"Scratch"

[David McWethy]

Am I the only one who has wondered what "scratch" looks/feels/smells/tastes like?

For some reason I picture it having a somewhat granular texture, like corn meal, to which water must be added before use.

While remaining a "mystery material" as far as specific qualities are concerned, I have nevertheless found the words "...made from scratch" on an almost daily basis, leaving me to wonder about the properties of scratch, that allows a rational nexus to be found between it and a number of unrelated foods with no commonality in the cuisine. This suggests that it has no flavor of its own, like the flour in roux, but why then is there such fanfare (such as "Made from scratch daily!" on the package label) over a component that appears to be no more than filler used in a panoply of products.

Where/how is it grown? Is the entire plant used, or only the (leaves)(bark)(roots)?

I've never seen it advertized for sale to the consumer (although mega-quantity suppliers must exist, in order for the words "Made From Scratch" to be found on so many different packages).

Without, it would seem, anyone knowing what it looks, feels, or tastes like.

[Perry Lassiter]

The devil you say! (Old Scratch)

Yr post is hilarious, but I shall make some semi-serious commeents.

To make something from scratch first of all denotes the absense of any pre-prepared foods, such as cake mixes, etc. Not at all sure whether if one prepares flour, baking powder, maybe salt and a bit of sugar, then refrigerates them, are you still making bicuits from scratch if you add buttermilk before cooking for breakfast the next morning.

When I saw the word scratch, I immediately thought of a current quest why it feels so good to scratch. And whether there is a relationship between the usages?

[Slava]

I'm not quite sure what it's made of, but I could sure use some folding scratch these days.

[eberntson]

I myself am an aficionado of all things made from "scratch". I have gone through phases where I have tried to make everything from this plastic like material. I have rolled it out flat, mashed it lumpy, beaten it tender, crushed it to dust, burned and charred it over heat from wood fire to laser light, fried it to golden brown, blanched it aldente, roasted it in stone/steel/enamel pots, chopped it course to mince, sauteed it with saffron, and hunted it in the deepest woods. Alla Scratch is the best way to have anything, because you can taste the love in it.

[David McWethy]

ebernston's summary of the obvious and implied uses of, and manners of preparing "scratch" was a beautifully eloquent tribute to this elusive and heretofore ill-defined but essential part of today's life.

I haven't checked, but would wager a small amount that there was a time--probably in the middle of the previous century--when trend-setting cooks would turn up their noses at anything made from rough, plain, and common "scratch" in favor of the "New & Improved" anything--made in large stainless steel cylinders--so that nothing need be added but water. Not even (or especially not) the efforts motivated by love. Lumps and all.

[Perry Lassiter]

Oddly, manufacturers discovered that allowing the end user to add a couple of ingredients increased sales. If you're old enough to remember, when oleomargerine first came out in WW2, it was white and therefore thought tasteless. Enclosing a packet of yellow coloring enabled the consumer to add to the white and mix it in. Sales significantly improved. That's why most cake mixes as you to add eggs and milk. When they first came out with only water, they lost money. The eggs and milk got the cooks involved. Perhaps the comments section here does the same for us!

[eberntson]

Fascinating! Yes, historically "store bought" has been considered to be better. I didn't know about the "get the cook involved thing", I will ask my wife she works in that realm peripherally. I remember as a little kid in Germany, I always wanted the cake from the bakery for my birthday. Probably, subconsciously because store bought had a higher sugar content. We do like our "drugs", in this case sugar, in greater concentrations.

I know that during WWII that in bother Germany and Britain, store bought fell a little from favor because they were mixing and using by products from wood to cut the food and bulk it up. I forget the word that designated that "cellulose" was added.

[Perry Lassiter]

Whoa! Store bought is preferred? Not in the American South! Home-made always comes first! Always. No question. And the assumption is whatever we are talking about will be made from scratch, often from grandma's recipe.

[eberntson]

I'm sorry, I didn't make myself clear. Where "Store Bought" being better, I meant shop bought, such as a specialty shop/store like a baker, or deli. Not to say that our loved ones who made things from practice and skill should be demeaned by this. I just spent 2 weeks with my 12 year old nephew and realized that his view is it ain't no good unless it is bought. He neither works, contributes, nor has any real experience of anything.

I remember that my mother, grandfather (a chef), and grand mother (award winning baker) all made tasty things for daily sustenance, and for a birthday or celebration they put in real magic. Though I remember I went through a phase where Store Bought is all I wanted. I did learn that homemade is better! It's the love.

PS I did learn that one should not give children a choice, just put the food in-front of them and let them figure it out. I think it was better that way then the way I was raise, where one had to finish the plate. Still can't shake that training.