Cooking from scratch more pricey a myth?

lemontart

cheats garlic bread - bread of choice even value will work, spread be it butter, marg or such like and either fresh garlic or garlic puree -

microwave spread to soften so almost liquid, add desired amount of garlic - you can also add cheese of choice if that is your preference - then spread on bread and grill for couple minutes until garlic side starts to crisp to taste .......... - you could also serve with anything on top such as beans, spaggette etc for a slightly different snack or lunch

fiftyeighter_2

I,m another lucky one. I do have a freezer..Well 1 large and also a small one.
I also cook from scratch and always have done. I was a child in the fifties and also from a large family..........15 of us. My poor mum, lol in more ways than one. So nothing could ever be thrown out. I always remember we had the normal roast on Sundays so Mondays was the left over meat made into a stew with loads of veg. You were very very fortunate if you found a piece of meat. But we were well fed and happy.
Though I can also understand how it could be cheaper if you lived on your own to buy ready made. They are just not for me.

LB29

I'm sure they don't compare like for like either. Even cheapest minced beef is going to be far nicer than what's in an average pre-made lasagne. And then there are all the additives. Like comparing a 5 star holiday to a caravan site, of course one is cheaper!

pigpen

My lasagne costs more than £6 and just feeds 10 of us..

Mine is about £17.. I just added up ingredients from 'mysupermarket' .. that doesn't include the salad or garlic bread the family eat with theirs or the parmesan that gets sprinkled on..

A local shop has large ready made lasagne, I need to buy 2 for my brood and they are £2 each.

ALIBOBSY

LB29 wrote: »

I'm sure they don't compare like for like either. Even cheapest minced beef is going to be far nicer than what's in an average pre-made lasagne. And then there are all the additives. Like comparing a 5 star holiday to a caravan site, of course one is cheaper!

I agree with this, you need to compare like with like.
BUT with there being 6 of us I can see it is much easier for me to cook a meal for all us alot cheaper than buying ready meals.

Ali x

msb5262

Interesting thread...
I think the issue here is quality.
Home made foods are usually made from ingredients of reasonable quality (and I would include value/basics tuna, tinned tomatoes, pasta, cheese etc) but factory made foods are made from ingredients of unknown quality. As recent news bulletins show, many meat-based dishes include "fillers" made from rind, hooves etc. - in my opinion, which animal these are from is immaterial...rind isn't meant to be a foodstuff!
The cheapest prepared foods are bulked up with extra cereal, water or animal waste products so the price per kilo is lower. They just aren't comparable to home made foods. To my mind, this is where the confusion arises...you can only compare like with like!

MsB

ETA cross posted on the "like with like"...

3v3

gailey wrote: »

...
So why does the media perpetuate this myth?

Because it's a question of perception. You describe a scenario where you have the facilities to invest in, bake and then store bulk made food. Not every one is in your situation, with your facilities.

Your "myth" is another person's "reality"

msb5262 wrote: »

... many meat-based dishes include "fillers" made from rind, hooves etc. - in my opinion, which animal these are from is immaterial...rind isn't meant to be a foodstuff!...

Personally, I'm quite partial to a bit of bacon rind ... and pork crackling ....

When I was growing up, I gagged on sausages when I hit a lump of gristle in it; likewise with mince, I'd gag when I hit that snippet of bone. At that point in time, this was "normal".

Modern sausages have no (discernible) gristle and modern mince has no discernible bone.

That is not to say they are no longer in the product ... maybe just processed better these days?

BitterAndTwisted

It can be more pricey if:

You have non-existent or very poor cooking skills. (Not uncommon these days)

You have no store-cupboard to speak of. (Even more common than you'd think)

You don't know how to shop sensibly. Look at all the people who buy ready-prepared veg, when all it takes is a rinse in cold water, a sharp knife and five minutes of your time. Or those who only ever buy chicken-breasts when legs, wings or even a whole chicken would be tastier and much cheaper.

And that's not even factoring in the cook/chill food-manufacturers' propaganda machine

eamon

In essence its a numbers game. The lower the number of people then ready meals & pre cut/washed vegetables become more tempting. However the supermarkets & food processors are clever people and price accordingly in terms of the quality of the ingredients. Afterall you can buy a ready made lasagne in M&S and a frozen variant in Jack Fulton (there are many other bargain freezer shops). Which one would you prefer to eat? Up the number of people though and the dynamics should change. Though given the amount of shelf space given over to ready made meals I suspect that isn't the case and other factors must come into play. Other posters have already mentioned lack of time and storage space as crucial issues. I'm going to add that a lot of people simply have no idea how to cook from scratch and wouldn't know were to start. Anybody remember Jamie Oliver and his sojurn in Rotherham? One of the participants had a decent kitchen and a fancy gas range with 5 burners, 2x ovens etc and it was never used!
Me, I usually cook from scratch, batch cook and can do a fair amount in the kitchen, but I prefer it that way as reading the ingredients on the labels is way too scary.

meritaten

I was thinking about this the other day when the ad featuring Ronnie Corbett was on - you know, the meals delivered for 'those who cant get about so easily'. and straight after was an ad for Jerry Craig!
would it be cost effective I wondered? well taking into account the cost of ingredients and travel to a supermarket etc or home delivery of said ingredients then cooking it- for one person perhaps it would be!
I am no snob about ready meals - I do cook mostly from scratch but, I do currently have a large lasagna in the fridge - I aint even going to look if its been withdrawn from sale cos of the horsemeat thingy!
I do think there is no harm in eating the occasional ready meal - and if you cant shop or cook for yourself and you can afford them, or they work out cheaper - well, go ahead! its your choice!