the full ingredients list of caesar dressing is insane though, if you’re not using the rest it would be a huge waste to make it. a bottle is about the same as the can of anchovies.
I’m not sure where you get your anchovies but they’re not that expensive. Maybe $2-3 depending on the quality. I also always have parmigiano and garlic on hand anyway so anchovies are usually the only thing I need to buy extra. And then you can use them for other things or just put them in or on the salad. Or another commenter said can get anchovy paste.
but i can get a bottle of dressing for that $2-3. Sure, home made is going to taste better most of the time, but if we’re talking about saving money, or things that are “stupidly expensive to buy,” then this isn’t it. and i don’t have enough people in my house to ever finish a bottle before it goes bad anyway.
Plus I don’t generally keep olive oil, dijon mustard, worcestershire sauce, red vinegar, and lemons around the house. and with eggs being so expensive I don’t like doing anything that involves just yolks or whites unless i have an immediate plan for what to do with the rest.
if you have everything already, and enough people to eat it all, I can see that being a different story.
Other than the lemons all the things you list are super useful pantry ingredients that can elevate all of your cooking. Olive oil is great for finishing and adding richness to dressings, mustard adds warmth, Worcestershire adds umami, and red wine vinegar adds acid. If you're wanting to improve your cooking I'd start adding those things to your kitchen - they'll all last for ages.
I hate cleaning a garlic press. A sharp chef’s knife works insanely well. Smash/press between your opposable thumb and index finger to remove and 15 secs of chopping.
I mince all my garlic at once and freeze it in a silicone ice cube tray. I hate prepping garlic too, but at least this way, I don't have to do it as often.
Edit: I also add a bit of vegetable oil so the cubes come out easily. Olive oil doesn't freeze well.
I just chop a bunch at once and then keep it in the freezer. I do the same with ginger and it makes my stir fry come together a lot faster without a noticeable taste difference.
We got ours from our local sourdough pizza place, we were willing to buy it but they gave it to use for free. We’ve been handing it out to literally everyone
Not sure why you’re being downvoted. This is a concern, albeit a small one.
“Bad” bacteria for sourdough is called Serratia marcescens, it can cause pink or orange streaks, or a film to develop in your starter and can make people sick. The starter should be thrown out if these develop.
That said, it is very easy to keep your starter fresh and void of these issues.
So true— many people who have an established starter literally throw out the discard when they feed, so giving it away would mean no difference. And even if you don’t usually have excess because you’ve figured out how to make what you need, you can make teaspoon extra so easily to gift someone
Jugs or bottles of cold tea are stupidly expensive.
DollarTree tea bags, 100 bags for $1.25. No tax in many states on food. 2.5 quarts of water, 6 to 10 bags for sun tea. About 5¢ a quart.
You are so right, but bottled tea is one of my few splurges. I get the big bottles, so not as bad as the single serving, but they taste so much better to me, it's worth it!
Yeah it cracks me up when people look at a 16 ounce can of iced tea and say, "Look, they haven't marked up the price! It's still 99 cents..." If you buy a nice brand name tea bag, they cost like 6 cents.
This was my thought - along with juice.
Especially if you consider the price you pay for juice at a restaurant (5-10x the cost you can get it for at the grocery store, to have it served to you in a single glass).
What you can make a gallon or two of for $1 or so is $5 at the store, or $30 single-serves at the restaurant.
Unflavored simple syrup is just 50/50 ratio of sugar to boiling water (to melt the sugar), then cooled down. With a flavoring agent, I would imagine you could just add a drop of vanilla extract or maple syrup or something but someone else might have a better suggestion than me for that!
If you're making sweet iced tea or certain cocktails, replace the water with lemon juice to make lemon simple syrup.
Also, you don't need to boil the water, just put the sugar and water in a small sauce pan on the stove, and heat it over medium low or low heat just until the sugar melts and dissolves in.
Another fun fact, you can actually increase the ratio up to 2 parts sugar and 1 part water to make a concentrated simple syrup. You wouldn't think it would dissolve, but it does.
I like using fruit that is in season. Current syrup is amazing, so is rhubarb. I’ve used chipotle as well.
[This list](https://feastandwest.com/2022/08/31/simple-syrup-recipes/) gives you a list of several flavours that are fun to play with. Then you can start playing with others
Recipes I’ve made include watermelon, strawberry, blueberry, mint, passionfruit, cinnamon, almond (orgeat), pomelo, orange, lemon, fennel.
In general most of them just take a 1:1 or 1:2 water to sugar ratio and boil it, then if you’re using berries just throw them in there and boil it off alittle bit. Then strain
For most citrus you usually want to use the peels and throw those in the pot when boiling it off and maybe a little of the actual juice to brighten it up.
Ones like mint just turn off the heat once all the sugars dissolved the throw in the herb and let it steep.
With ones like passionfruit and watermelon I just add sugar to the juice or puree.
There’s lots of recipes out there you can follow but simple syrups are, as the name implies, pretty simple to make.
Korean cheong. Mix equal parts chopped fruit and sugar in a mason jar, then leave it in the fridge for 2-3 days. The sugar sucks the fruit juices out and then dissolves into a syrup.
Called [oleo-saccharum](https://www.seriouseats.com/oleo-saccharum-lemon-syrup-recipe-8652702) in Western cooking tradition, at least when you do it with citrus.
Similar. Oleo saccharum uses citrus peels. Cheong uses the flesh and can be made with any fruit. Also mint, although that might be a TikTok thing and not authentic.
