Cooking From Scratch versus Mixes and Premade Food

[Weedygarden]

I grew up making most food from scratch, real food, not mixes or pre-made food. I do know there are advantages of both cooking from scratch and pre-made food.

A year or two ago, I saw a grocery cart at Thanksgiving time with stuffing mix, instant potatoes, jars of gravy, canned yams, cans of cranberry sauce, pre-made pies, and everything else pre-done except the turkey. While that is not how I was taught to put a meal together, I really understand why and how many people do this. It is about energy, time, skills, and more. The family that had that meal still had work to do, dishes to wash, and a kitchen that was busy for a few hours before the meal. Buying food like this may have made for a much better meal for them than if they made it from scratch. Not everyone is a good cook. Some people are very picky eaters, and pre-made food is a better fit. Many people have a lot going on in their lives with children, parents, jobs, outside activities, home maintenance.

What I do know, is that knowing how to make and cook from scratch are good skills to have. I do know that as I age, I do less cooking from scratch. Instant potatoes have gotten much better. I think of the advantages of packaged and mixes of foods in a grid-down situation. A package of instant potatoes with some water added takes significantly less energy than boiling or baking potatoes.

What about you? Do you prefer to eat food made from scratch, or store bought foods? Do you prefer to cook from scratch, or to make easy meals? Do you do some of both? If you have a deep pantry, do you have foods of both kinds?

 

[Grizzleyette___Adams]

Everything in my kitchen or camp is processed from scratch by me...very little to nothing from a can or box.

I love foraging as well... now that's from SCRATCH, lol.

 

[Patchouli]

I prefer most things from scratch. I try to keep meals simple. The more refined and processed my foods are, the more likely I am to get sick, be bloated, gain weight, or feel bad. Paying for what I've eaten today, or I will pay later. I never eat ham. I've lost weight due to work schedule that doesn't jive with my life, I'm happy about that. I'm feeling better too.
The food we have stored isn't exactly what we eat on a daily basis so there's that to consider too.
We get a lot of compliments and requests for recipes when we share food. My daughter in law is happy to come here after visiting her large extended family, she trusts our food and is usually hungry by the time they get here.

 

[Meerkat]

Mainly we eat non processed food, we either can it,freeze it or cook it. I do have a box of instant rice but seldom use it.
We do buy processed candy ,sugar though.

PS. I do have help from hubby so if not I may eat more packaged foods. Two is easier than cooking fro one. @Weedygarden

 

[Amish Heart]

I cook from scratch and prefer to eat scratch food. We do use some packaged food...Knorr rice mixes sometimes, cake mixes sometimes, canned pie filling, pudding mix. But I do store meals in a jar, too, and that's a from scratch food packaged like a fast food.
Most people nowadays don't know how to cook anything. If I was not working, I would make our bread instead of buying it.

 

[snappy1]

Mostly scratch, although I keep one box of instant rice for a certain recipe, when I make it and one box of instant potatoes to use as a thickener. Also use pudding mixes usually and dried pasta. Otherwise, I try to cook from scratch.

 

[Amish Heart]

I use dry pasta, too. But I do know how to make my own. Have a pasta rack, hand cranked machine, and a rolling pin with cut lines to cut pasta. I just cooked a bunch of brown rice, then dehydrated it, and now I have instant brown rice.

 

[Weedygarden]

I use dry pasta, too. But I do know how to make my own. Have a pasta rack, hand cranked machine, and a rolling pin with cut lines to cut pasta. I just cooked a bunch of brown rice, then dehydrated it, and now I have instant brown rice.

I have a pasta hand crank maker as well, but I don't think I have ever used it. I ended up buying two at a yard sale for a very good price. Someone I know was asking if anyone knew where she could get one because she had worn hers out, using it so often. I gave her one. My grandmothers hand cut their noodles.

 

[Patchouli]

Whoa, wait a second. I'm a from scratch liar. I don't make my own pasta. I don't make my own granola most of the time. I use factory canned foods once in a while, but I still prefer using fresh whole foods.
I quit.

 

[Weedygarden]

Whoa, wait a second. I'm a from scratch liar. I don't make my own pasta. I don't make my own granola most of the time. I use factory canned foods once in a while, but I still prefer using fresh whole foods.
I quit.

