/ck/ - Food & Cooking

Don't think you need staples yet, as a newer way of thinking.
Sometimes looking at a big ass bag of rice or lentils can make you feel depressed instead of excited about possible future meals.
Go to the market every 2-3 days and check out special prices on protein/fish/veggies/fruit.
Take advantage of reduced for quick sale items.
Post here, we will help you! :) Good luck anon

Buy rice and dried beans in bulk (think 50 pound bags).
Cook and eat with whatever seasonings and accompaniments you can afford.

It depends on what you like to eat and know how to cook. I can suggest all the right things for a Thai kitchen, but if you don't know how to use them, that won't help you.

>>4124528

I see you have pink lemonade arnol d palmer, off to good start.

essentials:
Soy sauce
spaghetti noodles
salt
pepper
assortment of cheeses
flour
peanut butter
bread
sugar
oils (vegetable, sesame)
ketchup
mustard
scriraca
butter
alcohol
hot pockets (great when drunk)


Also, where did you get those thai chips?

>>4124540
there's a bunch of markets here so i definitely will, thank you
>>4124542
>>4124548
>>4124551
thank you

>>4124551
unfortunately that pics isn't mine

>>4124551
>assortment of cheeses
>essential
dude

>>4124559

are you saying cheese is not essential??

bump

Surimi is pretty cheep and versatile,we would stock up and freeze when it was $1sh a pack...favorite was 2 packs surimi/1 philly cream cream and then blend with whatever to make a spread.

>>4124570
An "assortment" of cheese isn't.

These are the things I try to keep on hand (though the collection builds over time, so you don't have to buy it all at once)

Eggs
Milk
Flour
Sugar
Butter
Spices/dried herbs
Salt
Pasta
Dried beans
Rice
Parmasan cheese (a good block, not the canned shit)
A few canned veggies, like corn
Bread

I tend to buy produce and meat as I need it, and any time I'm buying a shelf-stable item, I try to buy more than what I need for that day. Eggs are a godsend for cheap protein; they can be prepared in a lot of ways, and I can get a dozen for about a dollar.

There are other things you'll like to keep on hand (like bacon, jarred pasta sauces, bags of frozen chicken, etc.) but you'll learn what these items are as you start cooking. You might decide you love baking and keep yeasts and specialty flours on hand, or that you like Asian cooking so you get soy sauce and fresh ginger.

>>4124633
It could be, for a person who likes his food. Nobody on /ck/ could live off American cheese alone, at least have some mozzarella or feta for omelettes and pasta.

>>4124650
>>4124619
thank you, will add stuff to my list

>>4124652
I do one good block of parm, blocks of mozzerella and cheddar, and some shameful slices of American cheese because cheese eggs are fucking awesome.

All in all, maybe $15 worth of cheese that will last for many a meal.

>>4124665
I only put American cheese on sandwiches that take me like 3 minutes to make, no point in ruining anything finer than that.

I'll just post my typical grocery list. A lot of this stuff adds up over time, so you really end up just buying the fruit/veg with any regularity.

Oranges
Lemons
Onions
Potatoes
Spinach
Tomatoes
Pasta
Bread
Yogurt
Cheese (whatever kind, pick your switch bitch)
Eggs
Milk
Bacon if you like it, it's hardly essential
Grab yourself a bag of frozen chicken breasts or salmon or whatever
Nuts. Snack on nuts.

Other things like spices and condiments are your ball-game.

One trip like that will last me a month, easy.

>>4124667
For me it's grilled cheese and cheesey eggs, at leazt in slice form. I will buy velveeta blocks for making mac and cheese, 'cause that was how momma made it and now it's a comfort food. I can't think of anything else I use American cheese for...

First, congrats on gaining your independence OP, I've been there, know it can be daunting. Stick with us and you won't go far wrong.

It would be good if we knew exactly how experienced you are at cooking, some people can turn ramen into a pretty shit hot gourmet snack, some people can't boil an egg.

