With all the doom and gloom about the economy and all the media reporting that the U.S. is sinking faster than the Lusitania. It’s (hopefully) obvious that more people are going to be eating at home but what’s really disturbing to me is that more and more people are falling back on processed foods! Mainly because in their perception processed foods are cheaper. The only thing processed food is, is far less healthy and in fact more expensive. All the chemicals, sodium and fat in processed foods are reason enough to not use them so often in spite of the convenience. I’m absolutely disgusted at what people will put into their systems. Look at the proliferation of corporate restaurants and fast food. Fast food aside, I doubt if most people know how corporate kitchens are run and the amount of pre-prepared, frozen food they serve. I hope the founders of corporate nightmares like Applebees, Chili’s, TGIFriday’s and especially Red Lobster rot in the 9th circle of hell for what they’ve done to the American public. Of course throw that abomination Rachael Ray on top of that garbage heap. Her abuse of canned and frozen products in the kitchen are crippling home cooks across the nation!
But I digress, I want to give you a tool you can use to help you save money and that is figuring out your food cost per portion.
One of the most important skills a chef has is determining food cost. This is that magic number that can make or break a restaurant. So then what is it? Food cost is the calculation of the price of each ingredient used to prepare foods. That means that a chef needs to figure out how much everything that goes on to a plate will cost him. For example, a plate of 2 eggs, 3 pieces of bacon, 4 ounces of hash browns and 2 pieces of bread for toast. Yes, we figure out the individual price of each of those ingredients, which really isn’t that difficult and I’d like to explain why.
Sasha and I normally shop at Safeway for our staples. So I’ll use our latest trip. The 18 count carton of eggs were on sale for buy one get one free at a cost of $3.49 which works out to about .09 cents an egg. I divided the total cost of the eggs, $3.49 by the number of eggs purchased which was 36. It’s really that easy so what’s my point?
Well, the point is that if you take the time to figure it out you would eventually realize that by buying fresh, whole products you end up saving a lot of money. Instead of buying a family size box of macaroni and cheese that costs $1.29 per box and may feed 3 people once with 260 calories and 600mg of sodium per serving. Consider buying a block of cheese, milk and a bag of macaroni and making it fresh. Consider that a large block of cheese will serve for more meals than the initial macaroni and cheese meal. Slice it for burgers or sandwiches, grate it for tacos, burritos or omelets.
What’s the better deal? $6.99 for a 2 lb. block of quality cheddar (for example, we prefer Tillamook), $1.29 for a half gallon of milk and $.99 for a bag of macaroni, all of which I can use for more than one thing except for the macaroni. Your homemade macaroni and cheese will serve six to eight large portions at $.60 per person with little to no added sodium and all fresh ingredients. Serve it with an inexpensive salad and you’re set.
I guarantee you your mac and cheese will blow that boxed chemical crap out of the water.
In future entries I’d like to talk about some tried and true ways to save some money and feed you and your family wonderful meals that are fantastic and are a damned sight more healthy. I’m talking about real cooking, not the misguided worship of Rachael Ray who teaches opening a can of crap, adding that to more crap and then heating up crap to serve a hot plate of crap. I’m talking about something real and nourishing like buying a bag of dried beans, adding a beautiful inexpensive hamhock, some herbs and broth, simmering on a low flame for a few hours and creating heaven in your kitchen. Doing what cooks and the poor have been doing for millennium, taking inexpensive, basic and raw products and transforming them into amazingly edible dishes!
Cooking has always been about taking something that may not be of the best quality and making it taste great. Braising, basting, searing, blanching, etc. These are all techniques that chefs and cooks use to make the most out of food. I’ll tell you more about these easy techniques in the future, too.
And the most important thing is that it’s going to save you money. Money that you then can use to go out and stimulate the economy.
February 10, 2009 at 4:12 pm
I really never watch cooking shows but have seen Rachael Ray and my skins crawls when she talks. I turn the channel as soon as I hear her mouth. I don’t cook but no way would I eat the crap she fixes. Sasha said you were mean but I don’t think so.
