From Scratch vs. Semi-Homemade

[SobaAddict70]

You see, that's my problem.

I can and do appreciate Mrs. Dash on boneless skinless chicken breasts. At the same time, making chicken stock from scratch isn't a big deal to me.

I just wish the from scratch people and the semi-homemade people could take a chance and learn to learn from one another without all the negativity. Maybe that's too much to hope for, but hope springs eternal or so the saying goes.

Soba

[NulloModo]

I don't view the folks who only cook from scratch as snobs. I do view the folks who look down on those who don't only cook from scratch as snobs, there is a subtle difference.

We all have our passions and hangups. What is tasty for one is vile for another. To me saying that nothing good can come from a frozen dinner is tantamount to saying that anyone who enjoys cilantro, liver, durian, or any other hotly debated culinary treasure is a fool. Everyone's tastebuds react differently to certain foods, so why not just eat what makes you happy and let others do the same?

[sheetz]

How are we defining "Semi-Homemade." Do you mean using quality, prepacked foods as shortcuts or do you mean that crap that Sandra Lee does?

[jhlurie]

This thread is still a support group for us frozen food afficionados.  That's no fun.  If I wanted to hear it's OK to like frozen foods, I'd talk to myself.

This thread seems intended to bait all the snobs out there into verbalizing the impetus behind the snipes elsewhere.  So, bring it on!

Tell me why I'm inferior for liking the occasional Stouffer's product, or for having failed to stuff my own wonton skins when I want dumplings.

I welcome the opportunity to see your arsenal, and to respond.  Sniping is out, justify yourselves!

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Let's clear a few things up right away though... I tend to sympathize with the side of the argument which favors diversity, even up to and including the consumption of outright "junk", but I can't in good conscience, as either a poster OR as a moderator, pigeonhole and chalk one extreme of this debate up to "snobbery", any more than the other side would be fairly portrayed as ignorance.

I can understand the impulse to look at a bag of Ore-Ida frozen french fries and shudder. Similarly, I can understand Jason's curious life-long obsession with Tater Tots. Those impulses come from different places--some of which are available to all of us and some of which settle on some of us to the exclusion of the other. The very NOTION of comfort food means different things to different people. Some people tuck themselves up with a half gallon of the crappiest ice cream available, and some bake brownies from scratch. Some people take the "comfort" aspect literally and just want to feel like they are indulging with as little effort as possible, while others find comfort in the routine of creating something.

We're not going to settle this issue here, because it's unsettleable. We can discuss what it means to subscribe to each approach, we can compare and contrast, we can delve a bit more into the psychology of each, but there isn't going to be a consensus. Let it be our goal that this inevitable result is not going to divide us in other ways, and lets just discuss the pros and cons of each approach rationally.

[Shalmanese]

We all have our passions and hangups.  What is tasty for one is vile for another.  To me saying that nothing good can come from a frozen dinner is tantamount to saying that anyone who enjoys cilantro, liver, durian, or any other hotly debated culinary treasure is a fool.  Everyone's tastebuds react differently to certain foods, so why not just eat what makes you happy and let others do the same?

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I disagree, from scratch vs out of a box is not the same as durian/anti-durian. If I were to crave a meal that tasted exactly like Kraft Mac & Cheez, I could concievably make it from scratch. If I were to crave homemade Mac & Cheese, there is no way I could make it from a Kraft box. The difference here is control and freedom.

Everytime someone else makes a decision for me, that's less control and less freedom I have to construct my meal. Cooking from scratch allows you to control every variable and ultimately, gives you a superior finished product. Whether this control is important to you is something that has to be decided on a case-by-case basis until you find something your satisfied with.

[rjwong]

I appreciate the comments from everyone. It forces me to step back and re-evaluate what I just wrote, namely "chewing," as in READ. CHEW. DISCUSS. For me, it's easier to accept and/or understand other people's statements after I first "chew" (meditate, think through) on what people wrote.

I'm not on eGullet to "wow" anyone. I'm here to learn things and get ideas and read about a topic that interests me. That's all.

designchick88, same here. I'm on eGullet because I love food (See my quote below) and I want to learn more. I didn't join with this attitude to impress or "wow" others. In fact, I feel that I'm the one being "wowwed". Recently, I went to my first eGullet offline event, LA Pie Potluck. Look at kitwilliams' Alsatian Onion Tart. I learned so much from just watching how it was prepared, and how that onion tart tasted. It inspired me to start learning to make my own pie crust. Is that for everyone? Not necessarily. And it doesn't make someone less of a person if they don't or vice-versa!! Once I learn how to make my own pie crust, maybe I'll get inspired to make my own water!

I just wish the from scratch people and the semi-homemade people could take a chance and learn to learn from one another without all the negativity. Maybe that's too much to hope for, but hope springs eternal or so the saying goes. 

Soba, keep hoping.

[jhlurie]

Whether this control is important to you is something that has to be decided on a case-by-case basis until you find something your satisfied with.

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This last part is a valuable statement in this debate. Life puts us all in different places, where what "satisfies us" can differ quite a lot.

It's not, nor should it ever be, a value judgement that someone prepared to accept less is "inferior", it's just a case where their priorities are different. This is complicated, of course, by the fact that "less" and "more" are completely subjective.