But for essentials, things you are going to want to familiarise yourself with? I'd definitely agree with exploring your local markets, as well as bulk buy and foreign/ethnic stores (which country are you in? Do you have Aldi/LIDL/Netto stores?)

These are some ingredients I've found good for limited budgets and limited cooking experience:

Potatoes: Can be baked, fried, boiled, par-boiled and added to stews etc.
Pasta: Usually hilariously cheap for the nutritional content and easy to make. Goes with most sauces.
Rice: Varies wildly in price/quality so worth knowing what you're buying - Basmati=expensive, Broken Long Grain=cheap
Beans: Baked Beans used to be stupidly cheap but that's changed. But beans in general are good fodder for a stew
Eggs: Good for protein, versatile, hard to fuck up unless your trying something unnecessarily complicated
Chopped Tomatoes: Canned, they might be pricey but I get cartons of them and it seems good value. I need them for all my sauces anyway. Alternatively you can chop your own but I dunno if you'd be saving money there.
Oil: Good olive oil is wasted if you're cooking with it, and extremely expensive. It's for salads. Vegetable/Sunflower oil is fine for cooking. Buy it in bulk if possible, it doesn't go off.
Herbs and Spices: Salt and Black Pepper are absolutely essential, like oil or bread, you want to make sure you always have them. If you like tomatoes, get basil. If you like a lot of grilled cheese, get oregano. Best to have both though, especially oregano, it's versatile. Speaking of...
Cheese: Don't worry about spending loads on this unless you're eating it on crackers. It's good with baked potatoes though.

Groceries are all about initial investments vs weekly costs. The initial investment is long term items such as spices, cookware, and appliances. The weekly stuff are the things you use often and go bad quickly.

Build a collection of herbs and spices. Grab a big container of salt and black pepper. Pre-ground pepper has less umph compared to pepper corns. Chili powder, cumin, thyme, oregano, parsley, paprika, cinnamon, mustard, bay leaf, nutmeg, and cloves are some common entry-level spices. This will be expensive if you get it from a chain grocery store. Shop around.

Next long term item is condiments. Curry pastes, ketchup, mustards, dressings, peanut butter, jams/preserves/jellies, soy sauce, hot sauce, Worcestershire, etc. As a single person, these should last you a while. But they're usually perishable so keep that in mind.

Then you need other big ingredients for general purpose cooking. Flours, sugars, powders, liquids like vinegar or wine, etc. Store these well and they'll last you.

Now that most of the long term stuff is out of the way, you can move onto your weekly stuff. But a quick note to another college student: no need to be ideologically pure. That means you don't have to show off or live up to /ck/ standards. I keep a jar of minced garlic because I've chopped and crushed enough at work to last me a lifetime. So it may be prudent to purchase things for convenience too. But you do need aromatics. Onions and garlic can keep a while if you store them in a dry place. If you absolutely have to, you can buy frozen. But they need to be replaced regularly as you use them. Celery, carrots, fresh herbs, onions, garlic, bell peppers. These are things that help with flavor and are healthy too.

>>4124694

cont'd

So the idea is to see it as an investment. You pay a sum of money now, and slowly reap the rewards over time. Then do it again as you need to. It is cheaper to cook for yourself and even cheaper to cook from scratch. Sometimes the initial investment is high, but the value comes from the amount of food you can cook with a few ingredients. I'm not trying to make a necessarily economic argument, stores often sell things for very little profit just to goad you into buying other things or to rotate product. So in those cases, you may get something just as cheap as scratch. But as a general rule, it's cheaper to cook for yourself.

Time is the issue more so than money. You don't always have time to cook for yourself. So it's up to you to make a judgment on that trade-off. When is your time worth the extra money and when is saving money work the extra time.

heres something you can make with the rice if you want something spicy.

go to your asian market and look for red pepper paste (gochujang in korean) pic related

get some rice, get mix some of the gochujang in it with some sesame oil and top with sesame seeds.

dont overdo it with the sesame oil/paste, you can always add more.

These post suck. Fuck op. Grow the fuck up. These kind of post should be b&.
>I am a college kid
>My parents give me everything
>I can not make descions for myself
>Help me internet
I hope you starve and die op.