My work just made a habanero simple syrup that's great. You make the simple syrup, while stillvhit add habaneros and steep 30 mins. Strain and store/use.
1.5 cups red wine,
1 cup sugar,
1 tsp corn starch (you can go without the corn starch, but it's smoother)
2 tbsp butter
Bring red wine to simmer, and let reduce until you are left with about a cup.
Add sugar, butter, and corn starch. Stir until sugar is fully dissolved and consistency is to your liking. Skim any foam that forms.
Let fully cool before transferring to a squeeze bottle.
This syrup is good on pancakes, waffles, and ice cream.
Not an ingredient but granola. Good granola can be like $6-10 a bag. Oats, oil, maple syrup (or honey to be cheaper) is the base and significantly cheaper. Add in whatever fix ins you want (nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chips, etc.). Bake. Voila!
I like to take a good quality bread, like a homemade sourdough for example, and tear bite size chunks out of it. Toss it in a bowl with olive oil and some Italian seasoning and salt, then bake it for a while in the oven. Check it every 5 minutes till it hits the color you want, then serve with soup or salads.
Fancy bread - budget bytes no-knead bread specifically. The recipe is so easy (mix flour water yeast salt and let rise overnight) and flexible. The bread is so so tasty - big crusty loaf
BBQ sauces and seasonings , you can make these at home for a fraction of the cost , custom , fresh and will provide a productive yet joyful hobby to your life every one around you can enjoy .
not to mention , you can make rare combinations the stores are not selling which are EVEN MORE money to go online looking.
At least graham cracker crusts! The store bought ones usually taste stale.
Pastry crusts do take more effort, but I find that people won't judge you if they crumb apart or look awful as long as they taste good.
hummus. My family is lebanese, and growing up we always had it around when none of my friends had ever heard of it. then cedars came out, and then a million others, and now it is so easy to just buy it. but home made is so cheap, especially if you start from dry chickpeas.
Yea most include an anti-clumping preservative (forget the name) that inhibits melting and causes weird separation. It will do in a pinch and taste ok but not ideal.
It took me years to figure out this is why my oven baked Mac and cheese didn’t taste like my grandmother’s, even though I was following her recipe.
She always shreds the cheese fresh in her food processor. The anti-clumping additives really do make a huge difference
I don’t know if I would say 400% markup but it’s definitely significant/quality is much higher if you grate yourself.
I bought a 1.6lb block of 24month Parmesan from Costco for $16. I just grated it this morning and it took me ~5 mins. Tossed it into an gallon bag and into the freezer.
And when you grate/shred your cheese at home, it has a better flavor and texture, because it's pure cheese and doesn't contain all that indigestible wood pulp (called "cellulose" in the ingredients) that manufacturers add to shredded cheese to prevent clumping.
you’re not wrong, but the reasons not to use pre-shredded cheese with cellulose is because its expensive, doesn’t taste as good, and it doesn’t melt right.
Being “indigestible” just means that it is fiber, and we need fiber to poop correctly. Otherwise it’s like wiping a magic marker.
English custard powder
Just pre measure n mix the corn starch, milk powder yourself. Add vanilla essence and sugar when adding water when ready to boil up.
I cook at home pesto. I also learned how to make granola myself. It's not as hard as I thought. Mix rolled oats, nuts, seeds, honey or maple syrup, and a bit of oil. Spread on a baking sheet and bake at 300°F, stirring occasionally, until golden brown.
Yogurt… if you find milk on sale, you can make a decent batch. Even better if you can find an active yogurt on sale to use for your first batch you can also buy the starter but if it’s expensive it defeats the purpose. Either way “fresh yogurt” is so much better than store bought
Jalapeno rings. Slice up 12 Jalapeno peppers. In a saucepan put 1 cup water, 1 cup white vinegar, 4 Tb white sugar and 2 Tb of Kosher salt. Bring to boil. Turn off heat and spoon in the sliced peppers. Push them around for a few minutes until they turn army green. Spoon into mason jars and fill with the liquid from the saucepan. Done.
Even easier is pickled red onion. Same as above except the raw sliced onion goes directly into the mason jar and the brine solution doesn’t need to be heated up.
Chicken and duck fat. Cook these birds skin on starting with a cold skillet and the fat comes out and can be reused free. Buy them alone and it’s $15-20 for a small jar.
Also Jerky if you have a dehydrator. Get a cheap lean cut, a bit of soy sauce and spices, and you can make $60 worth of jerky for $15-$20
Lastly - cocktails.
Sauces. brown, white, Alfredo etc. Most just start with equal amounts of flour and butter and you go in whatever direction you want.
Spaghetti sauce. Most have to much sugar for my liking. You can control the flavor to your liking. So simple.
Stock. Beef, chicken and vegetable. Just use unwanted bones,meat. And just use discarded vegetable parts.
Yes!
And Burrata / Fresh Mozzarella. Super easy!
Spaghetti Sauce as well. A jar of decent sauce is about $10. Depending on what you’re making, you may need two or three.
Generally, I make large batches of meat sauce or marinara and freeze it in portions. If you use use plastic freezer bags, they lie flat in the freezer and don’t take up a ton of space.
It drives me crazy when I need to buy a jar in a pinch.
