# What do you cook from scratch? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 27, 2018, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-cook-from-scratch/822048 "2018-09-27T19:31:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-cook-from-scratch/822048/21 "2018-09-27T22:31:31Z")
I make many soups from scratch. I usually make my own broth. Coconut Carrot Potato Leak Cream of Chicken Chicken Corn Chowder Creamy Sweet Potato Butternut Squash Creamy Tomato Not to mention the world’s most awesome chili and wonderful fried rice. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-cook-from-scratch/822048/22 "2018-09-27T23:03:12Z")
When I was a kid, I made pasta, pasta sauce, pizza dough, and Italian sausage from scratch with my family. Nowadays, all I usually make from scratch is the pizza dough. Although, every Easter, I make an [Easter Pizza](https://www.curiouscuisiniere.com/italian-easter-pizza-gain/) completely from scratch. I wouldn’t know where to buy a store-made one and it probably wouldn’t be authentic if you could. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-cook-from-scratch/822048/23 "2018-09-27T23:12:54Z")
When I was younger and raising a daughter, I cooked a lot of things from scratch. Mostly bread, soup, pies, and pudding. My chocolate pudding made from scratch is to packaged pudding as a diamond is to a CZ. Neighborhood kids would marvel at it, not knowing it could be made that way. They never saw much home cooking, with working-out-of-the-house mothers. I can make any kind of cake or pie from scratch. Unfortunately, no one living here appreciates it and likes Little Debbie and oreos only. ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-cook-from-scratch/822048/24 "2018-09-27T23:23:42Z")
Stews/osso bucco type things bunged in the slow cooker. Roasts. Tomato sauce. I don’t cook much. As for making pasta, I have a machine that does that, it mixes up the ingredients and “spits them out” in whatever shape die you have screwed on the front. [https://www.philips.com.au/c-m-ho/pastamaker](https://www.philips.com.au/c-m-ho/pastamaker) ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-cook-from-scratch/822048/25 "2018-09-27T23:27:21Z")
Lots of soups - making soup is basically idiot-proof so that suits my particular set of skills. I make great chilli. Well, _I_ think it’s great. It’s a recipe I’ve been working on/perfecting ever since I was a poor student about thirty years ago. There’s probably more mushrooms involved than some of the more classic chillis, but eh I like making and eating it. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-cook-from-scratch/822048/26 "2018-09-27T23:50:03Z")
Usually meth. I can get a much higher quality product making it at home from scratch rather than buying it. It’s a lot cheaper, too. There’s a great TV show on Netflix where I learned the recipe, it’s really not all that complicated, nor does it require a chemistry degree. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2018, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-cook-from-scratch/822048/27 "2018-09-28T00:07:21Z")
My wife and I are both complete losers at yard-work and home repair, but we’re also both pretty excellent cooks and bakers. She does most of the cakes, I do most of the breads, and we hand off other cooking duties. A couple of nights ago we had chicken soup I’d made from a chicken roasted earlier in the week, its carcass turned into broth, accompanied with the dense honey-wheat bread I’d made over the weekend. For dessert we had the gingerbread my 9-year-old had made from the applesauce she’d made from the apples she’d picked with her girl scout troop. I figured we were doing something right :). ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2018, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-cook-from-scratch/822048/28 "2018-09-28T00:52:30Z")
Since you have the masa already, have a go at pupusas! They’re like thick stuffed tortillas from El Salvador. Traditional fillings are beans and cheese, or some meat and cheese. It’s a great way to use up leftovers! They’re traditionally served with a delicious slaw called curtido, a slightly funky fermented cabbage salad, and thin red salsa. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2018, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-cook-from-scratch/822048/29 "2018-09-28T02:03:48Z")
I make cookies, corn bread, cakes, tomato sauce, lasagna, split pea soup and most curry dishes from scratch. And most of my daily dinner cooking is from scratch, except I don’t make my own tofu or TVP or whatever: I cut up fresh veggies and prepare them with spices I hand measure. I do eat some prepared foods; they’re great for when I’m working 16 hour days (which is far too often). ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2018, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-cook-from-scratch/822048/30 "2018-09-28T03:30:28Z")
One thing I think would surprise people is how easy it is to make ice cream from scratch. Homemade ice cream is really cheap to make and the quality is better than the top premium store brands. The biggest downside is you need a pretty good amount of ice cubes. You either have to make a lot of ice cubes ahead of time and store them in your freezer or buy a couple of bags. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2018, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-cook-from-scratch/822048/31 "2018-09-28T04:05:12Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Usually meth. I can get a much higher quality product making it at home from scratch rather than buying it. It’s a lot cheaper, too. There’s a great TV show on Netflix where I learned the recipe, it’s really not all that complicated, nor does it require a chemistry degree. 😃 I learned the recipe in pharmacy school - and the professor said, “If you buy these chemicals in bulk, the Feds will come knocking, and when they find out you are a pharmacy student…” and this was in the early 1990s. Lots of people grow their own weed for comparable reasons. