Do your "people" cook from scratch?

[JohnSmithDrive]

My mum did and I do mostly. If I have people round for a buffet, things like quiche and sausage rolls, cake are homemade. If it's for dinner it won't be particularly exciting, but I'd do a homemade chilli or lasagne, something easy to prep ahead and feed lots of people..

Among my friends no one cooks, to the extent that it feels pretentious to do so. They are all generous hosts, but everything will be from a packet or they'll suggest takeaway pizza or similar.

I worry that my cooking seems like showing off and also (sometimes) wonder why I bother!

@EatSleepRantRepeat
Drink in moderation like at Xmas (A Hoxtons gin or something).
Unlike the bro in law who necks a bottle of Captain Morgans in 2hrs along with 15 beers.
The odd, bottle of Belgian beer is more my tipple, and maybe a Barolo occasionally.
Savor it not devour (Unless it's sex).
I'm not a shift worker, I manage a business from home, that way I can see my kids a week on week off and be involved in their lives.

@HaveringWavering
I have considered your points, you're trying to persuade me ready meals are healthy, I don't believe they are. The sugar is listed separately from the carbs for instance.
They're a poor substitute for the real deal.

When I was a young boy, I couldn't wait to make scones and get all that sticky mix everywhere.

Whether a home cooked meal takes 30 min to make very much depends on whose definition of home cooked on this thread we’re using. If we’ve all got to make our own bread and stock and tinned tomatoes are a no go then most of what I previously considered to be home cooked meals are going to take considerably longer!

@icedcoffees

If it's possible to do that with the fancier meals of the year, it definitely is for the less complicated, weekly variety. There are very, very few people who do not have 30min during the day to prepare food.

But it's not just time. You're also missing the fact that to cook meals like that in 30-40 minutes takes an element of skill. It also requires the right equipment and the knowledge to put everything together in a way that will taste nice and please the entire family.

Also, not everyone WANTS to spend 30-40 minutes preparing and cooking dinner. They're tired, they have children to put to bed, they have other responsibilities or they just can't be bothered. It's not some kind of moral failing to not want to cook from scratch every night.

I've not described it as a moral failing. I have clearly said it's not a matter of "time", but different priorities - I did not include any judgement on this.

Yes, cooking meals takes an element of skill. You develop that over time - I involve my children in cooking from a very young age and also show them how to use recipes. I learned very little from my mother, but often had to fend for myself food-wise as a teen. There are also plenty of student cook books which have whole chapters dedicated to stuff you can cook or prepare with very little equipment. There simply is no decent excuse not to cook from scratch unless there is some sort of disability preventing this. There is, however, the statement of "don't want to"/ "Can't be bothered" - which is fine, but don't dress it up as something that actually prevents cooking. 30min a day is no big stretch, even for the busiest of people - and I say that as someone who works 12-14h a day weekdays, with children (single mother), and who has to complete additional work and all housework over the weekend.

And putting children to bed while cooking is something I will never understand. Children and adults eat the same here, at the same time.

@Finfintytint

I cook from scratch. I try not to buy heavily processed food. My colleagues think I am weird. They rely on ready meals and takeaways. They are overweight but don’t see the connection with the type of food they choose to eat and their weight.

I cook from scratch and I'm fat so I'm not sure what your point is

There simply is no decent excuse not to cook from scratch unless there is some sort of disability preventing this. There is, however, the statement of "don't want to"/ "Can't be bothered" - which is fine, but don't dress it up as something that actually prevents cooking. 30min a day is no big stretch, even for the busiest of people - and I say that as someone who works 12-14h a day weekdays, with children (single mother), and who has to complete additional work and all housework over the weekend.

Well, that's your opinion - it's not a fact by any stretch of the imagination.

Disability isn't the only thing that could prevent someone from cooking from scratch and it's pretty ignorant to say so IMO. There are so many other factors too - and yes, time is one of them. Just because you can manage it, doesn't mean everyone else can as well.

Other factors could include:

• Lack of knowledge - yes, you learn over time but many families can't afford to make mistakes and risk cooking a meal that's inedible or that half of the family won't or can't eat.
• Children with ASD or other issues.
• Lack of equipment - many families don't have ovens or big freezers and fridges in which to store loads of ingredients.
• Lack of money and choice with regards to where you shop. Not everyone has access to an ALDI or LIDL or online shopping.

@taybert

Whether a home cooked meal takes 30 min to make very much depends on whose definition of home cooked on this thread we’re using. If we’ve all got to make our own bread and stock and tinned tomatoes are a no go then most of what I previously considered to be home cooked meals are going to take considerably longer!

Don’t forget, making your own pasta is dead easy.

There are so many other factors too - and yes, time is one of them. Just because you can manage it, doesn't mean everyone else can as well.
Are you honestly telling me there are people who cannot spare 30min in a day? Less, with a bit of thought?

- Lack of knowledge - yes, you learn over time but many families can't afford to make mistakes and risk cooking a meal that's inedible or that half of the family won't or can't eat.
That's what recipes are for. Plenty of free recipes around for any budget, for all kinds of familiar or new foods. There are even websites dedicated to inputting ingredients and it will come up with possible food combinations.