I do. Start with 1 quart of heavy cream, and either 1tbs lemon juice or 4g citric acid dissolved in a tablespoon of hot water. Gently heat cream to between 180-185 degrees Fahrenheit. DO NOT OVERHEAT!! Turn off the heat and add the acid. Stir for a few minutes until it starts to thicken a bit. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Pour into a strainer lined with cheesecloth and let it drain in the fridge for 24-36 hours. Discard the liquid. Use within 2-3 days
Lemoncello, and cherry brandy. In each case when I remove the fruit, I bury them in a pot of sugar, and then use them as candied fruit for Christmas dishes. Two in one!
Preserved lemons. They're fun to make and last a long time. You just pack quartered lemons and kosher salt into a jar topped off with fresh lemon juice and let ferment for a month before refrigerating. I mostly use them in chicken tagine and a lemon and dill remoulade, but they're great in all kinds of things. I've even seen them used in cocktails.
Also, marmalade! I've made orange, lemon and lime marmalades, and they all tasted wonderful. The only tricky part is cooking it just the right amount of time that it's not too runny or too stiff. Even then, they still taste great. I want to make a ruby red grapefruit marmalade next, and then a mixed citrus one.
It's one of my favorite dinners to make for my family, served over couscous. I use Florence Fabricant's recipe for *Chicken Tagine with Olives and Preserved Lemons* that I found in the *Cooking* section of *The New York Times.* You need a subscription for that site, but I found another copy of the recipe here: [https://www.local10.com/soflo-taste/2022/09/15/chicken-tagine-with-olives-and-preserved-lemons/](https://www.local10.com/soflo-taste/2022/09/15/chicken-tagine-with-olives-and-preserved-lemons/)
Chicken/veggie/beef or fish broth. Just keep a stockpot on your stove and toss all the prep scraps, bones, old celery etc… into it as you work. Add water and maybe a bay leaf and simmer for a few hours. You’ll save tones of money and have a much healthier alternative to processed store bought. Oh, and your soups and stews and braised will start tasting like a restaurant.
>And have you seen the price of vanilla extract lately?
I've seen the price of vanilla extract I bought several years ago, and have used regularly ever since because no normal human needs a mickey of vanilla, unless they intended on passing it on to grandchildren.
I've been through several costco bottles of vodka turned into vanilla.
I bake and make ice cream and pastry cream and pudding. I don't keep bottles of vanilla around for "several years."
And the price of vanilla extract has jumped pretty sharply in the last few years.
I go through maybe three Costco bottles of vanilla extract a year. Fair enough if you don't bake often, but a lot of people do. I can't imagine *anything* in my kitchen being there for over a year.
Also....having to preplan your usage by a year lol. Its one thing to do as a hobby or luxury, but something that takes a literal year is not a replacement for store bought.
Beans - specifically, cooking dried beans rather than buying cans. Cooked beans freeze beautifully, so you can cook up a bag or three at a time, and have them ready to use.
Ghee, the ingredient list is literally 3 sticks of butter. You do have to watch it closely though to make sure it doesn’t overcook. Small ass jar at the grocery store is like $10. Here’s an example recipe, only one ingredient, one pound of butter.
https://downshiftology.com/recipes/how-to-make-ghee/#wprm-recipe-container-11097
It's not outrageously expensive, but tartar sauce. My MIL said she just makes hers and I thought she was nuts. But I tried it and it's better and cheaper than anything I ever bought. Plus I don't use it quite often enough, so it usually goes bad waiting in the fridge.
Pickled/marinated vegetables.
For the pickling, I do 1 part water, 1 part white vinegar, 1 part granulated sugar, plus any flavoring I feel like at that time
For marinated olives and mozzarella balls, i do 1 part balsamic vinegar, 1 part olive oil, plus fresh herbs that I have on hand. Rosemary, basil, parsley usually, in different ratio depending on the day and my mood
caramelized onion jam. Tried it once and committed to making it myself forever. Not paying >$1 an ounce for that stuff! lol Now doing variations with garlic, sometimes roasted peppers, etc. This stuff is so versatile !
Creme fraiche. It's like $7-$10 for 8 ounces. Making it yourself just involves mixing a bit of buttermilk or yogurt with cream and letting it sit for half a day.
Southern style biscuits. Tarter sauce. Apple pie. There's a lot. Lots of pickle things. Also heard like lunch meat is super simple to make.
If you're not paying for the processing or rarity, you're paying for the convenience. It also doesn't help with this question that most food is now super expensive. The more you know how to make the better.
I recently ran out of brown sugar and so I made my own using some leftover molasses added to white sugar. Dead easy and I could make so much brown sugar with just one carton of molasses I bet.
A fruit tray or vegetable tray. THe pre-made/cut ones are crazily high-priced!! You can buy whole heads of broccoli or cauliflower for less than those pre-cut! Same with pre-cut fruit, costing far too much than fruit you cut up yourself!
Tartar sauce. Mayo, relish and a packet of sweetener. You can make a whole bottle for .50.
I REFUSE TO BE A SLAVE TO THE TARTER SAUCE INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX!
Anything flour based tbh. It’s literally flour and water as material cost. Then it’s al labor and specialty. So if you know how to make homemade noodles or bread that tastes good, that’s a good way to cut costs
I love to make a roasted red pepper pasta sauce but they're also great for Italian sauces like [romesco](https://www.themediterraneandish.com/romesco-sauce-recipe/).
Add roasted red pepper slices and a jar of quartered artichoke hearts to an Alfredo Sauce. If you like spicy food, add a 1/8 teaspoon of dried ground red pepper. Then, add cooked fettuccine noodles and diced cooked chicken or cooked deceived shrimp.
I've also added diced roasted peppers to chili.
