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cshenk

wrote in rec.food.cooking:

> This is based on a 1992 article/chart from "The Tightwad Gazette" by
> Amy Dacyczyn.
>
> These prices are the lowest in my neighborhood (Boston area) on a
> weekly basis, including a few bargains at ethnic groceries and health
> food stores. They do not include sale prices or any marked-down goods
> I might find on the discount rack. Of course, I believe in stocking
> up when there IS a sale, but not everyone wants to have large amounts
> of butter, yeast or soy flour taking up space in the freezer. (Butter
> goes on sale maybe 3 times a year, where I live.)
>
> Interesting note: I made my own first chart maybe less than a year
> after I read that article. The updated chart below showed me that a
> few things have doubled in price since then (oatmeal, margarine and
> shredded coconut) or tripled (white flour, cream of tartar, and
> raisins), but baking soda and salt haven't changed at all!
>
> The Tightwad Gazette chart had: Price per pound, weight per cup,
> price per cup, price per tablespoon, and price per teaspoon. To save
> time, I'm only listing the price per cup or tablespoon (sometimes
> rounded up or down). Since prices change all the time, the main
> purpose is to allow you to compare made-from-scratch foods with each
> other - more later.
>
> Why did I include powdered milk? While it's true that (in my area) an
> economy-sized box, which has 25.6 ounces and makes 2 gallons of
> liquid milk, costs $6.99 and therefore is more expensive than liquid
> skim milk ($2.59 per gallon), it's still sometimes NEEDED in baking
> (such as one granola recipe), it's useful in camping, and it can be
> used as a substitute for cream and condensed milk (with sugar, water
> and margarine). However, I only buy dented boxes of it from the
> discount rack. "The Tightwad Gazette," vol. 1, talks about its uses
> on pages 202-203 and 208-209. (I don't know which pages that would be
> in "The Complete Tightwad Gazette.") It takes 1/3 of a cup to make 1
> cup liquid milk.
>
> Baking powder 12 cents (Tb)
> Baking soda 1.5 (Tb)
> Brown sugar 33
> Butter $1.50
> Cocoa 7 (Tb)
> Coconut 27
> Cornmeal 43
> Cornstarch 2 (Tb)
> Cream of tartar 47 (Tb)
> Honey $2.25
> Liquid milk 16
> Margarine 44
> Molasses $1.20
> Oatmeal 25
> Powdered milk 4 (Tb)
> Raisins 73
> Salt 1
> Soy flour 2 (Tb)
> Vanilla 31 (Tb)
> Vegetable oil: 17
> Wheat flour 13
> White flour 17
> White sugar 25
> Yeast 6 (Tb)
>
>
>
> Lenona.
>

Hi Leona,

What is the volume of the butter used there for calculation? Also the
flour is not clear on amount. Especially because wheat flour is
normally a little more locally than white.

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