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!

No a pizza from the supermarket no matter how posh, is still a pre made meal.
As is a marinated fish.

I wouldn’t make pizza from scratch. But I will take a pre made base and add toppings. Or will just order pizza. I think what we don’t tend to do is use microwaveable food which is actually not that easy to find in the continental US anyway. Yes you get plenty of pizzas but generally if we want pizzas we order in.

This is also sometimes cuisine specific. Indian food can be (not every day cooking) laborious. There is no quick way to make an authentic biriyani for instance. Which is why it’s not an every day meal.

Some of this comes down to what is available. When I was growing up in India most pre prepared substitutes were not available. Microwaved food is not that common in the US- but cheap not very nutritious food is easily available. Will I use some passata in a curry instead of fresh tomatoes? Yes sometimes I will. But when I say cooking from scratch I mean that the bulk of a dish- chopping the onion, garlic, the spices or other condiments, the actual cooking of the main ingredients, the seasoning, everything is mine.

There's a mix in my friendship group. Some always cook from scratch, some always convenience and some a bit of both. For me, I wouldn't cook from scratch if I'd been at work all day.

I have one friend who always cooks from scratch but her food is horrible. No one wants to offend though, every now and then people will say "ooh shall we get a takeout to save you from cooking?!"

In my experience, my friends who are cooking all the time tend to be overweight. Those that favour convenience tend to be a healthier weight.

What do you mean by “from a packet” OP? To me that is a sachet of something like Knorr cook in sauce, powder that you add water to in order to make “chasseur” or something. But packet sauces do actually involve a degree of “from scratch” cooking of the meat. I would not describe something like a good quality lasagne or fish pie (eg Charlie Brigham) as being “from a packet”. I can cook, and if I was having people round specifically for dinner, the food would be part of the occasion. On the other hand, if someone was coming to mine for another reason, let’s say a book club, or to plan some parents’ association event or something, I might well offer to provide dinner but mention in advance that it would be a supermarket lasagne or pizza. was having people round and was planning to serve something. For family food we often get meal boxes which are cooking from scratch in that all the ingredients are uncooked and unprepared, but they are pre-organised. Some purist “from scratchers” might frown up on that.

I sometimes serve half and half- the other day I did pork schnitzel and green beans from scratch (though didn’t make my own breadcrumbs) but I served it with ready-made dauphinoise. Don’t most people do that sort of thing?

Is dried pasta with a sauce based on tinned tomatoes and high quality jarred peppers and anchovies “from scratch” or from “a packet”?

I cook from scratch and so do a lot of my friends. My lovely goddaughter got me the National Trust Puddings Cookbook for Christmas... I'm very excited to make some puds from it.

and if I was having people round specifically for dinner, the food would be part of the occasion.

That was what I asserting to say earlier but made a bad job of it.

But Charlie Bingham if I am not mistaken is pre prepared and you bung it in the oven?
I don’t see how that’s not convenience food?

The sauce that’s pre prepared with jarred ingredients is an interesting one. Because it involves you having to put the ingredients together to make sure it tastes ok- aka too much of the anchovies will make it salty etc, then I would say that’s not convenience food in the same way Charlie Bingham is.

I cook from scratch for meals but a buffet style nibbles I would often buy M&S apart from a few dips I would do myself.

As for home cooked food been more pretentious, I would certainly not say that. If any thing pre cooked food which is far more expensive is.

It's simply far more healthy and better for your wallet and the planet.

My friends and family all cook, yes. (I don’t think of it as ‘from scratch’, though. It’s just cooking.)

I do recognise the ‘being seen as pretentious’ thing, though. Work events where you bring a dish, or a cake for a sale, are often times when people have made remarks about me showing off, or trying too hard, or wanting to show them up. It never occurred to me!

Me and my husband both cook from scratch a lot. There are no decent takeaways at all that deliver to us so we would rather have beans and egg on toast than eat the rubbish local takeaways serve.

But Charlie Bingham if I am not mistaken is pre prepared and you bung it in the oven?*
I don’t see how that’s not convenience food? *

I didn’t say it wasn’t convenience food @LuchiMangsho. I asked whether OP would include it in her definition of “from a packet”.

Everything me and DP eat is made from scratch apart from the occasional takeaway. We never eat ready meals. If I invited friends over for dinner it would be made from scratch. However if I was to put on a buffet this would be the only exception as I’d only be likely to do this if the group was very big.

I love hosting and having to cook/bake lots of different things would take the fun out of it. We also know loads of fussy eaters so it’s easier to buy a variety in than make multiple different dishes.

Quote fail there.

But Charlie Bingham if I am not mistaken is pre prepared and you bung it in the oven?
I don’t see how that’s not convenience food?

was quoting @LuchiMangsho.

