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Wednesday, October 8, 2008
When do you insist on homemade?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Many home cooks are willing to take shortcuts here and there to save time. But for a lot of us there are a few items where packaged just doesn’t meet our expectations in terms of quality.
I know I roll my eyes when I read a recipe that insists on homemade mayonnaise for something like tuna salad. That, I can tell you, is not going to happen. But there are times that I do think homemade is better and so much cheaper.
I know this sounds crazy, but for some reason I don’t mind using a cake mix for cupcakes, but for a layer cake, I think from scratch is better. I used to be a homemade tomato sauce fanatic. Although there are now one or two on the market that I like, including Rao and Dave’s Gourmet, their price (some upwards of $7) is enough of a deterrent to encourage me to simply sauté some garlic, add canned diced tomatoes, stir in basil and oregano and voila, a fresh tasting sauce in about 20 minutes.
Another biggie for me is piecrust. To me, the frozen kind in the metal tin is the equivalent of eating a cardboard rock. I’ll use refrigerated, only Pillsbury (I have been disappointed in most store brands, but never at Thanksgiving. Then it has to be homemade.
Is there anything that you insist on making from scratch? Or is the difference too minimal to justify the extra work?
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