To get annoyed when people parrot that it's always cheaper to cook from scratch?

[Katypp]

Caveats: Home made food is usually:
A. Nicer
B. More nutritious
C: Made with proper ingredients that you can control
D: More filling
E: Not made with fillers, starch etc

But it's not always cheaper!

Time after time, when people post about food costs, the trope is always make it yourself, you'll save money. This post is in frustration after yet again, someone tripped it out on a budgeting forum. Someone commented that Tesco budget hummous is quite nice, to be told, as always, you can make it cheaper yourself.
You can't. Eastman's hummous 69p

Tesco chickpeas 60p + lemon 30p = 90p and that's before you add olive oil and tahini.

Yes I know you can soak your own chickpeas and buy in bulk at an Asian grocer etc, but that level of organisation for most people is beyond the effort of just picking up a tub on the weekly shop.

For the record, I am a very keen home cook and have also run a food business and written about food in the past. I enjoy cooking, but I am sick of people trotting out this line without thinking about it, especially on budgeting and money-saving forums.

What does 'cook from scratch' even mean? I rarely buy ready meals but I buy curry paste, mayonnaise, pesto, bread, pasta. Does cooking from scratch mean even making your own pasta from flour and eggs?

Veg boxes worked really well for me for a few months as they got me trying all sorts of vegetables I would never have touched before. And got me a bit more Dadventurous before then getting the much cheaper stuff in supermarkets.

Love your comment about their accompanying cv 🤣

Cook from scratch Most people mean cook with ingredients as opposed to shop bought
so ragu pasta sauce would be tomatoes,onion,garlic,oil,basil,rosemary . Add optional ingredients if you like them eg olives, peppers,mushroom

I make Flat breads, and roti they are really quick and simple
Scotch pancakes also v quick

preference , ability and what you have to hand is your guide

I agree , no it isn't always cheaper but I also do it because I enjoy it as a hobby . Always liked the homesteader / healthier lifestyle and yes you do have to be able to afford it .

Apples and oranges are both fruit (as home made and shop bought are both breads)

Far more now the important distinction is less whether you/I made it at home and more whether it is food made from ingredients we would routinely identify as 'normal food' rather than chemical ingredients or uses complex industrial processes.

Dried pasta and curry paste are usually pretty ordinary, bread/pesto/mayo varies brand to brand. What matters really is healthiness.

Frozen pizza and frozen chips is cheap and I can guarantee the kids will eat it.

Homemade général tao chicken with loads of veg? Barely touched

Pick your battles

Even my arab spouse doesn't make his own hummus. No need for the performance when you can find perfectly good one in shops
I agree, I’ve spent years in the ME and things like hummus, baklava , are quite difficult to master by most Arabs , yet here everyone seem to find them so easy.

Cook from scratch Most people mean cook with ingredients as opposed to shop bought

Yes but how far do you take it.

Do you make your own pasta? Bread? Do canned pulses count or do you have to soak dried ones for hours for it to count as "from scratch"? What about condiments? I might cook roast pork...meat, potatoes, veg...all from scratch but the apple sauce is from a jar. I doubt many people cook completely from scratch..

Most of us do a mixture don't we? So I might give my kids chicken nuggets for tea, but I will steam some broccoli and potatoes to go alongside. I might grill them a chicken breast but serve with oven chips.

@Katypp i haven’t advised people to check their privilege or called them deluded if they don’t agree with me or my posts. You just want to be praised and congratulated on your own thread.

Take it as far (as you put it) as you want. Do what works, what suits your ability and budget. It’s not a test of your moral character or resilience it’s simply being able to cook with the ingredients that you have. Making a meal. The from scratch is generally understood to be use ingredients to make a meal,as opposed to reheat a prepared shop bought meal

I'm just pondering really...but like I said, most of us are somewhere in the middle aren't we?

I don't make my own bread...i don't make pasta from scratch. I sometimes used jarred sauces, I sometimes make my own.

@Zone2NorthLondon maybe not, but I haven't been patting myself on the back at how effecient I am either. Let's give up this conversation now, shall we?

Of course most folk are using tinned, frozen and fresh to prepare food. Makes things easier
i don’t anticipate someone routinely making pasta for example. I imagine dried or fresh shop bought if they’re feeling fancy

I’m not compelled to check my
privilege
delusions
or change topics at your request @katy

Yes this is my experience as well. And greengrocers who offer their regular customers short dated produce for free.

@Zone2NorthLondon whatever.
You're determined to have an argument with me, aren't you you? Do what you like.

yes I’ve had that, buying items and get the just on date for free. It’s a nice touch
and obviously everyone knows about the yellow sticker reductions in stores and the discount bread in the evening

What’s the obsession with houmous? I wouldn’t bother to make that from scratch…

Stews, Chilli, curries, casseroles - YABU initial cost might be high but the amount of food you’ll make/ herbs last ages!

Complicated stuff YANBU

It would be interesting to think about demand for a home cooking starter kit, for repeat food bank users in the right circumstances. A large bottle of cooking oil, salt, pepper, vinegar, a couple of spices, oatmeal, milk powder, sugar, flour, red lentils, stock, cocoa powder - would that kind of thing have helped people in difficult circumstances? Trying to stick with things that could be useful without two much energy consumption

I have never been able to make halfway decent hummus. I make myself eat it all up as I feel a bit ashamed at the waste.

Hummus isn’t the benchmark of cooking from scratch, it’s nice and all, other foods are available too

It's the ice which makes difference apparently. We can't be arsed and just buy it.

Tsk though at no one doing their own sauerkraut. Cooking from scratch you are not people 😂

But in the context of this thread, ‘pinch’ is a way of suggesting something costs nothing whereas a ‘pinch’ of something you don’t have still costs as much as a full sized quantity. Agree though - it’s helpful in the context of a recipe!