Are jars always a bad option?

redmel1621

I've been wondering lately about why jars are so vilified. I have found that some are cheaper than cooking from scratch. So in fact it seems silly to not buy them?


what do you think?

JIL

It depends what jars you mean? Are you talking pasta sauces and curry sauces, things like that?
I think if you read the labels and are happy with the content then do what's best for you.
I used a pasta sauce yesterday to make a ratatouille, it was cheap, had garlic and basil in it and saved me lots of time.
I use curry sauce in jars as i just can't get the spices right.
I occasionally use a chicken tonight sauce but only if its cheap.
I don't use the lasagne white sauce as I find them too salty.
Everything in moderation always makes a lot of sense to me.

PasturesNew

I've pretty much never used a jar, I begrudge the cost. I did try one jar of that 10/20p sweet/sour and one of the 4/8p curry sauces 2-3 years back - both were minging.

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

Jars are for jam!

N9eav

Jars are quick and convenient and time saving for the average Joe who has little time to cook up a decent sauce.


When we lived in the USA, 'Canning' was the norm. Make up a huge batch of say spaghetti sauce with all those cheap tomatoes and put it in Mason/Kilner/Ball jars and 'jar' it for later use.


Here those jars are expensive and we do little of it. It's a shame really that it costs so much to do here and most people have not much storage either.

peachyprice

redmel1621 wrote: »

I've been wondering lately about why jars are so vilified. I have found that some are cheaper than cooking from scratch. So in fact it seems silly to not buy them?


what do you think?

Depends what it says on the label really. The high quality, no added nasties, similar ingredients to those that you would use at home are rarely cheaper than making it yourself.

Tomato pasta sauce for instance, 39p for passata, 10p's worth of puree, 5p's worth of garlic 5p's worth of onion,pennies worth of herbs and you'll have something far superior to anything you can get in a jar that you'll pay over £1 for.

White sauce, 20p of butter, 30p of milk, pennies worth of flour, again you'd pay over £1 for a jar.

The one and only jar sauce I ever use is a curry type one, probably one a year. I think that's the only one that would work out cheaper if you didn't already have the spices in.

mrsscattercushion

I love cooking from scratch and usually have a wide range of herbs, spices etc to make most sauces. So ideally, I don't use them.

However, there have been times when either due to the crazy hours OH and I were working, or when my health takes a dip, having the odd backup jar in has saved us from ordering the takeaway. Mainly curry pastes or the odd carton of fresh pasta sauce.

we don't use them on the whole ut I do think that well chosen ones have a place in the cupboard, and are more MSE than buying a takeaway!

skintmum2012

I cook from scratch I have 3 young children if I make there food I know what's in it I just don't trust jars.

Bobarella

I think they have their place in a balanced view of modern cooking. Even some well known bloggers will say if I can't make it for as cheaply as I can buy it then why would I? I buy a 30p curry sauce from Sains basics that tastes great and by the time I'd bought the ingredients would cost me way more. You have to decide what is more valuable, your time and resources in producing something or buying it in.
That said, I do agree with the OP above regarding cooking for children. I really think many people don't understand that a jar of baby food will never be as good for your baby as home made pureed foods such as carrot, potato, swede etc and cost a lot less. Hummus is also so easy to make and cheap that they saw us coming whoever first packaged it and sold it for a pound a tub.

Softstuff

I love a jar of pasta sauce. It's the easiest meal ever, I tend to throw other things in it and it's ideal. I buy them when they're on special, so the price is about the same as if I made it from scratch, but nothing can beat the lazyness of it! Jars of pesto are lovely too, as is tapanade - they make great homemade pizza topping.

I wouldn't buy white sauce, I can do that in the microwave very cheaply and it takes the same amount of time as heating a jar up. And curry, I've learned a fair few curries and jars just don't work the same, there's no way you can cook your meat in the spices and such before adding the liquid, same with chinese sauces, and having learned a few I'd rather make my own.

I have no objections contents wise to jars, it's only taste and price that bothers me.

VJsmum

As i have a severe reaction to MSG and sulphites, jars are generally a no no for me.

You don't always know they are in them either, as the names change - natural flavours? probably MSG
Hydrolysed vegetable protein? MSG
etc

Better for me to make them and know what's in them