Showerthought: my local grocery store in Tacoma had a whole aisle of frozen 'air fryer' food that looked sad

Quinn Robinson · 2026-04-04T09:15:06.791834+00:00

I was at the big market on 6th Avenue yesterday, just grabbing stuff for dinner. They have this whole freezer section now with boxes that all say 'Air Fryer Ready' or 'Crispy in Minutes'. I picked up a box of supposed buffalo cauliflower bites and the picture looked okay, but the actual food inside was just these pale, tiny lumps. It made me realize how much better the real thing is. I can make a whole head of fresh cauliflower into bites for about half the price of that box, and they come out way crispier with my own seasoning. It feels like a scam to pay for the convenience when the air fryer does the hard part anyway. Has anyone else seen these pre-made sections growing and just felt disappointed?

bettyl376mo ago

Oh man, I bought some of those 'air fryer' fries last week. They came out looking like sad little shoestrings, my own potato cuts blow them out of the water.

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aaron_bell536mo ago

Wait, they were selling frozen BUFFALO cauliflower? That's the saddest part to me. The whole point of buffalo sauce is that fresh, spicy kick, and you just know that frozen stuff is gonna taste like salty paste. It's wild they even try to sell that.

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grant1304mo ago

I grabbed a box of those frozen cauliflower bites too and it took me like three tries to even get them crispy, and then they just tasted like burnt air and regret. Made my own batch the next day with fresh florets and some homemade buffalo sauce, and I honestly felt stupid for ever buying the frozen version. My cooking skills are NOTHING special, but even I can beat a sad freezer box for taste and price.

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