Cost comparison: ready oats vs home-made porridge (inc. recipe)
One of my current projects involves comparing the prices of cooking from scratch to buying convenience foods. As the aim is to show people who live on a tight budget how they can reduce their costs, there's a good chance those people will have already attempted to make a saving on their grocery bill by switching from big brand names to cheaper brands. My calculations will therefore compare the cost of home-made to the cheapest brands. Of course, I am only able to do this in my own currency (British pounds) and in my local area. Prices vary throughout the UK and certainly throughout the world, so do your own calculations and see how much you could save by cooking from scratch.
Porridge
Price of Home Made
One bag of supermarket brand porridge oats weighing 1 kg costs 75p. That is 3¾p per serving. The most popular sized bottles of milk sold in UK supermarkets contain 2 litres (4 pint) of milk and currently costs £1.00. Based on these prices, the cost of porridge made from oats is 17¼p per serving, plus toppings.
Price of Ready Oats
To purchase ready oats (marketed as quicker and more convenient), the cost of one box is £1.50 and provides 12 servings. The same amount of milk is suggested per serving, making the cost of each serving 25p, plus toppings.
Difference
The soft, gloopy slurry that is ready oats is 7¾p per serving more expensive than wholesome, nutritious porridge. For a family of 4 eating porridge for breakfast every day, making your own would save you £113.15 per year! More if you buy larger bags of oats and shop in cheaper supermarkets! “But what about time?” you might ask. Well, you still have to bring the milk to the boil before adding to the ready oats and so the amount of time saved, if any is saved at all, is negligible.
Recipe for Real Porridge
Ingredients
Per person:
50g (2 oz) rolled oats
270ml (½ pint) milk, or milk and water mixed
Method
Place the oats in a saucepan and cover with the liquid. If you leave them to stand overnight the porridge will cook quicker in the morning and be smoother in texture, however this is not essential. Heat slowly, stirring frequently until bubbling and thickened slightly. If the porridge is too thick for your liking, add a little more liquid. If it's too runny, heat a little longer. Serve, and flavour according to your taste.
Topping Suggestions
A little salt
Brown sugar
Honey
Raisins
Chopped nuts
Lemon curd
Jam
Tip: Wipe up spills immediately. Use a soft spatula to scrape out as much porridge from the pan into your bowl as possible. Soak the pan in water with a splash of vinegar for 10 minutes to make washing easier.
