Convenience Free

[hjshorter]

We are thinking about selling our house, and as I was poking through our pantry the number of jars and boxes started driving me nuts. I started fantasizing about making everything ourselves.

Is this a worthy goal, or a recipe for insanity? I'm talking everything. No mayo in a jar. Homemade bread, pickles, jam, peanut butter, canned tomatoes... I might draw the line at homemade mustard. Will I be turning myself into a 19th century housewife?

Also, would it cost more? I'd be willing to bet that it would.

[fifi]

I am sniffing a recipe for insanity... depending upon how far you go with this.

Chocolate chip cookies... Are you going to grow your own wheat and mill your own flour? Do you have a cow so you can milk her and make your own butter? And those chocolate chips... do you have a cocoa tree? How about a pecan or a walnut tree if you like nuts in your cookies. (Well, actually, I DO have a pecan tree.)

Mustard... Do you grow mustard plants and gather their seeds? Do you grow grapes, make white wine for Dijon mustard? Do you make your own vinegar from your wine? I can see where you might draw the line at mustard.

Do you grow peanuts for your peanut butter?

Uummm... I can think of other things that are best left to the experts or imported from more reasonable parts of the world... oatmeal, dates, citrus fruit, scallops, BACON, cheeses, wine... how many kinds of bread are you willing to bake?

You get my drift.

[fresco]

I'm not sure about cost, but the amount of washing up increases tremendously. A small price to pay, though, because your standard of living and enjoyment rises sharply as well.

If you're baking, and buying large bags of flour, your costs are ridiculously low. One thing that is tough to manage is that you tend to produce large quantities of stuff if you're making it yourself.

If you make something from scratch and it doesn't seem worth the effort, just don't do it again.

But I'd say do it. You learn a lot and life does get better.

One other benefit: Over time, you'll have a lot of conversations with your kids about what you are preparing. When was the last time you had an extended chat with them when you reached for a jar of mayo?

Edited November 11, 2003 by fresco (log)

[hjshorter]

Well, one of my kids is preverbal, so extended chats aren't in the picture yet.

The washing up is a concern.

And Fifi, don't worry I haven't gone completely nuts. Our lot is only 15,000 square feet; large scale farming isn't an option. We'd still buy our flour and oats. And keeping chickens is against local ordinances.

It's just that we completely cleaned out our refrigerator after the hurricane and less than two months later it's jam packed again, mostly with condiments.

[Katherine]

It's just that we completely cleaned out our refrigerator after the hurricane and less than two months later it's jam packed again, mostly with condiments. 

You probably could save money, if you don't end up buying lots of expensive equipment to do things that used to be done by hand, as modern types are wont to do.

You would probably eat more simply, especially when you decide to settle on a fixed number of condiments that you are willing to make in quantity.

Either that, or you'll get tired of not having dozens of different mustards, chutneys, relishes, hot sauces, etc, and end up buying them (on top of all the extra food prep you will be doing), thus getting the worst of both systems.

I think this would work best for people who are either highly motivated to do this as a way of life, or who live remotely where impulse shopping is not a considerations.

[Varmint]

You're nuts, Heather.

Nuff said.

[fifi]

I hear you about the condiments. This apartment refrigerator is sounding strange this morning. I looked in to see what was at risk... mostly condiments!

Do I really need 5 kinds of mustard and 3 kinds of horseradish? And that is just scratching the surface.

[jackal10]

It's just that we completely cleaned out our refrigerator after the hurricane and less than two months later it's jam packed again, mostly with condiments.

Doing it all yourself won't stop this, and if anything make it worse.

For example most jam or pickle recipes make 10lbs or so, its not worth doing much less.

Somehow you have to store the other 9lbs. Its a great relief to go to the shops and only buy a 1lb jar.

Most crops come in gluts; you either have not enough or much too much.

Even worse with livestock; chickens lay about an egg a day in season - even 3 or 4 hens lay a lot of eggs for a family. Cows produce gallons a day; when you slaugher and animal you have lots of meat, of which the prime roasts are only about 10%, so you have to find something to do with all that stewing meat.

I hope you have big freezers.

On the other hand you will know what went into the food, and can cook without compromise.

If you want to do this it is much easier if you are in a community or large extended household and can share the gluts

[hjshorter]

Perhaps I'll just start by making my own bread and see how it goes. I baked bread yesterday for the first time in years and remembered how easy it was.