Children with ASD or other issues.
Do not prevent cooking.

Lack of equipment - many families don't have ovens or big freezers and fridges in which to store loads of ingredients.
As above, not needed. Besides, plenty of ready meals come in huge boxes, too - and if there is no fridge/ freezer storage, that goes back to my earlier point about daily shopping and directly contradicts the one about "just popping to the freezer".

Lack of money
Cooking from scratch is cheaper than buying ready-made. It also is proven to fill you up for longer and therefore actually makes meals stretch longer before you are hungry again.

and choice with regards to where you shop. Not everyone has access to an ALDI or LIDL or online shopping.
Did I mention a need to do this? ALDI and LIDL are not the only shops that sell fresh food, and in fact often sell less variety than Asian markets/ corner shops in any of the poor areas I used to live in. Those also sell huge quantities compared to supermarkets. And even corner shops stock fresh.

And yes, for a healthy person it is perfectly possible to walk a bit carrying a few bags of shopping. Goodness knows I've done it long enough.

@RampantIvy

I would have thought that it's pretty difficult to remove a lasagne in one piece from a plastic container and transfer it to a ceramic dish to make it look home made.

If we have guests for dinner I wouldn't just plonk lasagne on the plate in the kitchen. I would bring it out in the dish I had cooked it in. Doesn't everyone?

Clearly not 😂 shock horror not 'everyone' does things the same. I have a small kitchen and no dining room so serve up in there and bring it out to anyone I have over. You're just coming across more and more like a pretentious nob

@WellBuggerMeSideways

There are so many other factors too - and yes, time is one of them. Just because you can manage it, doesn't mean everyone else can as well. Are you honestly telling me there are people who cannot spare 30min in a day? Less, with a bit of thought?

- Lack of knowledge - yes, you learn over time but many families can't afford to make mistakes and risk cooking a meal that's inedible or that half of the family won't or can't eat.
That's what recipes are for. Plenty of free recipes around for any budget, for all kinds of familiar or new foods. There are even websites dedicated to inputting ingredients and it will come up with possible food combinations.

Children with ASD or other issues.
Do not prevent cooking.

Lack of equipment - many families don't have ovens or big freezers and fridges in which to store loads of ingredients.
As above, not needed. Besides, plenty of ready meals come in huge boxes, too - and if there is no fridge/ freezer storage, that goes back to my earlier point about daily shopping and directly contradicts the one about "just popping to the freezer".

Lack of money
Cooking from scratch is cheaper than buying ready-made. It also is proven to fill you up for longer and therefore actually makes meals stretch longer before you are hungry again.

and choice with regards to where you shop. Not everyone has access to an ALDI or LIDL or online shopping.
Did I mention a need to do this? ALDI and LIDL are not the only shops that sell fresh food, and in fact often sell less variety than Asian markets/ corner shops in any of the poor areas I used to live in. Those also sell huge quantities compared to supermarkets. And even corner shops stock fresh.

And yes, for a healthy person it is perfectly possible to walk a bit carrying a few bags of shopping. Goodness knows I've done it long enough.

Are you honestly telling me there are people who cannot spare 30min in a day? Less, with a bit of thought?

Yes, because many people don't have the skill, knowledge or equipment to cook a meal for a family in 30 minutes.

Children with ASD or other issues.
Do not prevent cooking.

No, but if you have a child who will only eat one brand of food, your wholesome homemade version won't cut it.

Your ignorance is showing and you clearly have absolutely no idea how some people live their lives.

Yes most of the time

Cooking from scratch is cheaper than buying ready-made. It also is proven to fill you up for longer and therefore actually makes meals stretch longer before you are hungry again.

Yes, but again, you need the skills to be able to cook from scratch in the first place...not everyone has them.

Did I mention a need to do this? ALDI and LIDL are not the only shops that sell fresh food, and in fact often sell less variety than Asian markets/ corner shops in any of the poor areas I used to live in. Those also sell huge quantities compared to supermarkets. And even corner shops stock fresh

I live rurally. We have no Asian markets, no independent corner shops. Yes, the SPAR sells fresh but it's 3-4x the price of ALDI and LIDL...

And yes, for a healthy person it is perfectly possible to walk a bit carrying a few bags of shopping. Goodness knows I've done it long enough.

How far are we talking? For many people, their nearest supermarket is several miles away along country roads, or up a steep hill etc.

Not everyone lives the way you do!

Yes, because many people don't have the skill, knowledge or equipment to cook a meal for a family in 30 minutes.
And people are incapable of acquiring said skills/ knowledge how? Lack of skill/ knowledge does NOT prevent someone picking up a recipe. As for equipment - for a wholesome meal, a chopping board (and maybe even) a single hob/ microwave are enough. Again, student recipes are the answer.

No, but if you have a child who will only eat one brand of food, your wholesome homemade version won't cut it.
But why do they eat said brand? Because they've been introduced to it. Children raised on homecooked food don't have those "brand" issues.

