The wife and I made some baked beans and cornbread from scratch. Love me the Jiffy cornbread but our recipe kicked butt!!
However, the bakes beans took a ton of work and time. And while they were great, they just weren’t that any better than B&M baked beans which we love.
So . . . is there a term for a food that you just really can’t make much is any better than you can buy off the shelf??
Failure.
An Oreo.
Bubble Gum
Is the OP wondering whether there is a word that means “foods which taste the same whether made via giant industrial processes or in a small pot at home” (i.e. baked beans) or whether there is a word that means “foods which cannot be made from scratch in a home kitchen” (i.e. Lucky Charms cereal)?
Either way, the answer is probably no, there isn’t.
Wok Hei
Did you pick Lucky Charms knowing there was an internet recipe for it? If not, I present you homemade Lucky Charms. I ran across that a few months ago in some food message board.
I wanted to know if there was a somewhat recognized, foodie term for a food, dish etc ., where it was recognized that you shouldn’t bother spending four hours in the ktichen making it, because the off the shelf version is just as good.
I didn’t think it would be in a book but I thought among chefs there might be a phase that described it.
But I can tell from this tread that it’s just not the case.:mad:
And you’re angry about that? If you spend four hours on it and it isn’t any better than an off-the-shelf product, I’d say “failure” is a pretty accurate term. Or perhaps just “waste of time”, if that offends you.
I think your question is perfectly reasonable and to be honest I am a bit surprised there is NOT a specific term for it. Perhaps a sniglet needs to be created here?
Chemicalaise
WordMan - “Oreo” was the first thing that popped into my head when I read the thread title, too 
“Professional quality”? Similar to “pharmaceutical quality”* for drugs. Some variation on “pharmaceutical quality” was in fact what popped into my head when I saw the thread title, before I saw that the OP wanted a food term.
*As opposed to “mixed up in a bathtub by Bob the meth head”
“everything”
It’s so darn subjective. For example, I love homemade baked beans. I think in general they are better than canned.
Seemed reasonable to me too, but I’m in the minority! Thanks much tho 
No, but there is a book:
buy the butter make the bread
Note: I own this book and I DON’T recommend it.
Hapax legmenon?
I guess that’s not quite the same thing.
Whatever it is, mozzarella is that for me. I can make it, but there’s no benefit to doing so aside from bragging rights.
other than gum, I can’t think of anything that can’t be made at home better. At home meaning, "small batch cooking with quality ingrediants by someone who knows how to prepare food.
Of course I think Oreo’s are nasty and overly sweet without much other taste to them so If you are lookig for that taste then what is the point to making them at home? Now if you want a sandwich cookie filled with vanilla cream (or anything else like that) yes you can make it better at home.
apparerntly you can make bubblegum at home
http://ingoodcents.com/2012/03/sundays-at-home-homemade-bubble-gum-recipe.html
I don’t like gum so maybe someone else can try it and see.
Mayonnaise.
Spent about two hours trying to figure that stuff out, making two bad batches from adding the oil too quickly, and making a mess in the kitchen. (yes, I suck as a cook).
Ended up tasting just like Best Foods. Save the effort, just buy it.
No way. Homemade mayo tastes different. I’m not going to say “better,” because it kind of depends on what you’re used to and the application, but with 100% EVOO or 50% EVOO and a neutral oil, it’s pretty darned awesome. Homemade mayo and the stuff you get in the jar are about as different as homemade tomato sauce and Ragu or Prego.