best and worst tastes for your money

[davebrown]

First post after many thoughts.

I've often been struck (usually after making breakfast) that tinned tomatoes on toast must be one of the best value meals (according to my crude savour to pound indicator) you can buy in the UK. Any other nominations?

Marmite is a bit more of a problem to assess. Savour, it delivers, and the price per scrape is very affordable: but look at the cost of a jar of what is a waste product of the brewing industry. How can this be justified?

Dave

[Tim Hayward]

First post after  many thoughts.

I've often been struck (usually after making breakfast) that tinned tomatoes  on toast must be one of the best value meals (according to my crude savour to pound indicator) you can buy in the UK.  Any other nominations?

Marmite is a bit more of a problem to assess.  Savour, it delivers, and the price per scrape is very affordable: but look at the cost of a jar of what is a waste product of the brewing industry.  How can this be justified?

Dave

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2 x free range eggs @ £1.50 per half doz = 50p

1 slice off a sourdough loaf @ £1.60 = Let's say 10p

25g Echire butter @ £2.00 250g = 20p

1 Tbsp double cream @ 25p per 100ml = 2.75... let's say 3p

Allow 5p for peppercorns, salt (Malden, natch).

Borrow rather than buy Bill Grainger's book...

88p for the best scrambled eggs in your life.

Thinking about it, though, my Mum used to do something called 'Dead man's eyes' that involved white Sunblest fried in bacon drippings topped with a dollop of last night's mash and a squeeze of ketchup (nicked from a Wimpy). We're talking old money here, back in the days of white dog poo and Spangles, but that's got to be less than a penny a serving.

(PS. Welcome aboard)

[Matthew Tomkinson]

Best taste for money for me is well buttered brown bread chopped up with a runny boiled egg and lots of salt and pepper. Its heaven

Worst for me has to be ortolan which i tasted when i was working in France, it was absolutely average and cost 50 euros per bird!

[kutsu]

best for me?

200g plain flour ~10p?

2 eggs ~ 33p @ 6 per £1 from my farmer

salt ~ 5p?

mix together with a splash of water into pasta dough, cut to shape of choice

50g Echire butter @ £2.00 250g ~ 40p

sage leaves ~ free from garden

splash of pasta water ~free

pasta with sage butter - heaven for 88pence

[BertieWooster]

Dinner at LeBernadin or RHR where someone else pays.

[naebody]

2 x free range eggs @ £1.50 per half doz  = 50p

<Snip>

Borrow rather than buy Bill Grainger's book...

88p for the best scrambled eggs in your life.

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Hm. Doesn't it go against the spirit of the question to include recipies any more complex than "place on/in/over something hot/warm/cold"? One key measure of a good cook is to how they can make great tastes out of unpromising ingredients. Remove Bill Grainger's book from your scrambled egg recipe and I'd be reasonably confident of ending up with glue.

If you want a single taste that provides the biggest bang/buck ratio without the requirement of additional forraging, fluffing or stuffing, I nominate miso. Spread it on a halved raddish, if you insist on complicating matters.

Finally, at risk of removing what little credibility I have as a foodie, I'd suggest that all those twice-baked spongey/melty chocolate affairs at £6+ a pop stack up quite poorly value-wise when measured against a haselnut Topic, which gives you change out of 50p.

Edited April 28, 2006 by naebody (log)

[Mrs Foodie]

My favourite easy supper/snack is scrambled eggs on wholemeal toast, spread with pesto (preferably home-made if I have some in the fridge) - it is heavenly.

Anyway, I much prefer Vegemite to Marmite - less harsh - and nothing beats a breakfast of dippy, fresh, free-range egg with Vegemite toast.....yum!

[Bridgemo]

If we are discussing ease, I declare myself a convert to microwaved porridge. I admit I was a microwave snob. And I still am on many things: I taught myself how to cook after my mother did Christmas lunch in the microwave. But I would prefer to have good microwaved porridge five times a week rather than excellent saucepan porridge once a fortnight: we have to be realistic if we have to get somewhere by nine o'clock every morning.

While on the porridge topic, living between Ireland and England I have noticed a difference between British porridge oats like Quaker's and Scott's (a powdery and earthy flavour) and Irish oats such as Flahavan's (cleaner but perhaps less interesting). Has anyone else found the same?

[racheld]

I taught myself how to cook after my mother did Christmas lunch in the microwave.

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This is just BEGGING to be a sig line!!! Please elaborate on the menu---how long DOES one nuke a goose?

[S_tran]

What is marmite? Is it similar to Vegemite? I've seen it in store but havent had enough courage to try it yet.

[Mrs Foodie]

Vegemite is the Aussie version of Marmite but it is far nicer - less harse and possibly less salty.

Try it! I'm sure you will be converted. I also love Vegemite or Marmite on toast with marmalade on top.....wierd but really good.

[Matthew Tomkinson]

Vegemite is the Aussie version of Marmite but it is far nicer - less harse and possibly less salty.

