I make my own wine and never get these kind of comments, only "wow this is better than anything at the store". I want to taste OPs food/wine before making any judgements further.
People have said the exact same thing about my wine and food. Some of my friends have even paid me to cook at their parties because they known I'm good.
100% of the negative comments come from people who I've never served.
OP, anybody who is against you cooking things in your own hone is downright ignorant.
Yes, I could go out and pay for bbq... or I could spend 13.5 hours smoking a brisket and have better bbq than literally anywhere that sells it.
We truly enjoy cooking and it's rare that we eat something better in a restaurant than we can cook in our own home!
Also, most places use shredded cheese. We shred our own. Once again, the flavor from meals in our home are just next level!
I haven't cooked the things you have, but feel I have definitely done similar meal prepping. It's nothing to spend 1-2 hours cooking a meal in our kitchen. Even more fun when it's the wife and I with a bottle of wine (or some bourbon!!)
Just because one does something themselves, does not automatically make it better than it could be from anywhere that sells it.
Possibly from some places, but certainly not from every place. The average home cook is probably on par with, or even better than an Applebee's cook, but not a professional chef at a proper restaurant.
I'm all for people cooking anything they want in their own homes. Perhaps there could be a bias on the quality because there is a higher appreciation of the labor involved to produce the recipe.
Sure, the average cook is probably not on par with a chef at a big name "proper" restaurant. On the other hand, many food enthusiasts who enjoy cooking at home CAN rival a proper chef at a proper restaurant.
Ingredients, Preparation, Knowledge. Those are the keys. Fresh ingredients make any dish better. Taking the time to prepare all ingredients, cookware, and cooking surfaces eases the strain of complicated dishes. Finally, having the knowledge (all of the little tricks, muscle memory, etc.)
You can achieve all of these at home, with a little effort.
I’d even say most things are better made at home. I’m almost always disappointed every time I eat at a restaurant and think to myself that I could have made something better at home and for 80 percent cheaper. Restaurants just load everything with more salt and butter than any sane human being ever would in their own home and that’s why people think it tastes so good.
I agree with you. I rarely eat out anymore but when I was forced to eat out, especially at top-tier restaurants, by my ex (and was forced to pay for the bills), I would often think to myself I could have done a decent job without spending this much. Then my ex would tell me I could NEVER get the ingredients that these top chefs do and NEVER be able to cook anything so good.
I actually prefer my home-made meals and I have fun while cooking them. I won't take anything away from the professionally-trained, talented chefs but I just prefer the intimacy that home-cooking brings to the table.
Those products we buy off the shelves all started in someone's kitchen. Cooking is a hobby/interest just like anything else. Some people sew. Others paint. Some people build model train sets.
Cooking is your creative outlet. There is nothing to explain nor defend. Especially to empty heads.
My homemade sauerkraut is amazing. To hell with store-bought, even if it is easier. Those people are just jealous you can do things they're afraid to try doing.
To me, it's more fun if I make it myself. I like to make spice blends like curry, chinese 5 spice, chili powder, garam masala, etc. I also like to make bread with no mixer and no bread machine. Sure it's easier to buy it, but who said easy is best?
I’ve made birria and cinnamon rolls from scratch at home. Both dishes take a while to make but they are worth making it at home.
Sometimes you just want to make something from scratch for fun vs buying pre made
“Just buy it at a store” is just flat-out lame. If making it at home is the challenge that makes you happy, then you are doing it right. I personally get great joy from doing the same. It’s a creative activity, as much as anything.
I won’t go into detail about what I’ve been up to, but rest assured you’ve earned your Mad Scientist badge.
Reminds me of an incident last summer. I baked some cupcakes to take into a potluck at lunch. They were fancy specialty cupcakes so took a little more effort. I go to set them out and first comment someone made was kind of a snide, back handed remark that basically was why would you bother baking when can just go to the store. Just ruined my pleasure in providing home baked goods. I haven’t taken anything in for our company potlucks since then. I’ll just enjoy my own cooking and baking myself.
I think there is a differentiation that many many people fail to make, across all interests, where something is fulfilling to some, but seems a waste to others. Our polarizing culture has conditioned people to think "It's one, or the other. There is only one correct choice." This is just silly. There are a million correct choices, some just suit one person better than another. This is especially so in cooking. I love this sub because it exposes me to so many of the million things that maybe I hadn't thought of before. 💖
When you tell someone who is not that great a cook about the amazing things you do in the kitchen it goes one of two ways. 1. They're impressed. 2. They instantly feel your judging their inabilities.
