"It's Not Worth It": 30 Expensive, Complex Or Smelly Dishes That People Prefer Not To Cook At Home

We were very curious to find out the inspiration behind the r/Cooking thread. The author of the post, u/That_Smell_You_Know, shared a bit of context with Bored Panda.

"I tend to gravitate towards meals that take a long time to cook. Stews and really rich broths that take hours on the stove are extremely satisfying when done properly, but sometimes those types of meals aren't worth the effort and hours," they explained.

"I recently made Galbi-tang at home which did not turn out as well as I had hoped. There's a local restaurant that I was comparing mine to, and it made me realize that it was something that it just makes more sense to have it there instead of trying to recreate it at home."

Meanwhile, we just had to know about the time that the OP decided to make tonkotsu ramen. Our jaws literally dropped when we learned how much effort went into that!

"I tried making tonkotsu ramen over a weekend a few years ago. After about $80 dollars in ingredients, and roughly 14 hours of cooking time, the ramen that I had created was mediocre at best," u/That_Smell_You_Know detailed just how much they sacrificed for that ramen.

"I did enjoy the process of creating the broth myself, but it was just too much work and time for home cooking. I also am lucky enough to live in a location where there's plenty of great ramen places nearby, so I'd much rather give them my money to save on the hassle," they told Bored Panda.

The redditor shared a great cost-saving tip the next time you go shopping for food. In short, you should consider buying meat using a slightly different approach.

"Most of the time that you go to the store, you can find a pretty good deal on different cuts of meat. Most of the time, it's going to be the tougher cuts, but with some time and love, those turn into really hearty and tender dishes that are extremely filling," the OP explained.

"While there were all different types of responses to my post, what was great to see and read were all the different 'hacks' that people were commenting. As a home chef, with most dishes, there will always be ways to cheat to reduce cooking time, and effort. But 1,200+ comments later, no one disagreed with me that tonkotsu ramen is not worth making at home," they added.

It can be quite difficult to cook at home and avoid stinking up your home when you work with certain ingredients... or have a tendency to burn everything you try to make. Maybe you decided to give cooking broccoli another chance. Perhaps you simply forgot that you had a roast in the oven.

Or, just like some redditors, you might have decided to deep fry some delicious snacks, only to realize that your apartment will be smelling of fish and chips and fried Mars bars for a loooong while now.

The best way to fight against nasty kitchen smells is prevention (pretty much like fighting fires). If you’re a fan of getting some deep-fried food from time to time, simply go to your local take-away or chippy, instead of doing everything at home.

Thankfully, there are a few things you can do to neutralize the smell. Obviously, start by opening all of the windows and airing out your home. Meanwhile, cut a lemon in half and plop it into a pop of boiling water. This should help you eliminate the odor. You can even try adding a bit of baking soda into the pot to improve the effect.

Something else that you can do is leave a couple of bowls of baking soda or vinegar on your kitchen counter. ‘All Recipes’ also suggests simmering some homemade potpourri to keep your home smelling fresh. For instance, you can add some citrus and apple peels, cinnamon sticks, rosemary, and cloves to a pot of hot water.

Meanwhile, some dishes and foods are just not worth making at home anymore because of how expensive the ingredients have become. Things aren’t looking great right now if you’re an amateur or professional baker living in the United States.

For example, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has found that the price of flour has risen by 25% between November 2021 and November 2022. The cost of eggs has risen by 49%; sugar and sweets are 13% more expensive; butter is up by 27%; and milk costs 15% more compared to a year ago.