How much of your food do you cook from scratch, and how much do you buy pre-made? Salad dressing, baked goods, etc. How far do you go? Do you make homemade tofu, ketchup, etc?
I'll start I occasionally make tofu from scratch because there is only one brand I like, and it's often out of stock locally. I found the process to be fascinating and fun, although it's a lot of work.
I like to make my own salad dressings. It also turned out to be more fun and delicious than anything in a bottle at the store. Though I have to make small quantities at a time, since I'm not sure about shelf life.
I don't make single-ingredient products like cheese or pasta, but soups, sauces and dressings, yes. I really want to make ketchup because the store bought stuff is junk!
I like to buy pesto to add to my sauces or use in pizza, but have to be careful about ingredients.
I make a lot of foods from scratch including enchilada sauce, BBQ sauce, marinara/bolognese, ketchup, dressings, yogurt, cheese, etc. I also buy some of them in the interest of time.
Because of the sporadic, "up and down" nature of my health issues (fibromyalgia and autoimmune issues) how much I do myself depends how I'm feeling.
I make things from scratch when I can: yogurt, jerky, soups, stews, refrigerator and freezer pickles, salad dressings, full meals...
I rely on more readymade foods and condiments when I'm not feeling well, except for salad dressings. Even at my sickest, I will usually make homemade salad dressings, because there are few bottled dressings I consider worth their price.
I prefer my homemade yogurt, but I often buy plain Greek yogurt and almost never buy pre-flavored yogurt anymore, unless I'm feeling really horrible and want quick confort-food.
I do homemade for, well, all of the same reasons! Taste, cost, health benefits, what it teaches my kids, etc etc! I don’t do homemade everything but I do quite a bit and I’m getting pickier and pickier about products and ingredients that are pre-made.
I make a lot from scratch as well but I haven't tried to make tofu or ketchup myself yet I always make my own salad dressing though. Hmm, I probably should do more myself now that you mentioned it...
Last month I bought The Kitchen Pantry from Amzaon while it was on sale for $2.99 (Kindle version). I haven't tried anything yet, but it contains a lot of delicious sounding dressings and pickles.
Do you cook from scratch?
I occasionally make tofu from scratch because there is only one brand I like, and it's often out of stock locally. I found the process to be fascinating and fun, although it's a lot of work.
