# Not worth the culinary effort. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 3, 2017, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-worth-the-culinary-effort/790435 "2017-07-03T15:14:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-worth-the-culinary-effort/790435/41 "2017-07-03T21:07:57Z")
This thread makes me feel like a weirdo. I make almost all this stuff from scratch. Except puff paste and tomato paste. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-worth-the-culinary-effort/790435/42 "2017-07-03T21:14:03Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Not worth the culinary effort? Whipped cream. I’ve seen my sister and her kids make it, and it really looked like a wonderful family bonding experience for people with time and energy to burn. They sell that stuff in a can. That’s not whipped cream, it is something nasty. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-worth-the-culinary-effort/790435/43 "2017-07-03T21:20:48Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > We do make stuffed shells which is the same thing only deconstructed into a noodle cup, glug of ricotta, dump jarred pasta sauce, some mozzarella, bake for 25 minutes. So much easier for the exact same flavor profile. > > Still, frozen lasagna is pretty dire, so frozen lasagna is not a substitute. I’m the opposite here. Lasagna is flat, so it’s no big deal. Stuffed shells (or really any kind of stuffed pasta) ends in tears. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-worth-the-culinary-effort/790435/44 "2017-07-03T21:25:22Z")
I can’t be arsed to make anything much anymore. It’s just so much easier to go out or order in. Sure the wife still cooks every now and then, but I just don’t have the motivation. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-worth-the-culinary-effort/790435/45 "2017-07-03T21:26:22Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Not worth the culinary effort? Whipped cream. I’ve seen my sister and her kids make it, and it really looked like a wonderful family bonding experience for people with time and energy to burn. Huh? We don’t use a lot of whipped cream, but it takes seconds to make with a hand blender. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-worth-the-culinary-effort/790435/46 "2017-07-03T21:56:19Z")
My sister would tell you you were cheating if you used something with a motor to make it. As for the quality of the stuff in the can, I guess I only bought it for the nitrous after all. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-worth-the-culinary-effort/790435/47 "2017-07-03T22:07:50Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > My sister would tell you you were cheating if you used something with a motor to make it. No, it’s not. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-worth-the-culinary-effort/790435/48 "2017-07-03T22:13:45Z")
About ninety percent of the pasta consumed in Italy is the dry stuff. If dried pasta is good enough for Italians, it’s good enough for me. I’ve made baked beans from scratch several times, using an antique brown-glazed Maine bean pot and everything. They were good, but not noticeably better than cracking open a can of B&G. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-worth-the-culinary-effort/790435/49 "2017-07-03T22:17:15Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > No, it’s not. I’ll give you my sister’s number if you’d rather argue with her. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-worth-the-culinary-effort/790435/50 "2017-07-03T22:20:49Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > My sister would tell you you were cheating if you used something with a motor to make it. I want to see her next vacation flapping her arms instead of getting on the airplane. Does she require her potatoes to be grown by a farmer who still uses oxen? **Ike, Ike, Ike**. What are we going to do with you? Beans are one of those things where home-made is so infinitely superior to canned that only complete slugabeds and wastrels waste cabinet space on canned beans. A quick count shows 7 cans from 4 different companies in the pantry. Plus half a container from the deli section of the local grocery. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-worth-the-culinary-effort/790435/51 "2017-07-03T22:48:08Z")
One Christmas Eve my sister made onion dip from scratch (instead of using the onion soup mix). She never did that again because of all the comments she got from people assuming she used the mix. I actually thought it did taste better than version from the mix. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-worth-the-culinary-effort/790435/52 "2017-07-03T22:58:44Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > About ninety percent of the pasta consumed in Italy is the dry stuff. If dried pasta is good enough for Italians, it’s good enough for me. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with dried pasta, I agree. I probably use it 95% of the time. But dried and fresh pasta are almost two different things. One is not intrinsically “better” than the other. ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-worth-the-culinary-effort/790435/53 "2017-07-03T23:03:12Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Someday I’m going to master fried chicken. Someday. Once I get over my aversion to buying buttermilk. Yeah, I’d like to master fried chicken, too. Johnny, have you tried just adding some vinegar to regular milk and letting it sit for a little while rather than buying the buttermilk? I can’t think of the ratio off the top of my head, but it’s easy enough to find online. ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-worth-the-culinary-effort/790435/54 "2017-07-03T23:07:17Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I want to see her next vacation flapping her arms instead of getting on the airplane. Does she require her potatoes to be grown by a farmer who still uses oxen? > > **Ike, Ike, Ike**. What are we going to do with you? Beans are one of those things where home-made is so infinitely superior to canned that only complete slugabeds and wastrels waste cabinet space on canned beans. > > A quick count shows 7 cans from 4 different companies in the pantry. Plus half a container from the deli section of the local grocery. 😃 Consider me a slugabed because I much prefer doctored up canned beans. I don’t make my own. My MIL has made them and I don’t care for them at all and she is a good cook. 😊 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-worth-the-culinary-effort/790435/55 "2017-07-03T23:16:41Z")
> [@Patx2](#): > > Consider me a slugabed because I much prefer doctored up canned beans. I don’t make my own. My MIL has made them and I don’t care for them at all and she is a good cook. 😊 I think you may be missing a bit of irony there. Read **silenus** ’s last sentence. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-worth-the-culinary-effort/790435/56 "2017-07-03T23:40:23Z")
> [@Patx2](#): > > Yeah, I’d like to master fried chicken, too. Johnny, have you tried just adding some vinegar to regular milk and letting it sit for a little while rather than buying the buttermilk? I can’t think of the ratio off the top of my head, but it’s easy enough to find online. I have a banana bread recipe that calls for buttermilk, and I use 1 c. milk to 1 T apple cider vinegar. Can’t remember the last time I bought buttermilk, because the rest of it would go bad. As for pie crust, I am not reliably good at it, but to me the reason to make it rather than buy it is that I control the ingredients. I can use real butter instead of unpronounceable additives. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-worth-the-culinary-effort/790435/57 "2017-07-03T23:49:42Z")
> [@Eva\_Luna](#): > > I have a banana bread recipe that calls for buttermilk, and I use 1 c. milk to 1 T apple cider vinegar. Can’t remember the last time I bought buttermilk, because the rest of it would go bad. > > As for pie crust, I am not reliably good at it, but to me the reason to make it rather than buy it is that I control the ingredients. I can use real butter instead of unpronounceable additives. [Powdered buttermilk.](https://www.amazon.com/Saco-Cultured-Buttermilk-Cooking-Powdered/dp/B0014D07BE) Not quite as good as the liquid but you still get the buttermilk flavor. Much better than the milk/vinegar. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-worth-the-culinary-effort/790435/58 "2017-07-03T23:57:01Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > [Powdered buttermilk.](https://www.amazon.com/Saco-Cultured-Buttermilk-Cooking-Powdered/dp/B0014D07BE) > Not quite as good as the liquid but you still get the buttermilk flavor. Much better than the milk/vinegar. +1. Buttermilk is not a staple around our house, but if I have it, I can find about a million uses for it. Of course, I also like it straight up. It’s like liquid yogurt to me. But as a chicken marinade, for biscuits or pancakes, in soups, in sauces instead of sour cream or yogurt, I can find a way to use it up easily. But, yes, the powdered stuff works really well and, I agree, much better than milk + vinegar. Vinegar just doesn’t have the right flavor for me. Buttermilk has that lactic acid tartness to it. Vinegar is much sharper and just different. Same goes for me with pickles. Vinegar pickles vs fermented pickles. Very different flavor profile (and I grew up on the latter.) ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2017, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-worth-the-culinary-effort/790435/59 "2017-07-04T00:41:12Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > As for the quality of the stuff in the can, I guess I only bought it for the nitrous after all. Wait, wait, people use that for _cooking_? My Wife and I…NM ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2017, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-worth-the-culinary-effort/790435/60 "2017-07-04T00:46:26Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > About ninety percent of the pasta consumed in Italy is the dry stuff. If dried pasta is good enough for Italians, it’s good enough for me. > > I’ve made baked beans from scratch several times, using an antique brown-glazed Maine bean pot and everything. They were good, but not noticeably better than cracking open a can of B&G. But if you use Bush’s, you get to yell, “Roll that beautiful bean footage!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-worth-the-culinary-effort/790435.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-worth-the-culinary-effort/790435.md?page=4)