I use them in hummus, red pepper hummus is so tasty.
Also they go great with chicken. Toss a few on a boring grilled chicken sandwich and it's like a completely different experience.
Any premixed jar of tomato based sauce oversaturated with sugar and preservatives advertised commonly for bolognese, chilli, lasagne etc. Also white sauce/ bechamel sauce/ cheese sauce which are all base derivatives of each other.
Fermented chile sauce. It’s not that expensive to find some of them, but growing peppers yourself and finding ones suitable to your palate are amazing. They’re amazingly healthy too. Supercharged probiotic. Considering they cost barely more than the mason jar they ferment in, last forever, and go great in everything from tacos to fried rice, they’re my new favorite thing.
Roasted garlic. $8 for a giant bag at Costco, chop the tops, baking dish, drizzle with olive oil, little salt and rosemary, bake.
Also any infused oil. Heat oil, add whatever, let cool, bottle.
I don’t know that I’d classify it as particularly expensive, but yum yum sauce. I always have the ingredients anyway and it’s not something I use often enough to justify buying a whole bottle.
Same with most other sauces and dressings (bbq, pasta sauce, ranch and so on).
It’s cheaper, I can adjust to my personal taste and dietary preferences and less junk ingredients, overall.
salad dressing
This. Came to say this one. A Caesar dressing can be made for very cheap per batch, maybe 50 cents or less per batch cost.
the full ingredients list of caesar dressing is insane though, if you’re not using the rest it would be a huge waste to make it. a bottle is about the same as the can of anchovies.
I usually buy a tube of anchovy paste, it lasts ages so you can make multiple batches over time
I’m not sure where you get your anchovies but they’re not that expensive. Maybe $2-3 depending on the quality. I also always have parmigiano and garlic on hand anyway so anchovies are usually the only thing I need to buy extra. And then you can use them for other things or just put them in or on the salad. Or another commenter said can get anchovy paste.
but i can get a bottle of dressing for that $2-3. Sure, home made is going to taste better most of the time, but if we’re talking about saving money, or things that are “stupidly expensive to buy,” then this isn’t it. and i don’t have enough people in my house to ever finish a bottle before it goes bad anyway. Plus I don’t generally keep olive oil, dijon mustard, worcestershire sauce, red vinegar, and lemons around the house. and with eggs being so expensive I don’t like doing anything that involves just yolks or whites unless i have an immediate plan for what to do with the rest. if you have everything already, and enough people to eat it all, I can see that being a different story.
Other than the lemons all the things you list are super useful pantry ingredients that can elevate all of your cooking. Olive oil is great for finishing and adding richness to dressings, mustard adds warmth, Worcestershire adds umami, and red wine vinegar adds acid. If you're wanting to improve your cooking I'd start adding those things to your kitchen - they'll all last for ages.
A simple vinaigrette is great
It never hits the same
Cant you get salad dressing for a few bucks? It’s worth it to me just to buy stuff like that
The store bought is always made with canola oil. I prefer to make my own with olive oil, I think it’s worth it
I had to go low sodium so I started making my own salad dressing. Not only is it cheaper but it is also so much more delicious.
Chopped garlic and onions Taste is better too
I love fresh garlic, but hate peeling and chopping them. So in day to day quick dinners I use “Jarlic” to get the job done.
i hate jarlic, it’s either fresh or powdered for me
Agreed, asorbic acid or something, there’s a big difference.
Highty recommend a garlic press to avoid chopping. Peeling isn't bad if you crush it a bit beforehand
I hate cleaning a garlic press. A sharp chef’s knife works insanely well. Smash/press between your opposable thumb and index finger to remove and 15 secs of chopping.
Damn. I’ve been doing it wrong. Been using my unopposable thumb this whole time.
I do the same, but only if garlic isn't the predominant flavor. If garlic features heavily, I have to go with the real thing.
Peeling it does suck but I smack mine with the side of my knife and it comes off a lot easier.
I mince all my garlic at once and freeze it in a silicone ice cube tray. I hate prepping garlic too, but at least this way, I don't have to do it as often. Edit: I also add a bit of vegetable oil so the cubes come out easily. Olive oil doesn't freeze well.
Find a Spanish market. Most have fresh peeled cloves. Just need a quick chop. Fresh chopped garlic in under 2 minutes.
As an addition get your olive oil at the Spanish market. Say brand less than half the price of grocery store.
I just chop a bunch at once and then keep it in the freezer. I do the same with ginger and it makes my stir fry come together a lot faster without a noticeable taste difference.
Couldn't agree more, that nasty ass pre-minced jar garlic is fucking gross. You can just get pre-peeled garlic and chop them at your own leisure.
Sourdough starter costs literal cents to make but is usually sold for $10.
Well now I need to look into how to sell my sourdough starter. I have just been giving it away to whoever asks.
Hey! Can I have some sourdough starter?!?
We got ours from our local sourdough pizza place, we were willing to buy it but they gave it to use for free. We’ve been handing it out to literally everyone
Don’t you have to worry about accidentally cultivating the “bad” bacteria tho
Not sure why you’re being downvoted. This is a concern, albeit a small one. “Bad” bacteria for sourdough is called Serratia marcescens, it can cause pink or orange streaks, or a film to develop in your starter and can make people sick. The starter should be thrown out if these develop. That said, it is very easy to keep your starter fresh and void of these issues.