>>4124694
>>4124688
>>4124696
>>4124699
christ, thank you guys for the replies and typing all that. i've got so many tabs open but i'm still taking note. thank you much.

>>4124688
i think i'm a bit above average for my age. i could make myself an okay meal if i had the ingredients.
i'm in the US and in a rural area so Aldi, Kroger, Walmart, and a couple of ethnic stores.

>>4124700
What the fuck is wrong with you?
He's asking for basic staples, it's not like he's making a life decision on whether to buy a Ferrari or a Lambo.

Just fuck off.

>>4124707
aww, why'd you have to go and give him any attention?

>>4124700

You got more edge than a set of ceramic knives.

>>4124700
You must be the kind of person who doesn't ask for directions even though you're clearly going the wrong way.

>>4124712
Yeah, I guess you're right.

But I was recently in a situation like OP and I just wanted to call out the little dumbshit.

>>4124712
>>4124713
>>4124716
The problem is this question is asked all the time. If you are college age and can not feed your self then you suck. How a person can get that far and not feed themselves when all you have to do bye what you like is tucked up.

>>4124748
Damn autocorrect

>>4124748

>it's asked all the time

We need a sticky. The problem isn't question askers, it's poor organization on our part. Someone contact moot.

>>4124755
Moot has said, many many times, that if we can get out collective asses organized and create a good sticky he will put it up.

We have failed, so far, at providing a good sticky.

>>4124755
Oh great, the "we need a sticky" guy again.

>>4124688
continued because character limits

Meat: Best value is chicken/fish. Frozen chicken and canned tuna both last a long time so you can buy in bulk and save cash. You can get bacon mis-shapes from some stores, which is as good as diced bacon if you spend a while working at it with a sharp knife or kitchen scissors.

Veg: I've found some veg is cheaper if bought frozen, if it's going in a stew/sauce then the price and convenience (ready sliced and lasts forever) advantages outweigh the disadvantages of buying fresh. When buying fresh, make sure you'll use it all because most fresh veg only lasts a week at most.

More Herbs and Spices and Other Flavourings: Because, seriously, you can't have too many. Garlic, vinegar, ketchup, mayo, turmeric (great for cooking rice), purees, pastes and powders (chili, curry etc), these are all your friends. They last a long time and raise morale by turning bland shit into awesomeness.

Bread: Don't buy the cheap stuff, it's a false economy. It's definitely worth spending extra on good bread because the difference is extremely noticeable.

>>4124762

But we do need a sticky. If someone comes to this board for advice, how do you expect them to know what's been asked? Does everyone have to constantly lurk every board on the off-chance they may need advice from one someday?

>>4124782
I'm with you, but we first need a consensus on what to put in the sticky/link to resources.

For that there should be a series of threads here, all discussing this topic, but first I'd suggest making a thread here that's linked to a thread on /q/ to discuss whether /ck/ wants a sticky. Then (if we all agree there should be one) have that series of maybe 3-5 threads here to put the sticky info together.

You should post what your current cooking equipment consists of if you lack a stocked kitchen, or have to live in a place where cooking is very difficult.

>>4124570

Cheese runs high, unless you sacrifice quality for cost. And then you're just paying shit for shit.

>>4124762
>google: cheap cooking staples

there's your sticky. it's not about the question. if the OP is in college he surely knows he can use google to find almost anything he has a question about. OP just wants to talk. indulge him. if you don't like it, ignore it.

hey look! its this thread again

>>4124836

if you don't have anything to contribute you're posting for the wrong reasons

>>4124528
Translation: I'm just making sure this thread gets posted every single day.

>>4124853

you completely missed the point. cheerio!

>>4124853
>so ronery ;_;

>>4124853

Translation: Make more room for tripfags to make unfunny threads about cooking shitty food and "lol I'm such a drunk!" threads

lol

there was a thread the other day about what would be our sticky. Well this would do. We get one of these everyday

>>4124866
I'm sure you're sitting on the edge of your seat waiting for the next, "How do I make my ramen taste better" thread, aren't you?

