Box Mix Versus Scratch

Now that the weather has turned colder (at least for some of us) and the holiday season is approaching, there are more parties and social functions and I find people want to bake more. One of the more frequent questions in the shop is, “are the boxed baking mixes good?” The answer is almost always, “yes, they are good.” The real question is more involved than are they good, but how convenient are they and how much time is actually saved.

Because, let’s face it, that is why we turn to boxed baking mixes in the first place. We assume that they are easier to make and take less time. But do they really?

Let’s start with what these boxes contain and how they are supposed to save us time.

Mixes generally provide everything you need to prepare the tasty treat. This includes flour, chocolate, cocoa powder, nuts, leavening agents, milk solids and the like. This means one does not need to have a “baker’s pantry” of various infrequently used items. Normally, one must buy butter, eggs, oil or something similar from the market. So from that perspective it may appeal to the single or not so culinary inclined.

There are some time savings to be gained. In comparing cakes from scratch versus mixes, I find that mixes saved about 5 -10 minutes in assembling and measuring. The rest of the job of mixing, preparing the pan(s), baking and clean up is the same. So from that perspective, the actual time savings is negligible.

And what of time savings in the decision making process. Searching online and in cookbooks to find what you want to bake can take time, then you need to check pantry inventory and go buy the needed stuff.

With mixes, you need to go to the store and look at the various mixes and decide what seems easiest, then as mentioned before, buy the additional items. Or you can keep favorite boxed mixes in the pantry.

There is some time saved there I guess.

What about the cost differential? The quality mixes, using quality ingredients cost $10 to $15 dollars. Making a cake from scratch costs much less. Also, by making baked goods from scratch you can ensure each ingredient is of the best quality according to your preference.

Now the final question, “are they good?”

They can be very tasty. Some are better than others, many can be as good as made from scratch. I have made cakes from mixes and no one knew I had used a mix. Everyone loved the flavor and style. I made the icing, iced and styled it myself. The ingredients were high quality, so it was nice.

In my opinion, it is almost a wash as far as effort and time goes, but then I have a pantry stocked with baking supplies. That said, I also have box mixes in my pantry when I have to prepare something on short notice. I know they are there and the decision about what to make is essentially made. Given time, I’ll look through my cookbooks and the internet to find an original dessert.

In the end, having mixes on hand can be beneficial, but they don’t really save as much time and effort as we might think.

—————————————————————————————————————————-

Affiliate Partner