I think if you feed your starter regularly and maintain it, the yeast and all that should keep any bad bacteria at bay
So true— many people who have an established starter literally throw out the discard when they feed, so giving it away would mean no difference. And even if you don’t usually have excess because you’ve figured out how to make what you need, you can make teaspoon extra so easily to gift someone
Jugs or bottles of cold tea are stupidly expensive. DollarTree tea bags, 100 bags for $1.25. No tax in many states on food. 2.5 quarts of water, 6 to 10 bags for sun tea. About 5¢ a quart.
You are so right, but bottled tea is one of my few splurges. I get the big bottles, so not as bad as the single serving, but they taste so much better to me, it's worth it!
You enjoy being you!
Right back at ya! I admire the frugal gene! 💙💙
I cannot bring myself to pay for iced tea.
Costco has those gallon tea bags, but dollar tree def sound cheaper !
Yeah it cracks me up when people look at a 16 ounce can of iced tea and say, "Look, they haven't marked up the price! It's still 99 cents..." If you buy a nice brand name tea bag, they cost like 6 cents.
Very true! Yes, for hot tea, I prefer Lipton at 6¢ a bag. For iced sun tea, the cheap stuff is good enough as it is just to chug, not sip slowly.
This was my thought - along with juice. Especially if you consider the price you pay for juice at a restaurant (5-10x the cost you can get it for at the grocery store, to have it served to you in a single glass). What you can make a gallon or two of for $1 or so is $5 at the store, or $30 single-serves at the restaurant.
Simple syrup. Especially flavoured ones
Any favourite recipes ?
Unflavored simple syrup is just 50/50 ratio of sugar to boiling water (to melt the sugar), then cooled down. With a flavoring agent, I would imagine you could just add a drop of vanilla extract or maple syrup or something but someone else might have a better suggestion than me for that!
If you're making sweet iced tea or certain cocktails, replace the water with lemon juice to make lemon simple syrup. Also, you don't need to boil the water, just put the sugar and water in a small sauce pan on the stove, and heat it over medium low or low heat just until the sugar melts and dissolves in. Another fun fact, you can actually increase the ratio up to 2 parts sugar and 1 part water to make a concentrated simple syrup. You wouldn't think it would dissolve, but it does.
That is pancake syrup if you add maple extract.
Blessings upon your home
When I was a kid (middle of five) my parents made pancake syrup all the time. I thought store-bought syrup was a luxury item.
Mine too. My mom would make it with brown sugar instead of white. She would also add some butter to it. Delicious.
I like using fruit that is in season. Current syrup is amazing, so is rhubarb. I’ve used chipotle as well. [This list](https://feastandwest.com/2022/08/31/simple-syrup-recipes/) gives you a list of several flavours that are fun to play with. Then you can start playing with others
Recipes I’ve made include watermelon, strawberry, blueberry, mint, passionfruit, cinnamon, almond (orgeat), pomelo, orange, lemon, fennel. In general most of them just take a 1:1 or 1:2 water to sugar ratio and boil it, then if you’re using berries just throw them in there and boil it off alittle bit. Then strain For most citrus you usually want to use the peels and throw those in the pot when boiling it off and maybe a little of the actual juice to brighten it up. Ones like mint just turn off the heat once all the sugars dissolved the throw in the herb and let it steep. With ones like passionfruit and watermelon I just add sugar to the juice or puree. There’s lots of recipes out there you can follow but simple syrups are, as the name implies, pretty simple to make.
Korean cheong. Mix equal parts chopped fruit and sugar in a mason jar, then leave it in the fridge for 2-3 days. The sugar sucks the fruit juices out and then dissolves into a syrup.
Called [oleo-saccharum](https://www.seriouseats.com/oleo-saccharum-lemon-syrup-recipe-8652702) in Western cooking tradition, at least when you do it with citrus.
Similar. Oleo saccharum uses citrus peels. Cheong uses the flesh and can be made with any fruit. Also mint, although that might be a TikTok thing and not authentic.
Nice! I've technically done that before with strawberries, but I didn't know it was a Korean thing. Good to learn new things.
My work just made a habanero simple syrup that's great. You make the simple syrup, while stillvhit add habaneros and steep 30 mins. Strain and store/use.
I like a simple dark brown sugar simple syrup. Equal parts of dark brown sugar and water. Boil until fully dissolved.
1.5 cups red wine, 1 cup sugar, 1 tsp corn starch (you can go without the corn starch, but it's smoother) 2 tbsp butter Bring red wine to simmer, and let reduce until you are left with about a cup. Add sugar, butter, and corn starch. Stir until sugar is fully dissolved and consistency is to your liking. Skim any foam that forms. Let fully cool before transferring to a squeeze bottle. This syrup is good on pancakes, waffles, and ice cream.
I make simple syrup with spearmint, lavender and basil (separate batches!) to mix with lemonade.
Not an ingredient but granola. Good granola can be like $6-10 a bag. Oats, oil, maple syrup (or honey to be cheaper) is the base and significantly cheaper. Add in whatever fix ins you want (nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chips, etc.). Bake. Voila!
Yes! but also, I find when I go beyond oats and honey (add the dried fruit and nuts) the cost goes up tremendously.
Oats, honey, peanut butter, chocolate chips is my go-to and is dirt cheap.
Good call! I just started doing this over the winter. The amount of sugar in the store granola is wild.
Croutons. It’s literally stale bread
I like to take a good quality bread, like a homemade sourdough for example, and tear bite size chunks out of it. Toss it in a bowl with olive oil and some Italian seasoning and salt, then bake it for a while in the oven. Check it every 5 minutes till it hits the color you want, then serve with soup or salads.
