this post was submitted on 12 Feb 2024
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Cook At Home

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Internet nerds teaching fellow nerds how to cook at home, and make higher-quality food than garbage in a wrapper or a box they're currently wasting money on. In our age of hyperinflation, shrinkflation, and general economic collapse, knowing how to cook at home is more vital than ever.

Share recipes, cooking guides, shopping and savings tips, and let's help our fellow nerds save some mother-freaking money. Feel free to vent about skyrocketing food prices here too. Share evidence of hyperinflation, shrinkflation, etc. when you come across it.

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[–] [email protected] 56 points 9 months ago (5 children)

Hey, @[email protected] , this is not a great way of showing this, because there's no real comparison between the different things listed. For instance, an average egg is about 6g of protein, which means that it's $.035/g. A single 5oz can of tuna will have about 22g of protein, which works out to about $.045/g. One pound of uncooked, boneless, skinless chicken breast will have about 105g of protein, which is around $.048/g. And so on, and so forth.

I also dispute your pricing models. In my area, boneless, skinless chicken breast is typically around $3/#, which brings it down to $.029/g. Ground beef is both more and less expensive, depending on fat content; 80/20 (20% fat) runs around $5.20/#, while 94/4 runs $8.50/# (...and doesn't taste very good by itself, unless you prefer your hamburders dryer than Ben Shapiro's wife). That ultra-lean ground beef has 96g/#, which brings it to $.089/g, while the delicious 80/20 only has 40g/#, bringing the price up to a steep $.13/g, almost 5x more expensive per gram than B/S chicken breasts.

If you don't care about taste, TVP can be had in bulk for cheap, and unflavored whey protein can also be bought in bulk.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Not sure I've ever seen the pound sign (lovingly called the "hash tag" by today's youth) actually used to denote the unit of measure. I like the cut of your jib

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago (2 children)

The original name of that character is Octothorpe

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago

A third obscure name for something to add to my vocabulary! Bless you

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

This reply is bean erasure

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 9 months ago

You could have used the same unit for everything, just saying.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 9 months ago

Need to normalize by protein content/$

[–] [email protected] 13 points 9 months ago (2 children)

I know pricing is regional but where I am I can often get whole chickens for < $2/pound, and dry beans are going to be better on everything except arguably time (and that only if you don't plan ahead).

[–] [email protected] 13 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Yeah, dried beans are the way to go. You can get a pound of beans for around the same price as a can and those will double or triple their weight when soaked. I've found you can skip the overnight soak (though its preferable) by cooking them in a pressure cooker for about twenty min with a pinch of baking soda.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago (2 children)

We’ve got an instant pot, and cook dry beans 2x / week… don’t need the baking soda, if you do them for a bit longer — 32 minutes for small (like black beans) and 40 for garbanzo beans.

And yeah. A IP or any pressure cooker makes a huge difference for us not having to soak them first

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

For me, nearly all the prices for those items are cheaper. Eggs, for example, cost $1.25/dozen here.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 9 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago

The more you toot

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago
[–] [email protected] 10 points 9 months ago (1 children)

If you're looking for cheap, dried beans are about 1/2-1/3 the price per serving over canned.

They are more work, needing either a long boil, overnight soak in water, or a pressure cooker. But the cost saving is enough for me to buy mostly dried beans.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Yeah, I really really need to get a pressure cooker. 🤦

I've tried the overnight soaking method before and it didn't work out at all. Maybe a pressure cooker with baking soda will.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

My husband is great at cooking beans, and I've learned from him that if you follow the instructions on the package, the beans will always end up being undercooked.

If you don't have a pressure cooker, then you just need to boil them for hours to get them tender. He doesn't even soak them -- just boils them for hours and hours.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago (3 children)

He doesn’t even soak them – just boils them for hours and hours.

If the goal is to save money, at some point you'd need to start worrying about the energy cost of the cooking method.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago

Cook batches for use throughout the week or do what I do and and any leftover beans get refried and used as a side, burritos, bolillo. I literally just put some cheddar cheese and hot sauce and eat it with a spoon. Your digestive system will thank you and you won't have to blow out you colon.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago

That's why you cook a huge pot and then freeze some. It definitely ends up being cheaper than those tiny cans.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

I'd be doubtful that energy costs are going to make a difference of even tens of cents unless you're making a single portion of beans at a time. If I'm cooking beans, it's going to be at least half a pound dried, so one to one and a half pounds cooked

[–] [email protected] 8 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

You should be able to get chicken thighs for around $1.79/lbs. region depending. Chicken is also easy enough to mince into ground at home with a decent knife. Don't pay the premium for ground chicken. I'll buy cheap chicken and turn it into dumpling filling by mixing in mushrooms and cabbage and use that for a variety of things. Frozen dumplings being most of it, but whatever is leftover can be made into meat balls or added to soups and stir fries.

Also, don't skip the fish market. I can get yellow croaker for $3/lbs. or less which is a great way to add variety into your diet. I try to make a point of checking if there's cheap fish every time I shop and if there is, I'm buying just enough to cook that very evening. During trout season, rainbow trout goes to $2/lbs. This works well as fish is quick and easy to cook and it's best when it's very fresh. I'll usually braise the yellow croaker with lots of ginger and green onion in a lightly sweetend sauce flavored with doubanjiang, but it's also good steamed or baked.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Yo it's so tasty!! I've seen em sold in bags frozen, too, for not too much more (like $3.50/lbs) so I guess they freeze well, but I haven't tried it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

Hot damn

Where you at

[–] [email protected] 7 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Based on what I've read and advice I've been given, skip the tuna. It should only be consumed in very limited amounts (if at all) due to the mercury levels.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

Salmon's a better canned seafood, honestly. It's worth the ~$4.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago

Idk exactly how the price breaks down, but if you can have a chicken or two that's laying it feels like you have infinite free eggs.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago (3 children)

Pound of ground beef for $6?

What year is it?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

2030 apparently, because here in 2024 ground beef in my area is $4.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

I haven't seen that price for ground beef since like 2017.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

The cheap shit still goes for that price at stores like Aldi or Walmart sometimes. I've seen it happen.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

In the Midwest it's lately been $3-3.50/lb in regular grocery stores.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I'm ngl I didn't check the name of the community and was expecting a cum joke

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago

Adjust these prices up by 30% for south Florida, except the beans. I can cook 5lbs of black beans for like $10 total.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago

Where the fuck are you getting eggs for $2.50. $5 here in Missouri.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago (3 children)

Lot of sad protein in here. Crap list op, sorry

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago

Are these quantities representing roughly equivalent amounts of proteins/calories?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Greek yogurt is about a third that price if you just make it yourself.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago

It's not Greek yogurt unless it comes from the yogurt region in Greece, otherwise it's just filtered milk solids

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Why is soybean so expensive and beef so cheap. Beef should be much more expensive.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago
[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I love edamame, I could eat it all day!!

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