Fucking simpleton.

>>4124879

Well, no, I was waiting on someone to pretend that a cooking board on 4chan is the hallowed grounds of the culinary world and shouldn't be tainted with "what are the basics in which I should stock my kitchen with"

Notice how nobody in this thread said "buy ramen, cheetoes, mtn dew and 3-day old taco bell."

>>4124879
>>4124893

OP here.

I can just delete the thread if it will make you feel better. No need to throw a sage tantrum.

>>4124895
do it faggot

>>4124895
welcome to /ck/. meet the co/ck/s and enjoy your stay

>>4124895
Forget them, OP. They're just on their periods.

>>4124895

Don't. No need to bend to the will of imbeciles.

>>4124895

no, leave it. I'm enjoying watching them sperg out.

>>4124868
this guy

>>4124786
You take 4chan a little too seriously.

>>4124911
True. I've been here a long time, and spend far too long on here. For me it's serious business. That's how sad my life is.

But really, if people are going to cry about "OP wants regularly requested advice! I hate his thread!" in every thread like this then maybe it's time to do what /fit/, /lit/ and other boards have done.

Come on guys, someone make that thread and post a link to it in this thread, and we'll get this whole business sorted today. I won't do it, I'm lazy and lack confidence. And I have about 20 tabs open right now.

It's never gonna happen, is it? Mods, can you hear me? This is your job damn you!

>>4124758
Why don't we? I see these threads every time I'm on here.

I have numerous pictures and diagrams I've saved over the years that help the average /ck/er on a budget. Plus I'm positive many of us have been or are currently in OP's situation that post and lurk here.

>>4124833
I didn't find many of these diagrams on Google.

I'll start posting them if it's wanted.

>>4124981
>bananas are cheap, make wine with them

Homemade Banana Wine? How have I not heard of this? It sounds like something Heston Blumenthal came up with.

>>4124551
Not OP, but if you live near a Kroger, they carry them.

>>4124981
And yes, dump that entire folder if you would.

Or even better, start a "poor ignorant college noob info" thread and dump it there. Might be sticky material...

>>4124981
wow shit is way more expensive by my place

>>4125005
Fun fact, you'd save more money if you bought noodles by the bulk. Home made noodles as in not fucking stored in a packet is better tasting and healthier.

You should replace "poor ignorant college noob" with "lazy ignorant pleb" info.

>>4124981
Sorry for stepping out. Back with that pic dump.
>>4125026
Get creative on places to save money. I get fresh produce from my farmers' market. It's cheaper, and the only drawback is that it's seasonal. For example, I will not be able to find fresh, local collard greens there this July. Sometimes the Asian supermarkets carry nice produce for cheap. Got some delicious apples that were $0.49 a pound. They also have green onions and fresh garlic there for cheap. And live fish.

>>4125134

>>4125137

>>4125074
This. Buy in bulk
.>>4125138

>>4125141

>>4125141
>>4125134
>>4125138

Yeah, all of those pics are 100% bullshit.

>>4125141
Where I live peanut butter costs at least five fucking dollars. these images are all lies

>>4125142

>>4125142
>$0.98/lb chicken breast
lololololol

>>4125142
lol

Translation: For a nickel you could buy 18 whole chickens - or you could spend $300 for a double cheeseburger.

>>4125145
lolno

>>4125144
$2.52 in my state. I get a Sunday newspaper with supermarket ads, so I swap where I shop. Sometimes Kroger has it for $2.52, sometimes it's $3.75. Sometimes Publix is cheaper.

Chicken breasts were on sale at Wal-Mart [Pilgrim something brand] for $1.49 a pound recently.

>>4125143
>>4125144
Do you guys live in Washington state or California?

>>4125147
I got some Winn-Dixie brand frozen chicken breasts buy one get one free. One package was $6.50. Each package had about 8-9 good sized boneless/skinless chicken breasts.