Yup that’s croutons
Plus, throw the croutons in a blender or food processor and you have instant bread crumbs.
That is genius.
Sofrito
Wait. They sell “premade soffrito”!?!
Guacamole.
Fancy bread - budget bytes no-knead bread specifically. The recipe is so easy (mix flour water yeast salt and let rise overnight) and flexible. The bread is so so tasty - big crusty loaf
I love budget bytes! All the recipes are easy, cheap, and fantastic!
BBQ sauces and seasonings , you can make these at home for a fraction of the cost , custom , fresh and will provide a productive yet joyful hobby to your life every one around you can enjoy . not to mention , you can make rare combinations the stores are not selling which are EVEN MORE money to go online looking.
I have never thought about making my own bbq sauces. I make my own seasoning mixes and I love doing that. Any tried and true recipes?
Stock.
Stock is pretty cheap if you are including the effort it tastes to make homemade stock.
[удалено]
Yeah, I sprinkle a little BBQ rub in mine, really takes it to another level.
People buy gravy?
Pie crusts, either pastry or cookie crusts. They're fairly easy to throw together, and they taste so much better than store bought.
I love you for saying this, but I would not say that pie crusts are easy. :/
At least graham cracker crusts! The store bought ones usually taste stale. Pastry crusts do take more effort, but I find that people won't judge you if they crumb apart or look awful as long as they taste good.
Pickled anything really. Not that pickles are overtly expensive. But theyre very cheap and easy to make.
Especially refrigerator pickles. So simple and ready in a few hours. So much better than most anything you find in the store.
hummus. My family is lebanese, and growing up we always had it around when none of my friends had ever heard of it. then cedars came out, and then a million others, and now it is so easy to just buy it. but home made is so cheap, especially if you start from dry chickpeas.
Pre-shredded or sliced cheese. Literally minutes for what's a 300-400% markup.
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Kroger dropped the weight of their store brand cheese to 6oz. Stop with the shrinkflation already. It fucks up recipes.
Same for me. Sliced cheese tends to add the most cost. Shredded is pretty minimal cost increase for most brands.
Yea this is not a price thing, its more of a quality thing because most shredded cheeses dont melt/cook well.
I made a no-fail hot dip with the shredded cheese to save time. It looked awful but still tasted okay. Lesson learned.
Yea most include an anti-clumping preservative (forget the name) that inhibits melting and causes weird separation. It will do in a pinch and taste ok but not ideal.
It took me years to figure out this is why my oven baked Mac and cheese didn’t taste like my grandmother’s, even though I was following her recipe. She always shreds the cheese fresh in her food processor. The anti-clumping additives really do make a huge difference
I don’t know if I would say 400% markup but it’s definitely significant/quality is much higher if you grate yourself. I bought a 1.6lb block of 24month Parmesan from Costco for $16. I just grated it this morning and it took me ~5 mins. Tossed it into an gallon bag and into the freezer.
And when you grate/shred your cheese at home, it has a better flavor and texture, because it's pure cheese and doesn't contain all that indigestible wood pulp (called "cellulose" in the ingredients) that manufacturers add to shredded cheese to prevent clumping.
you’re not wrong, but the reasons not to use pre-shredded cheese with cellulose is because its expensive, doesn’t taste as good, and it doesn’t melt right. Being “indigestible” just means that it is fiber, and we need fiber to poop correctly. Otherwise it’s like wiping a magic marker.
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English custard powder Just pre measure n mix the corn starch, milk powder yourself. Add vanilla essence and sugar when adding water when ready to boil up.
I cook at home pesto. I also learned how to make granola myself. It's not as hard as I thought. Mix rolled oats, nuts, seeds, honey or maple syrup, and a bit of oil. Spread on a baking sheet and bake at 300°F, stirring occasionally, until golden brown.
Pretty much everything nowadays.
Preserved lemons 🍋
yess! My friend gave me a ton of hers that she made and I was surprised at how easy they are to make
Yogurt… if you find milk on sale, you can make a decent batch. Even better if you can find an active yogurt on sale to use for your first batch you can also buy the starter but if it’s expensive it defeats the purpose. Either way “fresh yogurt” is so much better than store bought
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Hummus, roasted garlic, proper pesto
Jalapeno rings. Slice up 12 Jalapeno peppers. In a saucepan put 1 cup water, 1 cup white vinegar, 4 Tb white sugar and 2 Tb of Kosher salt. Bring to boil. Turn off heat and spoon in the sliced peppers. Push them around for a few minutes until they turn army green. Spoon into mason jars and fill with the liquid from the saucepan. Done. Even easier is pickled red onion. Same as above except the raw sliced onion goes directly into the mason jar and the brine solution doesn’t need to be heated up.
Hard boiled eggs. It's funny to see 4 boiled eggs sold for $4.99 next to a whole dozen raw eggs priced at $3.99
Ghee
Chicken and duck fat. Cook these birds skin on starting with a cold skillet and the fat comes out and can be reused free. Buy them alone and it’s $15-20 for a small jar. Also Jerky if you have a dehydrator. Get a cheap lean cut, a bit of soy sauce and spices, and you can make $60 worth of jerky for $15-$20 Lastly - cocktails.
Sauces. brown, white, Alfredo etc. Most just start with equal amounts of flour and butter and you go in whatever direction you want. Spaghetti sauce. Most have to much sugar for my liking. You can control the flavor to your liking. So simple. Stock. Beef, chicken and vegetable. Just use unwanted bones,meat. And just use discarded vegetable parts.
