Most people make terrible food and can't actually cook.

[ImNotEntirelySureAboutThat]

They can't.

I read such horrors on food threads.

Either courgettes and mushrooms mixed in a worthy mushy horror.

OR jars, and packets.

Horrible. So. Much. Horrible. Foood.

Surely a lot of this is historic? Have you tried eating seasonal locally grown food all winter in the U.K.? It’s not that easy!

Sure if you can import stuff or have a glass house, things improve, but for Everyman, or Everywoman, that’s not the case.

In today’s U.K. the range is amazing. Would I eat in Hungry Horse? No probably not. Is ‘Cook’ reheats the height of fancy dining? hmm not really. Am I a bit of a food snob? Yes. Can I afford to be? Yes, luckily for me!

I think other cultures celebrate food more.and accept it emotionally tied,but more often in good ways.they savour it. The uk and the us has gotten more and more fucked up with food policing,disordered eating is almost praised,and issues around good food bad foods is so pitvaleged and judgemental. Food has become an issue rather than a joy. And it’s more often than not now tied to weight and this weight = health bullshit.

Passata is just stained tomatoes.
Honestly chucking in a tin of tomatoes does not mean you cook it for hours.

Strained 😂

Well you can think what you like it doesn’t make it true 😂
there’s nothing wrong with using a jar if you like them and prefer to, but they are convenience and not cooking from scratch at all. It’s assembling a lasagne. Words mean things.
I never use jarred pasta sauce or bechamel as I don’t like the flavour. I do occasionally use jarred curry sauce as they’re convenient and tasty-even though u fry chicken and veg and cook rice, I’d never say I cooked it from scratch because it simply isn’t true.

To get the condensed flavour of a ragu sauce it is cooked for a long time.

Not following. That’s just not what the term means. ‘From scratch’ means you made it all ‘from scratch’. If you used readymade sauce from a jar, then you didn’t make it all and it’s not from scratch. Which isn’t to say there’s anything wrong with it or that you shouldn’t do it.

No no ,in your opinion.not cooking from scratch is a ready meal.and there is a big difference between a jar of curry sauce and a jar of dolmio to help make a lasagne. Curry sauce from scratch takes a whole lot more from cooking out the spices of which there are many you’d have to buy separately.to get an authentic curry sauce is different.you can’t compare that to a jar of tomato

Makes me wonder if the people raving about Cook are mostly the ones who don’t cook well hence the need to buy this range so anything half decent will seem ‘gorgeous’?

You may be right. I'm absolutely hopeless. But my current diet consists solely of chicken, eggs, cottage cheese, vegetables and Greek yoghurt. I can manage that, no sweat.

The upside is that everything cooked by someone else is better than what I can do. So when the restrictions are lifted, I can look forward to some good stuff 😁

I’m not interested in cooking - it’s just a meal but DH is a good cook and more importantly enjoys it. He also enjoys the COOK range. We’ve moved to one of the top foodie cities in the world now and we’re enjoying the different types of restaurants. We eat out more than in now.

Yes indeed, but hours? Plural?

No, not my opinion. It’s literally the dictionary definition. You’re wrong. Continue to enjoy your jar of domino lasagne but you look silly saying you’ve made it from scratch.

Wow ok.does doing that make you feel better? What is your aim for me to feel when you send me that?

I wondered that. I live the arse end of nowhere and am 20miles from the nearest (small)Tesco, but can get a huge range of artisanal cheeses, organic meats (including hogget and mutton) game, fish. Fruit and veg not so great but we grow our own or go to farmers' markets. Hard-to find ingredients online from Sous-chef and the likes. And I can cook. My whole family can cook. My friends can all cook.
Nobody seems to know what proper British food is. Does nobody cook from Jane Grigson or Darina Allen, Shaun Hill or the River Cottage books?
I've eaten fabulous meals in many places - Britain, France (though some bad ones too) Germany, Vienna - especially Vienna - Sweden, Beijing. But although there are great restaurants in Italy for sure, I've never managed to eat well in Italy. Complacent food.

Are you the person who nicked the rest of the paté I made, OP? I thought it was the dog. But it must have been you since you say you've eaten my food.....

But although there are great restaurants in Italy for sure, I've never managed to eat well in Italy

Then i suggest you go to San Cassiano, there is a mich * here but don't go there... instead a place right next to it.... a 1/3rd of the price and amazing food but fortunately no Dolmio.

The head waiter started his own place near Garda (i think) Panem.

Personally have France can be like the UK, beige food, usually fried, difficult to get good food at reasonable prices.

But we ve a local pub, where the guy can get a bit pissed but if you don't mind waiting an hour or more... (they ll bring you out something foc to nibble on) you'll get amazing food for less than 20 per head.

DimSum&GT I couldn’t bring myself to taste it ,they do a version sans fish head , but I think the image of a stargazy pie with fish heads poking out has ruined it for me,

I’m going to defend American food. It’s a massive country and there is some incredible food - often in any sense of the word. Hugely varied.

some of the best food we had was in places that are not too big with international tourists like Sag harbour, Millbrook and Charleston, in New York its really not that much different than London , same big restaurants , except pizza, New York pizza really is something else,

You’re the one who started with the generalising.

you do you. It’s not my problem if you don’t like what comes back at you.

Well... yea that's why it's... the average I think people need to go easy on poster it seems likely some special needs or disability are present. We're all different with different options, let's live and let live

Try throwing some celery, onions & carrot into a food processor. Make sure it’s finly chopped and fry then add your tomatoes or passata plus garlic, herbs ans spicees (and a splash of wine) cook for 30 minutes and you have ragu.
Doesn't take hours, but it's still a pain to make if you are short of time.

Sounds lovely and we do a variation of this often.celery is such a great ingredient for that added something when cooking.

Mirepoix or soffritto, if you’re Spanish you add peppers too

I didn’t realise the horror people cook at home until I attended a school Summer Fair and parents brought home cooked treats / desserts. What the hell??

What did they cook? What had you brought?

Please explain what nidderdale is? I don’t recall ever seeing this in supermarkets when I lived in the UK and it’s definitely not a thing where I live now!