Monday, April 27, 2009
Make or Buy?
A huge thank-you to Carolyn for sending this article in Slate my way. In it, Jennifer Reese investigates whether it's cheaper and/or better to make various pantry staples at home. Now that I've read it, I'm definitely going to make homemade granola (Melissa's been urging me to do it for years), I may very well give yogurt a go, but I draw the line at bagels. Reese swears homemade are better than store bought, but living where I live now, two blocks from Absolute Bagels (aka absolutely the best bagel you'll ever have especially if you choose everything bagels), I'm buying. Maybe if I leave this neighborhood I'll bake my own, but for now, the store bought bagel wins.
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8 comments:
I can feel myself being just . . . about . . . ready to make my own yogurt. I've lived for so many years cursing the falling, bouncing, drawer-jamming stacks of yogurt tubs that accumulate in my kitchen, far more of them than I can possibly stash leftovers in, but I still can't bring myself to throw them away. Reading this Salon piece might be the the last straw (in a good way)! I'm not so big on granola, being so happy with Grape-Nuts (which I know don't have quite enough dietary fiber and are high sodium. I don't care.) However, I recently made Alton Brown's chili powder. Satisfying.
I am finishing up a carton of premium local yogurt and saving some to make my first batch of yogurt (to go with the homemade granola I've made for years). Your feelings about bagels are similar to mine about bread. We have so much wonderful bread in San Francisco that I'd rather shell out $1.85 for a baguette than bake my own.
I often make granola (and have a great recipe if you want it) and have also been on the verge of making yogurt for ages. The one time I had someone cooking for me when I lived in India, I had homemade yogurt all the time, and it was fabulous, and I've been thinking about doing it myself ever since. (Okay, so that was in 2000--I've been thinking for a long time.)
Bagels are an issue. I adore good bagels and live in a bagel wasteland. There are many fine things available in Western Mass., but good bagels are not one of them. I usually buy them when I'm in NYC (I'm an Ess-a-Bagel devotee) and freeze them. That said, I've made my own bagels twice, using a Peter Reinhart recipe. They were delicious, no doubt, and far better than anything you can find here. But they were a huge production to make, between the endless kneading and the overnight rise and the boiling. Still, I'm tempted to try again, since I have a remedy for the endless kneading, at least, in my Kitchen Aide mixer, and I might, but it's definitely not something I'd do on a regular basis. I love where I live, but I would love it more if there were good bagels here.
OK - there seems to be some kind of consensus on the yogurt front...I'm going to give it a go and report back (this might be over the w/e)....chili powder? I'm wildly impressed. Does everyone know about Alton Brown?
And, yes, Sue, I'd love your granola recipe --I now eat a lot of granola.... and Ana, I so appreciate the grapenuts, so why do I NEVER buy them? I should really buy them.
I think, in fact, Roni and Sue are saying the same thing about the bagels -- proximity to quality over-rides the need to bake. Living so close to Absolute (essa are wonderful, too, but I've only had them once or twice--location location location!) makes me nervous about living away from bagels. That's the time to put the Kitchen Aid to the test.....
Here's a weird thing. I think--unless I've been away from Brooklyn too long (well, actually, I have, but that's a different issue)--that the best bagels I've had lately are in Bellingham, WA. From this shop that has been there, apparently unchanged, since the 1970s. They're smallish and very chewy and come in all the right East Coast flavors (as well as some West Coast ones, which I ignore). I've put this notion to the test several times when I've been back in New York, and the Bellingham bagels still seem the most like what I understand a bagel is supposed to be. I have to check your local provider, though, Robin.
well, i'm also in a bagel wasteland - i have had french and italian colleagues bringing in their versions and they are not even a distant cousin of the bagel. i'd even settle for a noah's bagel from san francisco which i NEVER liked when i lived there because Robin is soooooooooo right - there's nothing like NY bagels...my parents are visiting me on Thursday and bringing NJ bagels (almost as good) the airplane - assuming they survive the trip, the first thing we will do as a family is devour them with lachs and cream cheese. that said, it's probably worth trying to make them for me....and according to the article something presentable could be accomplished with 3 hours. i'll take my chances ;)
I can imagine Switzerland as being kind of low on the bagel-provision scale. And while I'm surprised by the appearance of a good bagel in Bellingham, I'm not altogether shocked. Not altogether.....but next time you're in town, Ana, I'll get you an Absolute bagel by hook or by crook.....or by subway, as it were....
And Carolyn, I hope you have a wonderful visit! Enjoy those bagels!
Today, I bought Grape Nuts. I'm so excited for brkfast tomorrow. Greek yogurt, honey, grapenuts. that might even be dessert tonight....
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