To think that cooking from scratch is becoming more and more unsustainable?

[AlternativePerspective]

I have always cooked from scratch, and I will be the first to admit that cooking from scratch has always been more expensive than buying e.g. jar sauces etc. However as things currently stand food prices are going up so much that cooking from scratch is becoming more and more unsustainable for many people who are struggling to make ends meet.

And in an era where we’re being told to live healthily, to cut out additives where possible, and to use the healthiest ingredients, while this has always been hard to sustain, right now for many it’s unsustainable from a financial perspective, and people are going to be forced to eat jar sauces, ready meals and various other foods with additives they didn’t want or need.

I’ve just cancelled my milkman because I can no longer justify spending the money, and it’s going to take a lot before I will ever eat ready meals or cook from a jar. But compromises are going to have to be made, and in many instances for some people, it’s not going to be possible to compromise.

Or in the case of rooms with shared kitchens, or insecure room locks, others who will not think twice about helping themselves to any food stash you try to accumulate

The town I live in has no cheap supermarkets but there are nearby towns that have Aldi/Lidl, markets and Asian grocers that would all be cheaper. However it would cost at least £4 on the bus or £3 on the train (plus walking to those places from station or bus station) so if you are short on money or time (or both) then you may well end up buying the smallest/cheapest items in the co-op, which won't be anything like as good value.

When I was growing up there weren’t really any ready meals available anyway so no matter how poor you were you had to cook pretty from scratch. Not counting supermarket pies and ready made sausages the only ready meal I ever remember as a kid were those Vesta dried curries in a box, I had about two in my entire life. We never had takeaways (too expensive) and very rarely ate out. We were a typical 1970s working class family and every day we had home cooked meals. It’s only because there is so much junk and ready meals available now that some people forget there were times when they barely existed.

We were a typical 1970s working class family and every day we had home cooked meals. It’s only because there is so much junk and ready meals available now that some people forget there were times when they barely existed.

I imagine a typical WC family in the 70s had dad working full time and mum at home full time or working part time for 'pin money'. So mum usually had time to cook and probably local shops.

I remember an ASDA opening up in the next town and running a free bus from our town, that would be late 70s early 80s.

There were some ready meals, although I think they were mainly M and S and OK the take aways would be fish and chips and Chinese if you were lucky.

But modern life is different. More single parents, most families with 2 parents have both working. Children do not all attend their local school and many have sports or clubs after, life is so much busier now.

No, both parents worked full time but in low paid jobs. We were ‘latch key’ kids 🙂

I imagine a typical WC family in the 70s had dad working full time and mum at home full time or working part time for 'pin money'. So mum usually had time to cook and probably local shops.

there weren’t ready meals or snacking like today, it was invented to take people away from cooking and make money - this has been a success

Food tastes were much simpler, chops and vegetables with potatoes, fish and potatoes, simple meals that were easy to prepare.
england eas much of a laughing stock regarding our culinary skills as it was so unrefined. Bread and butter with most meals past birmingham.

yes cottage pie and hot pot have been made into ready meals but much of our 1970s style menu has been left behind in exchange for other cuisine
the ready meal market hasn’t made its money on ready cooked •meat and two veg•

And did you walk to school 40 miles in the snow barefoot after going to sleep before you got up having been thrashed and you were grateful 🙄

Christ what’s with the shitty response. No wonder MN has such a bad reputation.

@Nothappyatwork from someone who DID actually grow up in not quite as dramatic circumstances as you no doubt jokingly describe, i didnt have to walk 40 miles in snow with holes in shoes, just 4, that comment is totally unneccesary and a little bit mean. OP was describing what she remembers from growing up is all

latch key children was a thing of the 70s as I remember them, and it wasn't surely considered a hardship but a right of passage

It was funny on Monty Python but just came across as snide here, especially with the roll eyes emoji. Some posters have an ability to leave a nasty taste in your mouth. As a relative newcomer to MN (a few weeks/months) I am learning that it can be a bit 🙇‍♀️at times 😄

@BellePeppa - don’t expect it to be sweet and lovely on this board in particular! People pop over with their claws sharpened 😂

I know which I’d prefer to eat though!

I don’t want 20:fucking portions

Then don't make 20 fucking portions! But shut up whining about how you can't cook home made as cheaply as ready made, when you actually mean you don't want to.

It's not hard. If you think, budget, and put time and effort in, you can cook healthy homemade food for less money than ready made stuff. That's a fact.

You don't have to. Nobody is making you and and no-one cares what you do. But stop claiming it's not possible just because you personally can't or won't do it.

I think there are some things that don't suit being batch cooked. Paella is one of them (and most rice dishes really). So yes, it's expensive to make if you're making it for two or even four.

I think a previous poster hit the nail on the head when talking about home cooking being simple meat and two veg in the past. These days ready meals are based on dishes from around the world. We expect to have a very varied diet and that's where it's more expensive to cook from scratch than buy pre made.

One of the exceptions I've found is Chinese food. I'm a vegetarian which helps but after splashing out on sesame oil (£1.90) and mushroom stir fry sauce (£3), light and dark soy sauce (45p each). I can make egg fried rice and vegetable chow mein for very very little. I use Kwoklyn Wan's Chinese takeaway book and so many of the recipes use the same handful of pantry ingredients.

You want to have your cake and eat it. So to speak.
Those on low incomes would like to buy "a meal for 4" not "paella that tastes authentic".

Out of interest I've just priced up the carrot cake I've made today v. Morrisons carrot cake
Mine was £2.44 for ingredients (including all the spices, bicarbonate etc)
Morrisons is £2.45
Yes I need to add power to that however my cake is 2&1/2 times the size of the Morrisons one.

Home baking tends to only work in economies of scale - I can afford to have a store cupboard that I use ingredients over and over again from which makes them cheap - if I just had to buy them for a recipe they would work out more and uneconomical.

Homemade cakes are often bigger and more generous than supermarket offerings.

Is your time worth nothing, Wonky?

It is developing a skill and cooking can be relaxing

I like baking if I'm in the mood

Which is only a good thing if you need a massive cake. If you don't it's both a waste of money and a waste of food.

To make a smaller one makes it less economical because of the fuel & wasted ingredients.

We don't need to fill up on great wodges of cake like we did in years passed. We're not on Kirrin Island and we've easier access to different foods than we had years ago.

And i don't need to be eating up a massive cake every day for a week and neither do my kids! Which makes the baking aspect of cooking from scratch for budgetary reasons a bit out of place.

I say this as someone who enjoys being in the kitchen. Baking cakes is a luxury and no amount of costing out the ingredients changes that.

LOl Kirrin Island

Lashings,of ginger beer too😀

Or just buy a tin of bins for 22p.

@Sleepingb I made a big cake because I needed a big cake for a party but if I wanted to make a smaller one I could have easily and without waste and it would have cost me less.
But as I said it only becomes economical if you can afford to have a stocked cupboard and use it over time. As with lots of things in life unfortunately you have to have money in order to save money.

But the difference is that your brownies sound delicious and Cadbury's mini rolls are revolting!

Personally, I would prefer to have a decent cake once every 5 weeks rather than a pack of mini rolls every week.