Ready made sauces?

[Deleted User]

With cooking as with a lot of things its trial and error.When I married way back in 1962 I decided that because of lack of cash (we really were stoney broke) that I would have to make every penny work and streeetch to breaking point almost.With free library books available it costs nothing to learn.Also ask anyone if your not sure .I was lucky that I had been blessed with a Mum (although sadly she had died by the time I married )who could do amazing things with food owing to rationing during WW2.So I knew the basics of cooking (although I did explode boiled eggs once )Get a good book and spend the weekend reading through it .I use herbs almost daily in my cooking but then I do like flavoured food,a sprinkle of herbs will brighten up any meal and make it feel special.The french use them all the time and they make amazing grub.I even sprinkle cinnamon (my favourite flavour) on museli in the morning.I too make my own pasta sauce as its so much nicer and if you go to the supermarket late in the evening you will often get a big box of tomato's at almost half the price which with a chopped onion or two and some garlic will make a big batch of sauce which freezes beautifully in portions for use when you need it .Why pay a quid or two for something that will only do one meal.I can see why the cheap standby sauce from Sainsbobs or Tescos are o.k. as an emergency but only if you need them suddenly, and I would add to them as well from my store of herbs and spices.I am lucky that I can take a trip to a big farm shop now and again in Faversham and stock up for very little outlay on lots of herbs ect.Macknade is without a doubt my favourite shop in Kent and well worth a trip.I don't have any oriental supermarkets near to me but I suppose you could google the nearest ones as I believe they are a lot cheaper to buy in bulk.Even the cheapest cut of meat can taste great if cooked in a slow cooker with a few herbs.A bottle of red plonk for cooking will cost around £2-3 and will last quite a while if only used for a good splash at a time in a casserole and will make the cheapest stewing steak taste very nice when cooked slowly

loucroft

Right, you have to try this chilli jam - I make my own version with juice of oranges to cut down on the amount of sugar :-)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/food/article-1094894/Recipe-Sweet-chilli-jam.html

mmmsnow

I would add that Tesco and Asda are doing a special on curry paste at the moment (it's as cheap as £1 a jar). Stock up on the paste and you can make curry sauces both easily and cheaply by adding chopped tomatoes or coconut milk (depending on the paste). The paste also freezes so you can portion the jar into eight and freeze if you live alone.

wee_plumb

Thanks for all the great responses!

Think I need to get to grips with doing more OS and batch cooking.

The comment made by ubamother was really relevant and i think thats what initially prompts the more expensive mindset.

I'll be searching the cooking threads for a while. I'm on a mission now to clear all the shop bought convenience foods from the cupboards and freezer so I can free up some space and get cracking!

Thanks All x

wee_plumb

loucroft wrote: »

Right, you have to try this chilli jam - I make my own version with juice of oranges to cut down on the amount of sugar :-)


Could you tell me how you adapt the recipe using oranges please?

I LOVE chilli jam and the one I use cost £2.00+ from Asda. I'd be interested to try this!

stiltwalker

If you are talking about the value ranges you possibly can't make the sauces cheaper but I do mean the uber cheap value stuff (Mr T does a pasta sauce for 19p), once you have the ingredients in your store though you can certainly make sauces cheaper than the standard jarred sauce prices. I have to say though that even with some quite basic skills you can make sauces that taste vastly better than any you can buy and without the extra preservative type ingredients, you can also control how much salt and sugar you are putting in your food making it healthier too.

jcr16

i think it all depends on your personal tastes. there is no right or wrong with buying shop bought or hoem made.

For instance i've tried loads of times to make a sweet and sour sauce and we simply just don't like it. i can't seem to get it right, however tesco do a gorg one for 75p. money well spent i think.

but on the other hand i wouldnt' consider for a minute buying a pie. the whole family love my pastry, it take minutes to make and the pie always turns out delish. in fact my children won't eat shop bought pie , i bought one about 5 years ago. and it may cost me more to make than to buy depending on what filling i make , but the taste it far better.

slm6002

does anyone have a recipe for the homepride creamy pasta bake sauce - we love this but i would be very happy to try a homemade version

loucroft

wee_plumb wrote: »

loucroft wrote: »

Right, you have to try this chilli jam - I make my own version with juice of oranges to cut down on the amount of sugar :-)


Could you tell me how you adapt the recipe using oranges please?

I LOVE chilli jam and the one I use cost £2.00+ from Asda. I'd be interested to try this!

Hello!

Yes, I simply cut down the sugar by about a quarter, then peel 2 large oranges, squeeze to a pulp and add to the mixture at the same time as the sugar - doesn't matter if there are lumps, this jam should have lumps anyway

good luck

oh, I've tried it using a little red wine, instead of red wine vinegar and at the same time with brown sugar instead of normal, it was much darker and richer.

I have a fine recipe now that I use and it's gorgeous.

Don't forget to sterilise your jars etc etc

lessonlearned

Rather than having to buy wine to put in a casserole etc I buy a cheap port or vermouth or even sherry, you can just slosh a bit of that in and it will give your food that nice rich winey kick. A couple of tablespoons is enough. A bottle will last for ages - unless of course you are tempted to drink it.

Last week I ran out - had a rummage and found a miniature bottle of Pernod lurking in the cupboard. Just added a splash - it made a really fab "Beouf Burginueon;) (I'm sorry I know that's not how you spell it).