Video: Jack Monroe on cheap substitutes for fancy-pants ingredients

interesting.thanks

Thanks plenty. On the JO webchat there was a very articulate poster whose GGPs had come from terrible poverty in Italy pointing out that grinding up chestnuts to make flour hadn't been done because it was chi-chi, it had been done because there was literally nothing left to eat (and it actually tasted bogging, but it was filling). It really made me think about food fashion, for want of a better word, and it's impact on food systems.

Not for a moment suggesting if someone is poor they shouldn't aspire to eat risotto of course. But that maybe (I'm Scottish) we should be celebrating pearl barley and other grains that cost pennies too.

Brilliant post Wilson

I keep meaning to Katherina - but then I end up making rice pudding instead.

AskBasil, I have tried pudding rice - it does work!

she should have just drink gin instead of eating

Another pov Rhonda is that we in the UK make fetishes of other people's 'poor food' - Jamie Oliver in particular, I'm looking at you - which actually then turns it into an expensive food because we're not using local ingredients.

Risotto in Italy is a cheap, filling food. Sweet potatoes are a cheap, starchy staple in Central American (I think, hopefully my lack of food geography doesn't negate my point ). But neither of them are native to this country and therefore they are expensive, imported foods. Eating what's local would cut food bills for everyone.

Although I don't think Jack is saying it's OK to be skint. She's saying one of the most grinding things about being skint is eating cheap, boring food and presenting some alternatives.

Have you tried pudding rice instead of risotto rice rhondajean?

I agree, long grain rice will not make risotto. But pudding rice is much cheaper than risotto and has the same starchy consistency, I reckon that would make a much better exchange.

I get that love. I'm somewhat unsure of the tone of all of this though - I think it's very important to make sure people have access to information on healthy and affordable food when they're really hard up but, and I find this quite hard to articulat so bear with me, but I find the rationalisation of it being okay to swap things and it doesn't change anything almost justifies that it is okay to let people exist on tiny incomes.

No it isn't the same, let's not pretend it is.

RhondaJean these are things that when you have literally no money mean you can use some of your old fav recipes or at least still feel like you are not eat 'cheap' food.

You actually cannot make a proper risotto with long grain rice.

You can make a nice pilau type dish, but a proper risotto relies on the short grain rice which breaks down starches while cooking to give it it's unique texture.

I remain unconvinced about swapping carrots for sweet potatoes as well, nutritionally. But thats maybe because of how we use sweet potatoes.

@ AskBasil

I brought her book after reading the web chat. My shopping list for next week seems to be mainly herbs

I bet she wears shoes too

And wipes her arse with loo roll instead of rags.

Next thing we'll find she even has running water in her house instead of going down to the river to wash.

It's enough to make you vote UKIP or join Comment is Free.

I don't know who Jack Monroe is. The tips are OK, but I like olive oil and don't use it for frying anyway.

The produce I buy from my market doesn't go off faster.

Obviously if it costs more in travel to get to a market then its not cheaper. You have to use common sense . If you have one in your town, it is a good idea to support it and use it.

My local shops are Tesco and Thr Co-op. no markets, no independents unless I drive 8 miles. So popping off to my local market ain't gonna happen...

It's £6 to get the bus to our 'local' market.

(it's not a bad tip, but not possible for everyone)

and they go off faster

Supermarkets have much longer opening hours than markets.

I can only visit our market on a saturday (and that's if we're not busy), I have tried it but I don't like the fact I can't choose what I want. The veg stall holder just grabs the items and chucks them in a bag.

#Shoplocal and use your market. What kind of fiscal lunacy is it to buy five supermarket apples for the best part of £2 when you can get the same for £1 from a market?

Same with grapes, strawberries and other more 'luxurious' fresh fruits.

I do a lot of the same kind of kitchen cheats as Jack. One thing I'd say is if you've got family members who are fussy about Apple brands etc, the basics bags will say what brand they are in small letters - they're often braeburn at half the price of a apple-brand bag, they're also that little bit smaller so you get more portions out of them.

My advice is get store cards and rotate your supermarkets.

If you shop somewhere week one and then not week two they will try and tempt you back with vouchers - hold out and only go back if the vouchers are actually good value though. I use the online shopping sites to tot up my basket in the different stores I can get to and decide which is cheaper. I don't use mysupermarket because I find it doesn't have the full range so you can't compare as accurately.

Time consuming though!

what is the talk about her teeth for? Is it HER teeth you are going on about?

I think she might need a new bra.

has the mumsnet magic chicken made its weekly appearance yet?

Why is dentistry in dollars anyway?

I love carrots.

I follow Nigellas advice and only have one kind of anything in the house. So I have one pack of SR flour and don't buy any other kinds, I have caster sugar and no granulated (or occasionally good brown sugar but again, no other kind), one kind of pasta (plus lasagne to be fair). Cheap table salt, no posh rock salt etc etc.

Spices from a big ethnic supermarket in the nearby city - tonnes cheaper and I grow herbs.

And I freeze every scrap of leftovers or odd bits and pieces. They all come in useful somewhere - although to make that work you have to have weeks where you only eat out of the freezer to use everything up!