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming. I make Frankencasseroles all the time, along with various concoctions in my slow cooker and Instant pot, and quick breads from scratch are better than those from a box any day of the week, and really not that much more work either. Most of the “extra work” comes from getting out all the ingredients first, which is something I always do. ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2018, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-cook-from-scratch/822048/32 "2018-09-28T05:11:56Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > One thing I think would surprise people is how easy it is to make ice cream from scratch. Homemade ice cream is really cheap to make and the quality is better than the top premium store brands. > > The biggest downside is you need a pretty good amount of ice cubes. You either have to make a lot of ice cubes ahead of time and store them in your freezer or buy a couple of bags. I have an icecream making machine. Don’t need ice cubes with it. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2018, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-cook-from-scratch/822048/33 "2018-09-28T06:00:41Z")
Hummus and baba ganoush from scratch are surprisingly easy and better than store-bought. Canned chick peas are almost as good as dried. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2018, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-cook-from-scratch/822048/34 "2018-09-28T07:55:54Z")
I make pretty much everything from scratch - it wouldn’t occur to me to buy anything like a jar of pasta sauce. I’m excluding things like ketchup and mustard from this claim. I’m a master at any kind of flatbread (tortillas, naan, middle eastern). So far I’ve avoided baking (leavened bread and cakes) mainly because it’s an eating habit my waistline tells me I don’t need to acquire. I haven’t delved into cheese, but hear mozarella is easy, so I may give that a go. I have drawn the line at pasta dough. I made orechiette for a dinner party for 8 people once and the experience scarred me. Life is just too short. I make and freeze large batches of italian tomato sauce - it’s so versatile for pizza, pasta and meatballs. I always have a large jar of homemade preserved lemons on hand - super easy to make and great for perking up a salad. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2018, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-cook-from-scratch/822048/35 "2018-09-28T08:10:45Z")
> [@blob](#): > > I have an icecream making machine. Don’t need ice cubes with it. Is it one of those where you pre-freeze the canister? I’ve found those don’t work as well. ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2018, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-cook-from-scratch/822048/36 "2018-09-28T08:16:09Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Is it one of those where you pre-freeze the canister? I’ve found those don’t work as well. Slight confession, I have 2 icecream making machines, but I’ve yet to use the newer one and haven’t gotten around to selling the other one. The one I was using does have a tub that you put in the freezer. It worked very well, but I didn’t like having to find the freezer space so I got one with a compressor. I really must make an effort to use it this summer. I’m not much of a sweet tooth and only occasionally want bought icecream, but the homemade is delicious. ---
**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:** [September 28, 2018, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-cook-from-scratch/822048/37 "2018-09-28T09:36:58Z")
Pasta’s easy. If you have a pasta roller, that is. I recommend starting with something stuffed like ravioli, agnolotti or cappelletti, rather than just linguine or tagliatelle or that sort of thing, because it’s more rewarding in a way. ---
**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:** [September 28, 2018, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-cook-from-scratch/822048/38 "2018-09-28T11:49:35Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > I have drawn the line at pasta dough. I made orechiette for a dinner party for 8 people once and the experience scarred me. Life is just too short. Well, of course it did. You made a really fussy and pain-in-the-ass pasta shape to make by hand! Why did you do that to yourself? 🙂 For those who haven’t come across it yet, there’s a great bit of pasta porn on Youtube under a series called “pasta grannies.” [Here’s the episode on orrechiette](https://www.seriouseats.com/2014/11/the-truth-about-cast-iron.html) for anyone wondering how that shape is made by hand. It’s amazing to me watching a person who has done this for their whole life make them. That is certainly not a pasta shape I would even attempt to do, so kudos for even trying! Anything that requires individual attention like that, including those pastas where you roll them around a spoke/wire type of thing, forget about it for me. [Something like this is much more my speed](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfb6H-iVLnU&t=73s). Even ravioli and stuffed pastas are more a pain-in-the-ass than I want to deal with 95% of the time. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2018, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-cook-from-scratch/822048/39 "2018-09-28T13:24:47Z")
Oh yeah, roasted red pepper bisque. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2018, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-cook-from-scratch/822048/40 "2018-09-28T14:06:02Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > Italian food because my sauce is da bomb! 😃 Same here. I try to use my homegrown tomatoes and make some killer stuff for freezing and future use. In a good year, I can whip up enough to last the winter. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-cook-from-scratch/822048.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-cook-from-scratch/822048.md?page=3)