# PSA: you can't make it better and cheaper at home. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 19, 2020, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148 "2020-02-19T03:52:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Calavera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calavera/32/70_2.png) [@Calavera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calavera)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/1 "2020-02-19T03:52:14Z")
OK there may be a couple of outliers here, but virtually all of you who think you’re the outliers are not, you’re just deluded. You can’t make it “better” and “cheaper” at home. You say you can make it “better”, most of the time you mean you can make it “more to your personal taste”, the majority of the time the restaurant will be better for most people. You will never hear about it because nobody will tell you, it’s an agreed upon lie that everybody will tell their friends. You can’t make it cheaper. The supermarket benefits from economy of scale and puts together a decent version that counting in all the costs of ingredients you’d have to buy piecemeal, wastage, and a reasonable rate of “opportunity cost” for lost time, the supermarket version is cheaper. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/2 "2020-02-19T04:13:17Z")
Sure you weren’t aiming for the pit? This seems pitty. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/3 "2020-02-19T04:17:33Z")
I’m only cooking for myself. How is “more to my personal taste” not “better,” exactly? ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/4 "2020-02-19T05:00:24Z")
> [@Calavera](#): > > You say you can make it “better”, most of the time you mean you can make it “more to your personal taste”, the majority of the time the restaurant will be better for most people. This obviously depends on your skills _and_ that of the restaurant. There are a lot of bad restaurants out there, and many good amateur cooks too. > [@](#): > > You can’t make it cheaper. The supermarket benefits from economy of scale and puts together a decent version that counting in all the costs of ingredients you’d have to buy piecemeal, wastage, and a reasonable rate of “opportunity cost” for lost time, the supermarket version is cheaper. Wait, we are talking about the deli counter at the supermarket now, not restaurants? Sure, those can be cheap. But even then, it’s more expensive than buying ingredients for the same dish at the same supermarket. Because when you buy a cooked meal, you are paying for someone’s time to cook it, wastage (cooked meal typically doesn’t keep as long as the raw ingredients), and “opportunity cost” of other things they could be selling using the same floor space in the supermarket. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/5 "2020-02-19T05:22:02Z")
Let’s say I’m a professional chef. Are you telling me I can’t go home and do exactly what I do at work a little better, supposing I put my mind to it? Are you saying my house is cursed or something? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/6 "2020-02-19T05:45:07Z")
There are so many variables to the OP’s statement that it makes absolutely no sense. For instance, I am 100% confident that MOST people would prefer the hamburger I cooked to the one they could get at McDonald’s. I’m also willing to bet that the majority of Dopers here could do the same. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/7 "2020-02-19T06:13:36Z")
If “better” for you means “healthier,” then you can probably make it better at home 90% of the time if you try. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/8 "2020-02-19T06:26:20Z")
Most restaurants and fast food places don’t mind sharing their recipes. No skin off their noses. Technically they are not ‘lying’ or leaving things out: ‘you want the recipe? here’s the recipe!’ It NEVER tastes like the restaurant version. NEVER. It might be a big fail, or just ok/good/excellent, or you make it Your Very Own Version, but it won’t taste like restaurant food. I had a recipe for Thousand Island Dressing, the original recipe, and followed it to the letter, and it stunk. Spent quite a bit assembling the ingredients… Way too onion-y, way too pickle-ly. Bottled dressing, I tried several versions, many were vastly superior to my sad made-at-home version. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/9 "2020-02-19T06:27:21Z")
