Homemade foods

[Aimless]

I don't like bread-machines, giant single-purpose monstrosities that they are. Hilda pkus our well-behaved convection oven is a better solution

[earthJoker]

A few grams already sounds like way too much, I thought it came in 0,02 gram packages hrre.

You are right, 5g is toxic, 20g of Saffron are lethal. Makes her comparison even more ridiculous.

[Wraith]

Which means she's evaluating the cost efficiency of killing off twenty-two people?

GGT. I approve.

[Catgrrl]

Bone-in chicken breasts were on sale this week, so I stuck 4 of them in a crockpot with an onion, carrots, and celery, and with a cup of water with salt and pepper mixed in. 8 hours later, I had several cups of shredded chicken to freeze for casserole/quick dinner ingredients. I strained the liquid out of the pot, let it chill overnight, skimmed the fat off, and bagged the "stock" to freeze for later use.

I've been on a crockpot kick lately. Today I made pork spareribs in it. Though, I did use a prepackaged BBQ spice mix to add to the pot. 4 lbs of spareribs were quickly finished off between my husband, my parents, and I. If I hadn't invited them over, we'd be eating them for a few days.

[GGT]

Crockpot cooking is the best!

Okay EJ, here goes: I'm commenting about the price of spices, and comparing expensive yellow saffron to other cheaper saffron flavor alternatives. We could do the same thing with types of pepper (red, black, cayenne, whole corn, ground); salts (sea, kosher, iodized, sodium/calcium/potassium); sugars (cane, brown, granulated, powdered, honey, HFCS), etc. See my point now?

My ex's second wife buys Pink Himalayan unground salt crystals...for some reason, she thinks it's worth the extra price. Maybe my palate just isn't very sophisticated, but I've never felt the need to buy the very expensive yellow saffron for home-cooking. I love Indian saffron rices....but can achieve the same aromatic, yellow rice @ home using Jasmine rice with a dash of turmeric.

[earthJoker]

Okay EJ, here goes: I'm commenting about the price of spices, and comparing expensive yellow saffron to other cheaper saffron flavor alternatives. We could do the same thing with types of pepper (red, black, cayenne, whole corn, ground); salts (sea, kosher, iodized, sodium/calcium/potassium); sugars (cane, brown, granulated, powdered, honey, HFCS), etc. See my point now?

Still apples and oranges. I don't think you can do a lot with 0.02 gram of pepper, salt or sugar. But saffron, it will do it.

My ex's second wife buys Pink Himalayan unground salt crystals...for some reason, she thinks it's worth the extra price. Maybe my palate just isn't very sophisticated, but I've never felt the need to buy the very expensive yellow saffron for home-cooking. I love Indian saffron rices....but can achieve the same aromatic, yellow rice @ home using Jasmine rice with a dash of turmeric.

I don't buy Himalayan salt either. I prefer pure salt if I need salt.

Turmeric is indeed cheaper than saffron, but honestly it doesn't matter.
If I make a Saltimbocca with risotto I pay:
2 CHF for saffron
0.50 CHF for rice
7.50 CHF for raw ham
20 CHF for veal
2 CHF for salvia.
____
32 CHF total

Now do you really think I won't buy saffron because it's too expensive?

[GGT]

Still apples and oranges. I don't think you can do a lot with 0.02 gram of pepper, salt or sugar. But saffron, it will do it.

Seriously? Now we're into the weeds about flavorings and recipes. Whether it's spices or herbs, sugars or acids....it's possible to ruin a recipe or meal by using too much of any one ingredient. Or confusing a dried herb/spice from a fresh one. I've done that before, using fresh ginger instead of ground/powdered ginger.

*Or substituting white vinegar for apple cider vinegar*

[earthJoker]

Seriously? Now we're into the weeds about flavorings and recipes.

See my list. See the impact of saffron on the price of my meal for two, it's not that big.

[GGT]

EJ, my palate isn't very sophisticated. I couldn't tell if yellow saffron or some other saffron substitute was used in a recipe. It's kinda like saying I should buy sun-dried red tomatoes, or roasted red peppers, to make an awesome spaghetti sauce. Most folks can't taste the difference between virgin or extra-virgin olive oils, either.

Can you?

[earthJoker]

Well, there is only extra-virgin in the shelf here. And for cooking I use rapeseed oil. So I can't tell you if I can tell the difference. I like the taste of saffron, never tried to substitute it, I also never found a reason why.

[GGT]

I had to look up "rapeseed oil"...it's canola oil! Americans know canola oil means Wesson Oil (remember those commercials for fried chicken hosted by Florence Henderson?) Far cry from EVOO, which was mainstreamed by Rachel Ray. She bugs the crap outta me, btw.

So I'm not sure how you can say EVOO is on your shelf, but you use canola oil.

[Timbuk2]

Rapeseed fields are very pretty.

[GGT]

Combining Rape and Seed ends up looking like mountains of feces plopped among land tracts?

[Aimless]

It's not about sophistication, turmeric and saffron simply don't taste the same.

[Flixy]

Easy to have extra virgine olive oil on your shelf but cook with something else - extra virgine isn't suited for frying and can get a little bitter if you do.

[earthJoker]

I mean the shelf of the supermarkets. Not my shelf. And I use olive oil, cold, but not for cooking/frying, for that I use rapeseed oil (or Colza oil).

[Flixy]

Technically not homemade - but last saturday I had a cooking workshop (got it from my mum for christmas, went with her), seafood themed. The menu included oysters (in three ways), langoustine (carpaccio on top of stewed beef, and fried with shrimp brandade), scallops (fried with beurre blanc and stewed leek, and sliced with cauliflower and bacon dressing), and lobster (with pasta and sauce américaine).