>>4125147
You could probably get it for that if you found it on the shelf next to that bread, where it's been sitting for days, with the rotten $0.47 bananas from the floor beneath your feet.

>>4125145

>>4125160

>>4125171

>>4125180

>>4125180
$10 or $14 for one serving vs. $20 really, not $30 for food to feed a family of four.

I'll take Mickey D's

>>4125180
>$27.89

BWAHAHAHA!

Try less than $10, sport.

>>4125184

>>4125180
Except you can't go to the store and buy just four slices of bread or two pieces of bacon.

>>4125180
>fast food
>expensive
DOLLAR
MENU
BITCH.

I can get McDouble or McChicken, a side salad, tea, and a yogurt parfait for $4.

>>4125226

I can feed three people with $4. I do, in fact. Routinely.

>>4125240
Uh... no.

>>4125242

Rice 10kg bag for 9.99. Beans 2kg bag 2.99. Onion 0.49/lb. Garlic 0.69/lb.

Other vegetables cost pennies. Raw flour costs pennies per cup, as does salt and pepper.

Yeah, I fucking do nigger. I feed three people on roughly $300 per month. (last month's total food bill was $289.73, I have the receipt right here)

289.73/30/3 = 3.21 average per meal. For three people.

Suck my cock.

>>4125293
You must live in a 3rd world shithole.

Also:

>Not eating meat

lol - how big a faggot can you be? Wait - no need to answer that. Barely surviving off a diet like that means you're a 100lb weakling.

>>4125224
Then it sure is a good thing that many foods are easy to preserve and/or store.

>>4125293
If all you eat is that scant diet of rice and beans then why in the fuck are you even on this board?

Something tells me you're full of shit.

>>4125298

I do eat meat you cockmunch. Where in there did I say I didn't? Does listing the price of beans immediately buttfrustrate you?

Do you need my entire grocery list? No. And I live in Canada which has slightly higher food prices than most of the USA.

You either suck at life, don't know how to cook, or are a fatasfatass. That is the only possible way to spend shitloads of money on groceries.

>>4125303

I eat very well actually. Currently have 10lbs of pork in my freezer from a butchered whole hog as well as chicken, beef.

It's called looking for deals and cooking from scratch. It's just cheaper than fast food. Sorry for the truth.

>>4125306
If you eat meat then you aren't feeding 3 people on less than $4, you half witted twat waffle.

>>4125311

Yeah I am. My supermarket marks down meat to $2-3 per package. I buy those and freeze them until needed.

I eat vegetarian meals too. It's really not fucking difficult to eat really cheaply. If you haven't figured out this concept yet I have to assume you are an idiot.

>>4125316
LOL!

What-the-fuck-ever. You are 100% full of shit.

>>4125321

Not even a little bro. I can see you're mad though, so enjoy your shit food and lack of life skills.

Hey guys, did it occur to you that those pictures weren't made 2 days ago? The economy didn't completely tank until 2008. These images sound perfectly reasonable for 2006 or slightly earlier.

>>4125226

>salad
>fried chicken sandwich
>sweet tea
>yogurt with candied fruit in it

USA USA USA USA USA
This almost 900 calorie meal is considered a "diet" in America
USA USA USA USA USA

Buy meat in bulk.

>>4125145
>>4125142
>>4125141
>>4125138
>>4125137
>>4125134

chili chips and salsa.

>>4125583
>102% tip

>>4125224
>can't buy two pieces of bacon
Find a place that sells slab bacon. Many such places actually make the bacon themselves, from curing to smoking, so it will be cheaper than prepackaged. For example, packaged bacon in my area is around $6 per pound or $6 for 12oz for more premium bacon (like centre cut, for example). Cheaper store-brand bacon, which generally sucks hard in comparison to Oscar Meyer (let's be honest here: as a foreigner living in the US, I'm surprised by the taste and quality of Oscar Meyer bacon as it is the best of the national brands) starts at around $4 per pound.
However, a grocery around here that cures and smokes its own bacon, slicing to order for customers, also costs $4 per pound. I often just get a half pound. That's about 8 slices (it's rather thick cut).
The only issue with slab bacon is that some places leave the skin on, which is inedible fried, so you have to slice it off.
You can take the skins, though and simmer them in water to soften then allow the water to cool to skim off fat, then render the skins further in a fry pan for lardons.

