Common kitchen staples that you never have to purchase from a grocery store

[Rparrny]

I started making some crème fraiche a few days ago...this time I used lime juice instead of my preferred lemon juice...I had a bunch of leftover limes from the jam and had visions of a lime crème fraiche, mixed with a bit of cream cheese and dill and then some chopped smoked salmon all tucked away in a mini cream puff.
I don't use sour cream anymore, I like the heat stability of crème fraiche and I can make exactly what I need instead of buying larger containers that end up wasted.
This made me think of a few other ingredients that I no longer buy from a grocery store.

Brown sugar: Brown sugar is nothing more than granulated sugar with molasses mixed in. I just keep a bottle of molasses in my pantry...it doesn't need to be refrigerated and lasts forever. It also is easier to measure out granulated sugar versus packed brown sugar. I don't even premix the molasses in the sugar. Depending on the recipe I just add the needed amount of molasses right in the bowl when mixing. It also gives me much more control over the strength of the brown sugar I want.

Powdered sugar: I have a vita mix and with the grain blade I can make powdered sugar from granulated with a few 10 second pulses but I now prefer making it in my nutribullet as I can make smaller amounts with easier clean up.
I prefer this to store bought for a few reasons. First, the powdered sugar you buy in the store has cornstarch mixed in. When you dust a cake with the store bought kind it quickly absorbs into the cake. Not so with homemade, that dusting will stay there for hours and hours. Second, I like my powdered sugar to have just a teeny bit of crunch to it and this is easily done in the nutribullet. I love the texture it gives to a buttercream frosting.

Mustard: Buy some whole mustard seeds in yellow, brown and black and you can make any type of mustard you want...whole grain, Dijon, spicy, mild...there are a million YouTube videos on how to do it.

Who can add to this list?

 

[GotGarlic]

Honey: Since we got our hives last year, I have not had to buy any

Eggs: Since we've got the honey, I've found several people I trade it to for eggs from backyard hens.

Mustard: I have three kinds of mustard in my fridges right now: whole-grain Dijon-style mustard, jalapeno mustard with homegrown jalapenos, and honey mustard with honey from our hives.

Barbecue sauce: right now, I have Memphis-style and cherry barbecue sauces.

Candied ginger: I made this for baking, and use the ginger-flavored simple syrup for ginger ale and other drinks.

Watermelon-rind pickles: I've never actually bought them, but I've been making them all summer. I think I have a quart and a half right now.

 

[GotGarlic]

Brown sugar: Brown sugar is nothing more than granulated sugar with molasses mixed in. I just keep a bottle of molasses in my pantry...it doesn't need to be refrigerated and lasts forever. It also is easier to measure out granulated sugar versus packed brown sugar. I don't even premix the molasses in the sugar. Depending on the recipe I just add the needed amount of molasses right in the bowl when mixing. It also gives me much more control over the strength of the brown sugar I want.

How much molasses do you use per, say, cup of sugar?

 

[GotGarlic]

One more: veggie cream cheese. I mince bell peppers and celery and mix them with softened Neufchâtel cheese, a couple tablespoons of half and half, and about a half teaspoon of Penzeys Fox Point seasoning. We have it for breakfast on half an Everything Bagel with sliced cucumbers and tomatoes. I usually have some kind of egg alongside.

 

[Steve Kroll]

I'm pretty sure we've had similar threads, but here goes.

I make my own:

• wine
• ketchup
• mustard
• sour cream
• mayonnaise
• sauerkraut
• hot sauce
• pickles
• salsa

These are the things that come to mind right now. I know there's a bunch of stuff I'm missing, but I'm at work at the moment.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Vanilla.

 

[GotGarlic]

I forgot vanilla! That, too

I should make some green hot sauce with my overabundance of garden jalapeños.

 

[Rparrny]

Honey: Since we got our hives last year, I have not had to buy any

Eggs: Since we've got the honey, I've found several people I trade it to for eggs from backyard hens.

Mustard: I have three kinds of mustard in my fridges right now: whole-grain Dijon-style mustard, jalapeno mustard with homegrown jalapenos, and honey mustard with honey from our hives.

Barbecue sauce: right now, I have Memphis-style and cherry barbecue sauces.

Candied ginger: I made this for baking, and use the ginger-flavored simple syrup for ginger ale and other drinks.

Watermelon-rind pickles: I've never actually bought them, but I've been making them all summer. I think I have a quart and a half right now.

I am envious of your hives...I would have loved to learn with my own hives but my son-in-law is deathly allergic and we are still holding our breaths to see if my grandson follows suit...so no bees for me

 

[Rparrny]

How much molasses do you use per, say, cup of sugar?

I'm sure that there are standard measurements on the web, where I first found it but the beauty of having the molasses separate, is being able to design it specifically for that baked good or culinary dish you are creating. Sometimes just a hair lighter than a light brown sugar or you can go crazy deep dark brown. Some of the results have surprised me.