[fresco]

Heather, I'd love to hear from you (and others) from time to time about what is and isn't worth making yourself.

One thing that isn't, in my experience: tomatoes. Somewhere in the basement dwells a hand-cranked tomato processing machine, which we used for a couple of years. An awful lot of mess and work when you can buy (in the fall) quite good tinned tomatoes for something around 50 cents a 28-ounce tin. Under fifty bucks would keep you swimming in tomatoes for a year and they are just fine for cooking.

[elyse]

50 cents? Where the hell do you live? In the 50s?

[fresco]

50 cents?  Where the hell do you live?  In the 50s?

I know. It is a bit like entering a time warp. As I recall, a couple of the discount supermarkets around here put Unico brand tomatoes on sale for about 57 cents a tin in September or October.

That is, incidentally, about 40 cents US.

[MatthewB]

Heather, if you're going to try some of this--which I do from time-to-time but certainly not comprehensively--check out Helen Witty's books:

Better Than Store-Bought

Fancy Pantry

The Good Stuff Cookbook

[Busboy]

Do I really need 5 kinds of mustard and 3 kinds of horseradish? And that is just scratching the surface.

Don't forget four vinegars, three oils and five kinds of salt.

Oh, yeah: olives, too.

[Cusina]

Hmmm.... I think it is a very good thing to ponder. You don't have to go whole hog, so to speak, and be completely self-sufficient. One could just avoid the middle aisles of the grocery with the prepared stuff. Stick to the fresh things on the perimiter plus a few staples like flour and oil and not have it cost an arm and a leg, might even save you some money if you were careful.

For example, when I switched from buying salad dressing (4-5 bottles in my fridge at at least $3 per) to making my own it was great! We now have two house varieties, a parmesan ceasar style and a balsamic vinagrette, that taste 100 times better and are 100 times cheaper than the old bottles that cluttered up the fridge and never seemed to satisfy. And then there was the long ago revalation that any "cream of" soup could be replaced with a nice thick bechamel at a fraction of the cost and much improved taste.

I'll bet there are other things like that I if I thought about it. Three store bought, mediocre salsas, chutneys or jams that I could replace with one really good homemade version.

Some things though, would be tough. Soy sauce, for instance. Can't imagine it would be worth my while to make my own soy, or hot pepper sauce either, and I can't imagine living without them.

[Malawry]

I think what you propose sounds fun and like it would be a good challenge. Let us know how it goes. I bet you could focus your bread-baking to one day a week and make one or two kinds each time to keep your family ready for sammiches and such. I hope you don't get too dogmatic about it though, with two little ones running about it's hard to even make tuna fish without getting distracted!

I try hard to only keep the single best sort of every type of condiment around these days, which cuts down on fridge clutter. It certainly made life easier during the multiple days without power, I didn't lose much of note. And it makes it easier to fit actual food into the fridge. But I buy my breads, we eat mostly commercially-made pasta, and I keep some convenience foods on hand for when I don't feel like cooking or I go out of town without my partner...he doesn't usually cook in my absence.

[marie-louise]

Perhaps I'll just start by making my own bread and see how it goes. I baked bread yesterday for the first time in years and remembered how easy it was.

That would be my advice-start small, see what you enjoy making from scratch.

I think there's no one right answer. It depends on where you are on the money/time equation. I don't have time to make everything, but I'm still fussy about the things that taste much better homemade. Personally, i only rarely make bread, and if I do it's just for the fun of it, because I live in the Bay Area, and we have incredible bread at every store in a 100-mile radius. And it's cheap. I do always, always make all my own stock-I think anything tastes better when made with homemade stock-and I occasionally make homemade mayo. But I happily buy those overpriced Stonewell products and use canned tomatoes [Muir Glen only] all year long. I have a decent recipe for tapenade, but mine's not as good as what's in the jars, so I buy it at the store.

I do try to avoid things with preservatives whenever possible. Making things from scratch helps in that regard.

[Carlovski]

It's a worthy project, but don't forget no-one has ever made everything themselves - some things are always better made by specialists,and don't forget the joy of bartering!

If you make 10kg of fantastic jam, keep how much you need, and swap for your friends lime pickle, and another friends bacon etc - assuming you have those sorts of friends. I have a firend who just went loco for chillies this year, and kept everyone in dried chillies, chilli jam, chilli vodka etc.

I recommend the RIVER COTTAGE COOKBOOK as a tale of self sufficiency.

[babyluck]

I might draw the line at homemade mustard.