Try it!  I'm sure you will be converted.  I also love Vegemite or Marmite on toast with marmalade on top.....wierd but really good.

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My favourite is Marmite and peanut butter on toast. Mmmm lovely

[Jon Tseng]

2 x free range eggs @ £1.50 per half doz  = 50p

1 slice off a sourdough loaf @ £1.60 = Let's say 10p

25g Echire butter @ £2.00 250g = 20p

1 Tbsp double cream @ 25p per 100ml = 2.75... let's say 3p

Allow 5p for peppercorns, salt (Malden, natch).

Borrow rather than buy Bill Grainger's book...

88p for the best scrambled eggs in your life.

Unfair - as total outlay is more like four or five quid, esp given you'd have to buy a decent sized block of butter, not just a scrape.

Not convined by tinned tomatoes on toast - the problem is all that juice tends to soak into the toast and make it soggy. Maybe it'll work with a fried slice?

Beans on toast maybe - important to use cheap and nasty margarine. Doesn't taste quite the same with propah butter (same logic applies to bacon butties)

Actually for cheap tastes I'd nominate 49p McDonalds hamburgers when they have them on special cheapo offer. Four for two quid Mmmm... Teenage hanging-around-in-the-shopping-centre nostalgia. Yes slightly controversial I know but then again I think I'm the only person who know who desperate wanted to go and buy a McD's hamburger after reading Fast Food Nation...

J

[Mrs Foodie]

Wow, Marmite and peanut butter - will have to try that. The other thing which is really nice is sandwiches of Marmite and lettuce, cucumber and peanut butter (and nice with spring onion too) or cucumber and Marmite.

Making me hungry - off to try Vegemite and peanut butter.....

[davebrown]

Not convined by tinned tomatoes on toast - the problem is all that juice tends to soak into the toast and make it soggy. Maybe it'll work with a fried slice?

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The point is that the juice soaks into the toast and makes it soggy.

I seem to remember some Italian salad that works on the same principle: but you can't make it in 3 minutes, it costs more than 40p a portion and you'd get funny looks ordering it in caffs.

[davebrown]

Wow, Marmite and peanut butter - will have to try that.  The other thing which is really nice is sandwiches of Marmite and lettuce, cucumber and peanut butter (and nice with spring onion too) or cucumber and Marmite.

Making me hungry - off to try Vegemite and peanut butter.....

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If you want a sandwich that really tastes of sandwich: scraping of marmite, peanut butter, thinly sliced banana and bitter orange marmalade.

Trust me.

[Jon Tseng]

The point is that the juice soaks into the toast and makes it soggy. 

I seem to remember some Italian salad that works on the same principle: but you can't make it in 3 minutes, it costs more than 40p a portion and you'd get funny looks ordering it in caffs.

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Ah ok... understand now... sort of like pain perdu (aka eggy fried bread)... you need to let it soak in milk a bit to sog before you fry

I think the salad you mean is panzanella... tomateoey bread and other gubbins

On a mildly related note there is a wonderful dish from Xi'an in China called Yangrou paomour (sp) where you break chunks of flatbread into little niblets into your bowl (the smaller the pieces the better) and then ladle a delicious steam mutton broth over the top. heaven in a bowl and dirt cheap locally

even better, in fact than that 49p hamburger...

l8tr

J

[Tim Hayward]

Wow, Marmite and peanut butter - will have to try that.  The other thing which is really nice is sandwiches of Marmite and lettuce, cucumber and peanut butter (and nice with spring onion too) or cucumber and Marmite.

Making me hungry - off to try Vegemite and peanut butter.....

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If you want a sandwich that really tastes of sandwich: scraping of marmite, peanut butter, thinly sliced banana and bitter orange marmalade.

Trust me.

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Trust You????

That's got to rank right up there with incest and folk dancing as 'things I should really try out some time'.

[Mike Hunt]

It's got to be bruschetta.

Thick slice of Italian bread toasted, rubbed with a fat garlic clove, sliced tomatoes on top with a drizzle of olive oil and some torn basil.

Big flavour return on your money there.

[Champagne Sadie]

It's got to be bread and dripping.

The sunday night tea of my childhood.

[Mike Hunt]

It's got to be bread and dripping.

The sunday night tea of my childhood. 

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beef dripping ?

[Champagne Sadie]

It's got to be bread and dripping.

The sunday night tea of my childhood. 

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beef dripping ?

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Yep.

I seem to remember pork dripping as well.

[Tim Hayward]

It's got to be bread and dripping.

The sunday night tea of my childhood. 

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Sunday Tea.... now you're talking.

Fray Bentos corned beef. Either in a white bread sandwich with Anchor or with hand cut chips and tinned peas.

Can I also watch a Carry On film while eating. Big old sofa and a Nan that smells of rosewater and dust.

[Champagne Sadie]

It's got to be bread and dripping.

The sunday night tea of my childhood. 

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Fray Bentos corned beef.

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With tomato ketchup.

[Jenny McClure]

Banana Sandwiches. Fresh white bread, butter and banana.