DIY series: When to make, when to buy

Is it always worth making your favourites from scratch? Our DIY series puts shop-bought and homemade to the test.

Custard DIY custard - to make or to buy?

Whisks at the ready- can you make a fresh custard from eggs milk and cream to rival one from a tin?

Houmous DIY houmous - to make or to buy?

This chickpea dip can be whipped up at home in minutes- but does it pass the taste test?

Passata DIY passata - to make or to buy?

It sieving dozens of tomatoes really worth the hassle, or does it make a world of difference on the flavour front?

DIY pastry - to make or to buy?

We tackle shortcrust pastry to see whether a manual approach beats rolling out a ready-made supermarket block.

Pesto DIY pesto - to make or to buy?

This basil sauce requires luxury ingredients but poured over pasta makes for a meal in minutes.

DIY salsa - to make or to buy?

Our tester tries out a smoky tomato chipotle chilli to see whether it beats shop-bought dips.

benjikj

2nd Aug, 2015

Please make more of these! They are great! I generally love to make everything myself as then I know what I'm eating is entirely made myself. But I never know if it really is cheaper or tastier....

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