What do you find not worth it to make from scratch? And what is worth making from scratch?

[Anonymous]

I am from former Yugoslavia(none of your biz which state) and I agree that some Americans I've met are not good cooks. And some are good cooks. I've come to think that fast paced mind set is not the best for cooking that involves patience.
Best home cooks I've met are Thai, French, Filipino and Hungarian. I am talking about home cooks. Best taverns, restaurants, birrerias cooks I had the pleasure to eat at, were small hidden local places in Italy.
(Counting Yugoslav cuisine and cooks would be a biased opinion as we all like what we grew up with).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everything is worth making from scratch if you have enough time & motivation IMO. I make the homemade whipped cream too. My MIL had no idea how to make it as she only used coolwhip her entire life.

Your life revolves about finding any single instance to put your MIL down? Even in her death? Perhaps she was a nicer person than you. I bet you she was. Do you have a long enough wisk to mix the whip cream from your high in the sky perch?

LOL. Lots of angry, cool-whip-type MILs on here today.

Oh, it's you! The "I have no smart retort, but only resort to calling people MILs when they point out that I am the angry, miserable one. Yep. You have no MIL issues, none at all.

Yikes, lady. Relax. We’re just talking about Cool Whip here.

Definitely you. When you are outed you advise people to relax. How come you can't take the same advice on yourself that you freely give to others? There is no easy going in putting down your deceased MIL(based on your post) even when talking about "just" whip cream! You are so high strung that you don't get to tell others they are yikes and to relax. None at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everything is worth making from scratch if you have enough time & motivation IMO. I make the homemade whipped cream too. My MIL had no idea how to make it as she only used coolwhip her entire life.

Your life revolves about finding any single instance to put your MIL down? Even in her death? Perhaps she was a nicer person than you. I bet you she was. Do you have a long enough wisk to mix the whip cream from your high in the sky perch?

LOL. Lots of angry, cool-whip-type MILs on here today.

Oh, it's you! The "I have no smart retort, but only resort to calling people MILs when they point out that I am the angry, miserable one. Yep. You have no MIL issues, none at all.

Yikes, lady. Relax. We’re just talking about Cool Whip here.

Definitely you. When you are outed you advise people to relax. How come you can't take the same advice on yourself that you freely give to others? There is no easy going in putting down your deceased MIL(based on your post) even when talking about "just" whip cream! You are so high strung that you don't get to tell others they are yikes and to relax. None at all.

I’m not the same PP and my MIL is alive and well, but ok. Have a nice evening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Worth it: English muffins, roasting your own nuts (easy to control salt), pitas, whipped cream, cold brew, pie crust, pesto, salad dressings

Not worth it: hummus (have not mastered this one, maybe with more tries it would be?) peanut butter (not much cost savings and my homemade tastes the same as store bought fresh ground),

Are you using dried garbanzo beans? Maybe you are using the wrong or not enough tahini paste?

Once you've gotten used to homemade hummus, it's hard to go back to store-bought.

[Anonymous]

I prefer dried pasta to fresh pasta. Fresh pasta always tastes heavy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Worth it: English muffins, roasting your own nuts (easy to control salt), pitas, whipped cream, cold brew, pie crust, pesto, salad dressings

Not worth it: hummus (have not mastered this one, maybe with more tries it would be?) peanut butter (not much cost savings and my homemade tastes the same as store bought fresh ground),

Are you using dried garbanzo beans? Maybe you are using the wrong or not enough tahini paste?

DP but I have never succeeded in making hummus as smooth as store bought and I’ve done every imaginable thing to get the garbanzo beans softer.

You need to soak overnight and cook them until mushy. Then, add a lot of tahina. You need a good blender or food processor. You might need to add a little water or extra lemon to dilute for puréeing purposes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I prefer dried pasta to fresh pasta. Fresh pasta always tastes heavy.

You are probably overkneading or adding too much flour.

[Anonymous]

A lot of Thai curries and dishes. If you make it from scratch, they can require over a dozen ingredients that are hard to find. And then you have to prep them by roasting/charring or fermenting. I'll just pay a restaurant to do all of that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I prefer dried pasta to fresh pasta. Fresh pasta always tastes heavy.

You are probably overkneading or adding too much flour.

No. Compared to all fresh made.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Re rice: +1 on the rice cooker. The alternative seems to be frozen boil in bag stuff or the dreadful parboiled/“converted” rice. Blech.

Or....you could just cook rice in a pot! On the stove! You know like people have done for a very long time! Or over any kind of fire as people have done for centuries and millennia....How on earth is it that your only alternative is frozen boil?? Or a rice cooker!

Exactly. I make rice in a simple pot. Easy peasy.

+1 This talk of frozen rice is blowing my mind, and not in a good way.

I know! This quarantine has made me realize that Americans freeze things that have no business being anywhere near a freezer. People are freezing bread? Rice? Milk? This is insanity! Yuck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I prefer dried pasta to fresh pasta. Fresh pasta always tastes heavy.

You are probably overkneading or adding too much flour.

No. Compared to all fresh made.

Then you are using the wrong flour.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Rao’s is better than any marinara I have had that is homemade.

What a tragic life you do lead.

No. 99% of people are not good cooks.

Go to Italy and report back.

Someone please share a marinara recipe that is “worth it”.

Sauté a diced onion and 4 smashed cloves of Garlic in a fair amount of olive oil (regular, not virgin). Put in a crock pot with 2 cans of crushed and 2 cans of whole Italian tomatoes. Add 1 Tbs Turkish oregano 2 tsp salt, and a bay leaf. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. If it’s not sweet enough, add tomato paste 1 tbs at a time. Use an immersion blender to smooth it out.
It’s not complicated, it’s figuring out what you prefer your marinara to taste like. Sweeter, more garlic, more Umami (mushrooms) - adjust as you like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I prefer dried pasta to fresh pasta. Fresh pasta always tastes heavy.

You are probably overkneading or adding too much flour.

No. Compared to all fresh made.

Then you are using the wrong flour.

No. I am talking about all fresh made pasta. By every type I have ever had. Not just made by me. I like dried better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everything is worth making from scratch if you have enough time & motivation IMO. I make the homemade whipped cream too. My MIL had no idea how to make it as she only used coolwhip her entire life.

Your life revolves about finding any single instance to put your MIL down? Even in her death? Perhaps she was a nicer person than you. I bet you she was. Do you have a long enough wisk to mix the whip cream from your high in the sky perch?

LOL. Lots of angry, cool-whip-type MILs on here today.

Oh, it's you! The "I have no smart retort, but only resort to calling people MILs when they point out that I am the angry, miserable one. Yep. You have no MIL issues, none at all.

I do have a MIL issue: my MIL. Enjoy your cool whip!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Re rice: +1 on the rice cooker. The alternative seems to be frozen boil in bag stuff or the dreadful parboiled/“converted” rice. Blech.

Or....you could just cook rice in a pot! On the stove! You know like people have done for a very long time! Or over any kind of fire as people have done for centuries and millennia....How on earth is it that your only alternative is frozen boil?? Or a rice cooker!

Exactly. I make rice in a simple pot. Easy peasy.

+1 This talk of frozen rice is blowing my mind, and not in a good way.

I know! This quarantine has made me realize that Americans freeze things that have no business being anywhere near a freezer. People are freezing bread? Rice? Milk? This is insanity! Yuck!

We freeze some breads. It thaws/toasts well. We don’t each much of it so we freeze to not waste it.