Microwave vegetables may be lazy but they could be uust the thing for hassle-free summer meals. Shoptalk discovers which are worth sampling.

SOMETIMES, the best discoveries are made by accident. We have been testing microwaveable vegetables. They are the ultimate in laziness really - vegetables that are washed, peeled and chopped and all ready in a little bag for you to pop into the microwave.

Our grannies would be horrified. Only people with more money than sense would pay a fortune to save themselves a few minutes' work and the effort of washing a pan.

And yet...

We were testing these in a heatwave, when the weather was almost too hot for eating and certainly much too hot for cooking. Even so, there's a limit to how many salads or even water melons a person can eat.

What was needed was something that was quick and easy, light and nutritious. Which was exactly what many of these vegetables were. A meal in themselves and perfect summer eating.

We also discovered that a bowl of runner beans just needs a dash of Ainsley Harriott's Lime Sublime dressing (left over from another consumer test) to make them into something very special and summery.

Not just a girly thing either. After a day slaving (and eating) in a fast food restaurant, Smaller Son fell on them as just what was needed to balance up all the day's cholesterol.

Expensive, yes. Lazy yes. Absolutely hopeless if you're trying to keep a big family fed and full. However, microwaveable veg is here to stay and, occasionally, it could be just thing. Especially in record high temperatures.

POINTS TO WATCH

Not all veg sold in bags with microwaveable instructions is ready to pop in the microwave. Some might need washing or preparation. Particularly applies to spinach. Read the labels carefully.

Microwave instructions seem to be designed by people who like their veg cooked to a pulp. If you like yours al dente with a bit of crunch to it, reduce recommended times drastically. This is especially so with Asda products.

Mixed bags of veg seem the nicest idea but were the most disappointing. However much you chop a carrot, it will need more cooking than a courgette. Or broccoli. So it ends up soft and mushy.

Many mixed bags contain something called butternut squash. However little we cooked this it turned into butternut squish and tasted of nothing. Best avoided.

Microwaving retains more of the vitamins and flavour than boiling veg.

We are all recommended to eat five portions of fruit or veg a day. Microwaveable veg might be an effective way of tempting an unwilling vegetable-eater. Once you've got them hooked, then maybe they can start peeling and chopping.

OUR FAVOURITES

MARKS & SPENCER YOUNG SPINACH £1.59 for 200g

Unless you grow spinach in your back garden and can step out and pick fresh young leaves, this is definitely the way to cook spinach. Instead of a great mountain of giant leaves that shrink to a gritty spoonful at the bottom of the pan, this does the job for you. An enormous bag full of greenery - all washed - that's cooked in three minutes. No tough bits, no stalks, no grit, no hassle. Delicious.

SLICED RUNNER BEANS - TESCO £1.79 for 335g; ASDA £1.29 for 280g

There is nothing like fresh young runner beans and they really take little time to string and cook, but the same week we tested these, we bought some loose runner beans that were tough and horrid. A waste of money and effort. So these came as a pleasant surprise. Not as good as the very best fresh, but much, much better than the worst.

SAINSBURY'S CABBAGE AND LEEK £1.29 for 250g

Cabbage, spring greens, white cabbage and leeks. Excellent flavour - the leeks add a nice bit of edge. Good crunch.

MARKS & SPENCER LAYERED VEGETABLES £1.69 for 320g

A little tub of finely chopped courgette, potato, carrots and broccoli and a pat of butter. Some testers thought it was too much like baby food as well as too buttery, others thought it was great. And it looked pretty when turned out.

ASDA CHARGRILLED VEGETABLES IN TOMATO SAUCE £1.28 for 260g

Chargrilled courgettes, red and yellow peppers and red onion with tomato sauce. Good strong flavour, nice chunks of veg.

FINE BUT PROBABLY NOT WORTH THE MONEY

CO-OP CABBAGE MEDLEY £1.49 for 220g

Green cabbage, white cabbage, Savoy cabbage

MARKS & SPENCER TENDERSTEM BROCCOLI, CARROT AND MANGETOUT £1.49 for 200g

MARKS & SPENCER FAVOURITE FIVE £1.49 for 250g

TESCO CARROT, BROCCOLI AND CAULIFLOWER £1.49 for 500g

ABSOLUTELY NO THANK YOU

SAFEWAY SWEET AND CRUNCHY £1.59 for 200g

Butternut squash, sugar snap peas and baby corn.

The peas and the corn were fine. The butternut squash was more butternut squish. Certainly neither sweet nor crunchy. It didn't taste of anything. Very peculiar.

SAINSBURY'S GARDEN VEGETABLES WITH ASPARAGUS £1.79 for 300g

Broccoli, carrots, courgette and asparagus. Awful. Carrots were OK, the broccoli OK-ish and the courgette and asparagus a soggy mush.

TESCO GREEN VEGETABLES WITH MINT BUTTER £1.99 for 250g

Broccoli, courgette and sugar snap peas with a blob of minty butter.

Broccoli and peas fine, courgettes disgusting - soggy and brown. Mint butter was OK but nothing special.

PS

How long will it take before peeling, preparing and cooking your own veg seems on a par with baking your own bread or brewing your own beer? For the under 30s, probably until about the middle of next week...