Is it worth making it from scratch?

karadekoolaid said:
I don´t make my own mayonnaise. I occasionally make my own pasta, but getting the machine out, running the pasta through 5 times, working out where I can dry it, etc, etc, is a faff - so I buy it, mostly.I often make veg stock and coconut milk ( from fresh coconuts). I never buy ready-made pasta sauces or salsas; they´re so easy to make at home and so much tastier. And I certainly don´t buy chutneys, piccalilli, jams, marmalades, curry powder or any other spice mixes - I make them myself. I prefer to make authentic (well, as close as I can get) Indian food rather than stuff with curry powder in it.
As for hot sauce - am I the only person who thinks that Tabasco tastes sour, like rotten veg? It´s not even hot. I make my own hot sauces - C4, Caribbean, sambal, Indian achars, Mexican salsas picantes - all from scratch.
If I´m making chile con carne, I cook the beans from scratch; same goes for falafel, hummus, frijoles refritos, dal, canelli beans, etc. Never buy them in tins EXCEPT baked beans - which are not available over here😥😥
I buy puff pastry when I need it, but mostly I make my own pastry.
Still, if you got a glimpse into a local supermarket here, you´d understand why!
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I keep a large selection of hot sauces in my fridge. Texas, Louisiana, Mexico, and Sriracha. Frank's Red Hot for making Buffalo wing sauce.

I make my own salsas -- salsa roja, salsa verde, pico de gallo. But, I also have a few store salsas I like -- which I buy solely because I like them.

Tabasco is vinegar based, so it can taste a bit sour. I've never found it to taste rotten, although the tabasco peppers are fermented in oak barrels.

CD
 
Morning Glory said:
OMG! Condensed milk in mayonnaise? I'm seriously alarmed. :ohmy:
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I’ve told you before and you were shocked it also had sugar. It’s the=same I was bought up with, so I’m indoctrinated.
Con milk
Tablespoon sugar
white pepper
Mustard powder
Malt vinegar.

Everyone in my family fave sammichis
Cold lamb mayo and sliced onion sammich.

Russ
 
Oh yeah - sausages as Yorky said.

There was a time, shortly after I got The Food Lab book that I toyed with the idea of getting a Kitchen Aid and pasta making attachments and sausage filling tubes and stuff and exploring sausage recipes and planning on making 5kgs of the things at once.... It was very close - I was in the store, touching and feeling Kitchen Aids and shopping around for the best price...

Then I thought 'nah... how many sausages can we eat? How much fresh pasta will I really be making with that $200 roller thing?' and with the help of this forum got talked out of buying the KA (thanks guys).

I'm sure it would have been fun to do though.

Another one is dim sum, and also sushi. When you are making lots of small things which are labour intensive and variety is the name of the game for a meal, usually to me I don't find it worth it. I do make dumplings (wontons) though as it's just one kind at a time.
 
vernplum said:
I do make dumplings (wontons) though as it's just one kind at a time.
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We (or should I say my wife) sometimes makes prawn wontons to add to carry oot noodle soup. Very few noodle stalls sell prawn wontons as they are somewhat expensive.

73032

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caseydog said:
I also use canned beans more often than starting from dry beans.
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I do too. I don't really consider soaking and cooking beans in water to be cooking, anyway. Here you can buy almost any type of beans ready to use in tins with no additives. The only reason I can see to use dried would be to save a few pence, though I'm not even sure about that given the cost of the energy to cook them. Tins of beans are not really very expensive.
 
karadekoolaid said:
If I´m making chile con carne, I cook the beans from scratch; same goes for falafel, hummus, frijoles refritos, dal, canelli beans, etc. Never buy them in tins EXCEPT baked beans - which are not available over here😥😥
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For making falafel using dried chickpeas is essential as they are formed from raw soaked (not cooked) chickpeas. I agree re dal but that's made from a pulse not a grain. Not sure of the benefit of using dried beans otherwise.
 
Morning Glory said:
For making falafel using dried chickpeas is essential as they are formed from raw soaked (not cooked) chickpeas. I agree re dal but that's made from a pulse not a grain. Not sure of the benefit of using dried beans otherwise.
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Heinz beans here are currently £1.80/400 gm tin. Branston £1.10/400 gm tin. Local tinned baked beans are about £0.75/400 gm tin but they're crap. I usually buy Branston.
 
Morning Glory said:
Not sure of the benefit of using dried beans otherwise.
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It´s a cost thing. A 400 ml can of beans can cost anything from $1.50 - $3.00. I can buy half a kilo of dried beans for $2 or less, so it makes sense. And yes, of course, falafel, like Indian vadas, are always made with uncooked beans/peas/lentils. I discovered that about 35 years ago when I tried to make falafel with a tin of chickpeas... :eek: :eek:
 
karadekoolaid said:
It´s a cost thing. A 400 ml can of beans can cost anything from $1.50 - $3.00. I can buy half a kilo of dried beans for $2 or less, so it makes sense. And yes, of course, falafel, like Indian vadas, are always made with uncooked beans/peas/lentils. I discovered that about 35 years ago when I tried to make falafel with a tin of chickpeas... :eek: :eek:
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We're using charred cauliflower as the main ingredient in our falafels lately with very good reviews.
 
garlichead said:
We're using charred cauliflower as the main ingredient in our falafels lately with very good reviews.
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karadekoolaid said:
Interesting! How does that work? Do you use any chickpea flour, for example, to help the falafel stick together?
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No chickpeas? You must tell us how that works... garlichead, you can start a new thread about falafel if you want.
 
caseydog do or would you like to share with e your spice blend for chicken or beef tex mex.
I’ve tried my own but wife doesn’t think it’s close. I use coriander and coming seeds roasted and ground, along with other spices.
Yours may be an improvement.

Russ
 
karadekoolaid said:
It´s a cost thing. A 400 ml can of beans can cost anything from $1.50 - $3.00. I can buy half a kilo of dried beans for $2 or less, so it makes sense. And yes, of course, falafel, like Indian vadas, are always made with uncooked beans/peas/lentils. I discovered that about 35 years ago when I tried to make falafel with a tin of chickpeas... :eek: :eek:
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A 15.5 ounce can of Kroger store brand beans are 59-cents US, while the premium brand, Bush's Best are between 1-dollar and $1.25 US. Dry beans are still cheaper, but time is money. I can get the Kroger brand without any salt added, too, so there is not a sodium advantage to dry beans.

CD
 
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