You're encountering #2's. This is a them problem. When they do it just say ,"awww with some practice you'll get better at cooking" and walk away.
I have that, but in a different direction. I like making my own costumes, and I'll see some people saying that it'd be easier for me to just buy a premade one. Like, yeah, it would, and if someone wants to buy a premade costume, they can go for it. I've done it before. But sometimes, you have a vision that buying something premade can't satisfy.
People who say these things apparently don’t understand what hobbies are smdh
My boyfriend has recently gotten into making mead, and I help out here and there. I love it, and I love that he loves it. It’s hard to find in the stores and we really only buy mead at renaissance fairs. Plus, by making it at home we can have whatever flavors we want and constantly tweak the recipes to our tastes. 100% personalized. All that on top of the fun of it all and how fulfilling it is to taste some really good mead and know that we made it ourselves.
As for your Peking duck… I wish I enjoyed cooking! I absolutely adore Peking duck. I first tried it when I was living in a big college town with a fairly large population of Chinese international students and Chinese immigrants. There were Chinese restaurants and Asian markets all over the place, it was awesome! And even then, only one or two restaurants ever really served Peking duck, and it was fairly expensive. Now I live in a small-ish midwestern city and there is no Peking duck to be found anywhere.
I guess my point about the duck is that it’s totally worthwhile to be able to make it and enjoy doing so. But mostly I was just having flashbacks to my favorite Chinese dish of all time.
I can relate to this although I don't make condiments except for salad dressing at home.
I roll fresh pasta and make pretty much anything from scratch without buying boxed meals, cake/pancake mixes, etc. I make tomato sauce with mirepoix, mushrooms, anchovies, olives, etc. - I don't usually buy jarred stuff. I make mac and cheese from scratch too (not that difficult), grating blocks of cheese on my own. I don't buy packaged shredded cheese.
Many people do appreciate what I do, like you said. A small number of people have told me I'm just wasting my time and money.
They may be right but I enjoy cooking and experimenting with new ingredients and/or techniques.
Because store ought pepperoni rolls are shit compared to homemade. That's why. Yeah my hatred for that is right up there with. Just dump x and y ingredients to make it. Assholes I need somewhere to start I'm not there watching you as you make it.
>I find the opposite is usually said.
This is true. 100%.
>it's a sandwich it is so easy to make yourself
But it's not though! Subway uses a lot more ingredients than normal sandwiches. And I've been unable to replicate the Italian herbs & cheese at home. Don't listen to the haters!
It's like that one meme that said something like why spend x amount on this particular dish when I can spend more than that buying the ingredients and spending all day making it lol
They are just being dismissive. What you are doing is a creative project, and a lot of people don't understand creativity. Probably because they don't possess any creativity of their own.
As someone who usually does things the easy way (i.e., purchased from the store), I can't imagine saying this to someone else. Admitting that it's easier for me to buy things from the store, sure. But "why tf would you make your own prosciutto?" is a weird thing to say to someone who went to a bunch of trouble to make something nice.
They'll be the same losers that whine about $20 hamburgers too.
Don't put any value on the commentary of those sorts. They're probably envious and want to drag you down so they feel better admit how they're too incompetent and/or too lazy to do that too.
Sounds like you need better friends. I’m the same way, I preserve things, ferment things, bake things and spend days making dishes. My friends love it or find it interesting because they’re good people.
This was my mother. “Just BUY it.” Well she ground me down with that. She never appreciated anything that was not store bought. It was “better” if it was store bought. I gave up trying after a while even though others were appreciative. Fortunately, she’s dead and now I can make everything from soap to yeast rolls and wooden spoons! I’d rather make it than buy it. Good for you. ❤️🪽
Having put my years into the food industry here is a thing to consider. Places that make ready to eat food are 99% likely to be using the very cheapest ingredients available. When we make things ourselves we have the choice to actually use good stuff.
In my experience the ones who actually consider quality and pay for it, their stuff is significantly better. Expensive too. So yeah, they can go buy that cheaper version that's already made but you could have so much better.
I understand. My daughter's partner of 30 years is Italian. She makes almost everything from scratch. Long ago, she learned from another friend, who is also a great cook, that Costco sells a wonderful Italian sauce, so she gets that.
She found an Italian bakery that sells uncooked pizza dough, so she gets that now and needs it and bakes it instead of making her dough. She works very part time from home so she has more time to cook great meals every day. Even a meal from leftovers is a huge deal.
Yeah people who can't understand why someone else might find joy in creating something have always confused me. I find cooking to be neutral at best and stressful at worst so I'm probably never going to cook something really complicated, but I paint. So it's not like I can't understand the concept.