Plus, it's a myth it's actually as simple as that. I have worked with people with severe sensory/ food issues and have found ways around their insistence on ready meals.Their palate may be limited, but not resistant to actual cooking. It just takes a combination of textures and flavours, and dieticians can help with that for families which are struggling.

Your ignorance is showing and you clearly have absolutely no idea how some people live their lives.
I have lived in one of the poorest districts of a city on less than £10 a week to feed myself and my first child, with only a floor to prepare food on (at first) and a hob which only had one functioning gas ring. On a pre-paid meter and occasionally I had to go without heating food.

I have lived in dire poverty. I have lived next to families in dire poverty. One thing I did notice is that in the cultures I was surrounded by, even in the poorest of circumstances, food was cooked from scratch.

You are trying to tell me I have no idea - you are wrong. But there is a huge culture of making excuses not to learn something or adapt in this country and it saddens me.

I live rurally. We have no Asian markets, no independent corner shops. Yes, the SPAR sells fresh but it's 3-4x the price of ALDI and LIDL...
And that will be the same for ready meals. And let's not even talk about the mark-up on take-aways.

*How far are we talking? For many people, their nearest supermarket is several miles away along country roads, or up a steep hill etc.

Not everyone lives the way you do!*

I can only speak for England, but those in dire poverty don't tend to live in the countryside. If you live there, you have made that choice - there are no cheap flats or council houses in any of the countryside areas I have lived in and visited - they all were in town and city centres, or on the outskirts - with still plenty of corner shops etc. available.

And I have to walk over a mile to the nearest Spar. I don't usually, these days, because my finances have improved and I can drive now.

But do not patronise me by telling me I have no idea. That tends to come from middle class women on here who actually don't know anything about real poverty, other than what they see on highly edited TV.

I can cook from scratch, but most of the time I don't for the simple reason that I can't be arsed because it bores me.

If you live there, you have made that choice - there are no cheap flats or council houses in any of the countryside areas I have lived in and visited

Then you clearly haven't visited the village I live in. Roughly 30% of properties are owned by the local HA. I know this because I live in one of them, as did my parents.

Then you clearly haven't visited the village I live in. Roughly 30% of properties are owned by the local HA. I know this because I live in one of them, as did my parents.

So, a village, then. I assume with at least one shop. In walking distance, as villages and most smaller towns can be walked through within an hour.

And if it's more than that, extortionate delivery prices for fast food or the need to travel elsewhere that sells food, which negates the "nowhere to buy fresh" argument.

Stop making excuses.

@trappedsincesundaymorn

I can cook from scratch, but most of the time I don't for the simple reason that I can't be arsed because it bores me.

And that is an answer I have respect for. Because it's honest, not trying to make it out like there is something preventing people from doing now what humans have done for millenia, well before the advent of ready-made anything.

I can only speak for England, but those in dire poverty don't tend to live in the countryside. If you live there, you have made that choice - there are no cheap flats or council houses in any of the countryside areas I have lived in and visited - they all were in town and city centres, or on the outskirts - with still plenty of corner shops etc. available.

Nonsense. Have you never heard of rural poverty before?

People live where they were born and where all the previous generations of their family lived and died. Escaping the poverty cycle isn't easy without access to good education and lots of opportunity.

And I have to walk over a mile to the nearest Spar. I don't usually, these days, because my finances have improved and I can drive now.

And yet plenty of people live 20+ miles away from their nearest supermarket. If you live within walking distance of a shop, you're pretty fortunate, really.

But why do they eat said brand? Because they've been introduced to it. Children raised on homecooked food don't have those "brand" issues.

So you don't buy bread or butter or milk or baked beans, or any branded foods whatsoever? You make it all from scratch?

I refer you to my point above.

@WellBuggerMeSideways

Then you clearly haven't visited the village I live in. Roughly 30% of properties are owned by the local HA. I know this because I live in one of them, as did my parents.

So, a village, then. I assume with at least one shop. In walking distance, as villages and most smaller towns can be walked through within an hour.

And if it's more than that, extortionate delivery prices for fast food or the need to travel elsewhere that sells food, which negates the "nowhere to buy fresh" argument.

Stop making excuses.

Well you assume wrong. As for making excuses, well no I wasn't. As I said upthread I can cook from scratch, but I find it boring so can't be bothered most of the time.

@icedcoffees

But why do they eat said brand? Because they've been introduced to it. Children raised on homecooked food don't have those "brand" issues.

So you don't buy bread or butter or milk or baked beans, or any branded foods whatsoever? You make it all from scratch?

Of course I buy that. They are base ingredients and have nothing to do with the point I made - children raised on base ingredients will know different flavours of food created from those. I don't buy baked beans, because I can't stand them.

I don't buy ready-made (as in, processed beyond base ingredient), apart from bread and flavoured yoghurt, unless for a special occasion.

Well you assume wrong. As for making excuses, well no I wasn't. As I said upthread I can cook from scratch, but I find it boring so can't be bothered most of the time.

No shop? Then I refer you to my second point, which you ignored.

Also, I did say I respected honesty to say you can't be bothered. I just don't like people making silly excuses for why they "can't" do something so basic.