Not every, its not “specialty store” rare, but its uncommon enough (where I live or have lived, San Francisco Bay, and DC metro) that you won’t bet on on finding it at a regular supermarket. Like if I had a recipe that absolutely needed it I’d go to somewhere like Whole Foods, its definitely not at Aldi and Safeway or Giant (or Lucky in SF) might have but might not.
A common thread through most of the things mentioned above is consistency. Like others, I’ve made homemade mayo, but while creamier, I could never get the other flavorings right and even if I did, making it the same every time would be a major chore.
Consistency is key to any fast food or restaurant chain. KFC may not be anything special, but I know that I can go to any location and have it taste the same.
Wow, that surprises me. My wife and I literally just came home from shopping. Ground mustard was on the list and we could choose among several brands. When I put it into Google, the front page says this:
Dry mustard, also called mustard powder, is a common ingredient used in savory dishes, spice rubs, salad dressings, and marinades. It’s made from ground mustard seeds and it’s easily available in most grocery stores in the spice aisle.
Regarding ground mustard, my local Kroger normally carriers 3 different options, the store brand, the store ‘quality’ brand, and the ‘organic’ option. But…
I will agree that it’s one of the spices that are more frequently sold out, especially the cheaper options, leaving only the overpriced organic. So it may be a stocking issue as well, if there isn’t enough turnover to frequently restock.
The easy fix is to buy whole mustard seeds and pound/grind them if need be. They stay fresh longer that way as well. 
But I buy most of my mustard, whole or ground, from Penzys.
Almost a hijack, but, one thing I often do is make my own ‘Chinese’ style hot mustard, because if you buy the crappy Dynasty micro-jar, you pay a ton, and it’s sometimes hard to use up before the jar goes off. Buy the powder, seal and refrigerate, and constitute just enough for the gyoza or dumplings you’re making that night is a major win for cost and quality, and the time used is utterly negligible.
Here, here! And I love how the ad-hoc mustard can sear your nasal passages.
Colman’s dry mustard (an English brand, as I understand it) is a staple in my wife’s spice cupboard, and I’ve learned exactly where it’s found in U.S. grocery stores (and, yes, it’s in the spice aisle). I’ve never not found it when my wife puts it on the shopping list, but I live in the Midwest, so it might be somewhat regional.
Wedding cakes.
Never homemade.
I helped make a homemade wedding cake once, but it was for a very low-key (and low budget) wedding.
Not an “everyday food” but tough, it’s a cute anecdote.
Thanks to great-great-great-grandpa being Swiss, our family has always spent an hour or two on Christmas Eve laboring over Authentic Fondue (after we’ve spent too much time and money finding Authentic Ingredients).
Then my wife worked with a guy from Switzerland, who mentioned they always make fondue in the winter. He laughed when he heard of our meticulous process: “My family’s always done what all the Swiss that I know do… go to the corner market and grab the “Fondue In A Pouch”. Comes in a thin red cardboard box, and has all the obscure ingredients in it.”
It was just as good as we’d ever made, so we have a new tradition.
I deep-fry often at home with an old Baby Fryer. I find it quicker, cheaper, and tastier than take-out.
Fry batter or bread crumb is very easy to make and coat food within just a couple of minutes. When the items are coated, the oil is hot and the fry times are short. If I have a can of beer on hand, I make beer batter and drink the remaining beer awaiting the meal.
Clean-up is easy if you cover and re-use the oil multiple times and wash the prep dishes as you cook. I’ve got it down to a science…and an art.
It’s quicker than driving to and from the take-out joints and I don’t waste gas (which is what, $400.00/gallon now???).
A glass of Merlot, the sounds of classical music playing on Spotify via Google Alexa, and the scent of bubbling oil in the fryer—it sure beats the smell of napalm in the morning.
Fried green tomatoes, eggplant, broccoli, onion, tempura shrimp, fish, chicken, panda…whatever—Tibby’s Take-out is open for business. Do you want fries with your order?