I think we all may use some processed or pre-made food. Think of the people who ONLY use that, the ones who never turn on their stove, coffee pot, mixer. On the extreme end of the process food or pre-made food consumers, their kitchen is meticulous because they don't cook and mess it up. I have never understood so much buying of coffee out, except, there is no mess to clean up, no pot to clean, no cup to wash, no coffee to stock and maintain, no cream or half and half, and no sugar.

Making your own pasta from scratch is also more extreme on the from scratch idea, along with making your own pasta sauce. You can make your own pasta and sauce, from scratch, or you can buy a box of pasta and a jar of sauce. OR you can buy a frozen dinner of pasta and sauce. OR you can go out to eat and order pasta with sauce. Which versions are considered from scratch and which ones are not? (Does it matter?) I have made various pasta's with sauce over the years, but never made the pasta, and rarely made the sauce.

I know people who make their own granola, but not very many.

 

[Terri9630]

We have very little pre made stuff. The kids system doesn't tolerate it for long. If I have time I'll make pasta and bread. If only I could find a recipe for froot loops......

 

[Amish Heart]

Don't quit, Patchouli. Weedy is right, there are levels of scratch cooking. I do make my own granola, and I know Sewing does. But never time to make bread regularly. Just make sure you have an old style cookbook that has recipes for making things from scratch...like noodles, bread, pudding, salad dressing, catsup, etc.....and store the ingredients for it if the SHTF. You already know you can cook and follow a recipe, and a lot of people can't even do that.

 

[Patchouli]

I'm messin' around about quitting. I've barely started.
Amen, sister. I have made noodles from scratch like, once (didn't grow the wheat). I do have several good cook books, The Joy of Cooking for one. Tells ya how to prepare varmints too.
I was proud of my foraging for mushrooms a couple months ago. I didn't get sick or die.
Weedy, it amazes me some of the stuff that passes as edible. I have never passed off a decent homemade spaghetti sauce. Never. Makes me sick. There are 2 brands of sauce I do fine with, so to each her own on what we prepare and store.
Terri, it's up to you on that froot loops recipe.
I just realized that my aunt who I respected and learned so much from never had a garden. Flowers, yes. But she did freeze a lot of fresh fruit.

We make our own bread but not all the time.

 

[WVDragonlady]

What I do know, is that knowing how to make and cook from scratch are good skills to have. I do know that as I age, I do less cooking from scratch. Instant potatoes have gotten much better. I think of the advantages of packaged and mixes of foods in a grid-down situation. A package of instant potatoes with some water added takes significantly less energy than boiling or baking potatoes.

What about you? Do you prefer to eat food made from scratch, or store bought foods? Do you prefer to cook from scratch, or to make easy meals? Do you do some of both? If you have a deep pantry, do you have foods of both kinds?

Hubby hates instant potatoes but what he doesn't know is that they are the ones I put on his shepherd pie he likes lol And I also make them then refrigerate them for a day and then make fried potato patties out them which he likes.
I do most cooking from scratch but its more economical to use premade things sometimes ( like I use the instant potatoes) instead of "real" foods. Potatoes are getting expensive here for some reason and they used to be the cheapest food.

I can cook completely from scratch if I want to but why would I want to if I don't have to? Why make it hard on myself? Not everything is premade when I cook but some ingredients are. I like making spaghetti or pizza sauce but I use commercially canned tomato sauce as the base. Its cheap and its easy.
I have boxed mac and cheese for when I'm not up to cooking, but its easy to make a cheese sauce and throw in some cooked macaroni to make my own lol

I want to start making some homemade bread again. I stopped for some unknown reason. I use my bread machine to do all the work but for the last rising. I like the shape of the traditional loaf and not that weird tall loaf from the machine. That machine really makes making dough so easy. The one I have makes 2 loaves at the same time and I like making a cheese loaf and a herb loaf at the same time. Great time saver

I'm just glad I have the options I do for cooking for us now-a-days

 

[MoBookworm1957]

I cook from scratch.
I have instant mash potatoes flakes I use as thickener if out of cornstarch.
I like to cook from scratch because I can control salt intake among other things.
Went through phrase if I couldn't say the ingredient, didn't need it in my diet.
Felt immensely better for it, lost weight,inches everywhere.
Have a schedule for bread making:bread, rolls, pie crusts etc for daily use and for the freezer.
I find I do better if I have schedule.
Also most pre made mixes,side dishes taste like cardboard to me.
Yes, I had eaten cardboard by accident. Forgotten to take cardboard off of store bought pizza. Didn't know it was there.
Try have a variety of put together soups in canning jars correct sizes for portion control everything but the liquid.
Looks nice on shelving,Have 0ver 300 cookbooks use 5 repeatly.
When sons couldn't figure out what to get me for birthdays,Christmas,Mother's Day got a cookbook and a candle.
In some areas still a beginning cook, in other areas stage 3 or 4.
But I enjoy cooking,trying new receipes.

