Is it cheaper to maky your own foods like bread, butter, mayo, etc?

Question

Any other things you can make yourself at home? Thanks!

Answer 1

well first off I make all of the bread that is eaten is our house and they answer to that is yes. I can produce a wonderful loaf for about 65 cents

but I Make bread with real butter and  evaporated milk , if you choose to make a lighter version of white even less cost will be encored

How ever the Mayonnaise thing >>> homemade mayo has a VERY short shelf Life  like less that 1 week and does not have near the flavor  or the stability of store bought. You can also  make your own crackers, biscuit mixes( same as bisquick)  , rice mixes( much like uncles ben's) and i make my mixes up in advance and put them in lock n lock containers which on my opinion are as good or cost wise better than tupperware.  

OOOPs I almost forgot it take about 1 gallon of milk to make 1 pound of butter so you will save nearly nothing unless you can get fresh milk from some one that has cows to milk and cheese is the same way by the time you buy all of tstarterstes and invest the time , MUCH cheaper to buy only yield about 8 oz cheese from 1 gallon unpasteurizedsed milk.    

Answer 2

Bread is WAY too time consuming, and butter would be even worse.  But mayonnaise can be cheaper to make, easy to make, and it tastes great.  Also, it's really easy to flavor some of it while you're at it.

I've pasted a link to a recipe below.  It says home-made mayo only lasts 2 days, but that's not the rule in our household!

Tasty things to add to mayonnaise:

Lemon

Mustard

Garlic (go easy, or used roasted garlic)

Any fresh herb

Chili oil

Chipotle chili

Curry powder

Capers

Answer 3

Not at this time. Everything you need to make these things (like milk, flour, eggs, etc etc) is rising because of the bad economy. When prices lower then yeah it will save you money, but not at this economic point.

Answer 4

I doubt it's cheaper, factor in your time and the cost of things like electricity.  On the other hand, if you have time, it's a great idea.  That way you know exactly what is going into your food, and once you get the hang of it, you get more sophisticated and selective about the kinds of prepared foods you purchase.  Usually things like home-made mayo doesn't last as long as the purchased kind - but there's a good reason for this.  The stuff you buy in the store has all kinds of additives that make it longer-lasting on store shelves.  Read your labels and you'll notice a whole bunch of chemicals in there that you wouldn't put in your home-made version.  I try to use a rule of thumb:  if I don't know what it is or can't pronounce it, it doesn't belong in my food. :-)

Answer 5

Bread can be make at home. Butter and mayonnaise are better left to professionals to make. However, you can grow your own spices in pots on a deck or in a small plot.

Pioneers used to make almost everything themselves, but times have changed and it is far easier to spend $2.50 for mayo or butter, than to spend 3-4 hours making them.

You can also make your own salsa and things like that. The limit of what you can do is your ability.

Regards,

Dan

Answer 6

it depends on how much your making.

Answer 7

no, because what you buy at the store is mass-produced. you would, however, have the option of ingredient control, and it would be fun to play around with different flavors..

Answer 8

That depends on the ingredients.  If you have a supply of ingredients at home, then great, but if you have to out and buy all of them, then you'd be in the same place.

Staple ingredients like, bread, butter, pasta, etc are cheaper to buy, but it is and always will be cheaper to make your own meals.  For example, one serving of "Chicken Riggies" in my area is about $10.  I can make enough for 25 people with $10.

Answer 9

Butter, bread and mayo, no. Considering the price of cream it is far from cheaper to make your own. Now if you had a cow it would be a different story. Making your own bread isn't necessarily cheaper but your product would be preservative free. Mayo probably would not be much cheaper and the shelf life would be much much shorter but the end product of homemade is great. Homemade cakes are cheaper than bakery purchased as are most desserts. If you are looking to reduce your grocery bill then I would suggest cutting out convenience products and planning your meals by the weekly sales. I make many things myself simply to eliminate the preservatives and not to mention homemade tastes much much better.

And to correct some entries: butter is made from cream, not milk and can be made quite quickly, in fact in a fraction of the time it takes to make bread and ditto for mayonnaise. It takes more skill than time to make mayo.

Answer 10

No, it's usually not cheaper, unless you are able to really buy your ingredients in bulk. Also, you have to factor in the value of your time.