>>4125583
>10$ tip for a 10$ shit-tier pizza

lol americlaps.


As for OP, buy Salmon, in bulk, freeze that shit and pan fry it whenever you need it.

Make a gallon of slow-cooked tomato sauce - it can be used for anything.

>>4125186
>>4125189
>>4125224
Obviously. These are average prices for the serving size. And if you can eat one head of lettuce or two whole bell peppers for a meal, good for you fatty!

I get my lemons for free, my bacon for $1.10 a pound. Most of my red meat is free, since my family deer hunts and gives me some of the meat. I'm going by my local McDonalds this morning for a coffee. I'll check the prices.

>>4125298
>eating meat
>2013
oo00oohh youre so manly and hard. enjoy your wasteful / retarded dietary choices, shitdick. lemme know how dat obesity / colon cancer / hypertension are treatin ya.

>>4125583

I'm on board with the others but this one is obviously misleading. It may be $20 for that meal but it's $200 worth of groceries to make that one $20 meal. And either way, you're still spending $20. A whole chicken is not .37 in the US. MAYBE it's that per-pound if your uncle is a chicken farmer and you clean it yourself.
And I have no idea how they did the prices. Did they really take the ingredients and divide the total price by the weight/volume/quantity?

Cook with beef or pork fat instead if butter. It's like five pounds per dollar and is delicious.

>>4126007
0/10

>>4124706
Aldi, man. You're going to love it for all your shelf-stable items. So fuckin' cheap.

I also buy milk and eggs there, and frozen items. I don't get fresh produce from there, though; the quality is generally shit and it's not really much cheaper than Wal-Mart produce. Try the ethnic stores, though, sometimes you can get dirt cheap produce from those; you have to use it the day you buy it, but I can get a bag of carrots for 50 cents from this one store...

Kroger is pretty much way overpriced and not even high quality to match. Only go there for items that you can't get from Aldi/Walmart. I do go to places like Whole Foods/Publix on occasion, to get things where quality is more important than cost to me. As a poorfag, these items are few and far between.

>>4126044

also, that "$20" spread took hours for several people to prepare. your own time might be worth more than that. or less, this is 4chan after all

>>4124528
buy olives and cream cheese.Then come up with recipes that including them which will be easy when you are hungry like spegetti with cream cheese olives stuffed with cream cheese as a side then you will get bored of that and come up with a new recipe like pasta bake with tomatoes mozarella and olives

>>4126044
yes maybe you re wright but the second one is healthyer and will last longer for one meal you will feel good be productive with 4 meals for the same prise if you have to face up to facts that you cannot afforf to buy food that is made and prepared for you if you want to save money make it your self

A lot of things have been said in this thread but what I'm always doing (I only cook for myself), is that I make portions for two or three and freeze the other ones. You can keep frozen food for about 1-2 months. When wanting to eat it, put it in your fridge about a day before you want to eat, and "cook" it like you would make a meal normally.

Easy and cheap and you'll always have something in your freezer this way.

Get your grocery store circulars and buy on sale and only on sale. And don't forget to use coupons

>>4125311
I have a market near my home in Southern California where I can get ground beef for $1.50 a pound.
1 pound ground beef ($1.50)
3 bellpeppers ($1.00, max)
1 cup of rice, uncooked (.... I'll round up and say $.50, but it has to be less than that)
3 roma tomatoes ($.50; I actually did did this yesterday)
various spices (Can't be more than $.25 worth)
1 onion ($.25)

Stuffed bellpeppers, BAM. Delicious and meaty meal for 3, $4.00

Yes, this local market is dirt cheap. But I've seen deals like this before in other places, too. I used to get frozen 1 pound logs of ground turkey-product for $1.00 in Tennessee, which would work well for a recipe like this.