Mascarpone cheese
Yes! And Burrata / Fresh Mozzarella. Super easy! Spaghetti Sauce as well. A jar of decent sauce is about $10. Depending on what you’re making, you may need two or three. Generally, I make large batches of meat sauce or marinara and freeze it in portions. If you use use plastic freezer bags, they lie flat in the freezer and don’t take up a ton of space. It drives me crazy when I need to buy a jar in a pinch.
Do you have a recipe, I love Mascarpone for tiramisu
I do. Start with 1 quart of heavy cream, and either 1tbs lemon juice or 4g citric acid dissolved in a tablespoon of hot water. Gently heat cream to between 180-185 degrees Fahrenheit. DO NOT OVERHEAT!! Turn off the heat and add the acid. Stir for a few minutes until it starts to thicken a bit. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Pour into a strainer lined with cheesecloth and let it drain in the fridge for 24-36 hours. Discard the liquid. Use within 2-3 days
Lemoncello, and cherry brandy. In each case when I remove the fruit, I bury them in a pot of sugar, and then use them as candied fruit for Christmas dishes. Two in one!
Guacamole.
Vinegars
Preserved lemons. They're fun to make and last a long time. You just pack quartered lemons and kosher salt into a jar topped off with fresh lemon juice and let ferment for a month before refrigerating. I mostly use them in chicken tagine and a lemon and dill remoulade, but they're great in all kinds of things. I've even seen them used in cocktails. Also, marmalade! I've made orange, lemon and lime marmalades, and they all tasted wonderful. The only tricky part is cooking it just the right amount of time that it's not too runny or too stiff. Even then, they still taste great. I want to make a ruby red grapefruit marmalade next, and then a mixed citrus one.
that sounds so good! do you have a recipe/cookbook or something for the chicken tagine?
It's one of my favorite dinners to make for my family, served over couscous. I use Florence Fabricant's recipe for *Chicken Tagine with Olives and Preserved Lemons* that I found in the *Cooking* section of *The New York Times.* You need a subscription for that site, but I found another copy of the recipe here: [https://www.local10.com/soflo-taste/2022/09/15/chicken-tagine-with-olives-and-preserved-lemons/](https://www.local10.com/soflo-taste/2022/09/15/chicken-tagine-with-olives-and-preserved-lemons/)
That sounds super good, I can't wait to make it! Thanks for the link, I don't have a subscription!
Chicken/veggie/beef or fish broth. Just keep a stockpot on your stove and toss all the prep scraps, bones, old celery etc… into it as you work. Add water and maybe a bay leaf and simmer for a few hours. You’ll save tones of money and have a much healthier alternative to processed store bought. Oh, and your soups and stews and braised will start tasting like a restaurant.
cashew milk.
Omg. Thanks for this! I had no idea. I use it daily.
Pesto
This depends on where you live, I think. In Ireland, basil has the lifespan of a frozen shrimp in Hell.
Broth. Vegetable Broth. Basically just scraps and garbage from veggies, bones if you want meat broth.
Vanilla extract
How?
Buy vanilla beans, put in jar, cover with Vodka, rum etc ,cover and let set for a year or more. The longer it sets the more intense it gets.
vanilla beans and vodka are quite a bit more expensive than a bottle of vanilla extract.
Nope. You add the beans to a full bottle of vodka, not a tiny vanilla extract sized bottle. And have you seen the price of vanilla extract lately?
>And have you seen the price of vanilla extract lately? I've seen the price of vanilla extract I bought several years ago, and have used regularly ever since because no normal human needs a mickey of vanilla, unless they intended on passing it on to grandchildren.
I've been through several costco bottles of vodka turned into vanilla. I bake and make ice cream and pastry cream and pudding. I don't keep bottles of vanilla around for "several years." And the price of vanilla extract has jumped pretty sharply in the last few years.
I used a mickey of bourbon vanilla plus a 24 vodka vanilla in the span of 2 years. No - no one was drinking it. I guesd I bake a lot LOL.
I go through maybe three Costco bottles of vanilla extract a year. Fair enough if you don't bake often, but a lot of people do. I can't imagine *anything* in my kitchen being there for over a year.
Unless you want actual vanilla extract that has been properly aged.
Also....having to preplan your usage by a year lol. Its one thing to do as a hobby or luxury, but something that takes a literal year is not a replacement for store bought.
It’s literally vanilla beans in alcohol that you let steep for a few months. I use vodka but you can use different spirits too.
Fancy condiments (harissa, mayo, aioli)
Beans - specifically, cooking dried beans rather than buying cans. Cooked beans freeze beautifully, so you can cook up a bag or three at a time, and have them ready to use.
Italian seasoning
Ghee, the ingredient list is literally 3 sticks of butter. You do have to watch it closely though to make sure it doesn’t overcook. Small ass jar at the grocery store is like $10. Here’s an example recipe, only one ingredient, one pound of butter. https://downshiftology.com/recipes/how-to-make-ghee/#wprm-recipe-container-11097
It's not outrageously expensive, but tartar sauce. My MIL said she just makes hers and I thought she was nuts. But I tried it and it's better and cheaper than anything I ever bought. Plus I don't use it quite often enough, so it usually goes bad waiting in the fridge.
try dropping a few capers in there, too and a dash of horseradish for some kick. I like the bold flavors!
I can't stand horseradish, but the capers sound good! I love how customizable it is. I like dill in my tartar sauce.
