# 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:** 8
**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:** [February 25, 2020, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/141 "2020-02-25T00:28:20Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > Banana Ketchup is a very popular Filipino condiment) :smack: How could I forget that one? That’s pretty much the only non-tomato ketchup I remember seeing around here (Jufran brand – though it seems to be labeled as “Banana Sauce.” I could have sworn, for some reason, that it was labeled as “banana ketchup.”) ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/142 "2020-02-25T00:32:22Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > The New Yorker once ran an article about ketchup. It seems that person after person has tried to make boutique ketchups, and they all failed because they were not as good as Heinz. It’s fuzzy memory and I’m not going on a search for that article, but I seem to recall it being more about consumers being more comfortable with Heinz and not wanting to go out of their comfort zones, plus Heinz has such economies of scale that the boutique brands for a hamburger/french fry condiment couldn’t compete on price and it didn’t have the perceived worth. I’ve made my own ketchup 2-3 times, but I was only making it as a starter to a BBQ sauce. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/143 "2020-02-25T00:34:40Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > :smack: How could I forget that one? That’s pretty much the only non-tomato ketchup I remember seeing around here (Jufran brand – though it seems to be labeled as “Banana Sauce.” I could have sworn, for some reason, that it was labeled as “banana ketchup.”) There are two main brands imported, and I’ve seen both labels (but it may have been that I saw “Ketchup” in the Philippines). Any Filipino will call it banana ketchup, though. I don’t recall having heard any call it banana _sauce_. ---
**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:** [February 25, 2020, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/144 "2020-02-25T00:35:00Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Up through about the 1700s, there were a bunch of varieties… Clearly, as my cite and quote says, more like mid-1800s. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/145 "2020-02-25T01:03:20Z")
I lament the loss of tomato catsup in the U.S. I haven’t seen any in decades. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/146 "2020-02-25T02:24:27Z")
> [@Esprise\_Me](#): > > She probably didn’t put enough sugar in it. Store-bought ketchups contain an astonishing amount of sugar. She used plenty of sugar. I didn’t care for the combination of herbs/spices she used. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![jerez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c68b51/32.png) [@jerez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerez)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/147 "2020-02-25T08:34:03Z")
Although I think you can cook better and cheaper food at home, surroundings and hankerings do account for a lot of the experience. There was a nearby bar that used to make the most amazing little sandwiches with strong aged cheese, smoked pomfret (oily fish) and pâté between slices of “French” bread, dripping with oil. Yeah, they sounded positively revolting to me, too, until I tried one. Anyway, I figured I’d start making them at home, since the ingredients are readily available and there’s no cooking involved. Still can’t figure out why they aren’t the same without that bar around them. ETA: I also thought the OP was saying that PSAs are something you can’t make at home. _D’oh!_ ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/148 "2020-02-25T09:33:40Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > Since Mr VOW’s heart attack (1-17-2020), he’s on a VERY restricted sodium diet. Fast food was the first thing that flew out the window. And I really doubt any restaurant will prepare food using NO salt. > > So all of us are eating better. The household has gotten used to no salt in the food. But hey, Grandma is busy-busy-busy preparing fresh food every day. > > There’s no choice involved: this is literally life or death. And Mr VOW has been surprisingly compliant. He even compliments me on the food. > ~VOW My father got put on a very low sodium diet after some health issues. We went out to dinner at a chain Mexican restaurant and he ordered plain eggs. No salt. The cook was apparently baffled by this as they sent out saltless scrambled eggs loaded with chopped bell peppers. My father said they were tasty. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/149 "2020-02-25T12:41:34Z")
Kechap Manis, (Still available, as a thick, sweet, soya sauce was the original ketsup!), is still a widely used and popular condiment today. When I was put on a low sodium diet, giving up ketchup was hard as I used it as a base for a lot of sauces, especially bbq! It was a struggle initially. Then I discovered a recipe online for faux heinz ketchup. Where I could control the sodium, sometimes adding a salt substitute. It’s very easy to make, from easily had ingredients and much cheaper than store bought (especially compared to anything ‘sodium reduced’.) it’s all I use now, been a real game changer at my house. (It’s mostly tomato paste, corn syrup, white vinegar, onion and garlic powder, and comes together with a perfect flavour and texture.) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/150 "2020-02-25T12:46:48Z")
Last month we were in St Martin enjoying Mullet Bay Beach and we decided to get some lunch. We ordered food and more Rum Punch at Deleo’s Beach Bar. I pointed out that they had bottles of both Heinz and Hunts, which started a boisterous discussion with an overwhelming number of people choosing Heinz. Of course, the French prefer mayo. Personally, I like Matouk’s. Odd thing about the island; snack stands and beach bars offer various condiments, but they universally offer Wishbone Italan Dressing, even if they do not sell salads. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/151 "2020-02-25T13:36:39Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Odd thing about the island; snack stands and beach bars offer various condiments, but they universally offer Wishbone Italan Dressing, even if they do not sell salads. Because you could put that stuff on a shoe and it would taste good ---