But even if things are subjective, does anyone seriously think that Tater Tots are gourmet food? Of course not. What some think is that its a particular item where satisfaction comes easy for them. There's no shame in that--no stigma--but also there's no barrier placed against that same person also having good judgement about food which isn't a compromise. An affection for one isn't a barrier against the other.

People have economic barriers. They have time constraints. They have parents--of which their own reactions to food can either mesh with or be a reaction against. And last, but not least, people have quirks--little pockets of experience which might emotionally attach them to something specific like Tater Tots, despite having eaten in the finest restaurants in the world, or at the other extreme might feed a strong need to never compromise and want the best regardless of effort. It's a big world, and both kinds of people can thrive, heck they can even eat at the same restaurants, share SOME of the same recipes, and inhabit the same webspace.

[Allura]

I consider myself a "technical" cook - I can follow a recipe with the best of them, but I really don't have a grasp on creating my own meals. I grew up with a mother that cooked well most of the time, and has a few things that are really good, but I'm not sure she actually enjoys cooking. I mean, she's Italian-American, but the sauce (gravy in our house) was always from a jar. She never made her own pasta until I was in college & we made a batch of cavatelli one afternoon. And you know what? It's much better then frozen, but it's also tedious & takes a while to make enough for everyone. My grandmother was a saint, apparently, b/c she used to make tons of them. In general, I don't think my mother enjoys cooking. She says it's a lot of work, and takes time she doesn't have. End result? "Semi-homemade", like potato flakes for mashed potatoes, jarred gravy served with the roast.

Despite this, she and I both love food, and I know I inherited that from her. She enjoys going out to eat, and she & I will go explore new restaurants. Here, though, finances, not time, rears its head. My family rarely orders a full 3 courses at even the most casual of restaurants, unless it's a special occasion. Needless to say, we tend to limit our exploring to lunch, not dinner.

With this background in mind, I set off to live on my own. I couldn't afford to eat out as often as I was, and realized I needed to cook. And without really knowing how, I hit the grocery store. And I encountered the ready-made foods that my mother used. Guess what I started making?

Then the doc ordered me to watch what I ate, and eat low carb. You know what? Unless you want to eat chemically-laden food, you basically HAVE to cook from scratch if you eat low carb. And the same doctor warned me to stay away from heavily processed foods in general. So I started to cook. Except I still didn't know how. And I can stare at a cookbook for hours (literally) and still not know what to make. So I joined something called Saving Dinner, that sends me a weekly email with 6 recipes, suggested sides, and a shopping list. And I stumbled across egullet. And now, finally, I think I'm learning to cook. I'm starting to learn how to season things and not be afraid to use salt, and how to use a knife and got my first "pro" pan and, and...

I'm quite likely one of the biggest & most long-term lurkers on the site (although I'm working hard to change that). I started off just reading the restaurant reviews of restaurants it will be a long time before I can afford, but now I read the cooking section just as avidly.

Why am I still here when I ate a frozen ham & cheese croissant sandwich for breakfast? Because I'm learning. I still need a recipe (heck, even for the roasted cauliflower I hunted down the recipe!), but I'm MUCH more comfortable in a kitchen now. I used to think cooking was a chore, now it's a joy. I still don't have the stamina for really long cooking sessions (CFIDS sucks), but I can make dinner on a regular basis, and it's mostly from scratch.

Sure, I've got frozen spinach in my freezer that's going into a meatloaf. But I also served salmon over fresh spinach the other day. I don't think there's anything inherently contradictory in that combination. I still love the occasional kraft mac & cheese (with tuna & cream of brocolli soup), but I also now want to try my hand at the real thing - something I never ate as a child. That's definately something I've learned to appreciate purely due to this group.

[NulloModo]

I disagree, from scratch vs out of a box is not the same as durian/anti-durian. If I were to crave a meal that tasted exactly like Kraft Mac & Cheez, I could concievably make it from scratch. If I were to crave homemade Mac & Cheese, there is no way I could make it from a Kraft box. The difference here is control and freedom.

Everytime someone else makes a decision for me, that's less control and less freedom I have to construct my meal. Cooking from scratch allows you to control every variable and ultimately, gives you a superior finished product. Whether this control is important to you is something that has to be decided on a case-by-case basis until you find something your satisfied with.

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While I see where you are coming from, I disagree with you on a major point: You can not construct a product identical to Kraft Mac and Cheese from ingredients availible to the average shopper, now can you identically replicate a whopper, a frozen burrito, or almost any other ultra-processed food. So much of the taste comes from the artificial flavorings and industrial grade ingredients that trying to recreate it from wholesome ingredients just becomes a lesson in futility. You can of course create a far superior product, but sometimes what I crave at least is that industrial processed taste... maybe I am weird...

[baconburner]

Hi

I used to have a high stress job and still loved to eat well as a batchelor. Took a cooking course because I didn't want to eat out of a can. I know this will probably turn some of the perfectionists off but my sister gave me a Seal-A-Meal for Christmas one year. On Saturdays I would make a Beef Bourginon, or a spagetti sauce, or chilli (from scratch) or any number of other re-heatable dinners. I would make ten to twelve portions at a time and then freeze them. I was able to then just reheat them in a pot of simmering water while I listened to the news or music. The key was planning ahead. On other occasions I would do the "from scratch dinners"

Cheers

Baconburner

[Maison Rustique]

Baconburner, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that! It's called smart and planning ahead! There are 2 of us, but I do the same thing--there's always a couple of emergency "somethings" in the freezer.