in reality it’s our own fault. We have demanded convenience and speed. We have deemed cooking a chore.

Perhaps it’s time we learn to both eat to live, and live to eat.

Food is the great social equalizer. It’s a focal point for personal interaction. It fuels us, it pleasures us, it’s a representation of love.

Take the time to cook. It makes your life, and the lives of those you feed, richer.