Grocers They Think Us Stupid Perhaps

[frazzled]

158. Exactly ... I buy so few packaged foods, I haven't really noticed it

I purchase mostly meats, fish, vegetables and fruits, and staples like rice or pasta at the store. I bake myself, so don't often buy prepackaged sweets either (though we do pick up those orange and hazelnut Lindt chocolate bars and nurse them a square at a time!). I don't do this because of cost so much, but because I prefer to make the food myself: it tastes better and is healthier.

But don't fool yourself about ice cream being cheaper to make (if you make it well). I occasionally make ice cream myself, and the costs are not cheap: ten eggs, two cups each of heavy cream and whole milk, a half cup of honey. And that makes a quart at most. But it's delicious, especially when you steep lavender or rosemary or even just vanilla bean (it's really expensive!) in the simmering milk and cream.

What is cheaper is baked goods. I can bake a blueberry or apple pie for one-third of the cost of the store-bought kind, and it is a lot better! Learning to cook from scratch is a good skill to acquire, not just to save money but to eat better.