You seem to be suggesting that there are only two categories of food - fully prepared from scratch and ready meals. Those are the two ends of a large spectrum of food.

That's the complete opposite of what I'm suggesting - maybe I didn't word it right @SirensofTitan

I'm saying that PP's wouldn't consider a pizza from the supermarket chillers to be cooking from scratch, whereas I wouldn't consider it a ready meal (in the most basic sense) - so what would you call it?

To me, it's perfectly acceptable to serve food like that, or fresh soup, or fresh filled pasta to guests in your house, but PP said it would be weird insulting to serve anything that wasn't cooked from scratch.

So if food like that isn't a ready meal, but isn't cooked from scratch, what would you call it? And is it insulting to be served it at a dinner party?

@FreeBritnee

Is this thread a script from a Catherine Tate sketch?

@FreeBritnee right? The poster saying that her mates make their own cheese has got to be there to see who’s paying attention, right?

May be your circle of friends just not into cooking, just tell them you love cooking, it is your hobby, be humble about it instead of see it as a show off?

@WorraLiberty

We tend to mix it up anyway. Sometimes we cook from scratch and sometimes we don't.

As long as everyone enjoys what they're eating and no-one's martyred themselves, there's no issue.

this.

@icedcoffees

You seem to be suggesting that there are only two categories of food - fully prepared from scratch and ready meals. Those are the two ends of a large spectrum of food.

That's the complete opposite of what I'm suggesting - maybe I didn't word it right @SirensofTitan

I'm saying that PP's wouldn't consider a pizza from the supermarket chillers to be cooking from scratch, whereas I wouldn't consider it a ready meal (in the most basic sense) - so what would you call it?

To me, it's perfectly acceptable to serve food like that, or fresh soup, or fresh filled pasta to guests in your house, but PP said it would be weird insulting to serve anything that wasn't cooked from scratch.

So if food like that isn't a ready meal, but isn't cooked from scratch, what would you call it? And is it insulting to be served it at a dinner party?

I think we are agreeing

I don't have a name for the inbetween type of food, I just call it cooking

I don't really understand how serving any kind of food would be insulting, if a guest was insultated I'd say it says more about them than the host. Who is so up themselves to see that as an insult?

A combination.
If I was making a meal for people it would mostly be from scratch but if I was having people over of drinks a nibbles it would likely be something like shop bought dips, olives, cheeses, salads etc. my friends and family do the same although some do more cooking than others.

Yeah, I think we're saying the same thing too

Frankly, I'm too lazy to cook from scratch all the time and I'm more than happy to have oven pizza and pre-made tortellini for dinner, lol.

I find these threads a bit baffling.
How many people really make their own cheese, 'simple' or otherwise and why would you when there are so many excellent cheeses available which you can't
make at home.
As several other pps have said there are a whole range of options available in between making your own pasta and buying things in plastic trays.
I cook properly at the weekends when I have time, during the week I 'assemble'. eg a bought fish cake, pizza, gammon steak served with veg or a salad, sometimes baked spud with cheese and beans. My local butcher makes their own burgers and sausages, we have a bakery who do excellent bread. I don't see buying from them is anymore virtuous than making it myself.
I'm the first to admit I'm not exactly a gourmet cook but I'm not feeding us a rubbish either

I try this give people what they like. If it's from packs I think of it as a day off chopping and cooking. Supermarket pizza is my go to 😂.

Yes, most people I know cook mainly from scratch and definitely would if inviting people round to eat!

We generally home cook/cook from scratch but the spectrum will vary depending on what it is we're cooking.

Pasta for example 9/10 we'll use packet pasta and make a sauce - however, we will make our own pasta on occasion - particularly ravioli (I say we, but pasta is DH's domain). Pizza, the ratio is reversed - normally I'd make bases and tomato topping but occasionally we'll order in. Curry we tend to do from scratch (including once making our own paneer but wouldn't make chapatis/naans to accompany (although I am on a life's mission to crack making my own parathas).
I have a mental block with pastry so tend not to eat things like quiche as I prefer the taste of a homemade one but not the angst it produces in me!

I have a veg box delivered each week and that helps me be a bit more creative with what I'm cooking (and try to move to more vegetarian led diet) and will be almost always from scratch.

Our use of ready meals/frozen meals like fish fingers did increase over the past 18 months or so as DD has an eating disorder and for a while her poor ravaged brain would only let her eat if we knew the exact calories (even if she didn't know). Likewise, we had to buy lots more high calorie snacks and puddings - I did wonder whether I was silently being judged in the supermarket for my trolly full of processed food choices, crisps, ice cream etc

I cook most things from scratch (including pastry, bread, etc) but I know I'm not typical, most people I know can cook but will use some processed things.