I need to take lessons from you.
February 10, 2009 at 7:51 pm
Omg Travis, I *need* this. I am going to read carefully and faithfully. I am so reliant on processed foods and I hate it.
February 11, 2009 at 3:43 am
Red Lobster. Ugh.
February 11, 2009 at 7:58 am
Well now you be sure and show me what one can do when she can’t stand on their feet very long and can no longer bend over to use her oven.
And don’t send me out to buy something I can’t find at our store. I had to buy penne pasta in a box, it doesn’t come in a bag here. Or so Wil tells me, he is the one who shops.
Yes I know I eat crap. And eating out leaves us with the stores you hate. Only mom and pop food places are oriental. I love Peng’s Moo Goo.
February 11, 2009 at 12:56 pm
Travis:
I thought that you were going to talk about the cost of food. You only priced out an egg and you missed so many of the costs that contribute to the total cost. Think labor cost, facility cost, losses cost and all the intangibles that are difficult to estimate. These cost dwarf the the price of that egg.
You tell us about that crap box of mac and cheese, but you didn’t tell us the numbers on your mac and cheese. From the picture, I bet the calories, sodium per serving exceed the box crap. The price per serving too. If you include even a token minimum wage rate for your time, you’ll certainly exceed that. Don’t forget about washing dishes also. Now I’m pretty sure your mac and cheese taste better and is more satisfying. Healthy?? About anybody’s mac and cheese is not a good choice. Way too high in fat, carbs, sodium and calories. Practically zip for vitamins and fiber!!
The salad will only help if you eat it instead of the mac and cheese, not along with it! Hey where do you find an inexpensive salad? I find good salads anything but cheap. Ingredients are expensive and spoil very quickly.
I don’t understand your criticism of Rachael Ray! She probably does more scratch cooking than 80 percent of TV cooking shows. What the hell does “Her abuse of canned and frozen products in the kitchen are crippling home cooks across the nation!” mean? Is she injuring them? Using them incorrectly? Are you saying it is a sin to every use a canned or frozen product? Again, I do not understand.
Also correct grammar would require the verb “is” with the subject abuse!
abuse – is or abuses – are
There is so much more to cooking than cost and taste. We all have different tastes, means and tradeoffs. There is no simplistic, universal solution. That is perhaps good. Lest we all eat Soylent Green.
February 12, 2009 at 9:28 am
Damn, Charles. Tell us what you really think! I could point out several grammatical errors in your comment, and I’m an editor, so I know what I’m talking about. However, I can overlook a few minor errors in informal writing. Also, I’m a nice person who doesn’t have to resort to petty attacks.
First, I don’t think the photograph in this entry is macaroni and cheese. Whatever: The point is that homemade mac and cheese is certainly far lower in sodium and preservatives. You can even buy enriched or whole wheat pasta to increase the fiber content a bit. A few grams of carbs and fat aren’t going to kill you, but the chemicals in processed foods CAN affect your health dramatically.
Second, perhaps Travis did indulge in a bit of hyperbole about Rachel Ray crippling cooks. (Although I have to say, her voice cripples my eardrums and my nerves.) Using a touch of hyperbole to make a point is a common and accepted writing device. Clearly, Travis doesn’t mean she’s LITERALLY crippling cooks. From the little I’ve seen of Rachel’s cooking show, she does rely heavily on canned and frozen ingredients. I don’t believe Travis is advocating NEVER using them, but keeping them to a minimum is good advice. (See “chemicals in processed food” above.)
Third, you’re ignoring the labor and costs involved in using processed food. If I use boxed mac and cheese, I still have to go through some steps in preparing it–and stand in front of a stove, by the way–and I’m still left with a dirty pot, spoon, measuring cup, and so forth to wash up. I won’t have any leftovers, either, as I would with homemade mac and cheese.
Fourth, of course there’s no universal solution, and Travis didn’t claim to have one. He’s offering a few guidelines and some alternatives, and I think his years of experience as a chef qualify him to do so.