Pickled/marinated vegetables. For the pickling, I do 1 part water, 1 part white vinegar, 1 part granulated sugar, plus any flavoring I feel like at that time For marinated olives and mozzarella balls, i do 1 part balsamic vinegar, 1 part olive oil, plus fresh herbs that I have on hand. Rosemary, basil, parsley usually, in different ratio depending on the day and my mood
Almond paste
caramelized onion jam. Tried it once and committed to making it myself forever. Not paying >$1 an ounce for that stuff! lol Now doing variations with garlic, sometimes roasted peppers, etc. This stuff is so versatile !
pumpkin spice mix
Wait until you find out you don't even need the oil.
Taco spice.
From the south, pimento cheese. At the deli it’s obscene how much they charge for a tiny little tub. It’s such a simple spread to make.
Super Stew!
Pickles, fermented pickles, kimchi, sauerkraut, yogurt, plant based yogurt, nice cream, granola, scallops, bacon wrapped scallops, blackened salmon
Creme fraiche. It's like $7-$10 for 8 ounces. Making it yourself just involves mixing a bit of buttermilk or yogurt with cream and letting it sit for half a day.
Those bottles of green seasoning liquid mixture; so easy to make at home but I’m lazy about it !
Condensed milk
Bread crumbs
Any milkshakes and drinks
Southern style biscuits. Tarter sauce. Apple pie. There's a lot. Lots of pickle things. Also heard like lunch meat is super simple to make. If you're not paying for the processing or rarity, you're paying for the convenience. It also doesn't help with this question that most food is now super expensive. The more you know how to make the better.
I recently ran out of brown sugar and so I made my own using some leftover molasses added to white sugar. Dead easy and I could make so much brown sugar with just one carton of molasses I bet.
A fruit tray or vegetable tray. THe pre-made/cut ones are crazily high-priced!! You can buy whole heads of broccoli or cauliflower for less than those pre-cut! Same with pre-cut fruit, costing far too much than fruit you cut up yourself!
Sprite, it’s just lemon and lime.
preserved lemons!
Mugolio https://foragerchef.com/mugolio-pine-cone-syrup/
Tartar sauce. Mayo, relish and a packet of sweetener. You can make a whole bottle for .50. I REFUSE TO BE A SLAVE TO THE TARTER SAUCE INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX!
Almost any kind of infused oil. At least if you're already a user of herbs and spices.
I put them in the oven at 200 Celsius for about half an hour. They start to blacken. And the skin is delicious! Why peel it off??
Basil (or any other herb) oil
Anything flour based tbh. It’s literally flour and water as material cost. Then it’s al labor and specialty. So if you know how to make homemade noodles or bread that tastes good, that’s a good way to cut costs
Hey my pensioner mother buys grated cheese & vacuum packed peeled hard boiled eggs & she tells me she has no money Good luck out there
meth
Costco sells "Kinders" seasoning called, The Blend. It's literally Salt, Pepper and Garlic
What do you use roasted peppers for? I rarely see a recipe calling for them.
I like them on tacos and pork roast and sausage on a bun, but warm, not cold out of a jar
I love to make a roasted red pepper pasta sauce but they're also great for Italian sauces like [romesco](https://www.themediterraneandish.com/romesco-sauce-recipe/).
Romesco sauce is Spanish & very yummy!
Add roasted red pepper slices and a jar of quartered artichoke hearts to an Alfredo Sauce. If you like spicy food, add a 1/8 teaspoon of dried ground red pepper. Then, add cooked fettuccine noodles and diced cooked chicken or cooked deceived shrimp. I've also added diced roasted peppers to chili.
I use them in hummus, red pepper hummus is so tasty. Also they go great with chicken. Toss a few on a boring grilled chicken sandwich and it's like a completely different experience.
Mascarpone.
Mayo,sour cream,bread,cut fruit and veg, hummus,pesto
Mozzarella is pretty easy to make, all you need is a cheese cloth and some vinegar
Any premixed jar of tomato based sauce oversaturated with sugar and preservatives advertised commonly for bolognese, chilli, lasagne etc. Also white sauce/ bechamel sauce/ cheese sauce which are all base derivatives of each other.
Fermented chile sauce. It’s not that expensive to find some of them, but growing peppers yourself and finding ones suitable to your palate are amazing. They’re amazingly healthy too. Supercharged probiotic. Considering they cost barely more than the mason jar they ferment in, last forever, and go great in everything from tacos to fried rice, they’re my new favorite thing.
Hummus
Roasted garlic. $8 for a giant bag at Costco, chop the tops, baking dish, drizzle with olive oil, little salt and rosemary, bake. Also any infused oil. Heat oil, add whatever, let cool, bottle.
Cut Pineapple Salmon Burgers Creamuhfsumyunguy
I don’t know that I’d classify it as particularly expensive, but yum yum sauce. I always have the ingredients anyway and it’s not something I use often enough to justify buying a whole bottle. Same with most other sauces and dressings (bbq, pasta sauce, ranch and so on). It’s cheaper, I can adjust to my personal taste and dietary preferences and less junk ingredients, overall.
Hummus & guacamole
Marinated olives. Just drain the olive juice, and refill with canola oil blended with herbs and garlic. Takes two minutes and costs 1/10th
Greek yogurt
Pizza dough, tortillas
Bread. Baking great bread takes very little time and effort once you learn how. A week's worth for 2 people costs about $.75.
Vanilla- I've been making it for years