cost of OS. Not always worth it. Maths only here

[Deleted User]

horses for courses as always. Some people here obviously love the os idealistic stuff and good on them. I have been os from birth, through necessity and for many many years, through marriage and having 3 children etc. I am 61 now so you know the decades I speak of ie after war years and recessions every 10 years. I started all this very very early and could sew a skirt at 9 and cook a full meal at 11 for 9 people, being the eldest girl, that was my lot in life.

Pottering in a garden or allotment through choice and for relaxation is good but I have the t shirt and have decided, for me, that I don`t want always and any more, to be 100% os. I have the best skills in cooking, sewing, gardening and making do but enough is enough. Tbh I would rather read a book, or look at our glorious scenery with a glass of wine in one hand or go for a potter around the lanes on a bike with my dh.

So back to beans and 32p. No it ain`t worth it. My time is worth far far more

Confuzzled

geordie_joe wrote: »

Hang on, nobody pays me £5 per hour to go down the shop and buy my own veg, so why should I factor in £5 per hour if I grew my own.

If you are using your spare time then it is not costing you anything per hour. Would be different if you took unpaid time off from work to weed the allotment.

i agree with you here, also most people that have allotments or even grow at home find actual enjoyment in it so it's partially a hobby. it also has great educational value for the kids and can be some excellent family time

i do however agree that it does make more sense to grow the more expensive things you fancy, if you have plenty of money and arent' concerned with OS AND have plenty of space well then feel free to grow onions, carrots and cheaper potatoes but otherwise go for the good stuff!

all in all though, i think most people look at veg gardening as a benefit for far more than just financial reasons

Confuzzled

ohhh one more thing

you can actually cut back on your cooking/soaking time with dried beans by soaking for 15 minutes, then drain off the water and freeze

when you want beans, take out as much as you need and cook, these take about 30 minutes on the hob vs 2-3 hours (saving time and money)

you soak them to get them wet, then when they freeze the water inside them freezes too and breaks down the cellulose inside the beans, that's why you have to cook them so long normally, heat takes a lot longer to achieve the same thing as freezing them does :T

oh and one more thing, NEVER EVER EVER put salt or stock cubes in beans til they are done cooking, salt inhibits and sometimes totally keeps beans from breaking down as they should do so if you add salt it makes it take even longer to be edible (if at all!)

and one more thing on this debate... cooking beans in the slow cooker takes all of 30 seconds to bung in the beans, water and turn on the knob and then set an alarm for hours later when they are done... is this really that much of an inconvenience?

Justamum

Confuzzled wrote: »

ohhh one more thing

you can actually cut back on your cooking/soaking time with dried beans by soaking for 15 minutes, then drain off the water and freeze

when you want beans, take out as much as you need and cook, these take about 30 minutes on the hob vs 2-3 hours (saving time and money)

you soak them to get them wet, then when they freeze the water inside them freezes too and breaks down the cellulose inside the beans, that's why you have to cook them so long normally, heat takes a lot longer to achieve the same thing as freezing them does :T

Wow! I never knew this :T:T I'm going to try it this way next time I do beans. Does the soaking water have to be boiling to make it quicker?

geordie_joe

ceridwen wrote: »

It doesnt puzzle me - makes perfect sense - but on the basis of, say, someone doing a reasonably-paid and enjoyable job. If one is doing a reasonably-paid and enjoyable job at, say, £20 per hour - then its a waste of time to do something that is going to take an hour of one's time to save £5 (as you will have lost £15 and not derived any enjoyment from that bit of OS-ing).

OK, suppose you are paid £20 and you do some thing in your spare time that saves you £5. You say you would have lost £15, so can you explain where the £15 went? Who got it? How did they get it?

If, instead of doing something that saves you £5, you sit and watch Strictly for an hour, have you lost £20?

Confuzzled

Justamum wrote: »

Wow! I never knew this :T:T I'm going to try it this way next time I do beans. Does the soaking water have to be boiling to make it quicker?

no i just soak mine in cold tap water

basically the beans get a good soaking, soak up some water, this freezes inside and breaks down the cell walls

stilernin

kittie wrote: »

My tesco tin cost 38p. 1 pack (500g) of dried haricots costs £1.20 and the electricity of 1 hour plus 10 mins cost about 12p. The total cost of me cooking my beans was £1.32 and the equivalent cost of buying tinned would be £1.64. So I have saved a grand total of 32p

They are now taking up valuable room in my tiny freezer

My conclusion is that it is definitely not worth cooking haricot beans from dried. My time is worth much more than the 32p saved

Any other maths out there?

In all money saving exercises I work out the percentage savings (or gain). Most of us would snap up a £1000 TV at £900 to get a 10% saving, sosurely buying a birthday card for 90p instead of £1 gives the same benefit?

Spending 1.32 instead of 1.64 for the beans gives you a saving of 19.5%. Pretty good ...........and a darn sight better than the interest in the banks at the moment.

Only you can decide if you have the time for cooking them.

geordie_joe

Originally Posted by kittie View Post

My tesco tin cost 38p. 1 pack (500g) of dried haricots costs £1.20 and the electricity of 1 hour plus 10 mins cost about 12p. The total cost of me cooking my beans was £1.32 and the equivalent cost of buying tinned would be £1.64. So I have saved a grand total of 32p

They are now taking up valuable room in my tiny freezer

My conclusion is that it is definitely not worth cooking haricot beans from dried. My time is worth much more than the 32p saved

Any other maths out there?

I was planning on leaving mine in the packet and just throwing a handful in the stew next time I make it.

Have I got hold of the wrong end of the stick?

thriftlady_2

geordie_joe wrote: »

I was planning on leaving mine in the packet and just throwing a handful in the stew next time I make it.

Have I got hold of the wrong end of the stick?

Yes, you have. They need to be soaked overnight before being cooked which will take a while. Then you can add them to stews etc. It will say this on the packet.

This is why some people like to cook whole packets at once and freeze them, then you can treat them like tinned beans and add them straight to the stew.

mumto1_2

you need to saok the beans before cooking them, or you will have rocks in your stew. rThe only legumes you can cook without soaking are lentils.