 

[Cnsper]

Look at the ingredients on a box of instant potatoes. It is just dehydrated potato flakes. They are real potatoes. With that said, I still prefer chunks in the potatoes.

 

[Caribou]

I prefer cooking from scratch. Having said that, there are some pre packaged foods that are pretty good. There are others that need to be doctored up. I think it is important to be able to cook from scratch. I think the food is generally better and better for you. There is a lot to be said for convenience.

I used to cook and bake for up to 300 at a meal so I can cook. The wife and I decided over 30 years ago not to bake bread. We were baking two loaves every other day and a loaf of bread per day for two people is not okay. Store bought bread is resistible. One or two slices of chemical laden bread once in a while works better for me than half a loaf a day. At least this way I don't have to have wider doors put on my home.

If you cook from scratch, fantastic! If you can't cook from scratch, you need to develop that skill.

 

[Weedygarden]

The best instant potatoes I have ever bought and used came from the LDS warehouse. They do not have a long shelf life, so I keep them in the freezer. I learned about them from a woman I worked with. Her family cannot tell the difference between them and making mashed potatoes from scratch. They are called potato pearls. A case of them is $45.00. When I last bought mine they were in a resealable mylar pouch and I transferred them to quart canning jars. They may come in #10 cans now, 6 to a case, or they may come in resealable mylar pouches. I think you can order them and have them delivered to your home. Many of their products can be.

BTW, I am not LDS, but when I was searching for resources for food storage 10 years ago, I stumbled upon them and have purchased many of their products. Good food storage for good prices. I used to go every time I had a day off and they were open. That was just a few times a year, except for summers.
https://providentliving.lds.org/food-storage/home-storage-center-locations-map?lang=eng

 

[Meerkat]

Whoa, wait a second. I'm a from scratch liar. I don't make my own pasta. I don't make my own granola most of the time. I use factory canned foods once in a while, but I still prefer using fresh whole foods.
I quit.

Me too guess I wasn't thinking but I do the same, never made pasta in my entire life,lol.

 

[MoBookworm1957]

Rolling out noodles is so relaxing.
Kneading bread is good way to end frustration too.
When I roll out noodles current frustration is being worked out.
Try to roll out noodle thinly and if I can't just go get manual pasta machine to make everything thin enough.
Kneading bread works out frustration to cause that person's head is getting rolled around.
Imaginative instead physically. He was bigger than I am.

 

[Weedygarden]

The best instant potatoes I have ever bought and used came from the LDS warehouse. They do not have a long shelf life, so I keep them in the freezer. I learned about them from a woman I worked with. Her family cannot tell the difference between them and making mashed potatoes from scratch. They are called potato pearls. A case of them is $45.00. When I last bought mine they were in a resealable mylar pouch and I transferred them to quart canning jars. They may come in #10 cans now, 6 to a case, or they may come in resealable mylar pouches. I think you can order them and have them delivered to your home. Many of their products can be.

BTW, I am not LDS, but when I was searching for resources for food storage 10 years ago, I stumbled upon them and have purchased many of their products. Good food storage for good prices. I used to go every time I had a day off and they were open. That was just a few times a year, except for summers.
https://providentliving.lds.org/food-storage/home-storage-center-locations-map?lang=eng

You can also go to the warehouse and buy one pouch. $4.25 for 28 ounce pouch.

 

[Weedygarden]

Rolling out noodles is so relaxing.
Kneading bread is good way to end frustration too.
When I roll out noodles current frustration is being worked out.
Try to roll out noodle thinly and if I can't just go get manual pasta machine to make everything thin enough.
Kneading bread works out frustration to cause that person's head is getting rolled around.
Imaginative instead physically. He was bigger than I am.

Hilarious and correct! Another option is to use a bread maker, but just use for mixing, not baking.