**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:** [February 25, 2020, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/152 "2020-02-25T15:44:56Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > Because you could put that stuff on a shoe and it would taste good I think it tastes better straight from the bottle. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/153 "2020-02-25T16:05:11Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > I think it tastes better straight from the bottle. I saw people (locals) putting it on sandwiches, pizza, fish, etc. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/154 "2020-02-25T17:44:21Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > I didn’t say I like any of them, either. > > The particular product isn’t the point. That people crave these things and that most cooks can’t make a close facsimile at home is the point. Cookies from Subway, sliders from White Castle (highfives Puly on preview), McNuggets from the Arches, Meximelt with Fire sauce from Taco Bell, Arby’s beef with Horsey sauce, Papa John’s so and so with garlic parm shortening dip. And it’s not just nationally advertized fast food. I’ve never been able to successfully recreate salsa from the taquiera. The sauce on the jerk chicken is devilishly complex. High heat stir fry or egg foo yung is simple for the cheap Chinese place up the street but difficult to perfect at home. Even something as simple as diner-style hashbrowns takes more than initially apparent. > > Others mentioned homemade ketchup. If one expects Heinz or Hunts, the homemade isn’t going to work. Try making a passable Tater Tot or Tostino pizza roll or Cool Ranch Dorito from scratch. I’ve never claimed I can make every single food item better and cheaper at home. I pretty explicitly said I can’t. I can still make food that is better and/or cheaper than what I get when I eat out, or buy prepared stuff at the supermarket. And so can most anyone who knows how to cook. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/155 "2020-02-25T18:50:27Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > My grandmother made her own ketchup. From her own tomatoes. > > I didn’t like it. At all. > [@Voyager](#): > > The New Yorker once ran an article about ketchup. It seems that person after person has tried to make boutique ketchups, and they all failed because they were not as good as Heinz. > [@Esprise\_Me](#): > > She probably didn’t put enough sugar in it. Store-bought ketchups contain an astonishing amount of sugar. Homemade ketchup – even presuming that we’re talking about tomato ketchup – is just plain not the same creature as the commercial stuff. People used to one may well not like the other. I consider them two entirely different sauces. Once in a while I’m in the mood for the commercial. Most of the time I prefer my homemade – though it took me most of the way through the first batch I made, many years ago, for me to come to that conclusion. When I first tasted it I thought something had gone wrong. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/156 "2020-02-25T19:05:50Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Homemade ketchup – even presuming that we’re talking about tomato ketchup – is just plain not the same creature as the commercial stuff. I had a tomato chutney, that I used as ketchup. Different, interesting, and delicious. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/157 "2020-02-25T21:19:39Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > When our first kid was little my wife baked a lot of bread, and even sold some of it to restaurants near by. The one negative of home baked bread is that since you don’t put in preservatives, you need to eat it fast or freeze it. Also true of good bread you get from a bakery. Which is why we baked what we needed, and not more. =) > [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > The idea that eating out is cheaper is crazy. Any time a family is trying to reduce their budget, the first item on it is generally ‘don’t eat out so much’. > > A box of Kraft dinner is .99. A box of spaghetti is two or three bucks. Spaghetti sauce from a jar is only $3-4. I can make spaghetti and meat sauce for four for $10. We recently tried that insane sauce that is 1 24 oz can of san maranzo tomatoes, 5 tbsp butter and an onion. They have you fish out the onion, but we chopped it fine and let it dissolve into the sauce. Oddly appealing even without garlic and herbs. > [@Esprise\_Me](#): > > She probably didn’t put enough sugar in it. Store-bought ketchups contain an astonishing amount of sugar. Burnt is also part of the flavor profile I seem to remember. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/158 "2020-02-25T22:02:09Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > We recently tried that insane sauce that is 1 24 oz can of san maranzo tomatoes, 5 tbsp butter and an onion. They have you fish out the onion, but we chopped it fine and let it dissolve into the sauce. Oddly appealing even without garlic and herbs. I did something similar but with whole Roma tomatoes. I blanched them then peeled, and had the 3 ingredients go for 45-50 minutes I think. Surprisingly damn good. ---
**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:** [February 25, 2020, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/159 "2020-02-25T22:09:35Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > I did something similar but with whole Roma tomatoes. I blanched them then peeled, and had the 3 ingredients go for 45-50 minutes I think. Surprisingly damn good. Yeah, that’s a classic Marcella Hazan recipe. One of my favorite pasta sauces. I always fish out and throw away the onion, though. It’s simple perfection, but most of my pasta sauces are very simple, usually tomato, onion or garlic (I tend to use one or the other), oregano or basil (same as before; if basil, added at the end), olive oil, and perhaps hot pepper flakes. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148/160 "2020-02-25T22:17:31Z")
I don’t even remember where I found the recipe, it just sounded like something I had to try. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-you-cant-make-it-better-and-cheaper-at-home/848148.md?page=9)