Is “home cooking” becoming a luxury these days?

[PetsNPaws]

I was chatting with a friend the other day about how expensive cooking at home has become — not just food prices, but everything else too. Energy bills, cookware, ingredients that used to be cheap but now feel like treats. Even a simple pasta dish doesn’t feel “budget” anymore if you want decent olive oil and veg.
It used to be that eating out was the luxury and home cooking was the sensible, money-saving option. But now, between the cost of groceries and the time it takes (especially if you’re working full-time or have kids), I’m not sure that’s true anymore.
I genuinely enjoy cooking, but I’ve noticed I’m doing it less because I can’t justify the effort when it’s often cheaper or easier to grab something ready-made.
Has anyone else noticed this shift? Do you still find cooking from scratch worthwhile, or is it turning into something only people with time and money can afford to do properly?

When your child hits 12/13 you should be teaching them to cook though, and involving them before that.

I’m single (vegetarian) & I batch cook at weekends when I’ve got time, mainly using frozen instead of fresh veg, so I end up with a stack of home-cooked ready meals. I bought a couple of recipe books & try something different each time.
I’ve built up my store cupboard over time, mainly from my amazing Turkish grocery, & it now works out far cheaper than eating out would, plus I have a decent repertoire when hosting friends.
All that, though, comes with having the time to do it & a decent range of local shops.

Edited to add that it also probably helps that I only have to cook if I feel like it.

Our food expectations nowadays are vastly different to what they were in the past. We expect to eat unseasonably (asparagus in October being just one thing that’s been mentioned here) and daily animal protein and high levels of variety. All of this adds significant cost.
It does take a little time to learn what is cheaper and when, unless you learned that when young, also to maximise what you’re doing with your cooking, perhaps learning some base dishes that you can vary according to the day of the week and the time of year.
So I can see why you say what you say, but disagree.

Not at all. Dhand I homecook. Our bills have risen, but small amount.
But the swcond we touch something pre-made in shop... Different matter. The price of convenience has gone up considerably mote than ingredients from what we seen. It's really not cgeaper to grab something ready made in majority of cases.

I also do not understand the "if you work full time". Most world works ft and still manages to cook...

£2.50 for 250mls and it's delicious. Way tastier than more expensive olive oil.

I really really dislike ready meals. We tried a few of the posh kind when we had our house renovated and no kitchen and a couple of times I just gave up and didn't even eat dinner! It was wonderful for my waistline

But I do agree that food has become expensive - we are comfortably off and used to not even really look at the cost of food. Now, I can no longer just throw onto the order anything I fancy without the cost being truly excessive.

What I now do is quite consciously plan in a couple of cheaper meals every week - e.g. ministrone soup - and when I do get salmon which our kids love, it is bulked out with a lot of veg and a big tray bake to avoid them asking for two fillets each

I agree on the working ft and still cooking side of things.

It's really about priorities and habits.

It's important to me and I grew up in a household where it was the norm so it feels natural to make space for it.

For me - it's like brushing my teeth, I would never say it's just too busy to fit it in.

I guess the other thing is skill - I have cooked very day for years and years, I grew up helping my parents cook as well, I am very fast and I have lots of lots of dinners I can get on the table in 20 mins

Has anyone else noticed this shift? Do you still find cooking from scratch worthwhile, or is it turning into something only people with time and money can afford to do properly?

Are you writing an article by any chance?!

Honestly, my eyes couldn't have roll any further.

No, I haven't noticed this shift.
Yes, I do still find cooking from scratch worthwhile.
No, it's not turning into something only people with time and money can afford to do properly.

For example, Bang Bang Chicken for 4, shopping at asda:

Bang bang chicken kit - £2.48
600g chicken breasts - £4.38
3 pack of sweet peppers - £1.89
KTC 400g coconut milk - £0.98
Tablespoon of peanut butter
Asda egg noodles - £1.15

Total - £10.88 + whatever a scoop of peanut butter cost

So less than £3 per person, plus whatever it costs to heat 2 hobs for 10 minutes. It's not going to break the average persons bank is it?

You can argue that using the kit isn't cooking from scratch, but it just provides the pastes and herbs, so it kind of is. You could also make it cheaper by using chicken thighs, less chicken more veg, or cheaper peppers.

How old are you, @xla ? I’ve been there and done all that. They can cook.

But there’s a whole extra discipline involved in planning/shopping/cooking with other people.
Adult DS is cooking tonight, but he’ll make the easy meal I’d planned for an easy night for me.
When DH cooks it isn’t very nice and I begrudge the nice ingredients he hasn’t made the most of.
The other adult DS gets in too late to cook.

So I plan and cook and shop and cook and plan. It’s fine. I like food. But it’s a chore. I’m not sure why you don’t want to accept that, for me, it is.