 

[Hooch]

I enjoy cooking from scratch, but I also use pre made stuff too. So like most folks I do both. My microwave died about a year ago and I did notice my eating is way healthier. I have to plan meals better but that is ok and no more crap. I love cooking with my cast iron , and dutch oven on the wood stove in winter. Bacon in the dutch , keep the lid on and it turns out real chewy..love it.
I baked some bread that called for a can of beer this weekend..it was awful!! gawd..maybe had I used a light brew instead of a dark brew it might have been ok but gag!! The goats liked it tho..haahaa
I made corn pudding for the first time and oh my...Ive had it before and it was wonderful. I have a confession though..It called for mild. One cup of milk..I didn't have any mainly because I don't drink it much..but...I did have goat milk replacer..I couldn't tell the difference. I also love my slow cooker and sun oven. I cant wait until I can really start producing in my garden to add to my cooking and dehydrating and canning.

 

[Weedygarden]

Hubby hates instant potatoes but what he doesn't know is that they are the ones I put on his shepherd pie he likes lol

This is what I wonder: does he hate instant potatoes, or does he hate the IDEA of instant potatoes? Are they really good? I have actually made few instant potatoes in my whole life, but I do know there are some not bad ones out there in pouches in the stores now. I know because I bought some from the reduced bin a few months ago.

Instant potatoes: I have had a box of the ones from the store from time to time, but I don't really know why. I do know they will get bugs in them, if you leave them in the box. I have struggled with getting bugs in some food, so things like that get repackaged into wide-mouthed quart canning jars now. I did try putting the potatoes in a zip bag, and then keeping it in the box. Nope, still got bugs.

 

[snappy1]

My idea of instant potatoes is my canned ones. LOL They do take up more room, but they don't take any time (after canning) and they taste great!

 

[SheepDog]

It has been a long time since I used a mix or prepared sauce in my cooking. Everything is from scratch. When I was back-packing I used Krusteaz pancake mix - just add water and you have buttermilk pancakes or biscuits. Now I use sourdough or baking powder to make breads. I haven't made any bread since I put myself on my KETO diet. The one thing I miss is having fresh sourdough with soups and stews.

 

[Dani]

I do have some convenience foods like the Knott Pasta and rice packs. I got them on a clearance rack at I think 25 cents apiece. It was hard to pass up and I will use those when life is busy and time is pressed. But for the most part my foods are from scratch, home grown and raised, and I have meals in jars (home canned) to make life easier for that busy kind of day. That way I know what is in them and there are no extra preservatives and whatever other chemicals they add into cans and prepare food at the stores. I also have some instant pudding and jello I have boufht .

 

[Weedygarden]

I do have some convenience foods like the Knott Pasta and rice packs. I got them on a clearance rack at I think 25 cents apiece. It was hard to pass up and I will use those when life is busy and time is pressed. But for the most part my foods are from scratch, home grown and raised, and I have meals in jars (home canned) to make life easier for that busy kind of day. That way I know what is in them and there are no extra preservatives and whatever other chemicals they add into cans and prepare food at the stores. I also have some instant pudding and jello I have boufht .

I came across the Knorr packs when I was searching for ways to round out my preps. You can find them in the discount bins once in a while. I came across instant potatoes there fairly recently. I have since seen many people buying them. I wanted stuff that was more instant. I have 30 year preps--wheat, oatmeal, powdered milk, etc, canned in #10 cans, but if there is little fuel, something like those Knorr packs would be so much easier. If a person were traveling on foot, they would be a great thing to carry for fairly light weight, but quicker food. Canned foods would be easier, but heavier.

 

[JAC]

I like bread made from scratch and I mean from the beginning. Grinding the wheat berry and making the flour. It is the best bread I have ever tasted.

 

[Weedygarden]

I like bread made from scratch and I mean from the beginning. Grinding the wheat berry and making the flour. It is the best bread I have ever tasted.

Me, too. I like making bread from scratch, but it is some work. I have had homemade bread that other people have made that was wonderful as well.

I lived in a house with a bunch of people while I was in college. We bought wheat in 50 pound bags, ground it, and baked bread. We took turns making bread for the house.

When I was teaching, we always had snacks and children took turns bringing it. One student's mother made homemade bread. It was whole wheat, rustic, in round loaves, and so delicious. The bread would get cut, put out for the children to eat, usually with butter and jam. When there were pieces leftover, they would be ready to fight for it.

I often think that in a SHTF situation, eating bread day after day would get old, but maybe not.