[GGT]

I mean the shelf of the supermarkets. Not my shelf. And I use olive oil, cold, but not for cooking/frying, for that I use rapeseed oil (or Colza oil).

US supermarkets have long aisles of cooking oil choices. Seriously, it's almost too much. Canola, vegetable, olive, peanut, corn, sesame, sunflower, safflower, saffron...light, lite, virgin, extra virgin, seasoned...liquids, solids, sprays, spritzes....with/without additives, natural, organic, domestic, imported....brand names, generics

[earthJoker]

I speak about olive oil (I don't use olive oil for cooking, not really the best for that).
Here is the list:
http://www.leshop.ch/leshop/Main.do/...oliven%C3%B6l/
You see, all of them extra virgin. Makes you wonder what they do with the rest of the olives.

[GGT]

This is gonna sound really nerdy....but I found a 6 1/2 inch 'Wagner 1891 authentic' cast iron skillet for six bucks at a consignment store. Later, I found the same skillet at an antique store with a $28 price tag.

I've fallen in love with cast iron skillet cooking lately. They're heavy, but can go from stove-top to oven, and are practically indestructible. Since they're oil-seasoned, cooking means using less oil. Even for eggs--I just add a bit of water. I can cook with the large skillet, directly on a charcoal grill, when the power goes out. Plus, they make the best corn bread ever!

[earthJoker]

I would love to have an old style iron skillet, it would also work on my induction stove, which is sometimes a problem.

[GGT]

Another nerdy thing...but I wonder how others figure what "homemade" means. Obviously, must of us don't churn our own butter or butcher our own meat, but there's a ton of room in-between. I figure that buying whole is the first step to being homemade, so I try not to buy pre-cut ingredients.

Is it still a "homemade" meal even if someone uses pre-cut meats, pre-cut veggies, frozen or canned, adds some pre-measured seasonings or sauces, and heats it up? It's the Hamburger Helper dilemma that seems better than fast food.

[Hazir]

Interesting question. Over the last few weeks I have come to the conclusion that I should really stop buying ready meals and have a better idea of what I am really eating. Also read an article the other day in the NYT that gave me the idea that foods with a more distinct taste can actually help you reduce the amounts you eat.

[GGT]

...Also read an article the other day in the NYT that gave me the idea that foods with a more distinct taste can actually help you reduce the amounts you eat.

That sounds like what my kids say when I experiment with "tastes" in the kitchen. And later make peanut butter toast because they're hungry

[Timbuk2]

Is it still a "homemade" meal even if someone uses pre-cut meats, pre-cut veggies, frozen or canned, adds some pre-measured seasonings or sauces, and heats it up? It's the Hamburger Helper dilemma that seems better than fast food.

Subjective question mostly, but I'd say no.

Homemade to me is what I cook when we're home.
Fresh veg: I'll generally go organic. Pre-cut is never as good - the 'edges' of the cuts are always faded and browning - it's not as fresh. You can't beat a whole veg. Fine beans sold in this country annoy me as they're mostly pre-trimmed. I have to retrim them as the trimmed edges are faded and brown. I'll buy from a market stall if I can, as they never trim.
Fresh meat: Organic, free-range cuts of meat. Will pay extra for this. Absolutely no 'processed' meats. Freezing fresh meat to cook later is fine though.
Fresh sauces: Nothing out of a tin or a jar. Nothing processed. Fresh ingredients, fresh herbs and natural spices. I always cook everything from scratch. Freezing homemade sauces to reheat at another time is fine.

Acceptable exceptions are:
Quality tinned chopped tomatoes (Napolitana or Cirio). These I use quite a lot. Tin must contain nothing more than tomatoes and water. Perfect in pasta sauces.
Shop-bought pastry for tarts & flans etc. Again perfectly acceptable, and even chefs recommend this as making pastry is time-consuming and not that straightforward.

Whenever I buy anything nowadays I study the ingredients list closely. I'm immediately suspicious of anything processed. Added salt and sugar is another big no-no.

Even when it comes to buying normal stuff like sugar, i'll avoid the processed white stuff and go for natural cane sugar.

[Aimless]

"Homemade", in my view, is more sophisticated than "home-heated", "home-tossed" and "home-mixed", with the possible exception of salads. "Homemade" implies at the very least that the basic shape and size of raw products, the tertiary structure of proteins and/or the distribution of fats have been changed by me or someone else in the home.

[Hazir]

But is homemade really always better? It is my consistent experience, that pancakes when made from scratch simply don't come out as good as pancakes made with a mix. You can get close, but from scratch never wins. And believe me, I have tried hard.

[Aimless]

"Better" can mean many things. Homemade is better if you enjoy making food almost as much as you enjoy eating it. If you really love the taste of pancakes then it's entirely possible that pre-mixed is better for you, or that you need a truly magical recipe

[Timbuk2]

But is homemade really always better? It is my consistent experience, that pancakes when made from scratch simply don't come out as good as pancakes made with a mix. You can get close, but from scratch never wins. And believe me, I have tried hard.

Homemade doesn't always mean better tasting, I suppose, and you do get excellent packet stuff out there nowadays. So long as you buy quality, which will tend to avoid things like added salt, sugar, flavourings, colourings and other nasties.

Homemade does allow you to tweak the ingredients to your tastes though, which is half the fun. Experimentation.

[Hazir]

Homemade doesn't always mean better tasting, I suppose, and you do get excellent packet stuff out there nowadays. So long as you buy quality, which will tend to avoid things like added salt, sugar, flavourings, colourings and other nasties.

Homemade does allow you to tweak the ingredients to your tastes though, which is half the fun. Experimentation.

But isn't it disheartening that 10 years of tweaking doesn't get you further than approaching texture and taste of a ready mix?