When I was about ten, I received a Beginner’s Cookbook as a present, but was disappointed because the recipe book was from the USA, and I couldn’t make most of the recipes. Actually, they weren’t really recipes; they were just lists of different ways to use box ingredients that we didn’t have here. Until I read that cookbook, I didn’t know that there were people who did not always cook (or bake) from basic raw ingredients. Now of course I know that Americans actually have a term for this, calling it cooking (or baking) “from scratch.”
I thought this might have changed in recent years, given the renewed enthusiasm for cupcakes and elaborate birthday cakes and baking shows, except that recently on Fb I was shocked to see a reference to cooking macaroni and cheese “from scratch.” Macaroni and cheese must be one of the easiest things in the world to make, and was certainly one of the first things I ever learned to cook – I remember the sense of accomplishment when that roux/white sauce would form perfectly. Recently, as I was searching for a lemon cupcake recipe, I saw a recipe that required a box cake mix and a box pudding* mix. That’s not baking!
* Pudding means something completely different here.
Note: The instigator of #MicroblogMondays, Melissa Ford, has written a book called “Life from Scratch” (and a couple of sequels). I couldn’t write this post for #MicroblogMondays without referencing it.
Reblogged this on rennydiokno.com.
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I CAN cook “from scratch,” but I did grow up in a time & place where we ate a lot of casseroles, made with canned soup, and “salads” were made with Jello and canned fruit. 😉 I have to admit I still used canned soup in some of my recipes (mostly ones handed down from my mom or grandma). “Comfort food,” lol. I do try to use the low-sodium version. 😉
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I forget sometimes how much canned/boxed foods are part of cooking in the USA – though I do definitely divide my baking into “from scratch” vs “cheating” and using the boxes. Hadn’t thought about how those “cheating” recipes don’t really translate in other countries…
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It’s so true (I live in the US) and my mom taught me to cook from scratch, but many people I know did not learn to cook that way, and are shocked when I comment. My husband is a prime example. He thinks boxed macaroni and cheese is great. I have extreme scorn for this. To me, boxed is “cheating” (and not nearly as tasty). We never eat mac and cheese together. LOL
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I have a lot of mosquito bites and am reading from scratch.
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And IB hits a home run again!
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Mmmm, those look delicious. I grew up in a house where very little was from scratch (macaroni and cheese, soup, frosting, cake mixes, those awful potato flakes that become something resembling mashed potatoes) and so I try really, really hard to make more things “from scratch.” Although I do love doctored up recipes, like gluten free cakes made from a boxed GF mix (because I just don’t want to stock my cupboards with every kind of alternative flour on earth) and extra ingredients, like pudding mix! (Although I’m curious what your pudding is that’s different from the pudding I put in mine.) And even though I love homemade macaroni and cheese, sometimes it’s kind of a fun nostalgia to make the one out of the box with the bright orange sauce (even if mine is now gluten free and colored with annatto, not a ton of fluorescent chemicals). Mmmmm, now I want cupcakes. 🙂
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Yep, another American here who grew up eating things from boxes and the freezer. It wasn’t until I was out on my own that I discovered the ease and joy of making things from basic ingredients. Of course, that doesn’t mean I do it all the time… *grin*
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Another American who grew up on boxed foods. I rebelled and cooked only “from scratch” but sometimes the convenience is soooooo alluring.
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Believe it or not I actually know how to cook quite a bit from scratch. I grew up poor and on a farm and couldn’t afford the boxed stuff. We grew all of our vegetables (I know how to can vegetables, but haven’t done it in years) and raised our own beef, pork, and chicken. I’m pretty sure I was in high school before I had milk purchased from the store. Now we try to avoid boxed food as much as possible, but sometimes between general busyness and difficulty of cooking for only two people we occasionally revert to boxed stuff. As far as baking goes, I don’t like to bake and I’m not good at it, so I go to the little family bakery down the road and buy whatever I need. I need to get back into making our own bread too.
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I think it’s different in different parts of America. I don’t know anyone who uses a mix or pre-made ingredients as part of a recipe and calls it cooking. On the east coast, if you were to do that, you would say that it came from a mix. You wouldn’t call it baking.
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There is (or used to be, don’t know if it is still on) a cooking show where the “expert” celebrates shortcuts; i.e. boxed or canned goods. I had a relatively healthy mix of both. Those of us old enough to experience life in America before moms went to work and needed fast, easy, dinner ideas know what it is like to cook (and eat) from scratch. Mac and cheese and mashed taters in their purest forms must be experienced at least once.
Baking, however, is another can of peas. My mother, for one hated baking and avoided doing it from scratch or from a box. I can. But don’t, bake.
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The cakes look delicous.
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In India we cook from scratch and we do not get so many boxed things. Sometimes, it fun to create everything from scratch 🙂
Visting from the Microblog Mondays linky and enjoyed reading your post.
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I’m feeling inspired to do more “from scratch” -ing.
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The tide is definitely turning against our convenience food culture, thank goodness, but I do think these foods played an important historical purpose – after WWII they allowed many women to remain in the workforce and still get dinner on their table for their family. Did you know the only reason you add the egg and oil to the boxed cakes is so women could still feel like they were “baking?” Turns out they could have been added in dehydrated form as well!
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So many interesting (and funny… Indigo!) comments here. I love cooking from scratch, but there are some prepared foods that I love and my “from scratch” efforts never match up–thinking of hummous, and pizza (only Dr. Oetker’s, which I could happily live on).
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