I made a cheap beef stew this weekend, the (cheapest cut available) beef shin was £6 alone. Add in veg and stock and this was quite an expensive meal for us. This used to be a cheap meal for the poor, I won't be making it for a long time.

I cook from scratch most days. Having a multi cooker makes cooking a really quick and easy, the pressure cooker is a godsend for pasta, stews, curries etc I can step away whilst it cooks itself and switches off when done.

I use chicken thighs instead of breasts, use pork instead of beef or lamb because those prices are ridiculous.

The one thing I will give, is that the prices are ridiculous is meat. Virtually no or very little difference between fresh and frozen and between what should be cheap cuts and standard/premium-ish cuts.
Now that grinds my gears tbh. They can fuck of with price of beef shin or chuck.
Meat used to be way too cheap for what it is so raises were expectable, BUT the difference between meat cuts have basically disappeared.

Xposted😂

There isn't a good range of shops near my home, just big supermarkets. Increasingly, it's getting harder to obtain traditional simple basics for cooking or baking from scratch. Lots of ready-made foods, limited basics.

For example, my local supermarkets no longer stock ground rice, barley, brown lentils, dried milk, wholemeal pasta ... all recipe standards that I use regularly. There is so much missing I now have to order these online!

Yes, exactly.
For people with no financial leeway at all they have no option but to by the cheapest thing to feed themselves and their family now, today, this week.
I think many mumsnetters (and mps!) don’t appreciate the hand to mouth existence which living on benefits or minimum wage creates.
There is also the cost of energy to cook, and many people are on prepayment meters so can only afford that day’s heat and light.
Also may not have cooking equipment.

You are being ridiculous.

If you want to eat something ready prepared, do it. If you don't want to cook, don't.

But bleating about the cost of ingredients like this?

I think it depends what you are cooking. I buy fresh meat at Aldi which is reasonable. I always have frozen onion, mushrooms, peppers, etc in the freezer and sauce packets in the cupboard. Stick them in the slow cooker. You can make a meal for 4 for about £5-£6 if you really think about it. I have made a cheesy chorizo chicken & mushroom pasta bake for 8 people which has cost around £7/£8. I don't have much spare cash after bills so planning ahead and having food staples in the freezer and cupboard really does bring the cost down. A chicken or sausage casserole or a beef stew in the slow cooker can be relatively cheap and goes a long way. And a big bag of dirty potatoes (get big sack from farm shop straight from the ground). Burger and chips for 4 people with homemade chips can cost less than £5.

But then the pub round the corner does meal nights, you can get a curry and a pint for £10, pizza and a drink for £12.

Aldi diced beef is £4. Bulk it out with veg etc and it’s still a cheap meal.

Because I find complaining that you must buy food and cook to be very out of touch. A lot of people on this planet would love for that to be the worst thing they go through.

One onion, one bulb of garlic (simmered in a bit of water if you dont have oil), a value tin of chopped tomatoes, pasta.

Let me guess....it's privileged to own a knife....

I think the root cause of people not cooking from scratch is laziness (physical and/or mental) and a lack of confidence (brought on by advertising).

I cook every single day. It's one of the things that I just do. Not all my meals are elaborate - most just have two or three main ingredients. How hard can that be?

Roasting meat is not time intensive - you bung it in the oven and let the oven do the work.

I think there may be a generational reason for the lack of home cooking. I grew up in the 70s/80s and it would have been unthinkable to not cook from scratch - there weren't really alternatives. I also did proper home economics at school - none of the namby Food Tech stuff in those days that equip you for nothing.

I find cooking from scratch mostly cheaper than convenience food

Eating out though - if you use Groupon or first table, it can be cheaper than cooking.

No way I can do 6 tapas dishes for £14.99!
http://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/las-iguanas?utm_campaign=UserReferral_mih&utm_source=undefined

And 50% off food with First table means you can get a steak dinner for 2 people for £26. Other food is even cheaper

We tend to only eat now when we use a deal - am convinced a bargain tastes better!

Again, these are niche situations.

The majority of adults will have, at some point, had enough money to buy a few basic pieces of cooking equipment and enough time to teach themselves a few basic dishes. .

It’s more that they have not prioritised it, and could never envisage a day when eating ready made food would get too expensive.

We don't have any Groupon or First Table restaurants near us. We occasionally use the Kids Eat Free in the holidays but it can still get to £80 if we have drinks etc.

Ive found the reverse really. Eating out has become so expensive around here (I understand why) that cooking at home is even better value that ever before. I dont have to pay myself business rates, minimum wage or NI and domestic fuel is cheaper too.

In terms of ready meals,they are ok value but they have less protein than im used to.

I think the cheapest, quickest option is doing things like omelette or jackets with beans for tea.

Historically, the vast majority of human meals have been made by someone whose sole job is to prepare and serve food. From housewives to street vendors to servants, the idea that a working adult should also be responsible for feeding themselves is largely alien.