Of course you can make it cheaper at home. What a dumb statement to say you can’t. You don’t typically go buy all new ingredients for every damned meal. You have an inventory of items at home, you know like flour, sugar, spices, rice, potatoes, fresh vegetables, bread, buns, etc. Now, add to that the various frozen items you collect, especially on sale, and you can whip up a dozen different types of meals from what’s on hand. You save at least 50% on meals by just maintaining a decent level of inventory. In fact, I’m willing to bet saving 75% isn’t that unusual. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/10 "2020-02-19T06:38:12Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Of course you can make it cheaper at home. What a dumb statement to say you can’t. You don’t typically go buy all new ingredients for every damned meal. You have an inventory of items at home, you know like flour, sugar, spices, rice, potatoes, fresh vegetables, bread, buns, etc. Plus there’s the savings on things you may grow yourself. At my place, it’s just herbs and onions and strawberries, but I’m sure some foodie Dopers also grow their own veg. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/11 "2020-02-19T07:04:22Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Of course you can make it cheaper at home. What a dumb statement to say you can’t. You don’t typically go buy all new ingredients for every damned meal. You have an inventory of items at home, you know like flour, sugar, spices, rice, potatoes, fresh vegetables, bread, buns, etc. > > Now, add to that the various frozen items you collect, especially on sale, and you can whip up a dozen different types of meals from what’s on hand. You save at least 50% on meals by just maintaining a decent level of inventory. In fact, I’m willing to bet saving 75% isn’t that unusual. See post #4. Of course it’s often cheaper to make something at home. You don’t pay yourself for your own time & labor in preparing the meal, nor the cleanup afterwards. If you go out, there’s a chef or cook, waiter or waitress, busboy, etc. who all gotta get paid. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/12 "2020-02-19T07:06:01Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Are you saying my house is cursed or something? Well, we weren’t going to say anything… ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/13 "2020-02-19T07:22:33Z")
Oh, hon. There’s alot of foods I make better than restuarant versions. Granted it’s not ‘lobster thermidor\*’ or ‘pheasant under glass’. But my Chicken and dumplings will make you cry. 😃 \*sounds like a car part. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/14 "2020-02-19T07:25:44Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Let’s say I’m a professional chef. > > Are you telling me I can’t go home and do exactly what I do at work a little better, supposing I put my mind to it? Are you saying my house is cursed or something? You can never go home. ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/15 "2020-02-19T08:33:31Z")
I’ve scanned the thread a few times, and still don’t know what PSA is, so I’ll hazard that you can make it better at home, given I don’t know what it is. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/16 "2020-02-19T08:43:02Z")
PSA= public service announcement ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/17 "2020-02-19T08:52:17Z")
Some things don’t keep. Like guacamole. You can either consume it immediately, let it get brown, or, if you’re a supermarket or low-end restaurant, load it up with vile preservatives thai make it taste like the devil’s semen. Fresh-made pure guac from a good restaurant is fine, but I can make it cheaper. The cheap stuff I can absolutely make better. But you gotta eat it while the eating’s good. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/18 "2020-02-19T09:46:53Z")
Hasn’t tried my sourdough. You’ll have to take my word on how good it is, but as for price I can show you the sums - I can knock out a loaf at a quarter of the commercial price. That said, if the OP was addressed to the general population, I would say they had a point. Thing is, it isn’t - this is an unusual, self-selecting group, with plenty of so-called outliers in it. j ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/19 "2020-02-19T10:00:35Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Granted it’s not ‘lobster thermidor\*’ or ‘pheasant under glass’. > > \*sounds like a car part. Close. Thermador was an old-style electric wall heater commonly seen in bathrooms. ([Photo.](https://siadreams.com/image/alegar.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/extraordinary-home-improvement-old-heaters-gas-heater-electric-wall-ideas-bathroom-for-artistic-cadet-com-bath-space.jpeg)) ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/20 "2020-02-19T11:08:53Z")
> [@Esprise\_Me](#): > > Some things don’t keep. Like guacamole. You can either consume it immediately, let it get brown, or, if you’re a supermarket or low-end restaurant, load it up with vile preservatives thai make it taste like the devil’s semen. Fresh-made pure guac from a good restaurant is fine, but I can make it cheaper. The cheap stuff I can absolutely make better. But you gotta eat it while the eating’s good. So true, I made a portion of guacamole last night with a perfectly ripe avocado (40p) a fresh red chilli (5p) spring onion (5p) tomato (10p) coriander leaf (1p) half a lime (10p) salt, pepper and olive oil (2p max). By my maths that is 73p for a single portion that I guarantee is at least as good as anything I’ve ever had in a restaurant. Good luck finding something as good, as cheaply when eating out. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148.md?page=2)