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There is always a long held debate between store bought and homemade ingredients. Just when does one of the two outweigh the other? What foods are worth pulling out the mixing bowls and recipe cards for? On the Reddit subforum r/Cooking, one user asked fellow members which store bought items taste just as good as their homemade counterparts.

Puff Pastry

 

Via:Upendra Kanda/Wiki Commons

“Puff pastry! It’s a lot of time and effort to make, and you can buy really nice ready-made stuff. An interesting one to do if you fancy learning the skill etc., but if you’re just wanting to throw together a weeknight pie, then definitely better off just buying it in.” — thelajestic/r/Cooking

Canned Pumpkin

“I’m going to go with canned pumpkin. It isn’t exactly the same, but I went to the trouble of making a fresh pumpkin pie once and was not really impressed. Not worth the extra work.” —wi_voter/r/Cooking

Brownies

Via: jeffreyw/Wiki Commons

“I have never had a homemade brownie that tastes better than box mix in my life. They really figured it out.” – crunchyfoilage/r/Cooking

Croissants

“Croissants. Made them once, following Claire Saffitz’s recipe. It was fun, and they turned out great, but what a lot of work. There’s a great bakery down the street that cranks ‘em out for $4, so that’s what I’ll be doing whenever we “need” croissants.” —ColHardwood/r/Cooking

Grape Leaves

“Grape leaves for stuffed grape leaves. I would buy the ones in a jar and then soak them to remove the brine, squeeze dry, and use them. I always wondered how they would taste with fresh grape leaves. So, one year, I planted grape vines to help hide my garbage cans from the street. They were for sweet, seedless green grapes. My MIL was Greek, and she used to tell me about picking them for her mother to make dolmades, so I decided to try it one spring when the leaves were tender and green. The end result: they tasted EXACTLY the same as the leaves in the brine and jar! EXACTLY. So, I just use good quality ones from the Middle Eastern store in brine. However, the grapes were divine and a little better than store-bought.” — femsci-nerd/r/Cooking

Mayonnaise

Via: Nami-nami/Flickr

“Mayonnaise, and I hate to admit it. I made it for years because it was the best mayonnaise around. Then I discovered Duke’s mayo. Every bit as good as homemade.” — robbietreehorn/r/Cooking

Whole Grain Mustard

“Whole grain mustard made with white wine, seeds, and some spices turned out too bitter and still too fresh after 4 months in the fridge. It was okay and only mildly bitter. I was hoping for something like panache brand mustard.” — im_4404_bass_by/r/Cooking