I would draw the line somewhere after homemade mustard--does that mean I'm loonier than you?

I've been thinking along these lines lately too--saving most of the projects for post-apartment life. But until then, I also have the excess condiment issue--and spices, grains, noodles... makes me think I am tackling too many cuisines at once, but I'm powerless to stop myself from trying new ones (well, I did curb my desire to go into a West African grocery last weekend). It makes me think that I would have no problem cooking and storing in the limited space I have if I had a stronger cultural identity and cooked more traditionally. I rarely indulge in fusion, so I'm always amazed at how many ingredients I have in the house that don't go together. And especially when I buy the good preservative-free stuff, things always go bad before I use them up.

I am considering cutting back on my ambitions and limiting myself to the general area my family is from--let's say Scandinavia, Germany and France. Maybe bleed into Eastern Europe a bit to keep my beloved goulash in the mix. I feel like this would allow me to master a few cuisines I was brought up on and allow me more pantry space to start projects like homemade sausage, mustard, sauerkraut, cheese... If you think about it, most of the chefs we admire stick to one thing and do it well. It would also be a relief for my brain, overloaded with ideas from different cuisines and often stymied by having too many possibilities. It will also be a nice treat to go out for food we don't make at home.

However, right now it's just an idea I'm tossing around in my head. I wouldn't want to get rid of the collections of non-perishables I've painstakingly collected, and Mr. Babyluck really enjoys rolling sushi.

Either way, I encourage you. Bread baking is an excellent start--maybe you could spin off from there. Personally, I would love to have a grain mill--was planning on the KitchenAid attachment, but in the DIY spirit maybe I'll get a manual one!

[hjshorter]

I also have the excess condiment issue--and spices, grains, noodles... makes me think I am tackling too many cuisines at once

That's an excellent observation. Looking through the pantry again, most of what we have packaged is thai curry paste, coconut milk, sambal, 5 different kinds of noodles, soy sauce, fish sauce, chutneys, etc. Maybe I should pick one cuisine and stick to it.

[budrichard]

Our goal is to use as little prepared product as possible. We will use Mayonaise as an example. Until you have made your own Mayo, you don't know what real Mayo should taste like. It certainly does not taste like anything, I have ever encountered in a jar!

We do use some condiments when we cannot take the time to make them such as ketchup and mustard(my efforts at making mustard have all been disasters!).

Anything that comes in a package or can is suspect. I have been known to use Instant Mashed Potatoes though.

You can go to any level you like. Your costs in time and effort will greatly offset any cost savings you may realise but the end result is a superior product(generally) and self satisfaction. -Dick

[hjshorter]

I agree, homemade mayo is much better. I haven't made it much recently because we haven't been giving uncooked eggs to the kids. I've loosened up on that now that Ian is a little older.

Homemade bread is good, but I wish we had a slicer for sandwich making.

Not sure about the cost savings though.

Busboy, in our house it's six vinegars, and four oils, and three kinds of salt.

Sticking to one cuisine has its merits, but deciding which one...

[babyluck]

We do use some condiments when we cannot take the time to make them such as ketchup and mustard(my efforts at making mustard have all been disasters!).

What went wrong with the mustard?

[tammylc]

I have been known to use Instant Mashed Potatoes though.

IMO, instant mashed potatoes are spawn of the devil. I was at a "family" restaurant on Saturday and had a hankering for mashed potatoes and gravy. Always wary, I asked if they were instant or real. Turns out they were half and half - what the heck's up with that?

We've also recently encountered the condiment issue, when we moved to a new house with a new fridge, and acquired a housemate at the same time. Combining the sauces and condiments from two households of avid cooks was almost more than the fridge could handle! Using up and combining the duplicates will only make things slightly better...

[hillvalley]

Some of my earliest and happiest memories are of making peanut butter and mayo with my mom. As a result I cannot eat the jarred version of either.

Why not pick a few things, bread, peanut butter, mayo and cookies for example, and go from there? You might want to check out co-ops, like the one in Bethesda, to buy some bulk items.

I also would not limit the cuisines you cook at home. Eating different foods is a great way to introduce your kids to other cultures without leaving home. It sounds like your kids are already great eaters, so why limit them?Growing up I never realized that other familes did not eat hummus (also very easy and fun to make at hone) and egg rolls for dinner, although not at the same time.

As for too many condiments I have 4 bottles of olive oil, 3 types of mustard and 5 types of vinegar and I am only cooking for one!