My mother, now deceased, made loaves of bread by the dozen back in the 1960s. She was good at it, but it took a lot of time. The reason she stopped was she got tired of slicing bread. For her, the best thing since sliced bread was, well, sliced bread.
I did stop in at my favorite tienda because this thread gave me a raging carnitas burrito craving and I have to say that the refritas pintas (they do black beans too but the pintas kick all the ass) they sell by the pound is so good I’ve never even had restaurant versions that were as good, let alone better. They use what is likely heart attack levels of manteca, big chunks of Thai chilies and what looks like ham rind or chicharrones in it. They’re a bit soupy when hot and if you’re reheating them it’s best to add some water. I’ve never found a canned version that comes close, even after fucking around with it a bunch. So I just get them from the tienda, yeah they’re more expensive but dayum, so worth it.
No need to make me jealous! When I lived in Las Cruces NM, I had lots of good options to buy local equivalents. In front range Colorado where I live (a near Midwest level of bland whiteness) it’s make it myself or buy the cans.
And again, economy of scale. If I was cooking for a larger family, or, as they do, for use and resale, it gets a whole lot better.
Enjoy the local flavor (literally)!
That’s the fun part about living in the PNW–everyone thinks it’s white AF here and they’re pretty much right except that our biggest minority population is Hispanic, second largest is Asian and usually newly arrived to the country. The big benefit of that is that our minority population tends to be very food oriented (we got a TON of Katrina refugees who relocated here and our local restaurant game stepped up immeasurably thereby) and are still fully steeped in their own traditional cuisines. We especially have SO much excellent Mexican food in this town and the only place to find the over cheesed Tex-Mex style is at a chain restaurant. I live in far SE Portland and the food landscape has changed crazily over the past couple decades–we have Eastern European grocery stores, halal stores and butchers, Asian markets and a ton of amazingly good tiendas. We also have the best food carts out here, drawn by the cheaper rental rates. Lotta amazing food in this town.
Phyllo dough . Only a masochist would make it from scratch.
A local restaurant (5 mins away) always makes fresh tortillas. Awesome. I don’t have to make 'em myself.
We always had a can of Colman’s Mustard in our spice cupboard growing up. And I think mac-n-cheese is better with a little tang. Otherwise, it’s too bland for me.
I live in a Central American / South American / Caribbean food Mecca, but it’s a Mexican food desert.
I’d kill for a good source for homemade tortillas nearby. Enjoy what you have my friend.
Haha! I remember my Peruvian coworker’s reaction when an ignoramus refused to believe that burritos are not a staple of Peruvian cuisine.
Man, I could go for a pisco sour right now!
I started making my own white bread at home a month or so ago because I got tired of the spongy stuff sold at the supermarket. I’ve managed to obtain the same texture and flavor as the bread I ate when I was living in Britain. Just one loaf is enough to last me a week.
I still buy pumpernickel and rye at the bakery, though.
No worries there–my entire family agrees that if we were forced to eat only one nationality’s food forever it would be Mexican. It’s just pure primal yum and tacos might actually confer immortality if you eat enough of them. That’s what I tell people when I’m ordering six at at a time on dollar taco night lol.
Having never mastered bechamel or even roux I used to do boxed mac-n-cheese, with the goop) for a lazy meal but then I discovered an easy recipe: Equal weights of macaroni, evaporated milk, and shredded cheese. Cheddar is traditional but I’ve used pepper jack to good effect.
Boil the pasta in a minimum amount of water, just enough to cover, until it’s tender. Take off of the heat but don’t drain. Instead, pour in the milk then dump in the cheese and keep stirring until it’s well blended and thickness you want. The starch in the pasta water emulsifies the fat in the milk and cheese making a sort of auto-roux.
I put just a bit salt in the water, much less than usual for pasta, and toss in some other stuff like red pepper flakes to give it a kick but I like it as-is. The biggest problem is that the smallest cans of evaporated milk I’ve found are 12-ounces which, since most shredded cheese comes in 8-oz bags, means you need 1-1/2 of them, plus it’s a lot of mac-n-cheese for two – about half of it gets refrigerated.