What food is not worth making yourself as shop bought tastes just as good?

[spookysal]

Which food do you always make as it tastes better?

And which do you buy as their is no difference in taste?

I'm thinking of making bread sauce for example, but considering is it worth it?

You can get ready-peeled sprouts??!

They're a pound a bag in Tesco.

We have one of these with our main course at Christmas: www.scotlands-enchanting-kingdom.com/grandma-wrights-clootie-dumpling.html

Oh, but that's why it's nicer! I love home-made marzipan. Especially walnut instead of almond (not sure if that's still called marzipan but it is good).

The shop stuff that comes bright yellow is too sweet and leaves your mouth with a funny coating, IMO.

(Sorry, I will stop rambling on here soon OP, honest.)

I like peeling sprouts...

But I suspect I'd feel differently if I was cooking for 15 people.

True. Sprouts for 15 people would be quite impressive.

I've done sprouts for 11 recently and it was sweated labour (I was at my mum's, and she's of the opinion you should practically grow the sprouts yourself if you want to consider it 'home made'. ).

I think hummous is definitely worth making, it's so quick and easy, and much much nicer than shop-bought IMO. I find homemade soup is usually nicer than even the fresh soups you can buy, and less salty.

Home-made mince pies are better too, but I rarely bother tbh as baking anything more complicated than a straightforward all-in-one cake is too much of a faff for me.

I am hopeless at homemade humus & soups (have tried but failed). The big problem is making small amounts that won't go off quickly (no freezer), and getting the consistency right.

Bread, croissants and puff pastry. Lots of people claim home made bread is better, but I don't like it. You can taste the yeast, and it is very indigestible. As for croissants and puff pastry, a machine can do layers much better than a cook.

LRDtheFeministDude - Ramble away

I made pesto once. It was nice but for some reason the instructions I followed only made a tiny amount.

That looks really filling DeckTheHallsWithBoughsOfJolly is it nice?

Homemade pesto is much, much nicer than bought stuff. But my food processor died, so I can't make it anymore. :(

Homemade houmus nicer too, although dd1 would disagree with that.

The only bought soup I can tolerate is Heinz Tomato - everything else is hideous, but homemade soup is brilliant.

God I must be a real pleb as I love shop bought bread sauce

I prefer homemade everything else though, especially all the puds (mince pies, Xmas pud and trifle)

I find the problem with some things is quantity, eg hummus, I only want a small pot of it, not an entire tin of chick peas worth. So I just buy it.

The year I was 38 weeks pg and with a one year old at Christmas we did a buy everything from M&S Christmas dinner, it wasn't a patch on home made, the roast potatoes were a real let down.

I've never made bread sauce or brandy butter as I hate both, my mum provides the bread sauce for our Christmas dinner, always homemade.

I agree about it not being worth making puff pastry but shortcrust is dead easy in the food processor. I made mincemeat for the first time this year and was surprised how easy it was, but not sure if it is really any better than a good shop one.

I am coming round to the idea of bought mashed potato. I was ill recently and DH bought some and i was really impressed, saved a lot of effort and didn't taste at all like Smash, which is why we'd never had it before.

I can't be bothered with home-made mincemeat, even though it is lovely. Ditto Christmas pudding actually . I have just thrown £10.99 at a Waitrose Christmas pudding and I know it will be fine. I also don't make stuffing, giblet gravy, cranberry sauce or bread sauce - cos we just don't have it.

But I do make the pastry for the mince pies and all our vegetables are fresh (except for the peas).

My mum always used Paxo bread sauce mix but I like homemade. I am the only one who likes brussels sprouts here so I buy about ten of them and serve green beans (frozen from Aldi) for everyone else.

I think the smell of roasting potatos is the big thing ... it's just so good and they don't smell half as good when they're reheated or done from frozen.

I can't do pastry to save my life, so I always buy or make DH make it, but if I had cold hands I'd make my own.

I fancy clootie dumpling now!

spooky it is amazing. My gran puts 20ps wrapped up in greaseproof paper in it so you get a little richer too

I'm the other way round with mince pies - happy to buy the mincemeat but always homemade pastry

Xpost minty - I agree

I always buy mince pies as I am shit at pastry, even shop bought and they always come out like rocks.

I make cranberry sauce though, it's ridiculously easy and so much nicer than shop bought which I think it far too sweet.

I usually make brandy butter too but I haven't made a cake this year so have no "spare" brandy and it seems silly to buy a whole bottle just for the butter so I'll buy a pot.

I LOVE M&S bread sauce, its lovely. Havent made my own because I am the only one who likes it, so no point really.

Thanks to who posted the Clootie Dumpling Recipe. I am going to make that and post some up to my Dad. That will make his Christmas.

We have clootie dumpling at Christmas! My mum makes it and steam it in microwave.

I much prefer shop bought mince pies.

I wouldn't make pastry, pasta, bread, most puddings, condiments, etc. Just too much work.

If you want homemade mince pies but find bought mincemeat a bit bleeurgh try putting the mince in a pan, grate in 1 Bramley apple add a splosh of cream sherry and warm through. Allow to cool before use. It turns even cheap mince into lovely stuff.

I find myself buying more each year as there is more stuff available, I have bought pigs in blankets and stuffing balls wrapped in bacon already.