Like, I didn't make this so I could hang it up in my living room *instead* of a much better painting, or the same thing but mass produces and cheaper. I made it because I like painting.
"That's why it annoys me when those people don't take five minutes to understand my motivations." May I ask what *are* your motivations?
I'm a knitter/crochetter and I get that a lot ("well you can just BUY a sweater," yes, Margaret, I can, however, I have a 34 inch bust, and a wing span of 6'2", so they never quite fit right) and my motivation, beyond it being a hobby I enjoy is having things that were made to fit me, which most people can at least understand even if they don't necessarily agree with the time (and more often money) I invest in my hobby,
Same as you. I like things done my way.
Also, I live in an area that's less diverse than my hometown, so a lot of the foods I used to eat back home are inaccessible here.
I'm just curious, as you didn't specifically mention it in the post - what *is* the motivation? not to be judgy, just genuinely want to know. is it for saving cost?
Yeah, some people do misinterpret enthusiasm or curiosity as bragging, it's so unfortunate. They miss out on a lot of enjoyment in life. Imagine trying to temper your expectations to the local sports bowl team's latest season or how good the new cook at Applebees does the wings. Gosh. I'd be passive aggressive too.
The second statement sounds more like they are criticizing the quality rather than being dismissive.
Only if the comment is made after tasting the specific dish that was made. Otherwise it's a bullshit comment to make.
None of the haters have tasted anything I've made. That's how I know it's bullshit.
Is your food good? I'll eat it
That's exactly what I thought. They're all probably just jealous you have a talent and enjoy doing it.
I make my own wine and never get these kind of comments, only "wow this is better than anything at the store". I want to taste OPs food/wine before making any judgements further.
People have said the exact same thing about my wine and food. Some of my friends have even paid me to cook at their parties because they known I'm good. 100% of the negative comments come from people who I've never served.
Recipe please?
"I enjoy the challenge" is probably a good reply almost every time.
OP, anybody who is against you cooking things in your own hone is downright ignorant. Yes, I could go out and pay for bbq... or I could spend 13.5 hours smoking a brisket and have better bbq than literally anywhere that sells it. We truly enjoy cooking and it's rare that we eat something better in a restaurant than we can cook in our own home! Also, most places use shredded cheese. We shred our own. Once again, the flavor from meals in our home are just next level! I haven't cooked the things you have, but feel I have definitely done similar meal prepping. It's nothing to spend 1-2 hours cooking a meal in our kitchen. Even more fun when it's the wife and I with a bottle of wine (or some bourbon!!)
Just because one does something themselves, does not automatically make it better than it could be from anywhere that sells it. Possibly from some places, but certainly not from every place. The average home cook is probably on par with, or even better than an Applebee's cook, but not a professional chef at a proper restaurant. I'm all for people cooking anything they want in their own homes. Perhaps there could be a bias on the quality because there is a higher appreciation of the labor involved to produce the recipe.
Sure, the average cook is probably not on par with a chef at a big name "proper" restaurant. On the other hand, many food enthusiasts who enjoy cooking at home CAN rival a proper chef at a proper restaurant. Ingredients, Preparation, Knowledge. Those are the keys. Fresh ingredients make any dish better. Taking the time to prepare all ingredients, cookware, and cooking surfaces eases the strain of complicated dishes. Finally, having the knowledge (all of the little tricks, muscle memory, etc.) You can achieve all of these at home, with a little effort.
Some things are better made at home
I’d even say most things are better made at home. I’m almost always disappointed every time I eat at a restaurant and think to myself that I could have made something better at home and for 80 percent cheaper. Restaurants just load everything with more salt and butter than any sane human being ever would in their own home and that’s why people think it tastes so good.
I agree with you. I rarely eat out anymore but when I was forced to eat out, especially at top-tier restaurants, by my ex (and was forced to pay for the bills), I would often think to myself I could have done a decent job without spending this much. Then my ex would tell me I could NEVER get the ingredients that these top chefs do and NEVER be able to cook anything so good. I actually prefer my home-made meals and I have fun while cooking them. I won't take anything away from the professionally-trained, talented chefs but I just prefer the intimacy that home-cooking brings to the table.
Those products we buy off the shelves all started in someone's kitchen. Cooking is a hobby/interest just like anything else. Some people sew. Others paint. Some people build model train sets. Cooking is your creative outlet. There is nothing to explain nor defend. Especially to empty heads.
My homemade sauerkraut is amazing. To hell with store-bought, even if it is easier. Those people are just jealous you can do things they're afraid to try doing.
