Welcome to week three of Confessions of a Culinary School Graduate! This week’s confession is a really good one because this week, I am talking about making food from scratch!
A lot of people think that just because I went to culinary school, I make everything from scratch. Well, I am not going to say yes or no to that because I want you to find out for yourself! So sit back and get ready for week three of my very first series!
Why I Don’t Make Everything From Scratch
Culinary school taught me a lot of things, and how to make food from scratch was definitely one of them! They not only taught me how to make food from scratch to expand my knowledge of food and cooking techniques, but they were also preparing me to become a professional chef if I ever wanted to become one.
But just because they taught me how to make a lot of things from scratch doesn’t mean I was going to go home after graduating and suddenly start making everything from scratch.
Because let’s be honest, sometimes buying the finished product is so much easier than making it.
When you think about it, sometimes you just need one thing right now and don’t have hours to spend making it, so you buy the finished item. It may not taste as good, but it gets the job done. And sometimes, it’s cheaper too. There are plenty of foods out there that are already premade for you at the store and cost much less to buy than they would to make from scratch.
Things I Know How To Make From Scratch…But Often Don’t
Confession time! I know how to make a lot of things from scratch, but most of the time, I buy those things—even if some of them take almost no time at all.
Some of the things I don’t always make from scratch are:
- Pasta
- Alfredo Sauce
- Ranch
- Ice Cream
- Whipped Cream
- Tater Tots (don’t worry, I’ll explain)
There are plenty more things that I know how to make from scratch but don’t for different reasons.
- Pasta
I don’t make pasta from scratch because I don’t have a pasta roller, and I don’t feel like trying to use a rolling pin to get the sheet of pasta as evenly rolled out as possible. - Alfredo Sauce
I make Alfredo sauce from scratch sometimes, but if I don’t, it’s simply because I don’t have the time. - Ranch
Ranch is a funny one because it takes almost no time to make at all. But in the end, buying the bottle is just cheaper than buying all of those ingredients. - Ice Cream
This is one you probably didn’t expect to see on this list because very few people actually make their own ice cream, but I do…sometimes.
I have an ice cream maker, but even still, I choose not to make my own ice cream sometimes, and that is for one simple reason: when I want ice cream, I want it NOW! I don’t want to sit around waiting for it. - Whipped cream
Whipped cream is one a lot of people know how to make but often don’t. For me, I don’t make it because I don’t like whipped cream.
Ok, change that.
I HATE whipped cream! I can’t stand that stuff!
But whenever I make it, it’s for a dessert that is for someone else. And after what I just said, you already know that I won’t be touching any of that dessert when it’s done. - Tater Tots
Finally, tater tots. Now, this one needs a special explanation because I don’t make your average tater tot. I make something called a croquette.
I make croquettes by making seasoned mashed potatoes, piping them out and cutting them to the size I want, breading them, and then deep-frying them. The whole process takes between 2–4 hours depending on how much I am making.
I don’t think I need to explain why I don’t make those very often.
Most of The Time, Yes. Otherwise, No
I wanted to touch on something really quick: my Alfredo Sauce.
I have a homemade Alfredo sauce recipe here on Pasta-tively Delicious, but I mentioned earlier that I don’t always make homemade Alfredo sauce for recipes, and I wanted to explain why in further detail.
I have a Five Cheese Ziti recipe on my blog as well (Legendary Five Cheese Ziti), and that calls for Alfredo sauce. But sometimes, I don’t have the time to make it homemade. So, I find the best sauce I can at the store and use that.
Another time I don’t always use homemade is when I am cooking with my brother. He is starting to make more things from scratch, but as I said, sometimes the store-bought product is just easier.
Things I Prefer Homemade
Now for my favorite part: things I prefer and make homemade! I am only going to name a few because there are a lot!
- Marinara Sauce
For those of you who are familiar with my blog, you know that I already have a marinara sauce recipe here. If you don’t know that, check it out: Homemade Marinara Sauce.
Marinara sauce is one of those foods that I prefer homemade because I think it simply tastes better that way. And it isn’t expensive to make! - Gravy
I know plenty of people who can’t make gravy to save their life, but I am not one of those people because I taught myself how to make it. And I did that for a couple of reasons.
One, I wanted to know how to make it.
And two, I do not like store-bought gravy.
I personally hate the taste and would much rather have my homemade gravy, but that’s just me. - Minced Garlic
This one will be quick. I like to mince my own garlic for two reasons. One, I like to know what olive oil it is being stored in. Two, I like to control the size of my minced garlic. - Cake
I know, I know. This is Pasta-tively Delicious. Not a baking blog, but I wanted to touch on this one.
I personally like baking cakes, but I don’t buy the boxed mix anymore because I like making my own cake from scratch. It’s more fun to me than just dumping a box of cake mix that’s already done, adding two more ingredients, and calling it a day. - OREOS!
Again, I know. But I had to share this one.
I personally love making homemade Oreos, but they take a lot of time. I don’t buy Oreos anymore because I just don’t like the taste of them after making my own.
Until Next Week…
The end already? Yeah, it’s the end of this post already.
But I need to be honest, I loved writing this one because I got to share with you the different foods that I love making on my own.
But I also wanted to leave you with something: just because you know how to make something from scratch doesn’t mean you always have to.
I know how to make a lot of things from scratch, but I don’t do that all the time. And if I am being honest, there are some store-bought products that are better than homemade. Not a lot, but they are out there.
And as far as pasta goes (because this is Pasta-tively Delicious after all), I may not have a pasta roller now, but when I get one, you already know that I will be making loads of homemade pasta!
Thank you again for tuning in to this week’s confession, and I hope you will come back for next week’s because next week is going to be…interesting.
Trust me, you won’t want to miss it!
Until Next Week…
Stay Saucy
Hailey 🍝
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