Cooking from scratch

[Zoomie1]

I have started to cook from scratch, batch cooking. I have been thinking by the time you consider the high cost of gas/electricity. Does it work out cheaper than convenience food?

Me too. If I'm really organised, I'll fill the top oven with cakes as well and I bake using only loaf tins as they are way more efficient on space. In a top oven I can fit two normal loaf tins and a double,-length Ikea one. That's the same as four full sized cakes being made for one hour's energy.
Even basics like rice: cook the whole bag then freeze in portions. Zap in the microwave for 3-4 mins, rather than cooking on the hob for 15 mins (or 30 for wholegrain) every time.
Same for dhal. I make a batch with 1kg split peas as it can take 1.5hrs on the hob so I may as well make 8-10 portions in the same time. Takes 4 minutes to reheat from frozen.

I spent a long time in the kitchen yesterday, about 3 or 4 hours in the end, only made a soup and some red cabbage

But there was lots of different stages, roasting, lots of stirring over the pot, lots of blending, lots of different bits being chopped and added, lots of different bits being washed up, lots of putting stuff in different pots to then join other pots

Oh also had the slow cooker on for something else which literally was just chucked in so no time needed for that as such

It did occur to me that I had the electric oven on for a long time, over an hour I think and the gas on for a very long time (very long time) and I wondered what it would cost.

Turns out the soup wasnt all that great anyway.... still I will use it up.

Sorry I've just seen you don't have a microwave. But you can still easily reheat rice in a steamer above boiling water and dhal on the hob for 5 mins if you defrost them in the fridge all day.

I think batch cooking/cooking from scratch can save you money but only if you have decent freezer capacity.

Depends what you're cooking I think? If it's a DH special using every pan we own to do some sort of allegedly authentic Japanese dish then we'd probably be better getting a takeaway, if there was such a thing near us. At the other end of the scale one of my big soup/stew things using whatever veg needs using up just sits on low heat with a lid on for 45 mins and will do us 2 meals plus a work lunch, so is significantly cheaper (and healthier, and usually nicer) than 3 ready made soups from M&S. Most meals will sit somewhere in the middle but I also think homemade is usually healthier so that swings it for me.

If your finances will stretch to a small capital purchase may I recommend a small rice cooker for keeping your energy costs down? It's more efficient than making rice in a pan, and mine (from Lakeland) also has a porridge setting.

I make Christmas pudding every year. It is expensive. I steep the fruit and feed it with great quality alcohol etc. It is apparently amazing though. I hate dried fruit and do not eat it, but do one of them for several family members in lieu of a Christmas present as they have asked for that after having it at our house. No shop bought one competes.

Oh well - my mistake. You didn't specify the size so I assumed a small one - always dangerous to assume. Apologies. Thanks for clarifying.

You can always buy cheaper if mass produced in a factory from sugar, salt, rapeseed or palm oil, maize starch, water etc. In the end people will do what they want. It depends what's important to them.

Exactly. This is exactly what I said. My point is, despite the rhetoric, it is not ALWAYS cheaper to cook from scratch.
I am not arguing that a 47p jar is anywhere near as nice, nutritious or wholesome as a home-made sauce. But it is definitely cheaper.

I think scaling up is the only way to make it cheap. When I make tomato sauce, I use 4 tins of plum tomatoes, 1 head celery, 4 large carrots, 3/4 onions, 2 courgettes, 2 red peppers, loads of garlic. If I have spinach or anything lurking in my veg that I think will not disturb the flavour, I put it in too.

It really does make a lot. I cannot say how much exactly as I freeze it in batches, some in portions for 2, some for 4, a couple for 1 and some really small portions that are the right size for a portion of pizza sauce.

They could end up in a Moroccan tagine, a pasta, a curry, ratatouille
etc. So I do not add herbs or spices until I am cooking. It is just a base sauce for a lot of different dinners. It is a lot tastier and more nutritious than a jar of sauce. I think it works out cheaply too. Maybe not as cheap as the very most basic pasta sauce, but I do not feel that us at all a comparison in terms of quality.

I reckon you are looking at around £4.50 to make what you describe, assuming you use value tomatoes. If you use premium ones it would be over £6. So it's hardly surprising it's better quality.
Look, I really am not arguing about how much better home-made food is. I cook from scratch myself. But I am under no illusion that it I decided to feed my family for a week on 'value' ready-made food, my grocery bill would be lower. That's the point I am making here, not how much better home-made is

This is what I said right at the top of the thread, not necessarily lower cost, but it’ll be higher quality, which to me is better value

To me as well @Heyhoherewegoagain . But when you have a very limited budget to feed you family you don't have the luxury of 'better value' foods if they are more expensive.

