While making meals from scratch is rewarding, some foods are best left to the pros. Whether it's due to the complexity of preparation, special equipment needed, or the time investment, certain items are worth picking up from the store. Here are 10 foods you should definitely buy instead of making, saving you time and hassle.
AUTHOR: Chris Phelan
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Can we all agree to marvel at the advancements made in the frozen pizza industry over the last 20 years? I distinctly remember frozen pizza being awful in the '90s (although I loved it when it was pizza day at school), and now it's 95% as good as making your pizza at home or buying it from your local pizza place! From the taste to the convenience, frozen pizza can't be beat.
2. Croissants
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Although the allure of fresh-baked homemade croissants is undeniable, many people would instead buy them from bakeries already made because they are a pain in the rear to make! "Curiously looked up how to make them from scratch and realized this would be the most difficult undertaking of my life," reports one woman. "Croissants are a hard pass for me."
3. Ramen
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Be honest with yourself: Nothing can ever be more delicious and satisfying than ramen when you're 20, in college, and digging into a package of instant noodles. Why even compete with delicious memories like that? Crafting the perfect ramen noodle dish from scratch is an arduous process; wouldn't you rather take a trip down memory lane and microwave a package of 99-cent instant noodles at two o'clock in the morning?
4. Filo Pastry
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This Eastern European pastry is notorious for being difficult to make by hand, leading countless people to buy it from the store instead! "I have a photo from my dad of my great-grandmother in Greece making homemade filo dough," reveals one woman. "I cannot even begin to imagine the work. Now I can walk into the store and choose between about four or five different thicknesses." I don't blame this person whatsoever!
5. Ketchup
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According to countless home chefs, attempting to make homemade ketchup is a lesson in futility. It's just not worth it! "I once made homemade ketchup from fresh tomatoes," explains one adventurous home chef. "It took three hours, and it tasted like any cheap, no-name ketchup from a supermarket. I used about 100 tomatoes, too. It was a complete waste of time." As someone who values their time, it sounds like I won't be making my own ketchup any time soon.
6. Fish and Chips
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If you want to destroy your kitchen and deal with finding flour and breadcrumbs in every nook and cranny of your home, then by all means, make homemade fish and chips. But everybody knows local seafood shops make better fish and chips than you could ever make. You could cook fish and chips every day for a year, and you still wouldn't come close to the greatness of a random Irish pub's version!
7. Beignets
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While making bakery-worthy versions of this New Orleans dessert is a goal for many chefs, many quickly find it's one of the most intricate dishes to master! "I was born and raised in the New Orleans area, but I have failed on every homemade attempt of beignets," confesses one woman. "I am ashamed." At least there are tons of beignet shops in the Big Easy to choose from!
8. Rotisserie Chicken
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Like fish and chips, rotisserie chicken is infinitely better and more convenient when you buy it instead of making it from scratch. My local supermarket sells rotisserie chickens for $5, and I wind up eating most of it on my ride home; if that doesn't make it the ultimate food for convenience and deliciousness, I don't know what is!
9. Tater Tots
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The difference in quality between homemade tater tots and a frozen bag of them you can buy for $2 at the supermarket is minuscule. I always cringe when I hear of someone making tater tots from scratch when the frozen option tastes just as good while being about a thousand times more convenient! Besides, we all just slather our tots in ketchup anyway, so it's not like we care how they're made.
10. Crackers
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One amateur chef explains why making crackers is the most pointless thing you can do in the kitchen. "Crackers may be the least satisfying food to make that takes the most time," laments one man. "I make many things from scratch; the one thing I won't touch is crackers. They never turn out great. But if, for some reason, they do, they only last for 24 hours before turning into chewy pucks. Just buy them at the store." It seems like a lot of work for little payoff!
Source: Reddit.
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