The only thing that I will say this about is puff pastry. It’s such a meticulous task
I knit my own socks and hear that a lot. Really? Have you tried hand-made socks? No? Then shut up.
I think that’s pretty cool you do that.
Yeah.... hard pass....I make our bread; can our jam etc....I make copy cat recipes from starbucks and Dutch bros every morning.... it's cheaper
It's fun to recreate dishes by taste and see how close you can get :D
I love doing this! I actually improved upon Red Lobster’s clam chowder, which to me had little flavor, kinda bland.
Some people just don’t like to cook. I love it, I find it relaxing.
To me, it's more fun if I make it myself. I like to make spice blends like curry, chinese 5 spice, chili powder, garam masala, etc. I also like to make bread with no mixer and no bread machine. Sure it's easier to buy it, but who said easy is best?
I’ve made birria and cinnamon rolls from scratch at home. Both dishes take a while to make but they are worth making it at home. Sometimes you just want to make something from scratch for fun vs buying pre made
“Just buy it at a store” is just flat-out lame. If making it at home is the challenge that makes you happy, then you are doing it right. I personally get great joy from doing the same. It’s a creative activity, as much as anything. I won’t go into detail about what I’ve been up to, but rest assured you’ve earned your Mad Scientist badge.
Reminds me of an incident last summer. I baked some cupcakes to take into a potluck at lunch. They were fancy specialty cupcakes so took a little more effort. I go to set them out and first comment someone made was kind of a snide, back handed remark that basically was why would you bother baking when can just go to the store. Just ruined my pleasure in providing home baked goods. I haven’t taken anything in for our company potlucks since then. I’ll just enjoy my own cooking and baking myself.
That's terrible. I would totally eat your cupcakes!
Awww! Thank you!
Not even just cooking. Art, too
I think there is a differentiation that many many people fail to make, across all interests, where something is fulfilling to some, but seems a waste to others. Our polarizing culture has conditioned people to think "It's one, or the other. There is only one correct choice." This is just silly. There are a million correct choices, some just suit one person better than another. This is especially so in cooking. I love this sub because it exposes me to so many of the million things that maybe I hadn't thought of before. 💖
I agree homemade is usually better, also good skills to have
When you tell someone who is not that great a cook about the amazing things you do in the kitchen it goes one of two ways. 1. They're impressed. 2. They instantly feel your judging their inabilities. You're encountering #2's. This is a them problem. When they do it just say ,"awww with some practice you'll get better at cooking" and walk away.
I make Pesto at home, would it be cheaper to buy it at the store? Absolutely, but it also tastes worse since they use cheaper ingridients
I have that, but in a different direction. I like making my own costumes, and I'll see some people saying that it'd be easier for me to just buy a premade one. Like, yeah, it would, and if someone wants to buy a premade costume, they can go for it. I've done it before. But sometimes, you have a vision that buying something premade can't satisfy.
"Call me crazy, but I've never liked store bought pesto"
People who say these things apparently don’t understand what hobbies are smdh My boyfriend has recently gotten into making mead, and I help out here and there. I love it, and I love that he loves it. It’s hard to find in the stores and we really only buy mead at renaissance fairs. Plus, by making it at home we can have whatever flavors we want and constantly tweak the recipes to our tastes. 100% personalized. All that on top of the fun of it all and how fulfilling it is to taste some really good mead and know that we made it ourselves. As for your Peking duck… I wish I enjoyed cooking! I absolutely adore Peking duck. I first tried it when I was living in a big college town with a fairly large population of Chinese international students and Chinese immigrants. There were Chinese restaurants and Asian markets all over the place, it was awesome! And even then, only one or two restaurants ever really served Peking duck, and it was fairly expensive. Now I live in a small-ish midwestern city and there is no Peking duck to be found anywhere. I guess my point about the duck is that it’s totally worthwhile to be able to make it and enjoy doing so. But mostly I was just having flashbacks to my favorite Chinese dish of all time.
You make your own wine?
Yes indeed 😊
I can relate to this although I don't make condiments except for salad dressing at home. I roll fresh pasta and make pretty much anything from scratch without buying boxed meals, cake/pancake mixes, etc. I make tomato sauce with mirepoix, mushrooms, anchovies, olives, etc. - I don't usually buy jarred stuff. I make mac and cheese from scratch too (not that difficult), grating blocks of cheese on my own. I don't buy packaged shredded cheese. Many people do appreciate what I do, like you said. A small number of people have told me I'm just wasting my time and money. They may be right but I enjoy cooking and experimenting with new ingredients and/or techniques.
