Store-bought versus Homemade

On supermarket shelves today, there is an extremely wide variety of food products to choose from. Food items now come in every size, shape and flavor we could ever imagine. But it is still difficult to beat the taste of homemade baked goods. One of the reasons I have so many things to post on this blog is because I make many of the foods I eat. I am not completely opposed to store-bought goods, but there are some things that I do refuse to eat store-bought versions of, just because I think homemade tastes so much better! However, there are some store-bought items that have perfectly acceptable quality, in fact, there are even a few specific items where I think store-bought actually taste better than homemade. Of course, everyone has their own opinions, but here are some of mine.

• BREAD There is nothing like homemade bread, and there are so many different kinds to choose from. Some breads are very easy and quick to make at home, and they taste amazing still hot from the oven. I do prefer commercial bread for most sandwiches though, because it is sturdier, uniformly shaped, hold up well, and has a mellow flavor and texture. It is also more convenient to use store-bought bread for sandwiches, as we would have to make bread every day at this house to keep up. I also have yet to master the art of even bread slicing.

• COOKIES Usually I prefer homemade cookies, especially fresh and hot from the oven. There are some pretty good brand-name cookies out there that you just can't duplicate at home. 

• CAKE You've got to go homemade with cakes. Stores can make good cakes, but I find homemade cakes just taste less artificial and more realistic. I don't even really like to use boxed mixes for cakes - it has to be from scratch. And I definitely do not like store-made or ready-made canned frostings.

• MUFFINS Although you can get some pretty delicious-looking, giant muffins at the grocery store, I much prefer homemade. Homemade muffins are often fresher, moister, and more tender than commercial muffins. Besides, who can eat a muffin that big anyway?

• SQUARES I find that stores don't tend to carry a wide variety of choices in bars and squares. Homemade are usually tastier and are so easy to make.

• PIZZA I like to make homemade pizzas and panzerottis with dough from scratch, but there are also some frozen pizzas, store-made pizzas, and restaurant pizzas I enjoy. There are also some that I absolutely hate. Pizza, which seems to be such a basic food, can differ in so many ways from place to place.  Overall, I am not very picky when it comes to pizza, and I will eat pizza from most places, although I do prefer some kinds over others.