 

[Rparrny]

One more: veggie cream cheese. I mince bell peppers and celery and mix them with softened Neufchâtel cheese, a couple tablespoons of half and half, and about a half teaspoon of Penzeys Fox Point seasoning. We have it for breakfast on half an Everything Bagel with sliced cucumbers and tomatoes. I usually have some kind of egg alongside.

Yum

 

[Andy M.]

How much molasses do you use per, say, cup of sugar?

1 Tb molasses per cup for light brown sugar.
2 Tb molasses per cup for dark brown sugar.

 

[LPBeier]

Because TB and I have so many food intolerances I make most condiments and other staples myself.

• ketchup
• mustard (any type)
• dried herbs & mixes like Italian
• BBQ sauce
• mayonaise
• salad dressings of all types
• tartar sauce
• pickles & relish
• marinades and rubs

I haven't made pickles or relish for a few years but my sister-in-law has so I have been using hers. We trade for BBQ sauce and ketchup!

I have just started experimenting with making my own sugars. I don't use regular granulated sugar. Instead, I use raw sugar and coconut. They do well for brown sugar with some molasses, but not so much for icing sugar. I am still working on that one!

For me these are staples but probably not what you were looking for - meatballs, sausage meat, ground meat (I use mixtures with beef, pork, and/or poultry), gluten free flour mixes, and anything else that could have gluten, soy, egg, etc.

GG I wish I had hives for our own honey. But I have the next best thing, I guess. We live 5 minutes away from the Honey Bee Centre. They have tours, information and, of course, their own honey - types I had never heard of before. We have been getting our honey there for years when we would go see family or they would buy it and bring it to us. But now we can get it ourselves!

Oh, and with most of the herbs I dry, I also grow them myself from seeds. So I use them fresh and dried.

 

[GotGarlic]

GG I wish I had hives for our own honey. But I have the next best thing, I guess. We live 5 minutes away from the Honey Bee Centre. They have tours, information and, of course, their own honey - types I had never heard of before. We have been getting our honey there for years when we would go see family or they would buy it and bring it to us. But now we can get it ourselves!

Oh, and with most of the herbs I dry, I also grow them myself from seeds. So I use them fresh and dried.

Fresh real honey is so delicious

I didn't even think about herbs. I grow bay laurel, basil, mint, parsley, thyme, rosemary, sage and lemon balm. I frequently use them fresh, and every fall, I dry the ones that work dried and refill my jars. And I freeze pesto (another thing I never buy) and basil for winter use. Cilantro and dill bolt quickly in our heat, so I usually have to buy those.

 

[Just Cooking]

Threads such as this makes DC one of my favorite daily reads...

Ross

 

[sparrowgrass]

Eggs--haven't bought any eggs for 16 years. Tomatoes--I did buy some last year, because I had a total crop failure but those were the first since I moved here. I don't buy tomato sauce/salsa/pizza sauce, either, I can my own. Vanilla. I bought a pound of beans about 5 years ago and several big jugs of vodka .

 

[Andy M.]

Many of us are regular bakers. I make my own bagels, muffins, english muffins and pizza dough.

Sadly, we've had bad luck with growing vegetables as animals get to them first.

 

[taxlady]

When I have the spoons, I make quark and use it like cream cheese. Like GG, I add seasonings to it and we use it as a substitute for Boursin. I just recently made onion powder and dried onion bits for the first time and celery powder. I have a friend who makes tomato powder out of sorry bits of tomato that are "still edible, but who wants to?"

 

[LPBeier]

When I have the spoons, I make quark and use it like cream cheese. Like GG, I add seasonings to it and we use it as a substitute for Boursin. I just recently made onion powder and dried onion bits for the first time and celery powder. I have a friend who makes tomato powder out of sorry bits of tomato that are "still edible, but who wants to?"

Ah, a spoonie reference! I never have enough spoons to do what I want but I generally find enough to do what I need.

Andy, yes, I forgot totally about baking! I no longer make TB's gluten free bread because we get an excellent one and I just found out that they sell it here in our new town so we don't have a long trip across the river every month and I can buy fewer loaves more often - I just have to pre-order.

I do make all of our gluten free treats from cake to muffins and everything in between. I even make my own blend of GF flour because it is cheaper and I think better than most packaged ones out there.

When I was at the hospital recently for my fall, TB came over with a soy chai latte and some cookies. I looked at him funny as he chomped happily on a giant ginger spice cookie. He said they were GF and a steal at 3 for $6! Yeah, if you consider it them stealing your money! They were tasteless, gritty and quite frankly stale. But he was happy he could find something. I make similar cookies and get 3 dozen for probably the same price.

Oh, the zucchini I will use in tonight's zucchini bread came from the community gardens - the strata president gave it to me because she has a ton!

 

[msmofet]

Yogurt
BBQ rub
All Purpose seasoning
BBQ sauce
Marinades
Lemon curd
Strawberry compote

 

[caseydog]

Vanilla.

I make vanilla extract, too. I don't use much, so I give it to family and friends who bake.

Other than that, I grow herbs and hot peppers, so I have them fresh in growing season, and dried in the winter (or whenever I need to cut back the plants.

CD