Things you didnt believe were so easy to make from scratch

[Unorganisedchaos2]

After saving for ages I finally own a kitchen aid stand mixer and Im living my middle ages dreams 😆

Had a go at making butter at the weekend and I cant believe how quick and easy it was, Im not sure I'll buy it again.

Going to give Mayonnaise a try tonight as we also get through loads of that.

Im trying to reduce our UPF's - has anyone started making things from scratch that they were surprised how easy it was?

Granola, melt coconut oil and honey, mix with dry ingredients like oats, nuts & seeds then bake in oven.
Very easy and you can tailor it to your own likes & dislikes 😋

Not so much "surprised" as "finally got it right and NOW it's easy" - pesto or hummus .

I tried making both pesto and hummus years ago. it was never right. Always tasted funny or weird texture or whatever.

now I can whip some up at lunch, and do so regularly.

The secret was abandoning recipes and learning the basic skill - then trusting my own taste. I think there's too many variables in the flavour of the oil, flavour/texture of tahini, power of the basil etc. So when you try to stick to a recipe religiously, it doesn't work.

We use a stick blender for mayo- takes a couple of mins from start to finish.

www.seriouseats.com/two-minute-mayonnaise

Probably stock? I’ve been making it from scratch for years but I didn’t really know until I started doing it that you get it from lobbing a carcass from your roast and some veg in boiling water, skimming off the fat and then reducing it. I freeze it in little jelly pots. Goes into gravy, sauces, loads of stuff.

What's the benefit of making your own butter? Apart from fun, if you enjoy that kind of thing!

That's it really, just fun to do 😊 I did it with DD6 so it was good for her to see how its made.

The cream was on offer so it was slightly cheaper than buying butter and we made pancakes with the buttermilk which were lovely.

Flatbread. I tried it for the first time last night, a recipe with Greek yoghurt, and am never buying them again. Next time I'll add some herbs. Super easy.

Do you reduce the stock down so you would only need a a couple to make a batch of gravy, I try to make my own stock when I have a whole chicken but it takes up a lot of space in the freezer?

Totally agree with this, sometimes you just need to trust your judgement.

Bread including pizza bases, flatbread, naan bread etc.

My friend started making her own butter with her grandson and now she just.makes it just because.

Not as fancy as butter, but I was scared of Rissoto it looked too hard, but I tried it and was surprised I managed it.

Do you have a recipe please, I've tried a few times but they always break apart when I roll them out?

I have loads of random bags of nuts and seeds that really need to be used up so I might chuck it all in and hope for the best

I used this, i think oiling the board rather than flouring it was a good idea. I also just used my hands to pull the dough out rather than a rolling pin. Dry pan to cook.

https://www.easypeasyfoodie.com/easy-2-ingredient-yogurt-flatbreads/

My dd makes her own granola bars /tray bake.

Bread! Specifically Foccacia for sandwich bread. So easy and the mixer does all the kneading for me.

For a flat bread I use natural yogurt and self raising flour in equalish amounts until it feels like a good dough then fry on each side in a hot dry pan. Absolutely amazing.

Greek yoghurt

Scones - always looked like they should be complicated but they're really not.

Lemon curd - really very easy to make and delicious (especially on afore mentioned scones)

Mincemeat - as in the stuff you put in mincepies - an absolute doddle and I no longer buy the shop bought stuff at Christmas!

If you freeze the dough, does it work OK post defrosting? I have some Greek yoghurt left that needs using up and that seems a sensible move if so.....

Yes it does 🙂

Brilliant, thank you, I'll do that then!

Lemon posset - I mean not exactly a staple daily dish but one of my favourite puddings and it’s so easy to make! Very indulgent yet refreshing.

Yes it’s quite reduced, I then put it in the fridge, and the next day when it’s gone to jelly I skim off any fat from the top, and freeze it in little pots. Usually about 4-5ish pots/ramekins

Curry. Once you’ve done a few they are so easy - never seem to taste the same twice and some are so tasty and cheap (my chickpea curry wins here, it’s the tastiest curry on the planet)

The main problem with making stock is not to pour the essential bit down the sink......it goes against instinct! I put a pan under the colander in the sink before I start just to make sure I'm not wasting it....