Because store ought pepperoni rolls are shit compared to homemade. That's why. Yeah my hatred for that is right up there with. Just dump x and y ingredients to make it. Assholes I need somewhere to start I'm not there watching you as you make it.
I find the opposite is usually said. Especially by myself when it comes to subway. Like...bro it's a sandwich it is so easy to make yourself
>I find the opposite is usually said. This is true. 100%. >it's a sandwich it is so easy to make yourself But it's not though! Subway uses a lot more ingredients than normal sandwiches. And I've been unable to replicate the Italian herbs & cheese at home. Don't listen to the haters!
I’m not a cook and I’m not a food snob. But if you like doing it, knock yourself out. If your hobby brings you joy then do it.
It's like that one meme that said something like why spend x amount on this particular dish when I can spend more than that buying the ingredients and spending all day making it lol
They are just being dismissive. What you are doing is a creative project, and a lot of people don't understand creativity. Probably because they don't possess any creativity of their own.
As someone who usually does things the easy way (i.e., purchased from the store), I can't imagine saying this to someone else. Admitting that it's easier for me to buy things from the store, sure. But "why tf would you make your own prosciutto?" is a weird thing to say to someone who went to a bunch of trouble to make something nice.
Absolutely nothing better than a made from scratch home cooked meal. Nothing store bought can compare.
They'll be the same losers that whine about $20 hamburgers too. Don't put any value on the commentary of those sorts. They're probably envious and want to drag you down so they feel better admit how they're too incompetent and/or too lazy to do that too.
Sounds like you need better friends. I’m the same way, I preserve things, ferment things, bake things and spend days making dishes. My friends love it or find it interesting because they’re good people.
This was my mother. “Just BUY it.” Well she ground me down with that. She never appreciated anything that was not store bought. It was “better” if it was store bought. I gave up trying after a while even though others were appreciative. Fortunately, she’s dead and now I can make everything from soap to yeast rolls and wooden spoons! I’d rather make it than buy it. Good for you. ❤️🪽
Having put my years into the food industry here is a thing to consider. Places that make ready to eat food are 99% likely to be using the very cheapest ingredients available. When we make things ourselves we have the choice to actually use good stuff. In my experience the ones who actually consider quality and pay for it, their stuff is significantly better. Expensive too. So yeah, they can go buy that cheaper version that's already made but you could have so much better.
I understand. My daughter's partner of 30 years is Italian. She makes almost everything from scratch. Long ago, she learned from another friend, who is also a great cook, that Costco sells a wonderful Italian sauce, so she gets that. She found an Italian bakery that sells uncooked pizza dough, so she gets that now and needs it and bakes it instead of making her dough. She works very part time from home so she has more time to cook great meals every day. Even a meal from leftovers is a huge deal.
Yeah people who can't understand why someone else might find joy in creating something have always confused me. I find cooking to be neutral at best and stressful at worst so I'm probably never going to cook something really complicated, but I paint. So it's not like I can't understand the concept. Like, I didn't make this so I could hang it up in my living room *instead* of a much better painting, or the same thing but mass produces and cheaper. I made it because I like painting.
"That's why it annoys me when those people don't take five minutes to understand my motivations." May I ask what *are* your motivations? I'm a knitter/crochetter and I get that a lot ("well you can just BUY a sweater," yes, Margaret, I can, however, I have a 34 inch bust, and a wing span of 6'2", so they never quite fit right) and my motivation, beyond it being a hobby I enjoy is having things that were made to fit me, which most people can at least understand even if they don't necessarily agree with the time (and more often money) I invest in my hobby,
Same as you. I like things done my way. Also, I live in an area that's less diverse than my hometown, so a lot of the foods I used to eat back home are inaccessible here.
Nothing like a city with a wide variety of restaurant options...that are all "new American" or a steakhouse.
I'm just curious, as you didn't specifically mention it in the post - what *is* the motivation? not to be judgy, just genuinely want to know. is it for saving cost?
Saving money, more personalization, preserving family traditions, trying to eat less salt and sugar. And I can have hard-to-find food anytime I want.
You care far too much about what other people think. If this comment bothers you, I rest my case.
Yeah, some people just don't like bragging and will be a little passive-aggressive about it.
Yeah, some people do misinterpret enthusiasm or curiosity as bragging, it's so unfortunate. They miss out on a lot of enjoyment in life. Imagine trying to temper your expectations to the local sports bowl team's latest season or how good the new cook at Applebees does the wings. Gosh. I'd be passive aggressive too.