I have always wanted to learn to make some things by hand. Off and on for years I've canned and dehydrated foods. Now I'm working on learning how to make other things so I buy less of some ingredients.
Get a canning book and you will see so many things that you can make at home, when produce is in its peak season. It has been awhile since I've been able to can anything but I'm hoping to start again this year.
Freezing leftovers can make it so much easier to have good food instead of buying frozen meals at the grocery store. It will have less preservatives and you can customize your meals with things you actually like. Use small containers to create portion sizes or aluminum pans to make bigger sizes for families. Some things I freeze, outside of meals is corn on the cob. I buy when corn is on sale, blanch it in hot water, place in a cold water bath. I place in a food vacuum sealer bag, add some butter and seal it up and freeze it. I also remove the corn from the cob and add butter and freeze in a dish. I have also made a strawberry sorbet, so good!
Dehydrating foods, I mainly dehydrate grapes and make raisins but I'm hoping to expand into other things. I have dehydrated melon pieces; they were okay but not something I'll do often. I have also cut up and dehydrated onions, totally stinky but the flavor is amazing when it's done and ground into a powder. I'd like to do the onions and garlic this year.
Homemade Vanilla Extract is just three to four vanilla beans sliced lengthwise to expose the inside and placed in a bottle, you may need to also cut the beans in half, poor vodka over the beans, make sure they are completely covered, seal and place in a dark space. Shake weekly then monthly. Date the bottles and wait a minimum of six months before using, but more time makes it better. I started mine in April 2021 and did not start using until December 2021.
Make cake flour instead of buying it! One cup of all-purpose flour, removed two tablespoons of the flour and then add two tablespoons of cornstarch, mix and sift.
Fresh butter and buttermilk can be made in a stand mixer. I normally use the big carton of Heavy Whipping Cream and the whisk attachment. I start at level one, move to level two and then finish on level three. Cover the mixer bowl so the buttermilk doesn't splash all over the place. Let the butter sit in the whisk and allow the milk to drip off for a bit. Rinse the butter under cold water and squeeze the water out, do this at least three times. The buttermilk can be used in whatever recipes call for buttermilk and it can be frozen until needed. The butter lasted about a week for me, depending on how you use it. The large container of heavy whipping cream makes about two cups of butter. You can salt the butter if you want too. I prefer to not salt it.
Homemade flavored butter. I'll be making this soon with the heavy whipping cream I have in the fridge. Prepare the butter as stated above. Then melt the butter, pour into ice cube trays or square block silicone containers and add different ingredients. I'll be making different flavors; garlic, basil, to start. You can different herbs to get the flavors you want. Then freeze then, pop them out and store in containers in the freezer. I'll be using mine to add flavor while cooking chicken, steaks and sautéing and seasoning foods.
Something else I have made more than once is trail mix. I don't like all of the things that are in store bought trail mix so I decided to make my own, with the things that I like. I dehydrate grapes and cherries but I purchase dried cranberries (I'll try dehydrating cranberries soon). I also purchased sunflower seeds, almonds, and peanuts. I've put dehydrated strawberries and blueberries in it as well but I didn't care for the strawberries and blueberries so I don't add them anymore. The overall cost for this depends on where you live and what your store prices are like. If you can buy fresh versus frozen fruits the flavor is better and it does not take as long to dehydrate. You get a nice mixture of sweet (cherries/raisins) and salty (lightly salted nuts). Mine us usually mixed in a large bowl and then portioned out into snack baggies or small containers.
Google is wonderful way to learn how to make things from scratch. I use Google all the time to find new recipes and learn how to make things instead of buying at the store. I have a food dehydrator, a food saver vacuum system, a Ninja for chopping things as well as a food processor for bigger amounts of chopping. I have a Ball Canning Book and a Dehydrating book as well. I'll be using these to help me in my quest to make healthier foods for myself.
You don't need to buy expensive items for storing your foods in the freezer but you want to make sure to cover well so the food doesn't get freezer burn. When canning, follow the processing times so the food doesn't go bad while sitting on the shelf and make sure to store it in a dark area, you don't want it exposed to the sunlight.
If you love to cook and bake, do it, explore it and then do it. Have fun with it. You'll learn quickly who your guinea pigs will be, if you want second opinions. Explore all the different things you can do with food to eat healthier. Remember it can take time to make things from scratch but you'll probably like it a lot more than store bought.