I think it’s better and probably cheaper. If you have a local butcher, fishmonger, greengrocer anything like what we have been able to source on our local market you will save a fortune.

On a personal level, I find the additives, sugar and salt contents of anything pre prepared don’t work for me.

I also wasn’t brought up eating fish fingers or chicken nuggets, so my idea of fast food/quick dinner is omelette and salad or pesto and bacon pasta

I wholeheartedly agree with you.If you’re on a very tight budget it’s generally about satisfying hunger, whatever way you can

I think if you really think that buying from a local fishmonger or butcher will 'save a fortune' you are deluding yourself. Save a fortune compared to what exactly??

I wouldn't say it's cheaper but it can be better quality and you probably will be able to make it stretch further

In all fairness I do a bit of both- but I only do what I think are nice ready meals- M&S , Cook etc and I usually add veg or salad too

And for those saying it's cheaper to regularly use butcher etc (and I love a good butcher) - Asan example I bought 8 premium sausages from the very nice butcher for £7.20 and 8 high end (and nice) ones from M&S for around £4.90

The butchers ones were a bit more meaty but not substantially so .

I cook enough to have as one more meal that week as leftovers but that's it

So today I cooked a Normandy chicken casserole with mash which will make a couple of leftover meals for someone who wants it during the week

I'll make a lasagne and Mac and cheese this week which will leave leftovers

I have leftover bolognaise and curry in the freezer but have given up on batch cooking

There's leftover Pork from yesterday which is great in sandwiches as is any roast chicken I make

Tesco Hearty Food Co spaghetti Bolognaise 85p

Tesco Hearty Food Co chicken curry and rice 85p.

Will they be as tasty and nutritious as your homemade version? Definitely not.
But they are a lot cheaper.

I think that most posters on here just don't 'get' what it's like to have to make your Food budget stretch as far as you can.

I love making a large pot of vegetable soup which lasts a few days and is filling.

I use my hand blender so it's smooth

Onion, garlic, potatoes, carrots and parsnips is very easy cheap and yummy

What a riot this thread is!

a meat pack from the butcher

and the veg to go with the dishes

Equals nice, clean, safe nutritional food

you get what you pay for

and yes you could buy a 47p jar of sauce but you could buy a tin of toms and add some spices for the same cost

If you have a local butcher. Ours closer. Oh and it's only open working hours so I couldn't use it anyway
Yes you could buy a tin of tomatoes and add herbs. By the time you've bought herbs then you've spent more than on a 46p tomato pasta sauce

There is a BIG difference between
Trying to feed yourself with fuck all
Trying to cut back and make things a bit cheaper

If you can't afford the herbs or heat to cook it, you're buying the jar of pasta sauce

Not quite sure what point you are trying to make here.
I think we all know you can buy meat and veg to make a meal.
A tin if tomatoes with some dried herbs added doesn't sound that appealing really. And as soon as you add olive oil and an onion, you are producing something that costs more than the jar.

Last week I made a ginger and pear pudding, a banana bread, a roasted gammon (for dinner the next night and lunches), a sausage and root veg tray bake for dinner and a cauliflower cheese with two extra family portions for the freezer. It all went into the oven at the same time (gammon the longest other bits in and out) I cooked so much food and I wasn't in the kitchen for 3 hours and my 5 year old helped with the banana bread. If I've got my oven on I'm making the most of it.

Today I did a chilli with lean beef mince, peppers, mushrooms , kidney beans etc 8 portions and a chicken curry 8 portions, because if you're chopping peppers, onions, crushing garlic etc you may as well double up and make two different dishes. I was in the kitchen and an hour then left both to simmer for a couple of hours. Gas hob didn't cost much at all. We had chilli tonight and will have curry tomorrow, so tomorrow I will cook some rice and steam some tenderstem broccoli, ping the curry and dinner is done.

Later in the week when we've got a busy evening we will have chicken chasseur from the freezer for dinner, made a couple of weeks ago, with new potatoes green beans and whatever other veg I've got in the fridge. The potatoes and veg take 20 minuted and minimal effort, the hard bit is done.

It's definitely worth cooking from scratch it tastes better, the protein content is usually higher so it's more satisfying and it's not full of salt and sugar.